The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-08-28
VAN DUzEE UNPOPULAR
SOLDIERS OF THE FOURTEENTH
THINK HIM TOO SLOW
they Say He Did Not Make an Effort
to Get Them to the Front, but
Now Wants Them to Do Garrison
Duty in Order to Continue on Sal
nry - COlOnePs Action Freely
Criticised by the Men.

ed in st. Paul:
Chickamauga Park, Ga, Aug. Is, 2'sS.-There
Is trouble brewing here in camp. 1t came
about when the fact became known that Col.
requesting that the Fourteenth be sent to
DO garrison duty. and stating that the men
weIe all anxious to 60. The boys were in
ulgnaht when it became known. and they got
up petitions, signed by nearly every member
OF The dlferent companies, and they intended
TO send them to Gov. Clough, but the officers
got WIND of it, and the captains of each COM
pany took their men out into the woods and
read the articles of war to them and de-
manGed that the petitions be handed to
them, and allowed no one to sign them under
penalty of being eourt-martialed for mutiny.
one man Of Company G, OF Duluth. they
picked out as Hngieader and put him into
the guard house HIS name is Henry Harris.
and he telegraphed for his father, who, by
the way, has quite little, political in
nuence. When he comes there will be
trouble Most of the boys of company -
have signed the petition, amongst them my
sell. The petition was merely wish eX-
pressed in writing, asking Gov. Clough to
use his influence in having US mustered out
1t did not cast any reflection or discredit nor
officers. and 1 don't why they would not
allow US to send it. The whole regiment is
now disgIuntled mob, and they are crlti-
clzlng Col. Van Duzee'S action rather too
freely. They are trying to suppress them
and Keep the matter quiet, but l am going
to write and lei the Minnesota people know
Wh3t they are doing with US boys down here
dont neneVe you could find twenty-five
IN the whole regiment that would want tn
S DO garrison duty They are making loud
do garrison duty, but they enlisted to fight
ana as | am writing l can hear remarks be-
ing made to the effect that when we had
chance to go to the front Col. Van Duzee
did not make an effort until he knew if was
too late and then he did it only as a matter
or FORM TO make the boys believe thst he
tried TO so. But low when there are 10
bullets to face he wants to go. He don't
want to lose his nice, big, fat salary of s., geo
Il q hove -
extreme limit and volunteer the Fourteenth
without even asking the men whether they
would Ike to 60. and then stating in his
1eIsSfem mat the men anxious to 60
Inese ana other stronger remarks Col. Van
Duzee has heard, being made so that he could
plainly hear them. can be heard on all
sides row. I. for my part, think it's a
shame and an awful big shame for Col. Van
Duzee to DO such thing. OF course the boys
put then. taking into consideration how
they feel about it, person can hardly blame
>, Ihere are also rumors adoat from a re-
liable source that the officers were threatened
that If they allowed their men to syn the
Peutl9ns, they would lose their commissions
me Doys were adj right and even put I'D
with HaItlaiity being shown in the different
SpSm9ahieS put now. since this turned up,
n nIey are expressing themselves little too
went to work and put a piece in the Chat
ISSnSosa Times copy Of which 1 enclose
Every word OF 1t is the honest truth II
pictures the condition of affairs in this ANN
as true as life, and 1t can be proven by every
P trr;1 IN this regiment; The colonel is
Trying 10 IND out now who put that niece
IN the paper. You cannot picture the state
Oh aHalrs here more truly than this article
There was large parade last Wednesday
ana they had us out from $50 in the morn,
ing until u at noon, in the hot sun waiting
70 ger IN line to pass in review and the
act o. marching US cut at $50 n TIE morn.
ing ana letting US stand in the sun for i've
Its W l-lust and entirely uncalled for,
Of 'r mn i Is was pure meanness on the part
Oi Co! Johnson, who commanded the regf-
tnehl that cay. A good one-third of the men
being Frustrated from the heat, had to fall fall
out Il was an act which, to my mind. can
not be two severely criticised YAH
FOR wonder we are getting enough IN
sat am 81, SURPRISED that they have e9ougR II
diIeough 1t IS not what il might be at that
.. am good and sick Of this and am longing
'front.' 5t' NOME on, again; Ii we were going to the
do not want to do garrison diitv That -
not what We enlisted for. There is no news
i ittIe outsae OF this, only that am getting
hesh lost. us
r.; S,-We got orders this morning to he
probably nov move up Pbi to 90 to Knoxville win
SEND you piece 1 saw in the PAPER this
b nt sa9 about Harris, and the trouble here
put some one took the paper and 7 can not
ger another one for love or money. N''
c, me following is the communication to tho
Chattanooga Times: W 'n'
hlnley to ask the youth OF the Unjtsd S+stes
TO volunteer their lives and services in Dc
tense OF our national honor there was much
criticism as to his proposed method ~ az
ganizing so vast an army Sentiment ard
pohcy suggested that home companies shoul5
De onlcered by home men. in contradgtnc
uon TO the presidents plan to have the vol
unteers drilled and led as far "a nraotic.s,Ia
Dy regular army officers
me spectacle of two hundred thousand
fairly well drilled men in the field scsrc.
the depth of patriotism in the American
aeart: put the lesson learned by this expert
elCe c .S5 many to doubt whether the same
men would respond a second time Should a
similar necessity arise. By this the patreot-
ism oil the volunteer army is not questioned
prompts the doubt
Ana, while Uncle Sam has every reason
10 De proud OF the agility shown by lis
poys IN sprnging to the front, it may not
be out Of place to recite a few facts in con-
necuon with the mastering in of 50 large a
iorce So much has been sa d and written
on tne aoiity OF the army to cope with any
olncuity, that the disease known as caput
magnum seems to be spreading In certa n
localities, while the men 70 whom all the
credit Is due meet with a very scant NEED
of praise.
When the farmer left his plow and tn,
mechanic his bench to go to the front, they
chose men from their own ranks to lead
them on to victory; but army life seems to
be so fascinating to those in whom the con-
fdence of their peers had been placsd that
the common soldier is becoming more and
more Disguised with his lot. Thank God
ard TO the honor of our citizen seldery, be
II said, this affectation is not general-but
the way some men strut in peacock epau cts
shows the fallacy of sentiment and policy
In such grave matters the massng of an
army.
Obedience to authority is the basic prin-
ciple OF the soldiers life, but abuse OF au-
thority can soon turn army of patriots
into disgruntled mob-and this con-
ceited abuse of fraternal confidence IA the
sole cause of whatever discomfort exists in
the volunteer army today; yet however sad
to relate, this abuse extends further than
the majority of people ON the outside would
care to believe-and where regular army Of
fcers are in control the men are more con-
tented than those under officers of their own
choice. The discomfort springs from the
imitation rather than the following of regu-
lar army methods and the initiation is much
in keeping with that of the monkey to the
man.
The case In point touches particularly on
the detailing Of men as orderlies and for
fatigue duty in the regular service. So
captivating was the idea of authority over
men that many Of the mushroom a'u.ocrats
der them naught else than their personal
body guard or funkeys. ard the do this Or
do that" extends further than army regu-
latons warrant; the number of men "de-
tailed" servants to captains and leuten-
ants is so great that double amount of
man who is doing what the government in
tended the recruit should do-namely At
himself fer the field. end furthermore, PRIV
ileges are more readily granted the lunkeys,
or dog robbers" as the regular terms them,
than the soldiers. This custom obtains mr. ST.
ly among that class of commissioned off,
GERS who never had the wrinkles out of
their bellies, financially speaking before