Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1898-09-24
MASTERING OUT The VOLUNTEERS.
Formalities Incident to Discharge TT

the paymaster and the quartermaster,
as we'll as many other officers of the
war department, is job of enormous
proportions, involving arithmetical
problems of considerable intricacy.
While the officers and the enlisted men
are enjoying 80 days. vacation on full
pay, the regular army officers are
going over the books of every COM
pany, inspecting the monthly muster
rolls and reviewing the regimental
qnartermasters' accounts.
With an army of 100000 men, half
the volunteer service to be mustered
out at one time, the war department
finds itself in an anomalous situation.
Never before in history has the prob
lem presented itself quite in the pres
ent form. The regiments of '9S were
all new to the service; at the most
they had served but four months, when
the time to disband had come, and the
books of many regiments where the
volunteer officers were just beginning
thoroughly to understand the system,
must be gotten into shape to the salts
faction of the mustering-out officer.
1t was the original intention of the
war department to keep the men in
their camps until this work had been
completed, but the clamor of those who
wanted to be sent home was so great
that the government consented to a
system of giving all officers and men
of the regiments to be mustered OUT a
leave of absence with an agreement to
call them together at the expiration of
that period for final inspection and
muster out.
STILL IN SERVICE.
In this way the regiments are still
kept in the service and directly under
the military authority, while at the
same time, they may enjoy all the
privileges of civilians.
Regiments which have been outside
the United States are given go day
furloughs Gn the case of officers the
expression is "leave of ABSENCE" and
other regiments get 80 days. Full pay
is allowed for either period. General
Corbin explained emphatically that all
the men so furloughed are as fully un-
der the military authority as ever, and
that if they do not report on the thir-
tieth or sixtieth day, as the case may
be, except for duly proven sickness,
they will be considered deserters.
Moreover, while the officers are practi-
cally on leave of absence, they have
been technically put on "waiting or
ders," which makes it incumbent upon
them to report for service at any time
during the period of furlough, if their
presence should be deemed necessary.
The musterout is all done by regu-
lar army officers, except in the case of
army surgeons who may be of the
volunteer service in case regular army
surgeons cannot be secured; but in
such case it is ordered that the surgeon
shall not be a member of the organiza-
tion to which he is detailed. The
musterout is similar to the monthly
muster at the time of payday ; but in
cludes also the granting of certificate
of discharge. 1t is this one document
which necessitates all the extra care.
AS at regular monthly muster, there is
a general accounting of property, and
secondly an inspection Of the men.
SOUP Ladies' AND SPOONS.
Officers who at any time were re-
sponsible for public property, of any
description, are obliged to give an &C.
count for every spoon and every soup
ladle in their care. A table of articles
charged in case of loss or damage has
been prepared by the paymaster, and
includes, among other items, ore of 81
cents for a soup ladle, and another Of
cent for mustard spoon. AS a rule
the only officers accountable for prop
erty are the company and the regi-
mental commanders; that is, the cap
tains and the cclonels. There are
cases, however, in which others are in
charge of property. Thus in the
Sixty fifth New York one of the cap.
tains and the first lieutenant both
resigned just before the order for the
muster out of the regiment had come,
thus leaving the second lieutenant in
command of the company.
This government pursues the follow
ing system in regard to military prep
erty. Commissioned officers get only
their regular pay, and in case they are
mounted, an additional allowance for
the care of their horses. Food, cloth
ing, etc., they must pa for out of their
own pocket, though they may, if they
choose, obtain it at the prices quoted
to the government. Enlisted men get
their supplies in three ways. In the
first place, there are the accoutrements
guns, belts, esc., and so on.
THE ACCoUTREMENTs.
These remain throughout the prop
erty of the government, but the senti-
ment of the volunteer soldiers, who
wish to retain these mementoes of the
war of '9S, is very strong, and so the
allows each man to keep
any portion of bis outfit, the cost there
of to be deducted from his final pay
ment.
A second class of supplies is the
food and kitchen utensils, the commits
saries socalled. With these the indi-
yidual soldier has nc concern. They