The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-04-21
DESERTIoNS FROM THE NAVY.
LESS FREQUENT IN THE PRESENT
EXCITEMENT.
Recruits Easily Discouraged-Hc-
wards for the Arrest of Absentees
The Punishmcnt-Army Desert

From the WASHINGTON Star.


From the Washington Star.
Desertious from the United States navy
are becoming more and more uncommon
every year 1t is likely that the statistics
of desertions from the naval service for the
present year will be proportionately small
Ter than they have ever been at any time
since the foundation of this government.
No-account soldiers and sailors of the
American land aud sea forces Jump the
,ouuht" or "go over the side" in time of
peace in about the same ratio as uniformed
men the world over; bat even the no-ac-
counts stick TO their guns when the flag
they serve under is menaced. The man
whose conscience would not greatly dis
turb him If he voluntarily shuffied off lis
uniform and quit when white-winged
peace hoevered over the nation, does a
heap of thinking before he takes French
leave from either of our services in the
face of impending war. 1t is decidedly not
an American characteristic TO desert in
the face of a foreign enemy.
Desertions from the United States navy
are commonest among recruits. Under
ordinary circumstances when the country
is mixed up in no International complca-
tons, il. is an exceedingly difficult matter
TO get crew for neNs American vessel of
war or even for one that is being newly
commissioned. There can be only a scat
tering of old-timers, who have been on the
''guardos," or receiving ships, waiting for
| assignments, in such a crew; so the great
| er portion of the ships company must nee
| essarily be composed of recruits These
| recruits are in many cases young fellows
who have enlisted without any realization
| of the disc0mforts and hardships TO which
man-o'-wars men are subjected, and who
| quickly become dissatisfied when the reali-
cation comes home to them. Their first
experience at coaiing ship, which is the
hardest kind of work for ali hands, often
puts AN end TO their ambition for a life on
the ocean wave. Although this is not
likely to be the case with the United
States warships just recommissioned or
about to be recommissioned, there have
been swarms of deserters from every new
ship that is coaled for the first time by
these crews, mostly made up of recruits 1t
is an experience which the commanders of
all new warships have to figure on. Two
or three crews have often to be sent to a
new vessel bfor she is sufficiently manned
to go TO sea, so great is the number of de-
sertons
For the past ten years the navy depart
ment has made hardly any effort to appre-
hend deserters. The principle in the navy
IS that men who Jump ship are not fiji for
the service and, therefore, not worth hunt
ing for 1t is principle that in some cases
is in errer, but these cases are exceptional
"A reward of $40 is paid by the commanding
officer of war ship for the capture of a
deserteri but this reward is seldom claimed
in home ports In ports on foreign stations.
however, 1t Is different. In every port in
the world, even in China and Japan, the
| special officers ashore know of the reward
paid by American commanders for desert
ers and they are indefatigable in their eff
forts TO lay hold of escaping bluejackets
and marines As in the army,,a man may
be absent from his post for ten days be-
fore he is officially declared a deserter, so
il is in the navy. The sailor and the sea-
soldier must have ten days leeway before
the capital ID" is written after their
names on the ships muster rolls. 1t very
| often happens, however, when a man-of-
war is short-handed in foreign port by
| reason of transfers and discharges that the
commanding officer will offer the reward
of $40 for the return of men aboard who
| are merely overstaying their shore leave.
The commanding officer hardly ever fails
in such cases to get them. In DESERVING
on foreign station the man-o'-war's man
is thoroughly aware of the danger of re-
his ship lies, and he starts out with the de-
| termination of Immediately striking out
up country, for his only safety from cap
ture lies in the interior, Almost iuvaria-
bly,, however, he accumuates a load of
sake or mescal or some other barbarous
compound of the country he happens TO be
in, and he does not get far before he is
| taken. To a gendarme at Genoa for in
stance, $40 in American gold is a consider
q as is al fO tha afd
chaps who police majority Of foreign
ports. For simply carrying a drunken
! salor-man or sea-soldier off to the gang
way of a man-o' war in a shore boat 1t is
money easily earned-that is, if the victim
is drunk enough TO be helpless. Othtr
WISE it occasionally happens that the
ports whole constabulary has TO be
brought into action to get determined
fighting man aboard.
| A very large majority of the men who
are now serving time for desertion at the
| army garrison prisons and at the naval
| prisons at Boston and Mare Island, Cal.
voluntarily surrendered themselves. De-
serters get hungry, as do other persons.
and they also get cold. When they are suf-
fering from a combination of the two ills,
| and, are friendliness and unable to get
work, they are exceedingly apt to draw
| comparisons in their minds between their
present woful condition and the compare
| tive comfort and cheer even of military and
naval prisons, and thus they gradually
work themselves up to the point of sur
rendering. They are not taken by the
hand and greeted enthusiastically when
| they do this. Deserters from the navy
generally give themselves up on the
"guardos." They are regarded with I'M
concealed disgust by the officer Of the
| deck to whom they present themselves, as
well as by all the enlisted men who hap
! pen to be around. It has happened that
! deck officers to whom deserters have an
/ nounced themselves on receiving-ships
| have had them forcibiy fired over the side
| by the master-at-arms. rather than en-
| gage in the job of hunting up records and
| undergoing all the rest Of the worry Incl