Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-08-31
The GrumbIing soldier.


To the Editor of The Evening Star:
Uncle Toby records that Our army swore
terribly in Flanders and when lying long
in our early camps we veterans of 81 to
10 were terrible grumblers, and generally
the greatest grumblers were the best SOL
diers. Those milk and water men, who
took all inconveniences and annoyances
without any protests who had no courage
to kick never showed any marked cour-
age lit the face of the enemy.
Grumbling is the voice of discomfort, and
it is useful as a safety valve. Men, aching
for activity kept long in the horrible mo-
notony of camp life, must grumble, or sink
into an apathy that humans them. Such
men had better be early discharged. What
would they do at Santiago, than which his
tory records more fearful campaign?
But there your grumblers would come out
large. Growing over the monotony OF the
best of soft bread and the sweetest OF fresh
beef at Camp Alger, at Santiago you would
find him gulping down his nalf-boiled coffee
minus sugar, chewing his oily sowbelly,
and perhaps knocking worms out of his
haTd ack evsr bright and cheerful, only
begrudging the time 1t took to eat, like
Dewey's heroes, who rebuked the admiral
for drawing temporarily away from the
enemy to let the men have their breakfast,
with the periodically profane remark, 10
h with breakfast"
What has transformed the grumbler into
the hero? Simply you have given him some
thing to do, something he can Sc tbs sense
Of something he left home 10 do, some
thing that makes him respect himself. You
have brought the man to the surface. And
even when a bullet topples him over he
doesn't grumbe That's business; that's
what he came for and neither in hospital
does he grumble, though he may grcw a
little that the surgeon does not patch him
up faster he may have another whack
at the Spaniards. This is the way the men
really feel, and nearly every soldier of the
rebellion will vouch for it.
Monotony is the great dread of soldiers,
and monotonouS routine is the quinteScent
curse of life Three years / was in the
office of the first controller of the treasury,
add, add, adding all the weary days, with
no more need of brains than when l was
twelve years old. Every day was small
eternity, and the clock seemed to be sta
tionary. l would wash my face half
dozen times day to keep me awake. The
quarterly accounts came to me from the
treasurer, and accompanying them were
the registers papers, showing that his
clerks had examined them all and found
them o. K; and, knowing that / could
ind no errors, l had to gOs all over Them
and in those three years never found
opportunity to change a penny. l felt 1
was preparing for home at ST., Elizabeth
and Assistant Secretary -Nettleton being
my personal friend l went to him and
Kicked He laughed long and chearily,
anu responded. ldptalN, you; are IKE a
lazy bulldog in an orchard Thieves know
you are there SO they do not modest the
orchard. But for knowing that they would
almost strip the orchard. So keep on and
console yourself with the consciousness
that you are of some good in the world
OF course am not spring chicken and
If that were purgatory to me- what must
the monotony of camp life be to Our
boys So let them grumbie. Granting
the patriotic instinct in ALL yet most of
those boys enlisted to see the world to
put some variety into their lives and to
crafty their love of excitement. Their first
week IN camp, everything is new, and drill
Is pleasure, and the polishing of their
gus flne art, and scarcely did mother"
ever get up such palatable meals and look
Ing up from their rough beds through their
tents they could see the stars, and their
lots were cast in Arcadia But one month
Two months, three months pass and some
OF tfe troops have been ordered Ito the
'front.'. To the 'front.' Magic words so full
Oh cheer' SO full of hope of showing them
selves men, so radiant with the halo of
heroism that is to make them heroes in
their home neighborhoods But they don't
move. DO you wonder that some of them
VISIT us and paint the town red" that
some VINO never tasted liquor before at
au fou' go singing through our streets.
we won go home till morning till broad
da!lght! Many time spree means
no oepfavlty that would shame their moth
ers, put only the young mans uncontrolIa-
bic desire to be doing something. lust as a
woman, department clerk, said to me:
L sometimes wish l We're a man and |
, mouio go on on spree; yes, a regular jam
poree, and believe l would return to nv
monotonous work better and more eff
Gent clerk
M But when the boys tell you that at Camp
Ihomas, Camp Alger and other home
camps they are half starved and can't pet |
enough to eat, tell them for me thew lie
under a mistake-and you can afford to |
make that dash very long. That's all rot |
never IN the history of the world We're SOL |
uierS SO we'll fed as in our home camns |
A pound loaf of the best of fresh bread |
sle[y oay, one and a quarter pounds of |
Hesh beef Tor three-quarters of pound of |
SAT sail meat, three quarts of coffee (occa- |
slcnaily tea in lieu thereof. plenty of su- |
gar beans, rice and potatoes-that is q |
man oa!iy ration, and no man in camp |
ever ate II all. My company in 1862, lying |
IA camp Tor three months, saved 500 a |
month by not drawing all orr atoms and
with the money the government Maid us
LOT rauons not drawn supplied our table
apundantiy with butter, pickles and other
deHcacies. ~ ~
Men lying around hot camns with little
~ w. less 10 read and hope of activity
dyinE out, eating their full rations would
Nil them. mink of three quarts of strong
coffee day None too much on march,
but fatal In camp Fresh bread (men get
TO loathe 1t and fall back on hardtack),
fresh beef, coffee some potatoes, beans
and rice, three times a day and thirty days
every summer month, and the monotony
drives away appetite. Try it at home and
you Will understand the matter When
you have fair. ordinary dinner, and you
see soldier boy passing by, hail him and
invite him to dine with you and you will
open your eyes to see him eat, and then
your wife will say. Poor, dear boys, they
40 hair starve them over there in camp"
NOW, let that same wife step over to my
mouse to dine and she will eat so much
as to be half ashamed. Variety is the
spice OF life, and that, not that you half
starved her, explains all. repeat it, no
soidlers IN the world have ever been fed
ana cared for as have our soldiers, and
yet the reading of many of our papers
would leave foreigners to conclude that we
We're parsimonious monsters Let us cease
" lo,li our own nests H. T. J.
August 20, 1898.