Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-04-16

of them hence from the recruiting offices
with decision finally written upon their
faces-decision to continue to drive trucks.
or perform chores in livery stables, or hus--
tie planks In lumber yards, OF go ahead at
any old avocation in civil life. rather than
mix up in military outfits 50 terribly de-
scrfbed by the pipe-smokfng assistants to
the recruiting oficers.
The old-timers attached to the recruit
ing offices at the arsenal and at the marine
barracks up on the hill have not attempted
to employ these tactics with the determin-
ed-looktng young chaps who have made
their appearance with I'm going to take
on anyhow. II | can" written on their
countenances. Rather to such they have
portrayed the delights of the two services
in somewhat more roseate hues than the
facts warrant. About one man in thirty
five applicants has been accepted at the
arsenal for the heavy artillery service and
the comparative percentage of men who
have been taken on at the marine barracks
Is even smaller. It Is not the extremely
rigid medical examination alone that has
caused the rejection Of such a large pro-
portion of the men who have presented
themselves at the recruiting offices here
for enlistment.
For Various Reasons.
There are other considerations-a lot of
them. In the first place, a considerable
number Of the men who have applied for
enlistment at the recruiting Offices here
have been men who do not live in Washing
ton, and who were spotted by the recruit
ing officers and soldiers as men who, hav-
Ing been rejected at recruiting offices in
other cities, came to this city to sec IL they
could not make their applications stick
here. Old-timers connected with recruiting
omces have various ways Of telling whether
an applicant has previously applied for en-
lfstment- and Of course men whose an
plications for enlistment have been decided
against upon some ground or other in other
cftles are not wanted at the recruiting Of
nces, here Moreover, the applicant who
confesses that he is not Washin gtonfan
but a resident of some other city is looked
upon by the recruiting officers as a proba-
bly, unsteady man, a wanderer or, to en-
pioy their own Phrase a hobo. even if,
upon turning up at q recruiting Office here
he does not betray by his somewhat ex.
perfenced manner the fact that he has UNI
successfully attempted to get into one
branch or other of the military service
in another city.
Hoboes are not wanted in the military
service Of the United States. The appli-
cant must be able to give an account of
himself. A good many of the palpable
Wandering Wflfies who have turned up
at the artillery and marine corps recruiting
of1lces have expressed both surprise and
disgust when informed that, in order to get
even so far as the 'remove-your-clothes"
stage for physical examination, it would be
necessary for them to produce local ref
erences'-to at least give the names of
two or three persons in this city who could
and would vouch for the applicants repute
IN this community for decency and good
conduct. These Weary Waggleses have as
rule departed from the recruiting offices
muttering that the gall of the United
States government was beyond their COM
prehension. This Is the class Of men who
fail to apprehend the fact that the United
States military forces no longer have any
difficulty in securing plenty of good men,
and that for some years past the govern
ment has been in a position to pick its men
W RI nf Vrntf 4rof Of
being obliged to snap up all hands. good.
bad or Indifferent, as soon as they pre-
scented themselves, as was once the case.
A Chilly Reception.
One Of the non-residents, whose Chuck
Corners manner plainly indicated where
he hailed from, shufflcd into the recruit
irg Office at the marine barracks one after
noon last week. He was pretty seedy
and rummy-looking lot. but he apparently
figured 1t that jumping into the spick-and-
span uniform OF United States marine
marine patrolling In front Of the recruiting
Office door had permitted the tough to go
upstairs solely because he knew that his
man would got warm reception at the
hands OF the Oid-time sergeant In the re-
crutting Office. The applicant rested two
dirty fingers on the edge of the recruit
ing sergeant's table, took a hitch In his
trousers and began:
Say. young Teller, want T. try whirl
wit dis push"
Want to enlist, chr" inquired the old
time sergeant, cheerfully.
We'll. II yeu calls II dat, It goes wit
me. An want 4 DO It right now, quick;
see? Dcy tells me We gives de mugs In
dis fltout tree squares day. Is dat
right"
'Well." replied the sergeant, graciousfy
marines are pretty well fed In this en-
ploy."
We'll. go ahead an fix de ting up. /
fpose got Z sign some papers, an an
dat Kind q monkey work"
xhs sergeant began 70 cst : pipefuI q