The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-07-14
THE OFFICERS CAN NOT GO.
NAVAL BOARD ORDERED TO ENLIST
ONLY THE MEN.

the Orders of the Chairman of the
Naval BOard-HeId "A Meeting Last
Night at which Only seven Men
Decided They WOuId stand the EN-
aminatIon-NO More Meetings or
Drills Until Jan. L, which Practl-
caIIy Means Their Disbandment.
brunswick Omcers 20 Blame for
the Trouble.
The Georgia Naval Reserves will not go
to war. This was definitely Settled on the
arrival of Lieut.. T. w. Greenleaf
from Port Royal yesterday.
Lieut. Greenleaf Is from the
Port Royal naval station. and on an
order from the Secretary of the Navy he
came over to muster In the Georgia re-
serves.
The difficulty was that Lieut.. Green
leafs orders were entirely in discord with
the ideas of the naval reserves. Lieut..
Greenleaf wanted nothing but men. sail
ors so to speak, and there were some Off
GERS who wanted to 60. There was the
rub.
Some of the officers of the two Savannah
divisions of naval reserves met Lieut..
Greenleaf in the branch photographic Of
flee in the morning, and he promptly in
formed them that he had come to muster
into the service all of the individuals who
wanted TO go, and VINO could pass the ex-
animation. This created something not
far short of CONSERVATION in the ranks of
the two divisions. They could not tell
him then just what they wanted to do
about It,, and they decided to wait until
last night, when they held a meeting for
the purpose of taking the matter into con-
sideration.
Lieut. Greeneaf, when seen by a rep
resentative of the Morning News said he
had orders to muster into the navy indi-
viduals who could pass the examination,
without regard to officers. 1t would be
impossible he said for the men to go in
organized bodies, and those who wanted
to go would have to take their chances on
being placed wherever they were needed.
1t was from Lieut.. Greenleaf too. that
the officers of the Naval Reserves got
their first information to the effect that
the services of the battalion were tender
ed conditionally. This tender was of the
services of the First battalion. made pre-
sumably, by Commander f. D. Aiken of
Brunswick When the officers of the Sa-
vannah divisions learned this they were
mad. Commander Aiken was in charge
of the First division and not of the
Second, which was organized solely for the
purpose of going into the governments
service. The reserves here held, there
10 n 4 lrrtt he
Second division, and that his action in
rendering the battalion for service only
on the coast, il he dad so, as has been
stated, was wholly unwarranted.
Lieut.. Greenleaf Is accompanied here by
Chief Engineer Robert Potts from Wash
ington, and Dr. w L. Field, naval sur
reported to him. They are prepared to ex-
anime all applicants for service in the
navy without further delay.
The naval reserves at their meeting last
night discussed the situation in detail.
There were only seven men present who
decided under the circumstances that they
would like to stand the examinations for
entrance into the navy and they were told
to go ahead and make the effort. There
were about sixty of the 100 men who be-
long to the two divisions present. This
does not include the seventeen men who
are eQGdnpeu at w ME Dull dtu II -
believed that several of these viii make
the effort 10 enter the navy by presenting
themselves before the naval board to-day.
In the next place, the naval reserves
decided that they would hold no more
drills or meetings until Jan. l, 1899. This
was i'm effect a disba ndment, so far as Sa-
| vannah is concerned Few, If any of the
men, and none of the officers, will be ready
to re-enllst after the manner In which
they have been treated, as they look upon
It, The officers and men blame the Bruins
wick people more than anyone else and
| feel if il had not been for the commander
| of the First Battalion they might have
! been i'm the service now. They feel very
| much put out about his having rendered
| the services of the battalion conditionally,
! If he did so, as Is stated, because he had
| no right to tender the services of the Sec
| ond Battalion. and the First Battalion
! had nothing to do with the matter. as it
did not propose to go into government
| service.
In the next place, 1t is charged here that
! Mr.. Aiken has had in his pocket, or pig
| eonholed in his desk for four or five days
| or longer an order from the Governor
! for the election of officer of the Second
| Battalion, about which the men and Off
| GERS have not been informed. This Is an
| other matter about which many of the
| men are put out, and there will probably
be some interesting things said before the
matter is entirely settled
The Savannah officers have spent some
! 800 or $500 getting in recruits and getting
| ready for going into the service of the
! government 1t is only natural. there
| fore, that they should feel consdera BILE
! disappointment in the turn The affair has
! taken. The camp at White Bluff will be
! broken up, and the men will practically
disband at once. What they viii all do
remains TO be seen. Several recruiting
| officers were in the naval reserves ar
| mory last night looking for recruits for
! infantry companies, and they expect to
| get a good many as the result.
| The naval board has no orders to go to
| Brunswick and any of the members of
! the Brunswick divisions who want TO en-
! list. provided they can stand the exami-
! nations. will have to come to Savannah.
! The board has been instructed 10 go to
Atlanta after leaving Savannah, and it
appears from this that the Brunswick men
are left out in the cold. The Savannah
! divisions have about sixty men each and