Kansas agitator. [volume] (Garnett, Kan.) 1890-1905, 1898-09-09
ARMY DESERTERS..

cent Of the assertions that occur in
the regular army are perpetrated by
recently Joined recruits. This seems
to imply that the treatment Of the
youthful Tommy Atkins is somewhat
harsh, and that red tapeism is re-
sponsible for the loss to the country
of many fine young men, who, under
slightly different circumstances, would
have been ornaments to our army.
Unfortunately, the recruits first i'm
lpressions of the service are Of a nat
ure calculated to Danish all enthusi-
asm for n military career. Just now
we read a great deal about recruiting
In Scotland for men to fill Scotch reg
iments but very little about the shame
full way the young recruits are treated
by the authorities.
Suppose, for instance, number of
young men present themselves to the
recruiting sergeant at Aberdeen and
wish to join the Scots Guards. They
pass rough preliminary medical ex-
animation, and are next sent on to the
reglmental depot at London to be
sworn In. Until this swearing process
is completed, they are not regarded as
Soldiers of the queen" and conse-
quently receive neither pay nor ra-
tons. 1t Is quite a common thing for
twenty-five or thirty young men to I've
sent as deck passengers from Aber-
deem TO London by the authorities to
be enlisted. The passage, in fine
weather, occupies thirty-siX hours, and
unless they can purchase 1t out Of
their own money, which very few re-
cruits are able TO, not particle of
food passes their lips from the time
they leave Aberdeen until after they
arrive in London, march to barracks.
pass the doctor and complete their
enlistment, a period of at least forty
hours.
Owing to this stupid system, numer-
GUS young men are lost to the service,
for, Disguised with their treatment,
some recruits refuse to be sworn In,
and walk away directly the boat mr.
rives. Habitual loafers, also, when
they wish to move from one town to
another, pretend to enlist and so OBJ
tain free passage. 1t would be sure
ly quite easy to devise a measure that
would make it n punishable offence to
obtain free passage at the tnXpay-
ers' expense under false pretences, and
then it would be only just to furnish
the men on their journey with refresh
ments and rations.
MI, ttxa IL
cline to do so at present is because in
their usual laundering way they argue
that an immense number of objection
able characters would pretend to be
willing to enlist in order to obtain q
free passage and a feed" en- route;
vance in support of starving and dis
gusting scores of honest and excellent
men, when it would be so easy to make
fraud punishable.
On his arrival at barracks the recruit
again finds that soldering "aint all
lavender" For the purposes of the
medical examination he has. of course,
to strip, but it is monstrous to think
that men should be kept shivering for
hours In an unwarmed room.
| Owing to the ingenuity Of the re-
jcruiting sergeants. recruits who are an
inch or so short of the minimum stat
IRE cOntrive to pass. A favorite de-
vice is for the men to be instructed to
stick pieces of soap on their heels, and
so add an inch or so to their height.
On one occasion sergeant, after crit
ically surveying youth who was
about to go before the doctor, struck
him tremendous blow on the crown
of the head with walking stick.
what did you do that for?" inQuir-
ed the recruit, rubbing the injured
spot.
"Silcnce, you fool" replied the SER
goant. "You wish to become SOL
der? Well, you're at least half an
inch too short, so I've just raised a
bump on your head with my cane.
Right turn, march,
1t seems to be the rule in most regi.
ments for the non-commissiOned off,
GERS to vie with each other in abus-
ing recruits. They are never under
any circumstances addressed with civ.
ilsty by their superiors, fault is per-
petually found with them, and any
complaints they make are laughed at.
For the purpose of maintaining dis
cipline a non-com's word Is nearly al
ways taken before a private's, espec-
iaIly II he Is a young soldier, and this
leads sometimes to ludicrous results.
A recruft one night was about to so
into barracks, when he was met by
the lieutenant, and requested to take
in note to the captain. On entering
the barracks he happened to stumble,
and the sergeant on guard immedi-
ately put him in the guard room on
charge of being drunk.
| The recruit, naturally enough, pro-
tested bitterly, and when he was
brought up before the colonel, called
the lieutenant as witness to his so
briefly, and above all proved that he
was lifelong teetotaller!
The colonel was in an awkward po-
SifiOn