The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-04-12
UNCLE SANS RECRUITS
CHARACTER AND MOTIVES OF THE
MEN WHO APPLY AT THE STATIONS.
Scenes at the New York Depot for
Applicants for Military Duty-A
Fraudulent Enlistment stopped.


united states army, at NO. 70 Ihlrd avenue,
is in a state of activity it has not known
for many years-perhaps not since the rush
and excitement of the civi-war period The
sandwich poster conspicuously displayed in
front of the building is rarely without its
group of attentive readers, and little cus-
ters of men and boys discuss with eager
ness, indifference or levity its attractive an
nouncements.
1t is not certain, by any means, that when
the passer-by overhears the conversation of
one of these groups he will be refreshed by
honest expressions of patriotism. The men
who are sincere in purpose and convinced
of their strong desire to enter army service
are not the ones who linger on the pave
ment in hesitancy, but are to be found up
stairs in the outer rooms of the recruiting
officer, endeavoring to impress a matter-of-
TACT and veteran old sergeant with a sense
of their fitness
A visitor to the recruiting quarters
stopped the other day to read the alluring
advertisement of Uncle Sans service, and
was promptly approached by a vigorous
locking young man, whose physique would
surely have made him an acceptable acuui-
sltlon to the ranks. with request for "a
little something 70 eat" The suggestion of
enlistment was easily met by the statement
ms support, and as evidence of the truth of
nls story n boy lounging idly in the Vicn-
lty was pointed out The sidewalk in front
Oh the station is a favorite spot for the
congregation of professional beggars whose
subsistence is drawn from the purses of
sympathetic strangers, but these should not
be COMPOUNDED with the men who have hon
est intention of rendering service in return
1cr 1000, clothing and pay. 1t is true, how
ever. that. prompted by an impulse vicious
or otherwise, these undesirable men some
times present themselves before Captain
Whitney, the recruiting officer in charge.
Captain Whitney is fortunate, however. in
having in his sergeant an assistant who is
ready reader of human nature, and who is
possessed of an eye quick 10 detect unwel
These men do not often get to me- said
the captain, in response to an inquiry. THE
sergeant can judge man very quickly, and
II his intentions are not apparent and COM
mendable he is asked to think it over and
call again. have some queer cases before
me at times, however and perhaps that of
man who gave his name as Gavin will
Illustrate as well as, any the devices by
which men of questionable character and
motives attempt to enter the service.
A FRAUD DETECTED.
This man presented himself for re-
enlistment, which means, among other
things that he would be entitled to larger
pay than man receives during his first
enlistment of three years. AS soon as he
had gwen his name 1 recognized it as that
of soldier of my own company whose pa
pers of honorable discharge L had signed
1 questioned him as to his service and
asked the name of the officer who gave him
his discharge. He replied that he had
served in the Eighth Infantry, stationed
at Fort ID. A. Russell, Wyo: that his pa
pers had been signed by his former cap
TAIN f. A. Whitney. and he showed them
in support of his statement. My recollec-
ton of the occurrence and of Gavin was dis
tinet. and my conviction that / had never
&c rrsnlI
then announced myself as Captain Whit
ney and branded his story as false: but in
the face of this, and despite the declara-
ton previously drawn from him that he
had never seen me before, he stoutly main
tanned that he the Gavin whose pa
pers bore my signature. He offered to bring
other documents and witnesses to establish
his Identity but of course he has never
reappeared.
No. I have encountered little or no ro-
nance in. the. stories of recruits. 1t is
popular idea that there is much of it in the
stories Of the men, who come before me,
but nave brought opt their private histo-
RES rarely or not a all. ! have been en-
gagged i'll correspondence at various times
with lawyers and others in regard to men
whose mysterious disappearance had led
their friends to think of the army recruiting
stations. but | cannot say that any roman
tic element in these cases was revealed to
me. The nearest approach to it that recall
is the case of young lawyer here in New
York who. after spending two years with a
famous law firm and gaining the confidence
and interest of his employers. determined to
enter the ranks of the army. / accepted
him and ie occurred to me at the time that
his story might present romantic POSSIBLE
tiles, but about tina | cannot speak author
itatively."
Few of the men of education who enlist
with the idea of trying to win commits
sion are willing to acknowledge their pur-
pose. They are evidently wise enough to
know that the expression of such an ambi-
ton would be an unfavorable Introduction
to their fellows, and would likely render
them unpopular even with the privates who
day becoming noncomn1issioned officers. AS
a matter of fact, the thought of promotion
rarely enters into the considerations gov
Say remarked one young man in Capt
Whitney's outer office, that fellow must
be a fool" He referred to a well-dressed
just departed after discovering that it was
impossible to enlist as a sergeant. 1t is not
often that this misrepresentation Is enter
tanned, and never. as a rule, except by men
who are really seeking softer berths than
the ranks afford.
AMBITIOUS BOYS.
The men rejected for reasons other than
those of physical defects usually meet their
fate before they have made half-a-dozen re-
plies to the sergeant's preliminary questions,
which have to do principally with age, ma
tionality, and intelligence The greatest
number of reflections are, strangely enough
due to age. Boys, untitled for definite call
lDSS anu dHAlOuS W SAptIieHCo the excite
ment that they fondly fancy goes with a
uniform and brass buttons. suffer the disad-
vantage of being unable to produce written
evidence that will explain the seeming diff
ference between their declared manhood and
youthful appearance; and men who make
the mistake of admitting that they have
passed the maximum limit are not given q
chance to alter their statements. These
men nearly always seek the service for the
sake of the employment that has been taken
away from them in civil life by younger
heads and hands.
81 am fifty-fVe years Old" said one of the
rejected ones land l have been a house
painter all my life, but have been out of
work some time and thought I'd come in
here and enlist. l am not too old to work
No, / don't mind their not taking me- If
they can stand it / can" 1t developed
further that this man. while it was true he
had not been at work for the last three
his labor having a small income from his
savings that rendered him independent of
present exerticn. But he could give no
definite reason for his desire TO enter the
army except that he had no family and no
work. He appeared to be man of intelli-
gehce and showed no signs of dissipation.
Recruits are required to be citizens of the
United States or to furnish proof that they
have made legal declaration of their inten-
ton to become citizens. That the ranks
from the musical stage is due to this pro-
vision Il wish to enlist" said a bright
young man with intensely black hair and
eyes in answer to the sergeant's nod and
brusque invitation to come over here.
when did you become a citiZen?"
Without betraying surprise at the keen
ness of observation indicated by this query,
the candidate acknowledged that he had not
been naturaliZed and that he was unaware
that foreign allegiance was a disqualified