The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-07-04
An Old Soldier Protests Against
Some Complaints.
A FEW THINGS TO LEARN
War Is Serious Business and the Sooner
a Volunteer Gets over the Notion
That It's a Picnic the Better
The Regiment All Right.

Gently wrote a letter TO a friend In
Butte. making complaints of alleged ILL
treatment suffered by the soldiers and
criticising the officers of the regiment.
Extracts from the letter were published
and were read by John Taylor. formerly
of Butte, but now Waterman at the
Helena-Frisco mine at Gem, Idaho. Mr..
Taylor, who is an old soldier. did not
like the tone of the young volunteers
letter, and he wrote to the Standard on
the subject as follows:
He complains of many things which
prove him to be unfit for a soldier. His
first is: L have been in the guard house
for two days and two nights n he
says this is rather a long time to be
i'm the guard house for being 80 minutes
late at roll call If he meant r~eveille,
the morning beat of drum, he could
have his bed made up, the floor swept up
round il, his face washed, his clothes
brushed, his shoes BACKED, and in ranks
TO be marched to breakfast In 30 min
utes. i have been confined in the guard
house for months at a time and was
made to pack a knapsackful of san
from sunrise to sunset for being absent
without leave for less than five minutes,
and there was no one to blame but my
self. Missing a roll call is a very serious
l1lnR III the army. ANY OHt CdH ul-
derstand why the captain made excuses
and told me it was all a mistake says
the member of Company f. 1 soldiered
i'm the 9th u. 5. infantry five years and
in the corps of engineers six years and
| never ever heard of an officer making
an excuse to a private soldier. i pity
that officer as much as / do the soldier
(save the mark. a great many of the
officers do not know enough to get in
CiHa a font when II rains He classes
among those an ex-saloonkeeper and an
attorney. Michael Corcoran was a sa-
loonkeeper only a few weeks before he
helped cover the retreat at the first bat
tie of Bulls Run. He was captured, sent
to Libby prison, and would not for two
| years be exchanged for officers love or
money. Il. f. Butler was a lawyer and
just as good a soldier as ever drew a
sword in battle, and a good governor,
too. In war times. Ambrose Bierce is a
newspaper man and a brave soldier. l
saw him fight. Company F's man
writes, For my w part. j am getting
along all right, but there seems to be
considerable discontent in the ranks,
generally. because they don't get enough
to eat That smacke a good deal of the
gingerbread soldier. Given plenty of
cookies. that chap would die of the
'quicks' long before this war would end.
He says Company Il of Butte got re-
duced from the second to the third bat
TALON because they would not drill.
There is no such reduction of rank in
the army, never was, and could not be.
one battalion is the very same as an
other, if they are of the same arm OF
the service. Engineers are the hrst
branch of the service, infantry the last.
| Lieutenant Conrad, he writes, who used
To be a lawyer at Anaconda, was officer
of the day and knocked down a mi
soldier with the grip or hilt Of his
sword. The soldier, he tells us was
'unarmed. helpless and d~efenseless.' Oh,
blagh! He had his tick full and his
lingual blade with him, and the chances
are that he drew the latter on the officer
when he got il on the pate. In IL years
of very active service / never knew of
but two cases of an officer using vio-
lence. and those two chaps deserved to
be killed where they stood. Colonel
Kessler also comes in for a roast. If
he is the same Kessler that was super
intendent of the Gray Rock mine in
Butte in 1884 he is all right. and will
make his mark again. j met him in
war times. | know he will never have
any excuses to lavish on our friend,
the company lawyer
1--WE don't know when we will be
able to leave here. The boys are all
anxious to go somewhere, most any old
place Fellows like that would like to
go back home. He writes that the
clothes are bum He ought to have is
sued to him clothing cut and made 10
order by a fashionable tailor. If our
friend would stop to think that every
beginning is hard IL would be helpful to
him. He must be in love with his work,
and he must quit being a slave to the
meanest organ in his whole body. /. e.,
his belly. In citizen life a man fills up
with nice, unwholesome food; after
that he tackles lady-fingers, floating
islands, Charlotte de-something, ice
cream. etc. so that his stomach is ex-
banded and stretched to the greatest
possible limit. In the army a man gets
bread. pork, beef. beans, rice n tea
and coffee. There is no coaxing. His
ration is laid before him. At first he
could eat more, but in the course of a
few months, instead of his stomach be-
ing expanded like a mail pouch, IL will
become natural. so that half his allow
ance is more than enough, and in time
he will get weaned away from the use
of butter. milk, eggs, cheese and other
things not furnished by Uncle Sam, as
/ have been.
ITO he a good, honest. hardy every
day American soldier one must not
complaint: and above and beyond all
else. never find fault with our officers.
IL we are hungry we must go and climb
a hen roost. swear a little. drink some.
too, fight like hell, and once We put our
hand on the pillow never look back till
the war is over. i am an old Mick. and
am breaking my heart TO get back in
the harness and help a little. and l can
assure you l am well acquainted with
all the drawbacks-the guard house, bad
grub. a officers and bad enemies, too.
II the war should last. / trust in the
Good Master / may be able 10 get
there The letter in question should
prevent no one from going TO the front.
He may live TO laugh at his own writ
ing"
James H. Lynch has received a letter
from Joe Williams. who for years was a
carrier in Butte's postofice and is now
corporal of Company G. of the Montana
regiment. In part Mr.. Williams says,
Montan has q regiment here she