The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-07-10
. PUNISHMENT IN WAR TIME.
The odds Against Men Who Refuse
TO obey Orders.
From the Washington Star.

The Odds Against Men who Hefuse
to obey Orders.
From the Washington Star.
That recent incident down in the Tampa
camp, in which a young private of the
District Guard ordered, along with one of
his companions to do bit of log-carry-
ing for misconduct, declined the issue, and
resorted TO "bucking"-a folish recourse
for any man wearing a uniform-and
thereby plunged himself into court mar
tial mess, ought to posses instructive feat
ures for new men in both Of the services,
land and sea. This young mans COM
panion, fully aware that he had violated
regulations and deserved punishment, lev
el-headedly accepted his dose of log-pack-
ing, and, after he had walked post with
his log weighing down his shoulders for
the period specified, he was turned loose.
and probably walked then to his tent and
pounded his ear" as old soldiers term
the act of sleeping after unusual exertion.
The young man who couldn't see into the
log packing business, and chucked 1t to the
ground with the declaration that he hadn't
taken on for that sort of thing, will learn.
1t may require some considerable effort
and hardship on his part, but he viii
learn. The soldier or sailor who
doesn't apprehend the entire meaning of
the word obedience when he first jumps
into his uniform is by no means hope
| less case. He generally turns out q trig
and right-minded after he has done a
trick or two in guard house of brig. Some
recruits, however remain "buckers" until
they achieve their finish The finish of a
uniformed bucker-"bucker' is a phrase
employed an both services-is always the
same His days are made so dreary and
unjoyous for him that he is usually COM
| PEELED to desert. If he fears capture af-
ter desertlon, and, therefore, continues In
! his service, only to keep on bucking, he
| is due sooner or later, but inevitably, to
| wear a number, stamped in big red fig
| ures, on the left shoulder of the striped
! jumpers dished out to military and naval
| convicts. The chronic bucker knows this
| just as well as his peaceful and obedient
| comrade or shipmate. 1t seems, there
| fore extraordinary enough that any un-
! formed man possessing the sense thai he
was born with should adopt persistent
! bucking tactics while in the military en-
! ploy of Uncle Samuel
Yet the army is never without its buck
| ers and neither is the navy. Scratch
| bucker, and you will always discover that
| he is a man who donncd uniform for the
! cakes and ale and the beer and sklttles of
] IT. lie Is not a man VINO Is READY 10 TAKE
the game of soldering or sailoring as 1t
comes along He would be a perpetual
| kicker in civilian life The difference is
that while he might make his incessant
| kicking as a civilian go through all right,
| and be a nuisance TO his neighbors, he
| can't make 1t stick in the army or navy.
| There Is the book of regula lions. 1t was
! devised for the bucker as well as for the
man of obedent disposition. All hands have
to regulate themselves in accordance with
| that book Of regulations. The bucker takes
| lt that the book is all wrong-thereby be-
| coming known to his companions in arms
as a ''barrack lawyer or a "man-o'- war
| chaW," according to hts s1rvice-and be-
| gins 10 buck Then II Is pretty nearly over
with him. His wind-up is in plain view
bigger on the horizon than Liverpool oil
| barge.
So far, the military courts-martal have
| gone very lightly upon military offenders.
| The courts martial have taken the compar-
! alive rawness of the regulation Violators
| into consideration. Now, military regula-
tons in time of war and in time of peace
| are very different indeed. War magntfes
! minor military ofenses "A good twenty
| fold. And yet, the volunteer soldiers who
! have thus far been brought before courts
martial have received much smaller sem
fences than regular army soldiers get for
similar offeuses in time of peace For ex-
| ample, down in ChiCkamauga a private
soldier slugged his first sergeant-"top'
sergeant army name. He got a summary
court martial ind thirty days In the guard
tent THIS. in time of war. If. a month
before war was declared, regular army
soldier had thrashed the first sergeant or
his outfit he would have got a general
court martial. and sentence of three
years IN military prison al the very least
Bat, then regular army soldiers are sup
posed to thoroughly understand the ineVi-
table aftermath of Righteousness So are
volunteer soldiers, for the matter of that
| but they are being given time to permit the
rule OF obedience to thoroughly soak into
| their minds, which Is quite right and prom
er. But, if this war Is protracted, the court
martial of the future will not be quite SO
lenient as they now are. II Will then he
"a bad time for buckers TO engage in buck
ing.
There are ways in both the army ard
raYy TO bring buckets to their senses ana
| the maiority of buckers eventually achieve
sense enough 10 appreciate what a hard
proposition they are up against in en-
| doavoriug TO bring the trainers of reguln-
tons TO an understanding OF their in
| capacity, and they subside into good
| soldiers. A few buckers, however, sick
il out to the end. There was such a
bucker soldering with an artillery bat
| terry stationed at Alcatraz Island. Cal. a
| few years ago. This man. however.