The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1898-04-13

lnhble reputation al the Cannon s
.,ou,b- to look into the life and duty
onc Of Uncle Sans priyates before
.o;ns 80 far that they cannot turn
l,ck said a gentleman at the Char
,es,ou Hotel to a reporter for the
Nuu, und Courier yesterday. "Let
Them consider, 20 begin with, the life
IA recruit until he becomes a thor
on,hly drilled mai ready to take his
lace in the ranks of the regiment and
ia his turn at guard duty. Things
,-o not as they used to be in the army,
and reforms have been introduced that
i,rra,ly improve the condition Of the
,-iya,, soldier, but he must not be
',cuared to find a life Of never ending
s[;olljty and merry-making with an &C.
l~,.sjonal interval of fighting just to
believe the m%onotony of existence.
...AsI have said, there have been
tome changes made in recent years.
a uder the old regulations any man
u bo could pass an insurance examiua-
lion could get into the army. All the
4ecrlitipr officers wanted was bone
Anl muscle. and as a rule it was about
An he ever got. The result was that
AN self respecting people regarded a
common soldier with suspicion, and
more than half suspected that he had
Unlisted under an assumed name, and
4 cloud like poor Joe Willet's ragged
Rmrades. when he ran away from the
Aaypole Inn, and fell into the hands
n the seductive sergeant. Then he
hight have been unable either to read
i write or to speak a word of English.
many cases he had not been twenty
Dur hours on American soil, and was
I'LL begrined with the filth of the
Acerage in which he had come over to
blow a flag that he had never seen
efore. 1t was only in the lower quar-
rs of the cities that recruiting Off
rs could be found, and it was only
hong the lower classes of the popu-
tion that re ,ruits could be obtained.
pc average self-respecting citizen
As9eferred thc!penitentiary. It is i'm
ss#Sassiblc to describe the class of men
Do came to enlist then. Of course,
ere we're some good fellows among
lem, but there were also criminals of
ery description "a disgrace alike to
e country that employed them and
&c flag that they followed.
But, as / say, things are much i'm
aEbved now, and the result is a decided
ssnnge in the personnel of the rank
ed file. z man to enter the army
y must not only be a citizen of the
5ited States and be able to read and
Hte, but he must produce recommen-
Rions from creditable persons, set
Il forth that he is of good character,
orally and otherwise. The result is
SsAt only the best men arr taken,
pic five out OF every six who apply
the recruiting stations are turned
Fn.
But even this change, important
is in elevating the character of
army and making it fit for a decent
ing fellow, who wants TO earn an
@@est living, to enter, has not thrown
|43n the bars and bridged over the
|7B9 that yawns between 9 private sol
and his officer, and that IL some
g that | had as we'll speak of, as it
thing that so many Of those who
now about to enter the army may
1t to their. advantage to know.
you have no idea how much ignor-
8 there is UPON this point and how
II the recruit finds himself brought
double quick against a granite
of tradition, of whose existence
}ad never dreamt.
8sR' hen you hear Of a social gulf
here in the SSouata.you begin.
rally to compare it with shat That
!, between the Southern white man
his former slave, and when you
: gotten that fixed firmly in your
ia 'hation you think you have about
$Ped the situation. But you have
The old ante-bellum darby could
to his master often on friendly
and was something Of an hum
companion. But mol so with the
ION soldier. He can speak to his
only on official business. OF
this is something that can I be
away with. The leastfamiliarity
Auallty would, be death to discip-
and it's a very stupid youngsfel-
{ho fails to recognize the neces-
Or it. and to see the ,propriety Of
3nan with the shoulder straps
#8Png him no further recognition