Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-04-23

\ nft0x- II o SiiHSHtS are
ready to return from
the field there will
probably be a gem
etai reassignment of troops. especially
In the cavalry and infantry branches and
inc men whose nightly music for the East
lie" years has been the wall Of the desert
"lnd ana the moan OF the mournful COYOTE
VIII stand more than an even chance Of
| catching softer soldering.
| rev private citizens possess knowledg.
| SO exact and appreciative of the points
| OF dinerence between New York and Ari-
| iona, California and Idaho, the Distrte,
| Oh Columbia and Wyoming, as seasoned
| soldiers of the United States army, and
| especially the men with the shoulder straps
| Acquired chiefly through experience by the
| older officers in the service and through
| hearsay by the young fellows fresh from
! west Point this tremendous fund of in
| formation as to the relative advantages
| OF existence in all parts of the country
| Is OF no merely superficial character ba sed
| upon such negative and unconvincng de-
| talls as climatic conditions and natural
surroundings, but is founded upon the suf-
| ferlngs in exile and zest in eventful re-
| call OF army officers. The private citizen
and the army officer may differ in minor
details OF their respective view points as
| TO the manufacturers of certain sections
| OF the United States but upon essential
matters their Judgment will generally be
found to fiverse very slightly. 1t is moi
likely, for example, that an insurance
agent with Washington Headquarters would
hail with any great degree of delight an
order from the president of his comnanv
transferring him to some spot on the Mo-
JilNe desert or the sage-brush plains of
western Nebraska. The whole career of
| an army officer is made up of such heart
rending shifts, which, officially tney must
| ana do endure a mi ,eI,- Io,,.
many a moan they make at mess.
In the Artillery.
The artillerymen. especially those assign
cd to the heavy or stationary batteries,
have the best of their brothers in the other
arms in the matter of choice assignments
The soldering of the officer in the heavy
artillery branch of the United States serv-
Ice Is In truth of the supremest kid-gloved
order, and the wonder is not great thar
the lads at West Point struggle so hard
!or honols In order 10 gain the chance
10 enter IL. The majority of the heavy
artillery posts are situated in or near the
large cities on both coasts and the isola-
ton OF frontier soldering, which is the
common lot of the majority of the infan-
trymen and cavalrymen, forms scarcely
any part of the existence of the officers
whose cape Innings are rcd.
Among artillery officers there is a fairly
even division of opinion as to the respec-
| tive merits of New York harbor. Fort
Monroe In Virginia and the Preside of San
FRANCISCO for their line Of soldering, the
posts named being always first choice the
heaVy artillery post i'm Washington coming
next The artillerymen devoted TO the
ciialn or posts in the vicinity of New York
are generally men with money aside from
.heir pay and club tastes equal to the
TASK Of cisposng of II. AS regiment of
artillery is usually kept within one mill
tary department for from eight to ten
years, and occasionally even longer, the
/ ha1 20
enc of the New York harbor posts becomes
pretty intimately acquainted with his own
especial chair ana his own particular 4, bile
At his club He is exceedingly ant to Do
Felop INTO first-nighter at the theaters
ana not infrequently becomes one of the
danoIng men at the coti!lions He is ann
TO become SO completely in touch with the
sights and sounds of New York after a
de- ade of existence within a few miles ~
IL that the universe ordinarily seems blank
enough 10 him when the bombshell is ex-
pioueu AT the mess table that his regiment
Eas received orders to move or that he
hnlseif Is TO be transferred TO another
resiment Thu only thing likely TO mIti
ss.te the oisnay OF an artileryman thus
cruelty wrenched from his favorite New
YORK Is an order to proceed either TO Fort
Monroe, the Preside of San Francisco or
To washington barracks.
At Fort Monroe.
The JOY of the army officers lot at Fort
Monroe is pretty we'll known to the thous
ands of people who make point of spend-
ing a week or so at Old Point during the
ln-between season. Perhaps in no single
military post in the country is the army
olncer with the red stripes on his trousers
more IN evidence than at Fort Monroe Old
POINT Comfort is the oongregating place i'm
winter for wealthy southern people who
nave spent the summer, a part of II. at
the virginia springs, and during the balm
Ter months the walks around the ba,a
been impregnable ramparts pierced for
out-of-date fifteen-inch smooth-bores and
Misunderstanding converted eight-inch r,saS
are thronged every day with prettv oiri.
from the southland.
There is not much 'in bar. heaven dr,u
gong ON within the confines Of the ram
parts or Fort Monroe during this season
put there Is truly wonderful amount Of |
dancing and merry making from high noon
TO gray dawn. The young civilian no mai
yer now great his distinction or ample |
ms purse, has never yet been seen who has
attained unusual popularity among the
girls who fit through the Fort Monroe
season for the attractiveness Of q com
blnalion of red and gilt. when IL serves
FOR the ornamcntation of a strappinR vouth
with a swagger and military title. is a |
matter or common observ alton The youup
ertillerymen fortunate enough to catch a |
period or service of sFort Monroe-and |
nowadays, most of them do sooner or
later, for the artillery school is located |
there-are not fnfrequently fortunate in |
marrying wealthy and otherwise we'll |
minor reasons why artillerymen consider |
Fort Monroe an exceedingly desirable post
And then Norfolk, n town neither dead
nor sleeping in a social sense, lies only a |
few miles across Hampton Roads: Balti-
more is only a few hours ride up Chesa-
peake bay, and, more than all, the night |
boat from Fort Monroe lands the artillery |
officer on leave in Washington at sunrise. |
Last, but not least, the New York hungry /
artfllerymen may get a few days leave and /
journey from Fort Monroe to Manhattan |
Island In a bagatelle of ten hours |
DELIGHTS of the Presidio.
The Preside of San Francisco is another l
oasis for artillerymen. Besides being the /
most beautiful military post in the United |
States, bar none, It is departmental and |
reeimental headquarters. and the army Of /
flcer - as big factor in San Francisco an
the naval officer is in the summer society
of Newport and Bar Harbor. The Preside
is an artillery and cavalry post combined 4
but the artillery predominates. and the /
colonel Of the artillery regiment is always /
in command. The harbor OF San Francisco
Is thickly clustered with military posts. and
tho city offers a field for social exploitation
such as is found. perhaps, in no other