The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-07-22
ANACONDA NEWS.
MUST CONSULT THE BOYS
Else All Plans for Receiving
Them May Go Wrong.
RETURN OF VOLUNTEERS
If They Are to Be Properly Received
Arrangements Must Be Made Be-
fore They Leave Manila for
San Francisco.

The proposition to bring the Montana
volunteers home from San Francisco
by special train is hanging fire. Eff
forts to secure advices from the rail-
roads, as to what rates would be made
for such a train. have proved without
result. In fact it seems impossible to
proceed further with the plans for
bringing home the volunteers until it
is known whether the Montana boys
want to be mustered out at San Fran
cisco or at home.
Judging by the experience with the
returned Oregon volunteers, the Mon
tana boys probably will want to be
mustered out at San Francisco, re-
ceiving their travel pay and allow
ances there. The organization will
then be broken up and it would be
hard to get even a majority of the
regiment together to come home by
any one route.
If, however. arrangements are made
beforehand it is believed the idea of a
special train for the Butte and Ana
conda TolunteerS-tiVe COmpanieS-will
work. That idea is for the citizens of
Butte and Anaconda to raise fund
with which special train may be
chartered. cll the muster out the HNe
companies may board the train and
come home, the guests of their home
cities. The difficulty is that some may
desire to lnger in San Francisco for
a time. If the arrangements are made
ahead of time and the volunteers fully
advised in the matter before they
leave Manila they will probably fall in
with the suggestion
Pennsylvania plan of having a pay
car attached to its special train, pay
ing off the Pennsylvania volunteers en-
route from San Francisco, it is be-
lieved, is doomed to failure as the
plans of the Oregon people for the en-
tertainment of their volunteers were
failures. The only practical arrange
ment is to have an understanding with
the Montana boys before they leave
the islands
Because of the slow rate at which
the volunteers are being returned it is
barely possible the Montana boys can
be reached before they start from the
islands. 1t remains to be seen whether
or not any public movement will be
made to take up the matter cOmmuni-
cate with the volunteers, ascertain
their wishes. ands7lnakes arrangements
accordingly.
The following from the San Francis
co Chronicle of Wednesday tells of the
troubles states are having in trying to
arrange for the return of their volun-
teers:
THE Southern Pacific it at loss how
to reply to states requesting rates on
special trains for the transportation
home of their volunteer regiments i'm
mediately after they are mustered out
in San Francisco No assurance has
been given by the government that a
pay car will be provided to accompany
each returning regiment and disburse
to the men en- route their allowance
for travel expenses tos their. respective
Many inquiries are being made of
General Passenger and Ticket Agent
Goodman concerning rates for these
expected special trains, but thus far
he has not learned that the volunteer
regiments can be actually preserved
intact after the men are mustered out.
There is no way of determining what
proportion of the volunteers of each
organization will be willing to go back
in a body to the states from which
they came The government cannot
compel man to be III transit home
ward in order to receive his travel pay
after he is mustered out.
1T Is known that many of the volun-
teers expressed a desire before they
left San Francisco last summer to re-
main on the Pacific coast when they
should be free to leave the service of
their country as soldiers. MinnesO-
tans, kansans TennesSeeans and Ne
hraskans We're heard to express such
sentiments during their stay at Camp
Merritt
Pennsylvania. in an attempt to pre-
vent the disarmament of its regiment
on this coast when San Francisco was
decided upon as the official place for
mastering out all the volunteers from
the Philippines. made preparations for
special train to convey the whole
regiment homo from here. 1t also re-
Ceived permission to have "A pay car
accompany the train and dishurse the
travel money to he appOrtiOned among
the men. Such have been Pennsyl-
vanias plans, pending the arrival of
the Pennsylvania volunteers. 1t may
he remembered that Oregon made
plans to have her volunteers landed at
Portland and that the men unani-
mously objected to the arrangement
Immediately upon their arrival in San
Francisco bay. If the volunteers from
states east of the Rocky mountains de-
eide to stay on the coast, they cannot
he compelled to journey eastward nor
can their travel pay he withheld IL
they insist upon having it given to
them here. where they are mustered
out"
Clothes baskets and was htuhs at ac-
tual cost. r. Devine Tel. No. 7.