The San Francisco call., 1899-09-27
DISCHARGED MEN
AS THE GUESTS
OF GOVERN MEN 7
T hey Will Be Paid at
Once.

The men who came home from Manila
are out at the Presidio, or at least there
are a good many Of them, and they form
one of the queerest camps that the war
has yet established. They are men dis
charged but still under the wing of the
Government they are not subject TO mil
itary discipline, but they are under the
orders of the officers in charge of the re-
cruits, and although they have been dis
charged they must conform to the regula-
tions of the post and to the orders of the
officers over them. 1t is a camp which
the men may live in or leave, as they
choose-a sort of hotel kept by the Gov
ernment, with the discharged men as its
guests.
Not all the men who came in on the
Para are taking advantage of the Gov
ernment's hospitality, however. There are
not more than 400 men there now, but
there will be more before the paymasters
have finished their work. A great many
of the men went at once TO their homes
here in the city, and others, who had
some money. sought freedom at once and
did not even join the parade that passed
up the street or the crowd that made its
way to the ferry building and breakfasted
with the committee of reception and WEI
come.
The men came ashore about o'clock,
and the breakfast was not over until after
9. During the meal Mayor Phelan spoke
to the men, the burden of his remarks
being the expression of the hope that they
would make as good citizens, now that
they had been mustered out, as they were
soldiers while in service.
The breakfast being over, the officers
who had come down from the recruit
camp at the Preside to take charge or
the men formed those who showed will
ingness to parade into line and marched
them up Market street. There was no
band with the column; two had been
promised and neither had come, 50 the
men marched in silence except for the
cheer that now and then would break out
from the people on the sidewalk.
No time was lost by the department in
starting the payment of the men. Four
paymasters were al the Preside yeSter-
day afternoon and they commenced work
at once. A pay office was established IN
one of the old wooden barracks and the
men were lined up to turn in their papers
The paymasters are Major George W.
Fishback, Major NJ. B. Curry, Major 5
Howell and Major g. 4. Pickett. Each
paymaster has an office, and each one
uses a certain colored pencil in making
out cards OF identification Tor the men
whose papers he receives. Inc papers
of thirty men were received by eacn, pay
master, and these VIII be inquired up Deiore
this afternoon at o clock, ana theh lhe
day VIII be paid. This morning, however,
a different system will probably De put IN
operation. Yesterday the papers 4L Only onIy
thirty men were accepted by each pay
master because thirty mems pay is ABOUT
all a paymaster can ngure IN Gay, par
ticularly when the accounts are SO com
plicated as some that the men on the
Para bring home. But to-day the papers
of as many as wish Will be accepted anu
these will be figured in order, each man
being told to return for his money at the
time the paymasters expect 10 nave MS
account figured. Ihe men all nave thelr
papers with them, ana they nave an petIl
warned not TO lose their descriptive lsts
or they cannot be paid. The descripuVe
list is a financial statement OF the Hau
whose name ii bears besides his military
history 1t is a transcript OF the recorQS
of his captain in regard 10 himself, anu
Ii is the only thing the paymasters nave
to go on. If any soldier loses hlS descrip-
tive list he cannot be PAID untl ne mas
secured a duplicate from his captain,
wherever his captain is.
The paymasters will be on duty all day
at the Preside for several days. There
are 924 men to be paid off, and they eX-
Each paymaster has been allowed $40 ,g0o
but as the men will each draw from S2OO
to $400 there will have to be more money
forthcoming before the work Is flnlshed
The Montana regiment expects 10 be
mustered out on October II. The papers
of the regiment are in excellent shape,
and II will probably not take that time;
but to avoid the consequences OF any de
lays the date viii probably be fixed at
the nth.
There will be two promotions in the reg
iment. one a battalion adjutant and the
other a captain, there being vacancy in
Company H. The appointments are now
being considered by the Governor OF Mon
tana, and will be announced In lew
days.
Regiment will get away from the deten-
tion camp ON Angel Island for a week
or ten DAYS yet. There has been a great
deal of sickness in the command ana 1t
no To Manila before
it is considered that the regiment IS be-
yCnd the possibility of further danger.
camp at Fort Thomas where the regi,,
rnent rendezVoused after being recruited
in Kentucky and the adjoining States.
board of officers, consisting of Colonel
Charles I r. Greenleaf, assistant surgeon
general; Colonel William II. Forwood as
sistant surgeon general; Major p. L: Har-
beck judge advocate, and Captain Sedg-
wick Pratt, Third Artillery has been ap-
pointed to examine into the, fitness Of
| Captain Charles NJ. Wing of the Fortieth
| Infantry for the performance of his du-
! ties The board will meet to-day:
Major II. o; Perley, surgeon, .. s: A.,
on on the transport Rio de Janeiro instead
| Of upon the Relief, as was the original
order. He is directed TO join the Relief
Miss Jane NJ Stoker nurse. has been
relieved from duty at the general hos
pital at the Preside and has been or
uerpd TO report 10 captain imam IL
Wilson, assistant surgeon at Angel ISL
and for duty as detist at the school of
instruction for the hospital corps at that
station ~
huley. who was to have sailed for Ma
Mia on the transport Grant. has been or
dered to report again at the general hos
pftaI at the Preside for duty.
A board of officers consisting 70 Of ! Lieu
tilIery; Captain Edward Davis, quarter
master Third ARTILLERY, ana nd, Captain ain
been ordered TO meet at Alcatraz Island
next Saturday to examine into the quail
flcations of Sergeant Alexander Newman
of Battery n Third Artillery and such
other sergeants at that post who may be
desfrous Of the position of post quarter
master sergeant.
Second Lieutenant Dupont B. Lyon of
the Sixteenth Infantry. First Lieutenant
Amos H. Martin Of the Nineteenth Infan-
try and Second Lieutenant George Curry
Of the Eleventh Cavalry have been order
ed to report for duty with the recruits at
the Preside pending their assignment to
duty in Manila.
GoI DIEP,G FIN r n AT