The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1899-08-25
VOLUNTEERS THINK,
AND THE ADMINISTRATION is
'SHAklNG" THEM.
The unholy War for Enslav4.g a People,
Tina OF Right Ought. to BE Free. Can
wv 'Nptlbe! THustSl to Intelligent Soldiers
Hired Men in Demand,

- .r.
When the great American nation
SAD that Spanish oppression should
stop IN Cuba and declared war to en-
lorce It's demands the hands Of the
president were upheld by a united
tpeople' Volunteers pressed forward
- ny thousands from every state. Most
~ 'nose volunteers were from the best
u'ooo OF the nation. The North and
1ne South We'd with each other in
'eholhs 1helr best and bravest, sons to
ms hqiy war for humanity. After
.he war for freedom was over the pres
luent lnaugurated a new war for the
purpose CT enslavilg a free people.
: ne did not call on the states for vol
uhleers IN he war of conquest. He
oldnt like the volunteers very much.
1hey could 1hinkIas well as fight. He
asked for an increase Of the regular
army and he is now filling up it's
ranks. A New York paper tells the
Z klnd5 Of men heris getting. Just lis
: ten:k During the recruiting last
week at New York, one of the news
paper reporters went through the
crowd at the Third. avenue office. The
men who came he says, impressed
! the foutslder. as a needy lot who had
tried everything to carr a living be-
fore they came to the shelter of hi
army. They ranged in age from the
minimum to the maximum allowed by
ne army, regulations and walked about
Z as; II they .haduat last found a refuge
from the uncertainty of New York
, work Those who were accepted gave
evidence Of feeling great relief. There
was no more need of rare and anxiety
the morrow. The government
would feed and clothe them and take
care of them when sick, and the work
provided would offer at least a diver
sion from the ordinary and promised
some little adventure. GYes, as one
man put it the army was a refuge for
the poor devil who had Jared badly
In the civil battle of life"
And here is what the Chicago
Tribune, a lifelong Republican paper,
says of the enlistments;, The men
who are crowding the Chicago recruit
ing office number but few real patriots
among their ranks. In general, these
men, army officers say, are not enlist
Ing because their country needs them,
nor because the flag is being fired upon
nor because the army calls them. The
extra effort to recruit men has merely
increased the production of the or
binary output of peace times and
uraWn IN the lovers of adventure who
are out of employment, with an oc-
%caslonnal drop of aggressive patriotism
lntermlngled....T majority of them
are out ofEwork and realize that it will
not be long before winter sets in"
These men are only facing pestilence
to escape starvation. Compare them
with Funston's gallant fighters or
St~otsenburg's heroic men. But then bv
careful training they may make pretty
good Killing machines, and as most of
chem have no friends to inquire into
their treatment or mourn their death.
they will not give the administration
nearly as much trouble as did the intel
ilgent volunteers now seeking their
MONIES. They have no great states be-
hind them with millions of earnest and
loving men ~ women to demand for
2 them justice and fair treatment, Yes.
Mr. president, you may not get as good
soldiers, but you. will reduce criticism
to a minimum. Besides that, you are
also redeeming your promise to fur
nlsh employment to idle men; employ
ment in killing and being killed, and
III the, war lasts long enough You NAV
be able to furnish work for every man
tina wants if. 49, ~.