Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1899-07-14
TRUCKING THE VOLUNTEERS.

After having succeeded by trickery
in inducing the volunteers to choose
San Francisco as the mastering out
place the administration now purposes
indulging in further trickery to satisfy
the demand of the friends of the
volunteers. The dispatches annouce
that the administration has agreed with
the Pennsylvania people who are like
to have them returned home in a body,
to coax the Pennsylvania. volunteers
into special train after they have
been mustered out and to pay them on
the train after it has started out of San
Francisco and thus to have the regi-
meut at least started home in q body.
Such a course would be q piece of petty
t1iekers = 4 by
tthe high spirit ted dssvolnnb bssrsl The ad.
lninistratioa treatment of the volun-
teers and their friends has been shame
ful all along. Members of the cabinet
ROW admit that it was the duty of the
government TO send the volunteer regi-
ments hecne on ratification of the treaty
ot peace, but various excuses were in
vented tor not doing so It was equal
ly the duty of tke government to
send the volunteer regiments all the
way home and not part way, but the
administration sent word to the boys
that if they insisted on coming to their
own states to be mNsteted out it would
cost them hundred apiece; in other
words, that they would be virtually
fined for insisting en- their rights. OF
course they chose to not come all the
way home in body. There was moth
ing else to do. That was plainly the
desire Of the administration. To do
otherwise would have been costly to
the boys and they might have been sub
jected to other annoyances. ..
There was no excuse for tricking the
volunteers into choosing not to come
home in body. If the administration
had desired to give the boys the larg-
est possible sum of money on muster
ing out it should have notified them
that Manila is the best place to be paid
off. 1t would have been just as proper
as to have fixed the camp at San Fran
cisco. The administration had no diff
ticulty arranging that volunteers who
would consent to remain in the service
should receive travel and ration pay
to the amount Of about $500 each. We
have pointed out before that if the
has discretionary power
sufficient to do that it has power to !
end the volunteers to their homes |
md muster them out in their own
tates and not fine them for refusing to
'e dispersed in San Francisco. In
tead of sending word by cable to the
'oys that it would be worth $1OO less
o each one to be mustered out at
ome the war department ought to
ave sent word that arrangements
7ould be made so that the regiments
1ight be mustered out at home with
at expense to the boys. The admins
:ation sought to have the muster out
l San Francisco professedly that the
oys might receive more money If it
SO generous with the peoples cash it
ould have provided for paying the
oys without subjecting them to the
umiliation Of being mustered out in a
stant city.
The Press is now and has been all
ong IN favor of bringing the South
akota volunteers home in body and
aving them mustered out in their
ome state. The war department has
ated that they will be given a chance
San Francisco to vote again wheath-