Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-01-26
MEN HANDLED PROPERLY
An Army Officer Gives the Secret of Content
on Troopehips.
Private Letter to a War DEPARTING emit
the Trip of the City of Pekin.

| A high official of the War Department
| has received a personal letter from an
army officer giving interesting details of
the last trip of the transport City of Pekin
| from San Francisco to Manila with the 38th
| Volunteer Infantry on board. He face
| tiously remarked that the only objection he
| found to the trip was the total lack of mail
facilities. He says that otherwise the
transport service all through is good. Ac-
cording to him, there is no room for Office
ton to the state rooms or the table. AL
though the City of Pekin is not so well ar
ranged as some of the regular transports
for the accommodation of troops. the en-
listed men on her on the trip in question
did not fare badly by any means
"On the contrary, he says, they Jared
well. They occupied the forward portion
of the upper and middle decks and the
whole of the lower deck. They might east
~ have become very miserable ana suffered
a great deal on the long voyage if they
had not been well handled" According to
the writer. the troops of the Pek:n were
handled admirably. and he says that if
here was anything left undone that could
have been done for them 1t escaped his no.
tice. He said that Col. Petit did not wet
nurse his regiment. neither officers iiof
men, but handled Them properly from the
start, so that now they understand him and
each other (as well as their duties) and
ne no longer mas any trouble to manage
them at all.
THE result of his close watchfulness and
good discipline, and also proper eff Hrts in
regard to the health of the men. is that
the regiment presents as good an appear
ance now as they did on the day they
boarded the ship in San Francisco, over
month ago.
inspections are made through the bunk
ing apartments and everywhere, and every
thing is required t. be kept absolutely
clean. Guards are stationed and no one is
allowed to spit on the deck or do anything
else that would tend to uncleanliness. The
men are brought alton the upper deck
every day and given an airing and exercise
consisting of marching round and the set
ing-up exercise, and whatever else may
seem to be necessary proper. In fact
the soldiers are looked after and handled
much in the same way they would be if
they were in the barracks for instructions
and training
The amount of school teaching and
training on board is surprising to me- You
see. l have not been Immediately with
troops before since the DAYS of the civil
war, and in those days they did not give
so much attention to general and special
instruction and training. Here the hos
pital corps are Iectured to BY the doctors
and required to take care Of men supposed
to be wounded and to bind up and give first
trea tment to imaginary wounds. etc The
officers school and teach classes of picked
enlisted men for Skirmish scout and ad-
vance guard duty Other enlisted men are
taught how to construct temporary bridges
across imaginary creeks. In fact every
thing is being done rs if We were in camp
of instruction, and the result is that every
body and everything are in good condition
Il think the success of this trip so far
as the comfort of the men IS concerned
confirms what has been heretofore contend
ed, namely, that it is largely matter of
having somebody in control who will make
the men take proper care of themselves and
their surroundings. 1t might pay to have
marine guard on board those transports
that carry discharged men and others who
are not under the command of officers other
than volunteer officers who are soon to he
mustered out with the men they are COM
handing on board"