Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-03-10
4E GOT HIS DISCHARGE

The flood Of applications and appeals for
discharges from the service with which the
War Department is being flooded by young
volunteer soldiers who "took on" for the
fun they fancied they'd probably have
In Philippine campaigning, and who have
found out that tropical soldering is not
anything Hike a picnic, has been Temporal
rtly abated by recent general order to the
effect that enlisted men and the friends
thereof are asking for too many favors at
the hands Of the military authorities and
that no more discharges will be granted en-
listed men whose terms of service have not
expired unless reasons Of extreme urgency
are presented. Once In an enlisted mans
uniform In any branch of the service, land
or sea, 1t Is q pretty hard matter to get
out OF 1t until the term Of the enlistment is
up.
In time Of peace soldiers of the regular
army may purchase their discharges, but
the permission to purchase discharge is
only accorded to men whose conduct has
been good up to the time they apply for
their release by purchase Most young fell
loWs whose people attempt to get them out
OF the service by purchase fail to fill this
previous good conduct requirement and
the result Is that purchased discharges are
really very few and far between. Numbers
OF men contrive to maFnger their way out
OF the service although military surgeons
are pretty wise In spotting maIingerers, and
some OF the more crafty of the enlisted men
nave even been known to feign insanity.
ana to make it stick, too. in order to shed
.Leir uinrofms. Still other men manage to
get out by frequently committing them
seiVes-subJecting themselves to summary
courtS-martial for minor offeDses A man
VINO frequently has to be hauled up for
summary court-martial Is deemed worth
less IN the army, and he gets dishonor-
able discharge on general principles The
danger OF this plan is that a six-months'
term in the guardhouse at hard labor is
frequently melted out To
their dishonrable discharges, who set about
TO make themselves too no-account for
military service.
The extreme difficulty encountered NV NJ,
enhsted man in the Marine Corps, who
wants to get out of the service without de-
Serting before his enlistment is I'D, is well
must have pretty influential friends with
washington connections in order to do this.
put there are exceptions. Here is the story
OF one OF the exceptions:
he was an accomplished young chan
from New Orleans, He came to Washing
ton a number of years ago to take an ex-
animation for surgeon in the regular army
put ne got on a spree shortly after his
ARRIVAL mere, and when he came to the ex-
amlnations were all concluded, and he was
IN that condition of financial collapse
known as fiat broke. So he enlisted in the
Marine Corps at the Washington harra cks
or the sea-soldier' outfit. He enlisted I'M
DER the name of Dunbar, name which he
subsequently changed to his right one He
belonged to prominent New Orleans fam
lily. The young man had graduated with
nigh honors in medicine after taking his
A. b. at the University of Virginia and
ne was an all-around finished proposition
his idea in enlisting in the Marine Corps
was that ne might have chance to get
an apothecary's billet in the navy. Now
a naval apothecary was at that time a
chief petty officer in the navy proper, and
naval apothecaries are not created out of
They are shipped as apothe-
hot
soever with the Marine Corps. The young
Louisianian didn't know this, however
and SO he took on as a buck private in
the marines. He had hardly drawn his
first government straight uniform as a
sea-sold1er before he found out that as a
marine he had no show in life ever to be-
come an apothecary-that he was dished
to do marines guard duty for the balance
of his enlistment, with small chance of
promotion even as a marine for men have
to serve pretty sizable while in the
marines before they get the stripes and
chevrons.
The outlook seemed pretty gloomy to
the young man from New Orleans. but
he didn't lose his nerve. He ca'mly de-
cided in his own mind that he'd become a
naval apothecary anyhow without desert
ing, marine or no marine. He did some
with some friends in New
York, and he found out that ship at that
cruise, needed apothecary. So he sat
down and wrote to the surgeon of that
ship, applying for the billet inclosng Gre
dentials as to his ability but without stat
ing that he was already enlisted in the
Marine Corps. If he had done that, the
surgeon, appreciating the difficulty of get
ting an enlisted man out of the Marine |
Corps. wouldn't have paid any attention |
to his application. AS it was, however,
the surgeon answered the young LouiSan- |
ian's application promptly, informing him |
that he'd probably do if he could pass the |
phyical examination, and suggesting that |
he run over to the Brooklyn navy yard |
to be looked at and sized up. Running |
over to the Brooklyn navy yard sounded |
all right, but marines can't run anywhere |
without orders.
"WeIl, guess I'll just nail that apothe-
anyhow" said the young man to |
himself and rigging himself up in his best |
he called upon a marine officer |
who had taken a sort Of interest in him, |
and told him the case-hoW he had a |
chance to slip into the chief petty officers |
uniform of an aDothecary, how of course, |
ne d have to have his discharge as ma |
rine in order to try for the billet, and SO |
"Out of the question: said the marine \
officer. You can't get your discharge
The young man took the matter higher |
in the Marine Corps, but it wouldn't do. |
He was sat down upon, and regarded as |
4 pretty nervy chap to ask for his discharge |
from outfit in which he had only served |
for a few weeks.
"All right" unused the young man, now |
I'll go to the boss of the whole works, and |
see what he says
So he got himself up spick-a nd-span |
again, asked for an afternoons leave and |
walked down to the Navy Department-he |
had to walk, because he hadn't drawn any |
pay yet He was pretty tine-looking ma
rine but fine-looking marines don't cut |
much of a figure in the corridors of the |
Navy Department. Even the colored mes |
sengers at the doors grinned at him, and |
when he calmly announced that he wanted |
to have little heart-to-heart talk with |
Mr.. Whitney who happened then to be |
the Secretary of the Navy, he came near |
being shunted out of the building-the mes |
sengers figured that he was drunk and dam |
gerous. However. he finally ran the gaunt- |
let of all the messengers and all the prt- |
waite secretaries. stenographers and door
blockers who barred his way, and found 1
himself in the presence of Secretary of the |
Navy Whitney. The latter looked up at |
him curiously. 1t is not often that Sec |
rotary of the Navy is addressed by buck |
private in the Marine Corps. |
The young man in the marines uniform |
saluted the Secretary, and sat down when |
he was courteously invited to do so. Then |
he up and told Mr.. Whitney his little story. |
He had sort of buncoed himself into the |
Marine Corps, he said, and he had a
chance to do better for himself He was |
tla hot hn