Morris tribune., 1900-07-14
A QUESTION
OF METHOD
Young Bowen's Contempt
For Army Red Tape.

0.Uo.o.o.No.~-o.o.o.s.oo .~O.eo%O.o.ooOs.o
Young Clancy Bowen brought to
New York from his western home a
life equipment Of so much energy, COM
bined with the unshakable belief that
it was easy enough to "do things" if
you only ''got down on your four legs
and exercised" that his friends, both
new and old, expect a great deal Of
him. But they are yet awhile no near
er dropping the Objectionable introduce
ton to his name than they were three
years ago, when Bowen had no better
sense than to spend a week of his pre-
cious time in the attempt, according to
promise, to collect an old and out
lawed debt from a vanishing person in
the east for the benefit of some one sat
home" Then and always they called
him young" Only this winter he had
an experience which should have been
formative. 1t stunned him, perhaps,
but he awoke unchanged.
Bowen's brother, a soldier in the reg
ular army, went to the front in 1898.
The stay at home, however, bore
heavier burden of the distresses of the
campaign in Cuba than the one who
saw the battles. When he read in the
newspapers that the army was keenly
suffering for food while whole shipful
of stores remained untapped at anchor
a few miles off the beach, the younP
man seethed with pent up irritation
pent up until he had finished scrap of
breakfast at his boarding house, where
there was no one but the landlady, and
she deaf, and found the ear of an ac-
quaintance down town.
"Say, what good are those generals?
They amt fit to be pitching hay! Say.
I'd get rope on to every one Of those
ships, one by one, and haul 'em up on
shore, and I'd dump 'em out and fill up
the brave fellows fighting for their
country till they was gorged!'
"You couldn't do that, or anything,
not if you was general" said the
other. "Red tape" He repeated the
last words decisively. "Red taper
"I'd ravel it all outv cried Clancy
this is the simple experiences:
The brother came back from the war
not bit the worse either for the fast
ing or the fighting, but the chance of
army life did not bring him within
reach of Clancy's arms for more than
a year. Then, after everything else
had been said, the soldier let fall the
information that he had been obliged
to leave his extra clothing, together
with most of his worldly goods. at the
barracks in California when he was or
dered to the front and regretfully wish
ed he had them now.
''Where did you put the thingsT
asked Clancy, alive at once, ready to
take charge of the matter of getting
them back.
Captain told me to pack my stuff in
my company locker, and l did-No. IS,
Benicia barracks, Second infantry
ratified off the soldier.
well, all we have to do is to write
out to the man, the janitor. or what
you call 'em, who keeps care Of the
building, and ask him to send your
buds along eh, as you have need of
'em here. Eli fix it up for you"
II dunno" said the other hesitating-
"; 'that wouldn't be quite right. you
writing the letter and all. I'd bette
ask my captain to write. He'll say
to the chaps out west.
Then it'll all be regular"
ooh, WELL" Clancy shifted; that will
do, s'pose. Is your captain good
Teller? Will he tend up to it sharp?
If not. you'd better let me-
But the other interrupted decidedly.
He would do things in the right way,
and it would be better in the end, he
said.
Several months passed. Nothing was
heard from Benicia barracks. Clancy
tried to make his brother punch up"
the captain. He even wrote feyered
appeal himself to the man who, he
reckoned, must have taken away those
things and sold them, but the soldier
would not let the letter be mailed. The
brothers nearly split up over this ques-
ton, for Clancy said he was ashamed
that one Of his family should have so
little "hustle" in him.
81 tell you it's no use to Go anything
but wait" said the brother in his stu |
pid, firm way. And last week he was
proved right, A red linked, blue mixed, |