The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-10-25
REASONS Why THEY DESERT.
SOLDIERS ~ GARRISON 4 VERY
SENTIMENTAL lot.
Music May start an Epidemic II Deserting
Among Them--uDeadly Work Of
Either IN the Fhilippines-Love and
Grief Other Causes Of DeserttOns.

Nther In the eshilippines-LOve ana
Grief Other Causes Of DeserttOns.
An old sergeant of the Regular army
who fought the Sioux under Crook and
Custer. helped to chase the 'Pache Kid and
did his trick in the Philippines at the
beginning Of the row down there. recently
delivered himself Of some of his own obser-
| vations on the desertion question. He
has soldiered in more than fifty posts and
has known battalions of deserters.
-There are plenty Of reasons besides
those given by the boss soldiers in their
reports behind assertions from the army,
said the old sergeant Il am not speaking
| Of present conditions, but of assertions in
normal years
| -In the first place, assertions become
epidemic in certain posts, and when one Of
these deserving epidemcs sets in nothing
can stop it short Of switching the whole
outfit to another post. Some years ago
one Of these deserving epidemics began at
Fort Sheridan, near Chicago, and inside
Of less than three months nothing but the
skeleton Of the command was left. They
quit in squads and sets Of feurs. good mon
as we'll az roughs and no-accounts.
THAT epidemic was started by . layout
OF bad and unpopular officers. One domi-
neering or unjust officer in post can cause
more assertions than bad rations or cru
cifying fatigue duty. once knew little
runt of shavetail just out from West Point
to cause thirty-two men from one cavalry
troop. stationed in Arizona, to jump the
outfit within two months after he'd joined.
-The deserving epidemics are started
by causes that would seem mighty trivial
| to outsiders who do not know what an
emotional, not to say absolutely senti-
mental, lot soldiers in garrison are. The
minds of soldiers in garrison are easily
played and preyed upon, and when few
OF them happen to 60 up In the air at the
same time the thing becomes infectious.
like getting religion at campmeeting.
For example. there are always more de-
sertions from the army around the holiday
season than at any other time,
| There used to be a very widespread,
| but hopelesslv erroneous. idea anon &
American army officers that the presence
Of band in post contributed to the con-
tentnent Of the men and made the
wabblv ones less liable to desert, That
IDEAS been punctured, 1t Is we'll known
now that the military band, instead Of
keeping men from deserving. actually
causes many OF them to desert.
The music gets at the hearts Of the
impressonahle fellows and il tells a-plenty
of them that they are making hashes Of
their lives by sticking to the uniforms Of
the buck army private Next time you
| oln ;,,ct trh NO. ,bnt
expression on the faces OF the soldiers
listening to an evening band concert, and
you'll get a better understanding Of what
I mean.
Soldiers in barracks are, in fact queerly
affected by music, particularly music Of
the moving and tender sort. For instance,
we had a trig outfit of moderately con-
tented and fairly healthy men in the little
Lizon settlement in the Philippines where
we were quartered, until a fellow with
either joined the company.
III, was wind acknowledgements. that
is to say-from French Canada; and when
he transferred to our fit-out he brought
his either, a big concert-grand instru-
ment from Austria. along with him. The
| things that that French Canadian boy
could do 70 and on that big either were
certainly sinful, not to say devilish, and
even u9 o'A VI Wv anu
gagg'ng days had 10 elther DUCK out OF
! the sound Of the kids music or find our
selves gulpinp and coughing n lot.
"He'd spread the thing out on his bunl;
O. nights. between supper and tattoo. and
he'd no sooner make the first swipe at the
strings and work in the tremolo stun than
,he bovs md KNOCK on oassino and begin
w." ~. -;.', .a ,,sn,.h.,,,, -,
"a WIN ' ~,
once In While. WINE that either music
was going on. you'd see some Fellow. n
burly rufflan as IKE as not, sinking out.
| sos not TO make show OF himself before
the outfit
| Less than TWO weeks after that boy
| with IN" Nhher began lho~ hlghtly per-
| formances we had twelve mon IN the hos.
| pital, down with nothing el-c in the world
! but noetalgr', winch means homeslckness
! And If you've ever picked up the notion
that nostalgia, as ITS called. is merely a
| harmless and boobylsb disease, I'll men,
| ton that two OF those twelve men died of It
The boy with the either put II away then
| and never played on 1t again until we We're
| or our way home on the transport--and
then it didn't matter; the BOYS were com
| ing horne.
| Tile well educated men who drift into
! the American army cause desertiOns. Nine