Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-10-17
URGES GREATER PAY
Gen. Funston Thinks It Too
Small for Enlisted Men.
EFFECT OF INCREASE
RECOMMENDATION REGARDING
VARIETY IN THE RATION.
Protests Against Certain Features Of
the Officers Uniform-Observa-
lions in Alaska.

Gen. Frederick Funston, n his report
| upon the department of the Columbia, gives
general review of conditions existing in
| the department which includes the Pacific
northwest and Alaska.
General Funston expresses his views
, frankly a number of military quest ons
He says that the most serious questions af-
fecting the efficiency of the army today are
those relating to the personnel of the en-
listed force. Recruits are obtained with
difficulty, and most of them are of an I'M
satisfactory character Very few men re-
enlist after their terms of service, while the
| number of desertions and of dishonorable
discharges is phenomenal To get and keep
a good class of men, he says, there must be
a radical increase in the pay of the rank
and file.
THE government" says General Funston,
cannot get something for nothing any
more than railroad company or manu-
featuring concern can When there is con-
Sidered the amount of work they are re-
CURED to do, and the degree of intelligence
necessary for the proper performance of
their duties, the pay of the enlisted men of
| the army is ridiculously small. The won
der is, not that so few men enlist, and that
SO small percentage of them re-enist after
three years, but that we obtain and Keep SO
many really good men as we do. Since the
present rates of pay for the army were
unskilled labor have made great advances,
having in some occupations doubled. If the
pay of a private on his first enlistment were
made to approach that of a farm laborer l
am of the opinion that there would be
sufficient number of enliStmentS of a very
superior class. young men from the farm,
who are usually of good physique and have
common school education. and are not so
much addicted to Incorporate habits as
men recruited in the cities. If there were
proportionate Increases of pay for length of
service, and much higher rate of pay for
non-commiSSioned officers, many of these
men would remain IN the service Consd-
erng present rates of wages it is believed
that the pay should be increased on the fol-
lowing basis. Privates on first enlistment
SIS; corporals. $50; sergeants. $40, and first
SergeantS. SEQ per month, with increases for
length of service. If men are not worth
these rates of pay, they are not worth any
thing.
To Improve the Ration.
The present ration is wholesome and
sufficient in quantity but somewhat monot-
onous. Since the prohibition of the sale of
beer in the post exchange the company,
troop and battery funds have fallen very
low and have been kept up by the men con-
tributing from their pay in order to help
out the ration by the purchase of articles
not issued. as milk, eggs, fruit &c. This
is evidently unjust, and is source of dis
content
To meet this situation he suggests an al
lowance of 81 per month for each man from
public money. He recommends that there
be special ration for inmates of the guard
house, on the ground that the present ra-
tons are too good for such men He also
recommends that the reward for capturing
and delivering deSerterS be increased to
800. In his opinion, the present clothing
allowance should be abolished and clothing
issued to men whenever their immediate
commander deems it necessary. He also
favors giving a cheap civilian suit to a man
dishonorably discharged, and recommends
that persons outside of the regular army
and militia be prohibited from wearing the
army uniform and insignia anything
that can readily be mistaken for them.
Criticises Officers Uniform.
He makes vigorous protest against GER
tain features of the officers uniform, and
says it is difficult to sit down in comfort
when one'is wearing the trouser straps, and
that the spurs unmitigated nuisance.
He favors the abolition of the chapeau and
epaulets for general officers, saying that
the former is hdeous and the latter heavy
and gaudy. To his mind the blue facings
of the infantry are failure, as they fade
and discolor readily.
1t is recommended that a large tract of
ground at American Lake, near Takoma,
be acquired for maneuver purposes and as
a site for the concentration of troops in
time of 1t is believed. he says, that
the land could be obtained for $}00 900.
4ecSo al 1uS alaska.
General Funston made personal tour of
Alaska during the summer and makes sew
eral recommendations regarding the posts
and troops stationed there.
He suggests that a different station be
found for the troops at Valdez because a
mountain 1000 feet high lies just south of
the xpost and shuts Off the sun for a great
portion of the day and sunlight is an inn
portant thing in Alaska. AT Fort Egbert,
which is near the arctic circle he found
that the officers had a garden in which
they raised their own vegetables. At four
of the posts on the military telegraph line
the entire available force is needed TO main
tain the line. He recommends that Fort
Davis, near Nome, be abandoned and says
that military authority is not needed, as the
people of the community, numbering about
10000, are not turbulent and most of them
| in case of necessity could be called upon to
support the federal civil authorities.
There are no natives in Alaska" says
General Funston, who require observation
by troops The relations between natives
and white men are everywhere friendly, and
there is no reason why they should not re-
main so. The natives, both Indians and
| Esquimos, are quite docile and not much
addicted to crimes of violence. Such as they
90 commit are adequately dealt with by the
civil authorities. The fact that there are
no tribal organizations and powerful
| chiefs would make extensive uprisings quite
| impossible even If there were a motive,
which there is not"