The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1904-11-16
WHY SOLDIERS DESERT.
UNITED STATES REGULARS IN
GARRISON A SENTIMENTAL LOT.


Music May start an Epidemic OF De-
sertins Among Them-Deadly
Work Of a Either In the Philippines
Love and Grief Other Causes Of
pesertions.
An old sergeant OF the regular ar
my now stationed at New York
harbor post, 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 de-
livered himself of some OF his own
observations ON the desertion question.
He has soldiered in more than 80 posts
and has known battalions Of deserters.
There are plenty of reasons he
sides those given by the boss soldiers
in their reports behind desertions
from the army" said the old sergeant.
Il am not speaking of present condi-
tions, but of desertions in normal
years.
In the first place, desertions be-
come epidemic in certain posts. and
when one of these deserving epidemics
sets in nothing can stop 1t short of
switching the whole outfit to another
pest 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 fonrs,
good men as well as roughs and no.ac-
counts.
THAT epidemic was started by lay
out of bad and unpopular officers.
One domineerlng or unjust officer in
post can cause more desertions than
bat rations or crucifying fatigue duty.
once knew little runt of shave
tail just out from West Point to cause
S2 men from one cavalry troop, sta
toned in Arizona. to jump the outfit
two months after he'd Joined.
The deserting epidemics are start
ed by causes that would seem mighty
trivial to outsiders who do not know
what an emotional, not to say alb
solutely sentimental, lot soldiers in
garrisons are. The minds of soldiers
In garrison are easily played and prey
ed upon, and when few of them hap
pen to so up in the air at the same
time the thing becomes infectious,
like getting religion at a campmeet-
ing. For example, there are always
more desertions from the army around
the holiday season than at any other
time.
There used to be a very wide
spread but hopelessly erroneous, idea
among American army officers that
the presence of band in a post con-
tributed TO the contentment of the
men and made the wabbly ones less
liable to desert. That ideas been
punctured. 1t is well known now that
the military band, instead of keep
ing men from deserting, actually caus.
es many of them to desert.
"The music gets at the hearts of'the
mpressionable fellows and 1t 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 get a chance just watch
the what's-the-use expression on the
faces of the soldiers listening to an
evening band concert, and you'll get
better understanding of what mean
Soldiers in barracks are, in fact
queerly affected by music, particularly
music of the moving and tender sort
For instance, we had trig outfit of
moderately contented and fairly
healthy men in the little Luzon set
tlement in the Philippines where we
were quartered, until fellow with a
either Joined the company.
He was windjammer-trumpeter,
that is to say-from French Canada;
and when he transferred to our At
out he brought his either, a big con.
cert-grand instrument from Austria,
along with him. The things that that
French-Canadian boy could do to and
on that big either were certainly sim
full, not to say devllish, and even us
old relics of the bucking-
days had to either duck out of the
sound of the kids music or find our.
selves gulping and coughing a lot.
He'd spread the thing out on his
bunk O. nights between supper and
tattoo and he'd no sooner make the
first swipe at the strings and wcrk
in the tremolo stun than the boys 'ud
knock OFF gassing and begin to look
serious and thoughtful. Every once in
a while while that either music was
going on you'd see some fellow a burly
rufiian as like as not Sinking cut SOS
not to make show OF himself be-
fore the outfit.
LESS than two weeks after that boy
with the either began those nightly
performances we had 12' men in the
hospital, down with nothing else in
the world but nostalgia, which means
inconsistencies. And If you ever picked
up the notion that Nostalgia as it is
called, is merely a harmless and
boobyish disease I'll mention that two
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