The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1904-10-14
Has Served His Country F fifteen
Years and More. 81
Prior to That He Was in the
Army of Holland. ii i.t.
Never Called to Accountable
Dement, Marks. a...
From Saturdays Daily.

ing officer of the st. Paul station, who
is in charge of the temporary station at
Mankato during the absence of Sergeant
Buckley, has had long military career
in this country in whose army
he has served for fifteen con
secutive years, in addition to two
years of military life in his own native
Netherlands. From the United States
army he has received five honorable dis
charges, each time with the character
rank of excellent, the best rate that can
be given. His papers are the finest that
soldier could wish. In his long term of
military labor he was never once. court
martialed, arrested or officially called to
account for any kind of misconduct.
Mr.. Smeets is HOllander by birth
and parentage. He was born forty four
years ago in ROermond, a Dutch town,
about the size of Mankato. He was
raised to follow the occupa lion of a
farmer, but at the age of twenty, was
obliged, as are all other able bodied
young men of that country, to enter the
army. Each male citizen, who is fit for
such service, goes into active military
years. He is then given furlough of
three years, but is under obligation of
going through the field manuevers for six
weeks during each of the last two years.
During the next ten years he is counted
as part of the army reserve. After the
age of thirty-five he is discharged for
good, unless war should happen to
break out, in which event he is liable to
be called upon up to the age of forty
five years.
Discipline in the Dutch army is far
stricter than in the army of Ameri-
ca. The soldier has fewer rights and
more insistence is placed upon absolute
obedience and decorum. Non commissions
with privates. A common penalty for
small attractions of discipline is an
hour of hard extra drill with packed
knapsack All works with the regular
ity of clock. The pay of the Dutch
soldier is mere pittance compared
with that of the American private. The
Dutch private receives what amounts to
about five cents per day in American
money. The American private receives
$l3 per month or 43 cents per day. The
Dutch corporal receives twice as much
as the Dutch private, and the Dutch
sergeant twice as much as the Dutch COR
poral. Thus the pay of Dutch SER
geant is about half that of an American
private. The American corporal receives
$l5 per month and the American SER
geant $lS. Moreover an American soldier
always receives extra pay for extra du-
ties, whereas Dutch soldier does not.
Mr.. Smeets served out his two years
of active duty in the Dutch army and
one year later moved to America with
his parents. The family came directly
to st. Paul and made their home there.
This was in the year 1888. During the
next six years the young man worked in
a Great Western round house. In 1899
he enlisted in Company A of the TWEEN
tieth United States Infantry in which he
served nine years and three months.
In November 1897 he enlisted in Conn
pany G, Third Infantry, which on the
following spring was called to Mobile,
Ala, and was thence ordered to Cuba
to take part in the EXPEDITION under
General Shafter. The regiment landed
on the island on June %, 1898, and took
part in the battles of FL Caney on July
l, and San Juan on July 2, and in the
bombardment of Santiago on July 10, ii
and IL. The regiment was also engaged
in the siege of Santiago up to the time
of the surrender. The service of that
regiment in Cuba was not so much
campaign against the Spaniards, as
against disease. There was hardly
man in the entire Aremican force, who
was not more or less afflicted with
malaria, dysentery or yellow fever
Three Of Mr.. Smeets' own company died
of yellow fever while in Cuba.
Having returned to the United States,
the Third Infantry was called to the
scene of the Indian troubles at Leech
Lake. Mr.. Smeets was not with his
company during the earlier part of this
trouble, when Maj. Wilkinson and six
men were killed, but happened to be at
st. Paul on sick furlough Later, how
ever, he was stationed there with his
company, which was quartered in the
new hotel at Walker, and kept gatling
gun pointed directly across the lake.
In January, 1899, the whole regiment
was ordered to the Philippines. The sol