Omaha daily bee., 1905-11-13
FAVORS MORE PAY FOR Army
PAymGSter General Dodge Says the En-
listed Men Are Undsrpsid.
SERVICE DEMANDS hlGH-CLkSS MEN
Complicated Machinery OF Modern
Armament Requires Thinking,
Educated Soldiers to
Operate II.
SERVICE DEMANDS MeH-cLAsS NE


| interesting report issued by a department
Of tho government for the aid Of the chief
Of a department than that issued by Pay
master General f. S. Dodge. The dry
forms Of reports which usually preeede the
annual report Of the secretary of war Is
pleasingly lacking in the report OF Pay
master Dodge and the recommendation
/ that are contained in his report cannot
fail but be the subject of much discussion
in the military arm OF the service.
For the fiscal year ending June 80, 1905,
| Paymaster General Dodge and his corps
of paymasters disbursed So. 436, 762, which
represents the pay OF officers and enlisted
men of the army OF the United States,
| including the battalion In Porto Rico and
the soldiers in the Philippines.
General Dodge fatty states that the
army is underpaid. lie says that it is n
fallacious argument that the American sol
der is better paid better fed and better
clothed than any soldiers OF other coun-
| tries for the reason that before he Joined
the colors he was better paid, better clad
! and better housed than the class of citi-
zens of foreign countries from which the
| recruits for their armies are drawn. lie
makes the statement that the complicated
machinery of the modern armament re-
/ CURES thinking. educated men. and that
! the present pay of soldier offers but
slight inducement for persons to enter the
military service. especially in times Of
prosperity.
Pay Schedule Made In 1870.
! 1t is notable fact that the last pay
schedule for the army was passed by con-
| gress in 1870 The changes however, In
the thirty FIVE years since the last pay
schedule was created has been marvellous.
and during the period named there has
! been an enormous increase in the rates of
! wages paid in all branches of labof in
| civil life. with which the salary that is
paid to our soldiers has not kept pace
Notwithstanding the increased cost of liv-
/ ing, Notwithstanding that the service is
made more attractive in the way of bet
! ter clothing, better quarters amusement
rooms. etc, it must be remembered that
the government puts in the hands OF the
! private soldier but s13 per month as re-
suit of his months work 1t is interest
! ing TO learn from General Dodges report
! that the pay Of a cavalryman and an
artilleryman was SS.3S per month and in
fantrymen receiving 1857 during the revo-
| lutionary war. During the war of 1912 all
| three arms of the military establishment
received IS per month. This, of course
has reference to the enlisted men. In the
! Mexican war the cavalrymen received s12.
while the artilerymen and infantrymen
| received 81. In the civil war all three
arms received S13. General Dodge, in or
1 der to show the discrepancy In the thirty
years between 1876 and 1905 has made a
close calculation to the per capita cost
Of officers and enlisted men. In 1875 the
per capita cost of officers was 1927. 50; in
! 1905 S3.345.IO. Per capita cost of enlisted
| in in
duces from this that the enlisted man is
not properly paid, and, in order to secure
| good material for the army, the time has
come when new pay schedule is abso-
lutey necessary
Probably the most significant feature OF
! General Dodges report is the ph
relating TO the deposits of the soldiers
The scheme of permitting a soldier to de-
| post certain proportion Of his money in
the treasury Of the United States. for
which he could draw a certain rate OF
interest, began i'm 1873, when there were
S2O9,S 50.3S deposited. These deposits remain
to the credit of the soldier and are avail
able upon his retirement from the service
together with the interest. In other words
it is government savings bank and is
exceedingly popular with the enlisted men.
! During the twenty-eight years that this
scheme has been i'm existence there has
been deposited s26 294325.67. and there is
today to the credit Of the deposltors in
the United States treasury $2,5s4, 746.2S
More Pay for Mnrksmen.
Still another feature OF the paymaster
generals report which cannot fail to at
tract favorable consideration is the renewal
OF his recommendation made in his last
annual report that expert riflemen be al
lowed ~ per month extra, sharpshooters
81 per month and marksmen 81 per month
General Dodge is OF the opinion that the
incentive to good craftsmanship among the
enlisted men should be increased by an
increase In the reward for good shooting
The general contends that the man is
most efficient who relies upon his arm,
whether II be gun or saber and If ne is
satisfied that in a battle the chances are
that his being put out of action are les
sened by his knowledge of his arm. then
the government is greatly benefited by
having such man. Fear plays a very
great part in the life of a soldier until
by association with wars stern realities
he loses the personal sense of fear and
becomes perfect fighting machine, for
he and his rife or his saber become one.
Proposes Tax Wood Alcohol
Representative Brownlow of Tennessee
has various grades of aduterated cider
that is being sold to old soldiers at the
Soldiers Home at Johnson City, and pre-
sumaby at all the other homes.
, He says 1t is manufactured around Louis
! vile, KY and has about % per cent of
, wood alcohol added TO IT, and is then sold
to the old soldiers. It has proven fatal
in many cases and Mr.. BrownIow pro-
t poses to try to secure the passage OF an
) act in congress to prevent the sale of the
stun.
! 1T is a crime to sell this concoction "a
I old soldiers, and l am going to see that
| no stone is left unturned to stop the
adulteration of the stun. There have been
several cases where the drinking of two
or three glasses of the bogus cider has
, proven fatal. The old soldiers must be
protected from II, and congress will.
, think. when its attention is properly called
to the matter. take the same view of the
, subject as l do"
II is understood the report of Commits
: sioneT YeTkes will recommend action alone
that line by congress. The commissioner
finds that a way has been devised 70 re.
hne wood alcohol, and make II so closely
resembling grain alcohol, that none but an
\ expert can tell the difference This re.
j fined product is being used extensively In
adulterating WHISTLES and IL is not taxable