River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1905-07-27
TITLES In THE ARMY
FOREIGNERS OF NOBLE BIRTH
AMONG OUR SOLDIERS.
Germany and the Scandinavian Coun-
tries Furnish Us with Many
Titled Men for Our Mil
itary Service.

The recent discovery of the missing
Hon. Arthur Reginald French, heir TO
the title and estate of Baron de F'reyne,
of County Roscommon, Ireland, among
Uncle Sans raw recruits at Fort Slo-
cum. is not an unusual experience
among officers familiar with the recruit
ing service Among the Germans,
Swedes and Norwegians, who have the
credit of making the best soldiers, re-
cruited to Fort Slocum, New York, JEFF
ferson Barracks, st. Louis, and the CO.
lumbus Barracks, Columbus, O., are a
number of young men who have author
ity to wear titles in the land of their
birth. In the United States foreign
title is no bar to a mans enlistment.
The officer at Fort Slocum who gave
this information to reporter for the
New York Times could not remember
another instance of titled Englishman
enlisting, but he knew of several Brit
ishers of aristocratic birth who made
for tho recruiting Office almost as soon
as they arrived in New York.
There is nothing discouraging in
the life of soldier to young men who
army in foreign lands, and who come
to America for reasons of their own to
begin all over again and forget things"
said this officer. MANY of those who
come here from continental countries
would be required to serve in the army
if they remained at home, anyway, and
they prefer to cross the water and enlist
hpffpr 10 ora
workingnaan who comes through Ellis
Island the pay of an American soldier
seems almost princely. True, the wages
are only $13 month, but all the neces-
saries of living furnished gratis to an
American soldier make his earnings
equivalent to $50 month.
80 long as recruit meets the phys
ical requirements of the service, and
can speak and write English, he has no
trouble in enlisting His progress in
the army depends entirely upon the
same conditions that insure success
elsewhere-that he shall do the work
required of him and behave himself
by the time the soldier who enlisted
at Il and has served Is years he is en-
titled to be retired. He gets a pension
of $25 a month if he remains nothing
but common soldier from the time OF
his enlistment But under the condi-
lions of the service to-day a man who
could not attain the rank of non-com-
misSioned officer such as a hospital
sergeant, quartermaster's sergeant, or
some place like that, would be so dull
and stupid that it would be question
if he passed the first enlistment If a
soldier does earn a place on the non
commissioned staff his pension is $50
month, instead of $25.
There he is, then, at 40 years of age,
with a reasonable expectation of 20
years of life before him, with perma-
nent income of $50 month, and about
$4,000 in cash to start in business with.
Nothing slow about that, is there?
ITO men in the service it is no won
der at all that healthy, hearty young
fellows with love of travel and adven-
ture, and a considerate regard for pro-
vision in their old age, should prefer the
life of a soldier to that of poorly paid
artisan drudging through OH unevent-
full life in the slums of some big city.
I'VE have to be careful in absorb
ing these ambitious young foreigners
into our service. Some of them are un-
doubtedly spies. During the Spanish
American war We passed one likely
young Prussian, whose fiuency with
English subsequently aroused our sus-
picion. While he was in barracks we
discovered that he was an officer in the
Prussian army. We said nothing to
him. He was sent out for service. as
he desired to be. But we spoiled his
usefulness by sending him to Alaska,
instead of to Cuba