Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1905-12-16
Army and Navy Desertions.

l Army and Navy OeSertions.
For some years past the increasing
number Of assertions from the army
and navy have been the occasion Of
lmuch solicitude to the commanding
officers Of both these services. and n
considerable portion to the last annual
report Of Secretary Bonaparte is de-
tvoted to the consideration of this mat
tier. Inspector General Burton of the
army also discusses the subject at
lsome length. There are probably
many causes that contribute to TINS
which are not discussed in the official
reports. but which are. nevertheless,
Imore or less paIpablc to the American
| public which has opportunities of
coming i'm contact with the enlisted
men discharged from both services
land of getting at the situation from
their point of view. While the system
of developing officers for our army
Point and Annapolis has its obvious
advantages. the fact remains that the
tendency is to shut the door of op-
portunity upon the enlisted men and
develop class of officers who have
little in common with him aside from
his routine duties. and who, in many
instances. look down upon him and
treat him with superciliousness and
contempt which they are at small
pains to conceal. Such treatment and
such an atmosphere is little short of
intolerable to American citizens.
whether they have enlisted in our
army or navy or not.
There are many broad gagged Off
| GERS and able men trained at both
West Point and Annapolis; men who
have the faculty Of securing and main-
| tanning the respect and good will of
their enlisted men. There is. at the
! of snobs and cads who grow smaller
and smaller, both morally and INTEL
lectually, amid the peculiar tempta-
| lions that attend the life of an Off
Ger in the army or in the navy. 1t
| is not enough that officers should be
trained to care for the physical Well
| being of the men under their COM
| mand. They should also be obliged.
at all times. to treat them with the ordi-
mary civilty and courtesy due one gen.
tleman from another. and any failure
to do this should under no circum-
stance be overlooked or condoned by
their superiors.
1t is evident that this matter of de-
sertion has reached point where
| some practical effort must be made to
stop it. Secretary Bonapartc puts his
finger OH the vital point when he de-
clares, in his annual report, that de-
scrtions are due especially to two
| causes. either bad men or bad officers.
1t is evident that the first thing to
be done is to raise the standard of NOR
ality and efficiency in both men and
officers. Descrtion makes men out
| casts. fugitives. and. in many cases,
criminals. Those who at first were
simply FESTIVE under the restraints of
the service or rescntful of the petty
Einsults heaped upon them by intempcr-
ate and snobbish officers are often
driven into careers that make them
a menace instead of protection to
society. General Burton suggests
plan for the army which. it would
seem, might also with equal profit be
imadc to apply to the navy. 1t is the
establishment Of prohibtory period
of enlistment for three months. The
candidate to enter service for that
period and to receive $500 month;
and at the end of the probation, if he
is then willing to remain in the SER
vice. he is to receive full back pay for
the probationary term of service. or
If he desires he may receive an hon
orable discharge and return to his
family. II is believed that this pho
ba tionary period would be of value in
wedding out undesirable recruits, and
that If it made it somewhat more diff
cult to secure recruits. in the first in
stance. it would. in the long run off
set this objection by enabling the
service to retain a much larger
percentage of its men for the full
terms of their enlistment. Certainly
| the plan would seem to be one worth
trying.
The Many Sided Franklin.