The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-10-15

strong box in his quarters. This box
 had Yale lock. was of white pine
 seven. .eighths of an inch in thickness.
 irop ,sIS bound e, on ,th the s5 sides and bottom.
 safe in the office of the quartermas-
 ter, but from the statement of Lieuten-
 ant Harper of the duties imposed upon
 him. 1T he had deposited the funds in
 this safe 1t would have occasioned con siderable inconvenience and delay. On
 the day the theft occurred 1t was not
 possible for him to have used tho safe.
 as the quartermaster's office was clos.
 ed. Lieutenant Harper and several "t
 his brother oficers had their personal
 funds in the strong box. and these were
 tSsft tSs @ occurred ns vhiIep HpI is,,tenant Harp
 CT was at mess and his quarters were
 vacant. A hole was made in the top Of
 the box and the company fund and the
 officers private funds were abstracted.
 The post council recommended IAsu-
 tenant Harper be relieved from all re-
 sponsibility. but the department com.
 nander disapproved this recommenda-
 ion. proper precautions were not taken
 for the safe keeping of these funds:
 He did not regard box of this kind
 as a secure place for the purpose of
 Harper asked for further considera
 tion of his case. but Major Mccoy. com
 manding Lieutenant Harper's regiment
 peal. returning 1t to the writer with the remark that the case ended with
 the action of the department com
 mander. and that no rther action wa.
 considered necessary and would not be taken unless insisted upon: Hc said he had personally examined the
 strong box and found it one which
 ct. break into within five minutes. In the meantime the 17th Infantry was ordered to Fort McPhcrson. Ga. and Lieutenant Harper then requested that LA fo~ lAI Secretary of War. stating that even an iron safe can be broken open with dv- mamite and contending that he took the hest possible care under the circum- stances of the funds: that the strong box was a reasonable safe, and as he could not carry the funds on his person he did the best he could at the tiine Colonel Van Orsdalc. l7th Infantry, ment amounting to recommendal0n favorable to Lieutenant Harper. He l stated that he, too. was forced at Cot
 tabato to keep funds in a wooden box l in the room occupied by the guard. and | that the box held a large amount of money belonging to the city and dis- | trict.
 The Acting Secretary of War has l decided the case in favor of Lieutenant Harper. and no stoppage yill he made against his pay: The Judge Advocate
 case to the Acting Secretary said in part: ~Conditions in the Philippines. or elsewhere, where officers are removed from the surroundings which were con garding the care of public funds were | formulated, frequently forbid the use 1 of banks and proper safes ana renoos 1t necessary for valuables to pc seGu.- l ed by means that, in post in the Uni, | ted States, or even in Manila. would | be deemed inadequate. Officers do not | voluntarily assume the care and cuA-
 tody ot compa9y .,oh or excnahfe ,"nds E ,unu rnm. stant source of more or less anxiety. | To add to this anxiety by recurring | that in the field or al posts where tnS l conditions assimilate to those Of neio | service, officers shall exercise the same | precautions which would be require" amid the surroundings of well estao- lished civilization would but add to tns
 anxiety of the officer. tend to impair his mobility and initiative: and there. | fore be against public policy. With a view to assist the Secretary Of war question of fact which Is presented. tf
 is proper to say that. had the cas. l been of losing public funds: and nad 1 the same showing of care been sup l 1t is the opinion of this office that the | officer would have been relieved by an
 appropriate act of remedial 'es''i". tlon." '' Practice Marca-s.
 A recent practice. march of Compa- l nv r. of the Sth N. G. N. Y., under command of Captain George Hiecke. from the armory to Creedmoor rlne range, afforded the company some va ried and useful instruction. The com, pany, with supply ot tentage ana other field equipment Tn wagon; leIt
 the armory on the afternoon of sep. eb. Ninety ninth street ferry to College Point, l.. l., marched to Whitestone. where camp was pitched for the night. A guard of one post was es- | abolished. supper was served at D. | m., and taps was sounded at l0:So. :. After reveilie at a. m., on SeptemDer | 2. the men were put through phy, | sical drill with rifles, then followed
 breakfast at 7:lo, and the tent tents were were struck at 9:1O: the wagon packed ana
 the march taken up for Creedmoor. The march was supposed to be in an
 enemy's country. The commander or the advance party was provided with an excellent map of the route. The plan was to simulate attacks during the morning and In the afternoon al vide the company and have one part oppose the other Quite number or the men who participated were re. cruits, and while the exercise was nos
 carried out as smoothly :.s it should
 valuable. The transport wagon found difficulty in some parts ot the route in getting through. and at one place got stuck in the mud SD badly that u became necessary to engage tealh | to null them out Creedmoor was n- naliy reached at 3:35 p. m.. Septemoer l Z where camp was pitched ana tne men took we'll earned rest after tns march. On Sptember reveiiie was