The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1906-02-16

a ticket TO Springfield, H., and young
Whitaker to Kansas City. The reason
for Whitaker's securing a ticket to that
point was on account of his being able
to get the same rate there as to ogden.
It is supposed that his intentions
might have been to visit a brother in
Kansas City before coming home to
this city. Both the young men before
leaving Mulligan promised to write him
on their arrival at their destinations.
The electrician wrote the chief cook
upon his arrival at Springfield, but said
nothing concerning Whitaker It was
also found that the ticket purchased by
him had been returned to the auditor S
office in San Francisco, while the one
purchased by Whitaker has as yet not
been turned il.
The last letter received by the parents
of fhe missing boy was under date Of
Nov. %, 1905. and-was as follows:
Letter to Father.
''U. S. s. s. Pensacola, San Francisco
Bay, Nov. ., 1905.-Dear Father: L re
ceived your most welcome letter, also that
desertiOn certificate, and viii try TO ex-
plain. To begin with, that ceru1lcate
should not have been sent to you, and
it was through a misunderstanding that
ii was sert-
when ? nan deserts a ship he is al
lowed ten uays in which TO report back
and il he doesn't he is declared a de-
serter, and deseTtiOn certificates are sent
to the parents and to the mayor or the
city. But If he reports back to any snip
or station of the navy before his ten
DAYS are I'D. he is declared a straggler.
I reported back as soon as the BOS IN
left Frisco for Panama, and so L am
only a straggIer and not a deserter, and
here is where the MISUNDERSTANDING comes
in. When you report back 10 any SNIP
the captain is supposed TO nOtl1y the
captain of the ship you left OF the TACT
This was not done, so the captain or the
Boston thought that / was a deserter, as
he had not word that ! had reported back
before the ten days were up, a!i 10. LOT
/ this reason he sent you the certtlcate.
So do not worry on that SUBJECT, De-
cause | can tTuthfully state that l am
no deserter, father, and am not subJecI
! to a deserter's punishment L nave toI0
you I would never desert
I would never have left the Boston II
she had sober and competent OFFICERS Inc
navy as a whole is as corrupt as any
| corporation in civil life, and half of the
officers are nothing more than d1sgraceo
drunken politicians, who have a political
pull which gets them in the navy as
lieutenantS or doctors or paymaSterS.
This is the truth in plain language.
Petty Persecution.
.'They would not let me remain on. the
Pawtucket, where I was satisfied, for,
bad as / hate the navy. I could have
served my time and come home with a
clear record and conscience When they
I lind out man IS COHISDI6u OI q snip
they Immediately take steps to have
him transferred, unless he is one OF their
kind.
I have been tried Is a stTaggler and
sentenced as follows: TO be discharged
from the service, with d bad conduct
discharge but the sentence has to 60
to Washington for approval so there
is some ray of hope that it may be dis
approved, but you nearly hit the nail on
/ the head when you say that practically
| every sentence that is sent to Washington
| is approved Of
1T is practically useless to look for
/ Justice in the navy under present con-
/ ditions Well, father. l think this ex-
| plains all ] would ike to have come
/ home to you with clear record and con-
/ science but it was almost an impos-
/ sibility 1 hope you do not think / an
! a hopeless case for doing what / have
/ done. Give my love to all.
! your loving son, JOE -
! From the letter it is assumed that, OF
/ account of his being of a sensitive ma
| ture, he felt his discharge almost a:
muah Of d disgrace as if it had beer
| dishonorabIe It Is believed, however
! that he IS still in San Francisco, anC
! only purchased the ticket as ruse t
pre- vent any one from discovering hi
! wherea bouts At the time Of his disap
/ pearance he was known to have had II
/ his possession $50 in cash, and this fac
| first lent color to the foul play theory