Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1906-11-10
Practice of Taking Unenlisted
Men to Camp to Draw Pay
Starts Trouble
SIOUX CITY MEN souEAL
Discharge of Bunch of Men From
Company / Results in Complaint
to Adjutant Thrift-The War De-
partment May Take Action--Practice
Said to Be General.
Special to Times-kepub,lcan.

SpECldI 10
Sioux City. Nov. 10.-A movement
that will interest the authorities at
in the inner works of the Fifty sixth
Iowa infantry. national guard, and
which involves the lieutenant colonel
III command and most of the company
commanders in the regiment, threatens
to grow out of a feud in Company l.,
stationed at Sioux City.
1t is a long story that tells of all
the ms and outs of the trouble. but the
outcome of the effort TO rid the COM
pany OF trouble makers may have seri-
Gus consequences in the end.
The spirit of revenge which posses
sed the last bunch of men discharged.
induced them to make complaints to
Adjt. Gen. w. H. Thrift concerning
Capt. Edwards alleged action in taking
dummies TO the camp when the
regiment went to Fort Riley. KAN,
during the summer.
These dummies" were men who
knew their drill well enough TO take
the places of regularly enlisted men,
and they filed in the places of the
regular members, answering to their
names at roll call every day, and
drawing the pay OF the regularly en-
listed men, under assumed names.
The last three men given discharges
from the company We're among the
best under Capt. Edwards command.
One of them was Max Schaffer. Hrst
duty sergeant, known as one OF the
best drilled men in the regiment,
Another was Private Brown, the best
rifle shot in Company H. and
member of the rifle team which the
company sent to the state shoot. ana
the third was Private w. c. Kyle
The fact that dummies were taken
TO Fort Riley, with the cognizarce
of the commander of the company,
has been pointed out to the state adj
jutant general by a letter from thcs9
men, and an investigation Is prom,
ised
Others Are Involved.
But IL the commander of Company l.
were the only man who had filled In hts
company with civilians for the Fort.
Riley trip, the situation would notAbe'
SO serious. 1t Is charged by the dis
missed men that nearly every other
company in the regiment was recruited
in this way, and that two men We're
taken with the headquarters party
with the cognizance of the Lieutenant
colonel. commanding in the same way,
which makes the matter loom up as a
serious scandal. These two men APP
peared in uniform on the down trip.
drew their pay under assumed names
and did the cooking and waiting on ta-
BILE for the staff officers mess.
The interest that the national gov
eminent, thru the war department, Is
due to take in the matter rests on the
fact that during their stay for nine
days at the Kansas army post the men
and officers of the Fifty sixth regi-.
ment We're in the pay of the national
government, doing duty as American
volunteers. Each man drew his pay as
private in the American army at the
rate of $13 per month for the nine
days, and each officer his pay from the
United States government in proper
ton. In addition to this wage the
State MADE up TO the men the QllLer-
ence between the army pay and the
pay of the state guard, which is $1.5O
per day.
When all these facts are taken into
consideration, the man who signed an
others name to the pay rolls Of the
national government, answered Here"
to another mans name when the roll
Of his company was called, and took
his SO cents a day from the hand Of
the paymaster Of the army of the Mis-
souri, under an assumed name, and the
officers who winked at the practice
are placed in rather unenviable posi-
tion. The fact that these very things
were done in many of the companies
Of the regiment is common gossip
among the entire 600 members of the
Fifty sixth Iowa, and one that fifty
men in the regiment will swear to-
What THE adjutant general will do
when he is confronted by the exact
conditions in an entirely different
matter.