Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1907-12-10
he'd inined down In Arizona.

tions. Once at little two battery post
in the far northwest where was sta
toned there died first lieutenant VINO
was immensely popular with the en-
listed men, and that in spite OF the
fact that the drink had got him. he
was a fine man and he sure was square
in his treatment Of US bucks In par
racks. He wouldn't stand for anybody
imposing on the layout, and-well' as
near as men can get to loving man.
7 guess us fellows loved that fine chap
and square officer
"It was a pretty gulpy layout when
we scraped out a hole in the ground
for that one, tossed him into It, fired
yolley over him and listened to the
blubbering kid Of a windjammer
sounding taps
1.-THE desertions began the next day.
The post was not only lonesome, IL
seemed almost uncanny without him.
When, a month or so later. the outnt
was shifted to this seaboard, we were
not much more than one battery OF
heavy artillery instead Of two ana
there isn't any doubt that the cashing
in of that officer with the heart and
the gizzard of a sure enough man was
the only cause Of 1t. .-.,
Little unscheduled things will start
desertions. The temperance at
post of a former member OF the outnt
logged out in joyous mufti and snow
ing other evidences of prosperity al
ways has the effect Of getting the gang
a-going.
"Once I belonged to an outfit that
was stationed at the Preside OF san
Francisco. One Of our men caught on
az a faro bank dealer Of a big San
Francisco gambling house at the vino
ND Of his second enlistment. 1t wasn't
long before he had an interest In the
bank himself, and he got the money
fast. .- ....-..
well, all diked out in expensive
clothes and wearing the sparks and
dingdongs, he used to drive out to the
Preside behind a stylish PAGER IN
trie trap with yellow running gear.
After a few months Of that the COM
manding officer Of the Preside had to
request that ex-swaddle as special
favor to him to cease his visits at the
post. A large number Of desertions
were easily traced to his visits.
"The gang would look their ex-mate
over and become ambitious all OF
sudden. If he had made such nne
thing Of it in civil life why couldn't
they do the same, or make some kind
of a stab at 1t, anyhow So they hop
ned out of the Preside gate, not to
come back any more, just because they
had seen all Of those signs OF pros
perity on a man who had once bunked
under the same roof with them.
"Rumors about the transferring OF
outfits too, is another cause, and IN the
aggregate a big contributing cause 10
the desertion business. Men who enlist
in a certain part Of the country LOT
service in that section don't like TO
make a long shift to another part with
q different climate More desertions
result from the shifting about OF regi-
ments than ever appear in the figures.
Soldiers who get mixed up with
women outside the post gates are par
ticularly liable to jump when their
outfits are ordered away. The soldier
rarely has the price to pay the wom-
ans way to the new station and ne
doesn't feel like leaving her behind
and there's only one thing-so he I'M
agines-left, and that is to quit.
Queer, too, the distance some SOL
diers will go when they get mixed up
with women. The most aggravated
case of that kind I ever saw was
when was in the Philippines the first
time.
with my outfit was a snappy, hust-
ling youngster from Tennessee boy
not much past his majority. who got
the corporars chevrons very soon al
ter hitting the islands for nervy work
in campaigning The kid had all the
makings of fine soldier, and as ne
was we'll educated commission wasn't
any too high for him to look II he'd
been of that mind and had kept out
of trouble.
But he got all wrapped up with a
Filipino girl, the daughter of Fill
pino presidente down Mindanao way,
and when we were ordered to Manila
to take the transport for the United
States he couldn't see the thing OF
leaving the girl. I believe they'd been
married. Anyhow, when we went to
Manila, this judgment lacking gossoon
STAYED behind with the Filipino wom-
an.
But he did something even more
idiotic than that. When the old man
sent a non- com. and some bucks back
for the kid, he was insane enough to
ioin the enemy-the war was still go
ing on down there-instead OF just
taking to the underground and stay
ing there for a spell until the search
for him was over. They got him by
the time our transport reached the
states.
We'll dye know what that nice
looking and bright kid from Tennessee
is doing now? He's doing ninety-nine
years on Alcatraz Island for desert
ing to the enemy-the court
sentence was death, but it was chang
ed to ninety-nine years for him. Did
you ever happen to take look at AL
catraz? Well if you'd ever seen 1t
you'd wonder how a white boy from
Tennessee-boy with a head, even II
he didn't have any sense-could let a
skinny, mop haired, pigeon toed, rice
powdered Filipino girl land him at AL
catraz for a dose like that, even If her
ewes were fine!"-New York Sun.