The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-09-02

After a month and half of campaign ing the national guardsmen on strike duty will begin departing for home during the next day or two. It is hoped that most of them will be able to leave Tor their homes by Friday or Saturday, though it may be that a large percentage of them will be retained in the district several days longer.
 Governor Conner issued the above card of thanks to the soldiers yesterday after noon and in talking of the situation last night stated that he would like very much to relieve all of the men this week, but that until everything appeared to De thoroughly settled some of them would be kept on duty.
 The miners convention, which meets in Birmingham tomorrow may have much to do with the exact time the soldiers are relieved. This convention may last sev- eral days and the troops will be kept under arms at least until the convention adjourns.
 Those to be relieved first will be the men encamped at Blocton under Major Walden and at Acton under Captain Cole man. The men at Johns and Dora will follow next with the Blossburg camp un- der Major Hagan breaking camp close behind. Camp Eva Coma at Norwood, which is Lieutenant Colonel Hubbard s headquarters will be the last camp to break. Altogether there are Is camps in the district, being composed of the First regiment and a battalion of the Second regiment with a provision camp of Birm- ingham troops.
 While the call duty In the Birmingham district has hurt some of the men in their respective business lines a number of the men having been discharged by employ ers-the campaigning has served to sea- son the members of Alabama's national guard. The men have received military training during the past two months which they would not have acquired in years of drilling in armores. They have made hikes, sometimes as long as 20 miles in single day Skirmish marches have been made almost daily, and the rugged hills of the Birmingham district do not afford the best walking on earth.
 An evidence of the work they have been put through is shown by the fact that some of the men have worn out three and four pairs of shoes during the month and a half which they have been on duty In a few instances drafts have been made on the state for shoes for the men, but most of them have been compelled to pay for their footwear out of their own pockets.
 The men have been on duty since July 18th, the day on which they went into the regular annual camp at Chickamauga. After 10 days of drilling with the regulars around that old battlefield the men were brought to Birmingham to relieve the artillery and cavalry troops on strike duty, those latter troops having relieved the Third infantry and part of the Sec ond infantry boys at the time the Chicka- mauga encampment began
 Practically all of the state troops were on duty in the district at one time or an other, and including the regular encamp- ments were on duty for at least a month the troops on duty now adding two weeks more to this. A call for volunteers for strike duty in the Birmingham district was made by Governor Conner at Chicka- mauga, the First regiment responding to this call in a body.
 The privates while encamped at Chicka- mauga drew pay at the rate of 50 cents per day, and while on strike duty receive $1 per day, thus giving the privates of the First regiment about $3o for the month and half they have been under arms. Some of the n-commssioned of ficers draw much as $3 per day while the commissioned officers only draw half pay, u seargeant major in this way draw ing more than lieutenant.