Los Angeles herald., 1908-04-24
GENERAL AIDS
GERMAN VETERAN
PRIVATE BETZ WILL RECEIVE
PENSION
YOUNG IDENTIFIES coMRADE OF
WAR DAYS
Man Who Assumed False Name When
He Enlisted Secures Proof OF His
Identity and Forwards 1t
to Washington

Joined the United States army to fight
the Indians over thirty years ago. and
who enlisted under an assumed name
because he ignorantly supposed he
could be taken back to his native land
and punished IL the truth were known,
came to light in Los Angeles this week
when General S. B. M. Young gener-
ously came from Paso Robles, where
he was visiting with Rear Admiral
Robley ID. Evans, to identify Matthias
Betz, an aged resident of this city, who
for many years has been struggling to
prove his right to pension from the
United States government.
The story of Betz's Identification by
General Young. which was almost IL
not quite positive reads like a tale
from Kipling; but the principal actor
in the strange epilogue of the little
war drama, whose happenings and
character extend through over thirty
years of southwestern history, does
not realize the romantic features of
his case, for he is of that practical and
matter of fact disposition which takes
into appreciation only the serious
phases of his life, and who therefore
looks at the recent sequel as a mere
logical development linking the past
to the future and consequently per-
mitting him to "draw his pension"
Betz had been trying to prove his
identity for many years, but as there
was only one man in the world by
whom he could hope to establish his
rights 1t appeared to be a losing strug-
gle, and Betz had grown discouraged.
Several Los Angeles men interested
themselves in Betz's case. among them
DIR. ]. A. Mead of 341h South Spring
street. When DR.. Mead was informed
General Young was in Paso Robles
and that he was the only man by
whom Betz possibly could be identified
he arranged at once to bring about a
meeting to see If General Young could
help the veteran. DR.. Mead is himself
a G. A. r. man, and the feeling of
comradeship alone prompted him.
Hastens to Comrade
When General Young was commu-
nicated with he generously agreed to
come to Los Angeles, and a meeting
was arranged In the Hotel Alexandria.
General Young left Admiral Evans
side and hurried to this city. In a
short time Betz was brought before
him in his apartments, and the Ger
man veteran soon found himself un-
dergoing one of the most searching
examinations to which pension seek
er was ever subject.
The grilling continued for several
hours, and at its conclusion General
Young, in an official document to the
pension department, stated he thor
oughly believed the German had told
the truth, "as," he added, mo preten-
der possibly could have foreseen my
questions so clearly or have answered
such specific interrogations concern
ing details unrecorded in history so
al. de- Not
thias Betz."
DIR. Mead, referring to the meeting
and examination at the Alexandria,
said:
There is no doubt Betz was really
an Indian fighter and as ne represent
ed himself. for otherwise he could not
have given such a veteran as General
Young so unquestionable an explana-
tion.
Was Member of Eighth
s'Betz enlisted in the Eighth United
States cavalry, Troop B, under the
alias of August Denzel, believing that
as he was a native of Germany he
would be punished by the kaiser If his
enlistment under the Stars and Stripes
was revealed. Betz Joined the regi-
ment May 20 1868, at Fort Whipple,
Ariz, and was discharged at Fort
Stanton. N. NJ, August Is, 1871 with a
surgeons certificate of disability.
General Young during most of that
time was Captain of Troop K, Eighth
cavalry stationed at Camp Toll Gate.
thirty miles from Fort Whipple, and
both troops frequently were sent to-
gether to quell the Indians, of which |
Cochise then was the bloodthirsty |
leader.
Captain H. B. Wade was in COM
mand of Troop b. to which Betz be-
longed, but part of the time Betz
served under Young's immediate COM
mand, although as trooper there was
nothing to impress the fact particu
larly strong on the latter's memory.
''In the examination General Young
asked Betz every conceivable ques- |
tion as to the engagements they had |
participated in, their marches, course
of travel and also as to scores of in
cidents and tragedies enacted in those |
two pioneer barrack towns of Arizona. |
Betz replied slowly, thoughtfuly and |
with his eyes squinted, his head rest |
ing in the palms of his hands, remin- |
! iscently. He seemed to be looking |
clear back down the vista of those |
thirty years, focusing his gaze on every |
detail brought to mind by General |
Young's examination.
Answers Accurate
"While his answers sometimes were |
given only after long study, they in |
Varlaply were accurate ellclt1ng unoD- |
served admiration from General |
Young, who at the close of the inter-
view shook hands with Betz and |
seemed as glad to meet him as though |
he had been a long-lost brother
"In one place Betz sprung sur
prise which for a moment his friends |
feared would result in his undoing, but |
the aged Germans memory could not |
have failed him on this detail, for |
surely III was one of the events Of q |
lifetime. 1t came up when Betz cas-
ually mentioned a time he had been
with Company B, at what was then
Fort Wilmington, but what now is !