The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1910-06-17
BY KATHERINE LENox.


Frederick /. Conlee. deserter, soldier
Of fortune. and globeuotter. after evad-
ing the vigilance Of military authorities
for nine years while he resided in
Washington and cared for his aged pa
rents, is confined in the guard house at
Washington Barracks
one morning, nearly nine years ago.
COnlee, then a private in the Fifth
United states Artillery. fighting under
the American flag TO queH the Boxer
rebellion in China, heard the voice Of
the tempter.
Desert it commanded
The word flashed through the soldiers
brain like a bolt of electricity. He
stopped his ears. as everybody else does
heard But the voice had a carrying
power. II penetrated.
Suppose you desert" it said again.
and then II began to give the reasons
why. This time Conlee listened
COnlee Tells Story.
7 had been a United States soldier
fc- nearly a year, fighting with as
much spirit as the best of en-" he be-
gan when I asked him today for the
story Of his experiences as a deserter.
He gave a casual glance at the in
nocent looking young guard VINO stood
d q NVtti LOUIS stance Altl0AllE MS gun
Ny teeth chartered with fright To in
terview a man while another man
stands by with a gun that looks like it
might 90 OF at any moment is terrify-
Ing
go on" I said feebly to the deserter.
and glanced apDrehensiyely toward the
well. as I was saving" resumed Con-
lee. I'd served for nearly a year. 7
fought as hard as any other soldier,
and didn't have ANYTHING 10 be ashamed
OF But then, began TO ask myself.
What are YOU getting for fl ALP And
every time. the only answer was. Moth
ms.
Il was a printer by trade. and had
done all sorts Of work on Il newspaper.
With my knowledge and experience. !
w9S in a fair way TO make $50 a month
or newspapers out there in China. In
the army / was making Sl5-60 a month.
Was a Subordinate.
i was a subordinate. Whether this
gals or not depends in a measure on
mars superior officer. guess. But II
CALLED me. I couldn't stand il. AMI
then there was the thought that could
be free again. and could be making all
that money. The money. 1 guess. had
most to do with it."
or two DAYS. Conlee,s mind grappled
WITH the problem; Should he serve out
his two years.
]
true faith and allegiance" The words
Of the oath came back TO him.
Faith and allegiance TO What2 The
Emitted States Of America seemed a long
wav OF The killing Of Chinese by the
allicc nations because the Chinese were
disposed % kin the missionaries Of these
nations. somehow did not appeal to the
soldiers patriotism. He wanted TO de-
SCr-
He thought it over again. He re-
memDered that 10 be deserter is TO be
man without a country. He recalled
that a oeSerter has not even the rights
OF citizenship. that he is DISTINGUISHED
and forever dishonoTed. But the world.
and the old rowing life. and the $3.50 a
month called to Coulee. They deafened
his ears TO the words Of the oath.
Quits the Army.
And one morning. two days after the
idea had first seized him, he walked out
OF the barracks at Picking. China. donned
a suit Of citizen clothes, and went to
work as q printer
NO. I never have felt sOrrv' he saws
IF L had il 10 do I would do ii again
But I wouldn't tell a woman. That is
why every deserter gets caught. He al
ways tells. Now, my mother was the
worrying kind. She always loved me
more than she ought 10, and I couldn't
bear TO think OF her worrying over me
way out there in China. and wondering
what was happening 10 me. / wanted
her to know, because she was my moth
er.
so I sat down and wrote her a long
letter, telling her all about II. and trying
10 make her sec that she mustn't tell.
But she told members Of the family;
then il wasn't a secret any longer. And
my siSter-in-law, through spite. went
and gave me away last week. after To
tai en- care Of her little boy FOR her
That's the way with q woman Now,
mans mother can't have spite toward
him. but any other woman will And
the way 10 desert is to keep II to your
self"
Parents Believed in Hime.
Conlee has been in America for num-
Der of years, having come to Washing
ton from Hennessey, Okla. two years
rgo. While travelling in Kansas. after
his return to America from the far East.
he lost a leg in a railway accident anG
the fact that this units him for active
service viii alone, in all probability
cause him 10 be dismissed this week
fror1 the guard house without trial. He
intends TO remain in Washington, where
he has made investments
Having broken his oath TO his country,
having led the life of the exile ana ad-
venturer in the Orient for a number of
years. Conlee grew homesick. He re-
turned TO America and lived for some
time the free, untrammeled life Of the
West.
But even that was not home. Here in
Washington. the aged mother. who had
a sort Of weakness in her heart for
him was waiting. He came back, and
for two years took care Of the old cou-
or April last, his mother died, and
one week later he buried his father.
They believed in him to the last
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