The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1912-05-03
No BLACK [R|AP|HG
Public Mourning Discontinued in
Washington.
ONLY FLAG AT HALF-MAS7
Old Custom Dropped at Death Of Red.
field Proctor, Whose Reform OF
Army Conditions Made the
Soldiers Grateful.
BY GEORGE CLINTON.

BY GEORGE CLINTON. i.
WashingtOn.--Visito to Washing.
ton who happen to get here at time
when some officer of high rank in the
governn ent has died express surprise
that the department building in which
he was employed or the war or the
naval office which he may have served
in the field are not draped in mourn
Ing. /; is no longer the custom In
Washington to drape the department
buildings in black when chief official
or some former official dies The only
sign of mourning in the capital at the
time when the Maine heroes were bur-
led and at the time, say, when Ad-
miral Robley D. Evans died, was the
half-masted flags.
For years it was the custom to
drape the buildings in black when any
man Of present or past government
service died. When the death of
former Secretary of War Redfield proc
tor of Vermont was announced, no or
der was issued for the display of
mourning emblems on the war depart
ment. This was the first time in the
history of the country that black was
not displayed on such an occasion. II
there was no exterior symbol
Of sorrow there was sorrow in
the interior, for the enlisted men
Of the army, and the officers, too,
for that matter, held Proctor's memory
grateful, for he did much for the
service.
It was under the Proctor regime
that the canteen was established in
the army, but as is we'll known, the
canteen no longer exists, the opposi.
of the country having been successful
in inducing congress to take beer
off the "daily bill of fare" of the serv-
ice. Proctor himself at heart may
not have been in favor of the canteen,
but he thought it was better than the
old suffers store system, and he sue
ceeded in removing the latter from the
service.
Conditions Proctor Changed.
When Redfeld Proctor went into
Harrisons cabinet there were what
was known as suffers stores at the
recruiting rendezvous of the country.
Personal knowledge enables me to
write of the conditions on Davids Is
land, New York harbor, at the time.
The recruit who came to Davids Is
m I,,1,
certain parts Of his equipment at tho
suffers. 1t did not make any difference
whether or not some soldier, leaving
for his post, was willing to turn over
some Of his supplies to the recruit
the recruit had to buy, or it was init
mated to him plainly that he must
buy, cleaning material, button sticks
and half a dozen other things of the
man who sold them as a side line to
the selling of beer.
The result was that the recruits
many time spent money for things
they did not need and the sutler wax
ed wealthy. The sutler sold beer,
and there was no restriction placed on
the amount that he was allowed to sell
to each man. On pay days. the suit
ler's store at David's Island was a
sight. In that day there were few re-
strictions placed on enlistments, and
SO long as man was physically quail
fed for the service he was taken in
with a few questions.
In the Old Suffers Store.
Within two hours after the men
were paid off at Devils Island the bar
room in the suffers establishment was
filled with men drunk to the fighting
point. Then the sutler, wholly re-
sponsible for the condition of things,
howled for the guard, and corporal
and two or three privates would rush
to the place and clean it out. AS a
result of the desire Of the sutler to
make money quickly there were AZ
men placed in the guardhouse one day.
Proctor went into Harrison's cab
met as war secretary and reforms be-
gan. The suffers store with it's un-
limited beer went the way of all
things bad, and the canteen with its
limited beer and the provision that all
profits should go to the improvement
Of the soldiers mess took its place.
Restrictions were placed upon enlist
ments, and the Liverpool wharf rats
and the deserters from foreign serv-
Ice found that there was no place for
them In tho army under the stars and
stripes. Food was better and there
was the beginning Of the vast improve
ment that has come in the quarters
tor the soldiers.
Secretary Proctor took q personal
interest in the conditions Of life Of the
enlisted men. When he vent to- /
post he was not content with r.
view Of tho troops He went into the
barracks. he asked questions, no
tasted the food and acquired lot Of
Information which he afterward but
into use. Tho men liked him and they
showed that, they liked him.
Some Of the Older oh1cers doubtless