Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1915-08-13

who has been cast off by his family
and who wishes to retrieve his repu-
tation and rebuild his physique by
three years in the service of his coun-
try the patriot who considers that he
owes at least a portion of his life
to the service of his flag; the unem-
ployed who enlists solely because he
can find work nowhere else: the dis
appointed in love who seek solace from
their heartacheS; the man in trouble
who knows that he can start anew in
the army or the navy. All these and
more drift to the recruiting stations
and from them there flows a
never-ending stream of human inter
est, sad or happy, drab or colorful.
Consider for example, the story of
George and Edmund Carson, brothers
who, although not twins, were almost
exactly alike George, the elder and
black sheep of the family. got into
trouble in his home town in the Mid
die West and ran away. The only
news of him that filtered back was
some echo of his wild career in the
submerged tenth of one of the big
eastern cities. He was given up for
lost and the hopes of the family were
pinned upon Edmund Carson, who was
sent to West Point, whence he gradu-
ated with high honors.
Unknown to any of the members of
his family, George Carson had enlist
ed In the army and the long arm of
coincidence, which causes so much
trouble in real life and the movies,
pulled the strings that moved Lieut..
Edmund Carson to the same army
post where his brother was stationed
as a private. The elder Carson rec
ognized his brother almost imme-
diately, but Edmund saw nothing fa-
miliar in the tace of a private who
| yUn ho4 -tr
blance to him had his features not
been lined by premature age and the
life that he had led.
Sentenced BY Brother
Not wishing further to disgrace his
family by the possibility of discovery
that Lieutenant Carson's brother was
serving as private under an assumed
name and with none too savory rep
! utation, George Carson tried to have
himself transferred to another regi-
ment. But in vain. He therefore de-
cided to take matters into his own
hands and picked fight with one OF
the noncommissioned officers. for
which he was sentenced to serve two
years in a military prison. Fate
again intervened in the person of CO.
incidence, and 1t was none other thar
Lieut.. Edmund Carson that sentenced
his brother to prison. The incident
was not discovered until several years
later when George, after a complete
reformation, made himself known tC
his family and informed his brother
that it was he who had sent him up
Reformed in the Army
Another man who enlisted in tht
army as a means of reformation wal
George j. Esterbridge of Philadelphia
who came to the recruiting Office III
| Philadelphia one day accompanied By
a very attractive young woman. Es
terbridge told the recruiting officer!
that he had been a criminal for twelve
years and that he had served tern
in prison. He had met the girl whC
accompanied him to the Office. he said
and had fallen in love with her anC
asked her to marry him. She had ac.
cepted, with the proviso that he re-
main straight for two years He
wanted to enter the army because
that was the best training he could
was certain that he could achieve NOR
al reformation. He was accepted and
his marriage took place at the end oi
the two years.
But not every man enters the army
for reasons of this nature. There
is on record at least one in
stance of an enlistment caused by the
glamor of brass buttons and the pos
sibility of heroism which active SER
vice holds out John II. Collins, oi
Cleveland, Ohio. applied for enlistment
and when asked why he wished to be-
come a soldier said that his sweet
heart would not marry anyone who did
not have . chance to be hero. Col
Ilins was 9 shoe clerk and his fiance
gave It as her emphatic opinion thai