El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1916-01-21
a sOLDIER,s CoMPLAINT.

D
II mas come to my notice on several
/ occasions during my army career and
especially so while in camp with my
former regiment, the Sixth infantry. at
FL Paso, that a great deal of comment
{ has been caused over the wrongs to an
enlisted man. I have purchased my
discharge, the same as about % or so
others each week, who are stationed
along the border The question has
arisen as to why so many soldiers are
putting IN for purchase, The first rea-
son IS that enthusiastically IN the
EiSnLn Drlgaoe-neVer knows when TO
expect pay day. He may be paid any
where from the third to the goth of the
month II is an endless source OF
worry. especially to the married sol
dlers who have rent to pay. grocery
bills, etc. Their credit at the stores
runs over and by the time the officials
deem II fit 10 pay. they owe more than
they draw This runs over from month
TO month until they are hopelessly in
debt causing desertion.
Credit at the canteen is good for near
a month for smoking and other neces-
sary suppHeS-Whe this is gone and
| no pay day in sight the soldier be
comes restless and welcomes the money
lender-another source of desertion.
An O111cer receives his pay check the
first of each month. Why not treat the
| enlisted man to a certain day for pay?
Then there is the problem Of drill
I schedules, In winter time along the
DOr0er. When the air IS sharp and crisp
and. in fact Ghe finest climate anyone
/ could wish for. We drill only an hour
and half-not enough to get us warm,
wnlie IN summer, when the sun is shin
ing down al -l52, we are dragged
through the burning sands. attacking
an imaginary enemy for four or five
hours at a time While we are resting
we tear off from Is to % miles or more
over the burning roads with seldom
shady place to rest Is there any COM
nonsense attached to this sort of pro-
cedure2 Why are not the drill seasons
reversed
Soldiers would welcome a hike or i'm
aglnary warfare while the weather is
sharp and crisp, but they certainly
Z dread seeing summer approach Is it
any wonder that man viii try every
thing In his power to get enough
money to purchase his dischargeZ We
DO everything in time Of peace that
would not be thought of IN time Of war
3 The intelligence of the average enlisted
man is insulted time and again.
In the eyes of the powers that be he
IS not supposed TO have a heart, or be
made OF bone or muscle, but he is
also supposed to have an ivory head
and be made OF tempered steel We
. have been insulted by the people in
by the city authorities The authori-
ties have proved time and again that
they hold Mexican in higher esteem
than a soldier. This can be, witnessed
in court room any week day a Mex
lean robs and murders; no mention Of
il is made IN the papers: the most he
gets is IS lnCAths. A soldier viii fight
a Mexican and beat him up for insult
ing the American flag The papers
viii instantly publish the atrOciOus
deed and the soldier is turned over to
his commanding officer. who viii have
general court, or summary courtmartial
charges made against the soldier, and
the poor soldier gets his for uphold
ing his country
4 soldier is shot from behind by
citizen Of FL PasO. This citizen insult
cd
made the citizen apologize on turning
his back was shot and killed The citi-
zen was arrested and let go on $500
bond. He was held by the grand jury
for murder and was released once more
on a $1,000 bond. Is there any justice
for the SOLDIER
It is an obvious fact that there is
something materially wrong some
where and if the soldier was given
free speech he could no doubt tell
quicker than CREASED lightning. riot
is started in Ell PasO over the killing
Of innocent Americans in Mexico by
bandits and cutthrOats. commonly
called Mexican soldiers The American
soldier gets the blame and as the result
all are confined to their camps We
are not permitted to breathe the same
air as others, but are confined the
same a s felOns-
The honorable governor of Texas
makes a statement that we should not
intervene for the reason that we are
unprepared- Does the governor know
whereof he speaks2 Put the national
guard along the border SUNNY rs with
enough ammunition, and we could
clean out Mexico in two months We
are acclimated and immune from tv-
phoid and big majority ready TO 90
through hell to even the score against
the MeXicans. Did the governor ever
know a Mexican who. when given a
stiff fight. wouldn't turn and rum
Does he know the present condition of
the MeXicans2 They are starving
Their horses are racks of bones. Half
their rifles and guns are unservicea-
bic. and most Of their ammunition
worthless.
1 do not think any soldier courts