Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1919-02-21

Way--tncSe men can't seem TO under
stand that if the Government allows
them to wear the soldiers uniform
Tor four months after their discharge
they've got to abide by the rules that
govern all who are in it. How's an
officer to know that mans discharR-
ed and that. he is not under mill
tary discipline?
"l'herc is lots of discipline in tho
army, but it's necessary. lust as long
ms man wears the uniform, wheth.
1t IS from choice OF from necessity.
he has go to do the things that 20
with the uniform. PIE had u good
deal Of this military discipline ramm-
ed down my throat. can't say like
1t. But | see that it has got to be.
Just as soon rs I'm discharged. Pm
going to get into civilian suit of
clothes and forget the rules of mill
tnry life. But just as long rs Pm in
khaki I've got to act up to the rules"
The prize yarn ut one of the te,mi-
nails was the story of the man who
wore wound stripes with white ser
vice stripes.
"rhis fellow meant well. All he
wanted was a bit of the glory that he
didn't get n chance at. It was so
easy spotting him that it was shame.
or course, he confessed. He tool;
thosething-me-jigs off pretty quick.
let me tell you and promised not to
dot it again.
One of the fine birds we like to
snlpe is the guy who goes about
sporting officers clothes with a pret-
ty bit of frills and stuff hanging ov-.
er his arm and thinkink himself the
grandcst thing that ever happened.
Yon can pipe this fellow easy. He
looks so much like an officer, doesn't
look that you take chance on going
up to him and asking him to show his
papers. When he gets tough YOU
know you're right, and you car get
tough too. It's Il shame to spill the
beans, but that's what we're here for.
can't stand that kind of n guy"
but, honest things don't happen
mere at all. It's just once in long
while that 4 fellow gets n chance to
spot something wrong. The Amer
lean soldiers pretty decent sort of
chap. It's just once in blue moon
that you get one of them that amt
Most Of our work is to tell the SOL
dicrs how to get around the town"
Other men reported frequent cases
Of neglect in saluting superior off,
GERS
you get man who's been right
i'll the middle Of the fight over there.
and he objects to being held because
he fails to salute his superior officer.
over i'll the trenches it was hard to
distinguish the officers from the men.
In order to keep the Germans from
sporting officers the American officers
did not wear the leather puttees and
insignia. Very often the men did not
know which wcrethe officers and which
the privates.
Here, however, the situation is diff
ferent. The men do know an officer
when they see one, and when they do
not salute it is matter of conscious
neglect on their part. We talk to
the fellows and explain to them that
things are different here, and they're
pretty decent i'll doing what's right.
No, there isn't much trouble when
all's said.
Why do we stand in pairs? A
question of preparedness for one
thing. You never knox when Il hard
case will come that will need moth
men on the spot"
Major p. l.. Thomas is the Provost
Marshall for this city. In speaking
about his work he said that on the
whole there was no serious miscon-
duct in the army.
Take the misdemeanors for ten
running days. Our report of men
brought down here showed something
over Il hundred cases in which were
included such offenses ms deserving.
! absence without leave, intoxicntion,
improper uniforms, characterization,
/ impersonation of veterans, soliciting
OF funds, possession OF drugs and so
on. None of these is very serious
oifense. When you take into consid
GRAFTON that we have about 800 men
serving on the provost guard think
1t snys good deal for the behavior
of the soldier on the streets of Me-;
York to have AN average of onl- ten
cases n day ~
I'VE have mapped out the City of
New York and hays concentrated our
men along those routes most attrac-
1--WE to the soldier. Between the
hours OF l in the afternoon and in
the morning we have three times as
many men on duty as we have during
the rest of the day. We always have
reserve force down here ut head
quarters to meet any emergency that
might arise. such as soldiers browl
OF sailors free for-all or affairs like
the one at Pam Garden or Madison
Square"
NOTES OF DANDY.