The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-04-09

2.700 men. AS an act Of hospitality"
said General Shanks. I'VE made room
for them at Camp Mills and Camp Mers
ritt where those TO whom pay Is due
WIN get 1t and all will be discharged
very soon. That's all We had TO do
with it,
Discharges Arc in Dispute.
Both Gen. shanks and Brig. Gen. Nc
Manus said they understood that the
soldiers had not been discharged from
service while on the other side. Mr..
Uhl said he was very sure they had
been. At the British Provost Marshal's
Office It was said that they probably
were not discharged. as each man still
had twenty-eight days leave on full pay
coming to him
At Camp Mills last night Major John
Henne. United States liaison officer. said
that all the soldiers had been mustered
out In England except a group OF COM
missioned and non-commissloned officers
who had them in charge. These officers
were on twenty-eght days leave from
their commands. Uncertainty as TO ex-
act military status of the men was not
the least of the days perplexities. An
other was the fact that Americans who
enlisted In any of the allied armies be-
fore we entered the war. as many of
these men did, lost their American citi-
zenship and can only be repatriated
by the United states courts. Still an
other was the former American resi-
dence of some OF the soldiers who rere
really aliens.
Among the 400 were dozens Of off,
GERS and many men, the majority of
them having gone into the British army
because they were beyond the American
age limit, who said that although they
had passports and other documents es-
tablishing their identity they were kept
cooped In the vessel just like the rest
Reporters talked with soldiers who
! lived no further from the Hoboken pier
than Tenth avenue, Manhattan, and who
had expected to have supper with their
families on Monday night. A sergeant
from Tuckahoe. n. Y. said that while
he was fighting in France his eldest
daughter died of influenza and his wife
was now seriously Ill. Some OF the
comments heard were:
Worse Than German Treatment.
Even the Germans would treat a
British officer with more consideration
than his."-Lieut. Alexander Gordon
of the Scotch Guards. formerly of Com
pany F. the old Seventh New York
Regiment.
seas did have any such treatment as
this Lieut.. Macmillan J. I. Page OF
the Fourth British Hussars, formerly Of
Troop c. Squadron a: home, Manhattan
Club.
II was 5s years old and they wouldn't
let me into any branch of the American
service, but I finally got into the Royal
Engineers. Now they won't even let
me get OF the boat to telephone my
70 iIx. ,11 tn
York."-F. L. Hawley of Crotonville.
who served with the British nearly two
years
Sergeant John Kane. an actor of 900
West Forty-ninth street. machine gun
ner in the war, was another complain
ant.
1t seemed that all the way over the
700 men hailing from New York or
nearby towns had believed that there
would be no formalities on this side ex
cept jumping ashore, and as everybody
on the boat thought the same thing the
establishment was naturally bitter. The
American citizens in the company said
that the British authorities had given
each Of them repatriation certificate
and that in some cases these were not
honored when the Mauritania locked.
About 100 who were discharged from
American environments for physical dis
, ability and then were able to meet the
lower British standards toward the end
of the war were allowed to land be-
cause they had their American discharge
papers in their pockets.
The immigration authorities held the
Cunard company responsible for every
man on board and subject to possible
fine OF $40 for each non-manhested pas
senger.
Anthony Caminetti. United States
Commissioner OF Immigration. said in
Washington last night that all the on
GERS and men OF the British service who