Evening Republican, Volume 20, Number 197, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 17 August 1916 — FAVOR TO STUDENTS STARTS BORDER ROW [ARTICLE]

FAVOR TO STUDENTS STARTS BORDER ROW

Indiana Organizations Resent Order Which Permits College Men to Quit Duties in Militia. The dissatisfaction because of the order permitting students and student organizations to return to their homes is increasing dailyi Not because of what many call the unfair discrimination against others of the Indiana troops who really have more cause for leaving the service than have the students.

For the most part, the students are supported by their parents or Relatives. Not many of them pay their own way through college. In extremely rare instances only is any one depending on them for support and the feeling among the Indiana soldiers is that the students are the ones who best could be retained in the service.

On the other hand, there are in the Indiana units some young doctors, young lawyers, young dentists and members of other professions who have just started out in life, who were beginning to get a clientage when the call came and they must stay to the ruin of their business and the damage to their prospects. There are some apprentices, too, who would like to finish the trades they were learning when called to the colors. There are numerous business men whose affairs are suffering by their absence and there are men who gave up good positions to come here on the call.

All of them must stay unless they £an be relieved under the dependent law. As the result of the situation Indiana troops will be- so greatly reduced in numbers that it is possible that Indiana, instead of being a unit of its own, will be part ofa unit from some other state. To head off this and prevent the skeletonizing of the Indiana national guard the commanding officers are preparing to make a protest against what commonly Is called the student order. - The matter was discussed at the different officers’ schools and Colonel Naftzer, pf the First regiment; Colonel Coulter, of the Second, and Colonel Kuhlman, of the Third, and Major Tyndall, of the artillery, will lay their complaints before Brigadier-General L. M. Lewis, camp commander, and ask his co-operation in making the situation clear to the war department. Colonel Kuhlman already has talked to General Lewis, but the outcome of the conference will not be given out by either. The action of the commanders is not in the nature of a round robin, but is a respectful review of the situation in the hope that President Wilson either will rescind the order or change it. There have been only three desertions and two of these occurred in the last 48 hours.

Brigardier-General John A. Hulen, of Texas, representing the war department, has concluded his investigation of conditions in the Winamac company and although his report has not been made public, it is understood that he found the charges and complaints without foundation. Parents of members of the Winamac company wired United States Senators Thomas Taggart and John W. Kern that their boys were treated in a manner so brutal that criminal prosecutions might fallow. That they were not well fed and a whole lot of other things, were charged. The senators took it up with the war department and General Hulen was detailed to make the investigations. The general talked with every company officer and all of the enlisted men, Every enlisted man denied that he had made any complaint and declared he had no fault to find either with the treatment or the food. General Hulen also investigated reports and rumors and called witnesses from outside the company and the First regiment. His finding that there is no ground for the complaints made to Senators Kern and Taggart by citizens of Winamas whose sons are in the service, is the result of three days’ investigation at Llano Grande camp.