Show aroz ED a detachment of marines it may be a call from almost any part of the world a summons to turn out for almost any kind ot military duty whether it bo to take part in a boxer uprising in china or in a alca daguan revolution to guard the polls during an election in panama or to i guard the american consulate at valparaiso chile it Is the american marine the first aid man 0 the country s armed service who rushes to the front and rushes is the word for speed la the ele faett which above all others Is drilled hammered and pounded night and day into the constitution of the marine on the principle that a fire caught in its early stages will be readily extinguished the united states marine corps Is organized to respond to any call at a moments notice and smother the incipient blaze in fact their hurried appearance on the scene has often prevented the outbreak of threatened conflagration from the halls of montezuma to the shores of tripoli Is the way the song starts which they have made known in every part of the world the halls of Montezuma 9 yes the marines have seen service jn mexico it was back in the days of 1847 when they were present at the storm ing of chapultepec the strong castle on the bortl fled hill near mexico city where the ancient aztec rulers held sway 1 to the shores of tripoli yes it was back in 1803 that american marines marched acroca the desert of northern africa for miles and after capturing the flag hoisted that of the united states for the first time in the history of the country on a fortress of the old world china japan corea egypt algiers tripoli chile mexico cuba sumatra formosa hawaii santo domingo porto rico nicaragua no this Is more than a mere geographical list of countries it Is a roster of some of the countries in which the american marines have been called on for service and they sing from the hell hole of to the ditch at panama you will find them very needy of marines what we are we re the watch dog of a pile of coal or we dig a magazine though our job lota they are manifold who would not be a marine ubiquitous they are in field of action manifold are their duties amphibious creatures also they are fighting by land or sea they are called soldiers of the aea ready for tun or frolic they serve on war vessels and land both in times of peace and war when fighting on the battleships or cruisers to which they are assigned they man the six inch five inch and three inch guns and the six of the intermediate and secondary batteries they are trained ana fully equipped tor instant service as landing parties when they land they take with them if needed ship guns of three five and six inch caliber part of their training la to mount these pieces in suitable shore positions they are taught the various methods of slinging and transporting ordnance ashore in foreign countries they fight or per form peaceful duties according to need and when there Is any fighting to be done they are generally the men who ecart it they open the way for bigger fighting it such should be feces sary they are the forerunners of both the army and navy they are the hurry up clean em up bulck and eat cm alive boys except in case of big and important fighting the marines usually finish the lob alone As the marine corps all told comprises only men and officers it could not fight a war but for the dozens of smaller calls or military aid it Is all sufficient if alther the amy or navy or both are to come into action later on it is usually the marines who have taken ho first top against the enemy y 1 ail h af 1 C i y advance base work has now become an important probably the most important part of their services this means constant preparation to pack up and be off at a moments notice if means 24 hours or less after a call comes they will have all foodstuffs personal equipment guns ammunition tents hs altal supplies and everything else that may be needed either in cold or warm country aboard ship and be ready to sail for any part of the world and off they go singing our flags unfurled to every breeze from dawn to setting sun we have fought in every clime and place where we could take a gun in the snows of far off northern lands and in sunny tropic scenes you will find us always on the job the united states marines there has been only one year since 1900 when the marines were not called on for duty on some foreign shore and during that period only 26 of hem have been killed nineteen of these one of them an officer fell during the international relief expedition to protect the foreign legations at during the doxer rebellion in 1900 in the following year two were killed in the samar campaign in the philippines five were killed in nicaragua in october 1912 while fighting against revolutionists the president of nicaragua mem bers of his cabinet and other prominent citizens of the central american republic attended the funeral services of the four marines killed in the fight at Darr ancas hill near masaya in addition as eoon as general chamorro then minister of foreign affairs in nicaragua now minister from that country to the united states learned of the deaths of the marines he called on american minister heltzel and expressed sympathy and that of his government in 1900 we find marines landing in china to assist sailors and marines from other countries in relieving the besieged legations at in 11 days this was accomplished in 1901 they land ed in samar one of the philippines also were called to panama and colon they were in pana ma again in the three following years in november 1903 a company of marines had the novel experience of riding camels across the deserts of africa as they accompanied a representative senta tive of the american state department into the heart of abyssinia to its capital for a confer ence with its famous king menelek in the same year another company went to seoul corea to protect the american legation during an insurrection santo domingo and panama needed marines in 1905 in the following year it was in cuba and panama that they served in panama on account of disturbed conditions incident Inc dent to the holding of an election in cuba as part of the army of cuban pacification which succeeded in pacifying the incipient cuban revolution of 1906 remaining in the field and occupying cuba tor about two years in this case the marines were first in the field and the only troops engaged in the disarmament of the insurgent forces panama at election time in june 1908 saw the marines again as police at the polls threatened destruction of american property in nicaragua sent the mallrs marl rs there in december 1909 and in the following year they saw service in the same revolutionary country on account of the revola alon which resulted in the founding of the chinese republic marines were sent there in 1911 to en laris larise e the legation guard last year they fought in nicaragua and this year they went to santo although they were not compelled to go ashore in the latter country their presence on a gunboat in the harbor being sufficient tor the needs of the occasion in 1907 the one year since 1900 when the ma alnes were not called on tor foreign military service they aided in the humanitarian work of helping the earthquake sufferers of the island of ja malca opportunity tor foreign travel Is ono of the inducements held out to prospective recruits in the service from one hall to three fourths of a marines enlistment it Is pointed out nay bo t n h v S ia A r served outside 0 the united or at sea and the marine may travel and see the world without expense to himself not only are all his traveling expenses paid but he receives a salary in addition and it he has a desire to be economical it IS shown that a marine can lay by a tidy sum of money and that too without denying him self the necessities ot life while also allowing himself a few ate luxuries it he remains in the service 30 years be can save more than then he can retire with all this money to his credit and with a pension in addition of from 31 60 to 67 50 a month according to the rank he held at the time ot retirement during the as years more than marines have been placed on the retired list there Is not a single vacancy in the marine corps its quota of men and officers Is kept filled re enlistments or recruits taking up all the vacancies as fast as they occur in spite of the attractions which are held out for enlistment in the marine corps foreign travel great variety of service comparatively light work most of the time and BO on it Is not a mere mat ter of application followed by a perfunctory exam which will land a man in this service the examination Is severe this applies espell ally to physical fitness although mental and moral qualifications are considered also and rank high in the mind ot the recruiting officers applicants at recruiting stations are rejected for many reasons len are not wanted who are morally unfit any more than are those who can not meet the desired physical requirements the marine corps desires to maintain a high standard and will not accept men who in the opinion of the officers in charge are likely to prove deserters cowards or weaklings wea klings in any w ay or who may have a bad influence on the other men recruiting officers are alert in efforts to prevent the enlistment of any men who try to get into the service as a means of escaping from tha results 0 misdoing such men it Is always feared will try deserting when opportunity offers when a man Is recruited his Bertl llon record Is promptly tor warded to washington where records are search ed to see if he has ever before been enlisted in any branch of the service and discharged tor cause As the recruits are not sworn in tor four or five days this gives time to catch them it they have tried to get in wrongfully criminals are sometimes caught in this way trying to escape the clutches of the law by enlisting in the government service washington has other bernillon Ber tillon records besides those made in the recruiting offices enlistment in the marine corps Is tor four years last year those who had been in the service liked it so well that 40 per cent of those whose terms expired re enlisted for another four year period the training Is systematic and careful developing the best that is in a man there are special ex tor strengthening weak parts of the body which enable the marines to stand the rigors of the hardest campaign with a minimum of physical fatigue the pay for the newly enlisted man Is 15 a month and keep which includes food allow ances to clothing and so forth in addition there Is extra pay for men who win med als who receive good conduct medals and who are proficient in various lines of work it has been shown that a marine after allowing himself a fair amount each month for extras can retire after 30 years service with more than 10 in bank drawing interest at 4 per cent kipling sings of him an after I 1 met am all over the world a doln all kinds of things like landan with a gatlan gun to talk to them eathen kings E bleeps in an ammack instead of a cot nn i e drills with the deck on a slew there lent a job on top of the earth the beggar don t know to do you can leave am at night on a bald mans ead to paddle Is own canoe E a a sort of a bloomin ln cosm soldier and sailor too the american marine soldier of the sea known all over the world from gibraltar to yokohama has been a strong factor in helping to main tain the prestige of the united states to fight its battles and stand guard on many foreign shores this influence Is not likely to be lessened with the passing ears the marines have landed and have the situation well in hand will continue to be the report heard from them |