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Show Men Wanted For Mormon Battalion Enlistment for the Mormon Battalion of the United States Marine corps has proceeded more slowly than for the Mormon Battalion Bat-talion of 1846, it is reported by Major Con D. Silard', recruiting officer at Salt Lake City, but the averag-e of six batfcalion recruits a day for the first ten days of the enlistment pei-iodi is regarded as excellent in view of army and navy needs, which draw heavily upon available manpower. In 184G, Major Silard noted, 536 Mormon men were mustered for service in 21 days, with Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, and other prominent Mormon leaders acting as "recruiting sergeants." The first platoon of 63 men, now nearly filled, is to be sworn in at a special ceremony early in July. Additional platoons will be organized as Mormon men between be-tween the ages of 17 and 30 volunteer for service. The greater proportion of those men who have thus far enlisted in the Mormon Battalion are from the Salt Lake Cilty area, and Major Silard expressed ex-pressed the hope that more recruits re-cruits from the outlying towns would apply for service at marine headquarters in the Federal building build-ing at Salt Lake City, as it is desired de-sired that the new battalion shall be fully representative of the Mormon population of the statte. |