Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 153, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 July 1917 — Page 2

SELF HELPS for the NEW SOLDIER

By a United States Army Officer

{Copyright, ISlT.by Um Wheeler Syndicate, IncJ HOW TO START AND STOP. There is small use in being taught how to march if the soldier does not know how to start. Knowing how to start is not only important—it Is fundamental. The whole unity and smoothness of a group movement depends upon whether it has had a precise beginning. Otherwise, it is ragged. Otherwise, it may be completely spoiled while individuals are bobbing along, trying to pick up the stride. Otherwise, also, fond mothers (as in the ancient story which has been handed down, perhaps, from the Macedonian Phalanx) may exclaim, “Look —look —everybody’s out of step with Johnnie I” *.

Knowing how to stop—to halt —is fully as important, if a movement is to have a trim and military finish. In some respects, it is <6ven more so, since a loose, slack movement with a snappy conclusion may leave a better impression than a well-conducted effort which slumps down at the end and expires. Just as all individual movements must he exact in order to form the essential habit of military precision, so all group movements must depend upon the degree of exactness in the individuaL •Whether a movement, well started, may be carried to a successful and precise termination rests upon cadence. The extent to which the new soldier may be assimilated into a military unit Is governed by the measure In which he is able to fit his steps and movements to the accepted cadence. This, for marching at quick time, parades and the manual of arms, is at the rate of 120 steps—or beats —a minute. Learn then to perform all movements mot otherwise specified at the rate of •two counts a second. After this, the mew soldier will find that he can be ■shifted from one unit to another without a hitch.

Marches start from the position of attention. At the command “forward,” the weight of the body is shifted to the right leg, but the left knee must be kept straight, and there must be no ■visible evidence of the transfer. “Forward” is a preparatory command, and •Its difference from “march,” the command of execution, will be explained ■ln a later article. At “march,” the left foot —always the left foot —is moved smartly forward for the regulation step of 30 inches. The sole remains near the ground and it is planted ■without a shock. There is no such contortion as the goose step in the United States army. The command “company (squad) halt” is given as either foot strikes the ground— which foot is governed hy the line on which the halt is to be made. If it is the left foot which strikes the ground when the command “halt" is given, the right foot will still be planted 30 inches ahead in marching- The left foot will then be raised and placed beside the right foot. This completes the halt. To “mark time,” the feet are raised alternately, and in cadence, about two inches from the floor and replaced in the same spot. This is continued until a further command —either "Forward march,” or “halt,” is given. The former is given as the right foot strikes the ground, so that the soldier starts off again with the left foot. “Mark time” is a command that holds a marching soldier in his tracks, so to apeak, in marching cadence.

WHY SOLDIERS MUST BE FLEXIBLE IN MOVEMENT. Any body of troops must be flexible in movement, since it may be necessary at any instant to change its purpose or direction. While such a body, without well-defined rules, would be most cumbersome and unwieldy—if not impossible—to handle, it must, in fact, respond to commands more quickly and precisely than a boat to its rudder, or an automobile to its wheel. A column of troops must not only learn to turn at an exact right angle, but, with equal celerity, it must be able to shift its movement in any specified direction, even to the exact reverse, without losing as much as a step. By the commands, “column right” or “left,” “right (left) turn,” “by the right (left) flank,” “right (left) oblique,” “incline to the right (left), and “to the rear," a unit may at once be able to switch direction toward any desired objective. When a company is in column of squads, that is, four men abreast, to change direction the command “cob umn right (left) march” is given, and fat the word “march,” the head of the column turns sharply, at a right angle ‘ln the specified direction. This is done on what is called a moving pivot, which will later be explained in the school of the squad. “Right (left) iturn” is executed when a company is iln line, that is, fifty-six men abreast, the line also turns on a moving ipivot to right or left, as the case may 'be. “Right turn” is executed by a squad as well as a company. “By the right (left) flank” is executed, as with all movements, at the command “march.” This command is Eas the right foot strikes the d. The soldier promptly turns i right on the balls df both feet mnd Immediately steps oft ifi that direction with the left foot In the “right (left) oblique” each {man performs half of “by the flank” — that is, be steps off in a direction 45

degrees to the right or left of his original front While he preserves this position, he keeps his shoulders to the guide (the man on the right front of the line or column), and also he so regulates his steps that the rank remains parallel to its original front. “Incline to the right (left)” is ngt a rigid movement, but the execution of the command is left to the discretion of the company guide. It is usually given to avoid an obstacle which protrudes into the line of march. “To the rear .... MARCH” completely reverses the direction of a column without bringing it to a pause or a halt At the command, “march,” which is given as the right foot strikes the ground, the soldier advances and plants the left foot; then he turns to the right about on the balls of both feet and immediately steps off with the left foot These are the basic commands of a soldier’s flexibility of movement, and the recruit who learns to execute them in unison with his fellows has taken a decided step on the road that leads to the accomplished soldier.

COMMANDS AND HOW AND WHY GIVEN. The execution of a command depends a great deal upon the way in which it is given. While it is true that green soldiers may not be able to execute in a clean-cut way a command which has been properly given, even veteran troops will become slipshod if a command is mumbled or drawled in a spiritless fashion by their commander. This would be the fault of the officer, for the work of a soldier is a credit to, or reflection upon, the ability of his officer. Nevertheless, if a soldier will not apply his intelligence and responsiveness to the words he hears —in short, if he goes to sleep on his feet —then the best officer in the world cannot make a real soldier of him. Every command is divided into two parts, or, into two separate commands. The first is called the preparatory command —the second the command of execution.

The preparatory command is intended to inform the soldier of the move-, ment which is to be executed. It should be given with a rising inflection, for it not only should inform the soldier, but it should bring his faculties to a poise ready for instant response to the second half of the command, or the command of execution. The rising reflection has the effect of balancing the soldier —psychologically—on the edge of the movement. Yet he must not twitch a muscle, on receiving it. The whole movement is damaged if one soldier anticipates the command of execution or even exhibits nervous shiftings of the hands and feet. The command of execution is given at the precise instant the movement is to commence. ■While the tone of the preparatory command must be “animated,” the command of execution is required by the infantry drill regulations to be “more energetic”—“firm in tone and brief.” In other words and in plain, unmilitary English, the command of execution must sound like a pistol shot and authoritative in the extreme, bringing instant obedience from the soldier.

A short interval should always elapse between the preparatory command and the command of execution. In the drill regulations, the former is printed in black italics and the latter in black capitals. „ A command is given as follows: “FORWARD . . MARCH!” “ABOUT . . FACE!” “COLUMN RIGHT 3 . MARCH!” “LEFT OBLIQUE . . MARCH!” “RIGHT SHOULDER . . ARMS!” “Company (squad) . ■ HALT!” When, as is the case in a few instances, the command is a single word, it is divided by syllables into a preparatory command and a command of execution. Thus, “attention” is pronounced : “Aten .... TION»!” Commands, signals or orders are the three classes of directions given to troops—many commands being by signals. These signals may be conveyed either by a whistle, the bugle, prescribed motions of the commanding offleer’s arms, or by flags. An order is employed only when the commands prescribed do not sufficiently indicate the will of the commander. In .other words, commands are of a limited and more or less rigid nature, while special instructions to on® or more men constitute an order. This may be communicated either by word of mouth, in writing, by telephone, telegraph, or by flag signals. - ......

Not Satisfied.

The lady had heard a stranger in a railway carriage say that if any man could see himself intoxicated he would never be intoxicated again, and, having a husband addicted to alcoholism, and also plenty of money, she thought of experimenting. The klnematograph operator whom she engaged was not kept waiting long for an opportunity of filming the errant husband, and in the presence of relations the subject was privileged to behold himself on the screen. He was very quiet throughout, and gravely left the room, which the others thought a good sign. Finding he had also left the house, his brother set out to find him, running him to earth eventually, in the club, busy—as an attendant stated —with his fifteenth cocktail. “Look here," said the brother, “I didn’t think rd find you back at the game.” “Didn’t you?” innocently asked the subject “Well, the fact of the mat- . ter is, Tm not satisfied with that film!”—Manchester Guardian.

THE EVENING REPUBLICAN, RENSSELAER. IND.

Playtime With Men of the Navy

What Happens When Several i Hundred Japkies Are Turned Loose for Shore Liberty. MAKES FOR THE ‘HAPPY SHIP’ -- ■ u Liberality* Private Citizens Has Given Men of the Fleet a Big Athletic Field for Their Recreation. With the United States Atlantic Fleet. —It is two bells in the afternoon watch when the shrill trill of the bos’n’s whistles are heard piping the crews of the mighty dreadnaughts to the rails and the sing-song cries of the bos’n’s mates carry out over the water, “Liberty party to muster.” This is the summons given three times each week to the men of the Atlantic fleet to take their hours of recreation on the Immense athletic field provided for them by the Navy league. By the hundreds, on every battleship and cruiser, the youthful, white-uni-formed Jackies come rushing on deck to form into line for the liberty inspection.

Two long white lines form on deck and every man stands rigidly at attention while officers pass along marking the appearance of each one. Their uniforms are spotlessly white. Their shoes freshly blackened. Off come their little round white caps to show that their hair is closely cropped. No visitor to the fleet fails to be struck, when he views that line at inspection, with the extreme youth of the men, their intelligent faces and happy, smart appearance. The average age appears to be less than twenty years and many of them seem barely to have passed their eighteenth birthday on the date of their enlistment. From every state tn the Union they hail and thousands of them from the farms of the middle West. A collection certainly of America’s finest gathered on the deck of a floating fortress to form the first line of the nation’s defense. ... •

Off for Day of Sport. On every sun-tanned face is worn a broad smile in expectation of the sport that the afternoon will -bring. Over the rail, the visitor sees the ship’s launches bobbing about in the seaway with the bowmen holding fast to the ship’s side with their boathooks. Then the sharp word of command rings out on deck and the white line of sailors begins to move forward toward the gangway and the men go over the side to the waiting launches. Discipline begins to give way a little at this point, although the coxswain of the boat is all business as he calls to the bowmen to shove off. The afternoon’s recreation has begun. Thousands of superfluously healthy, absolutely carefree and very young men are turned loose. To be sure there is the provost guard with their policemen’s sticks, but that is only to guard against the chance of ugly blood developing from the fun, which does not happen. When the dock at the athletic field is reached the men from the launches tumble out pell-mell and immediately begins a raid upon the canteen.' Pop is sold faster than corks can be pulled. The man who gets anything over the canteen counter fights for it. You must come with your change ready or go without. There is too much business to stop to change money. Watermelons Last Quick.

A pump receives the overflow from the canteen and those who have been unable to spend their money for candy or pop take their chances on getting ducked under the pump. A farmer drives onto the field with a load of watermelons. At 50 cents apiece his watermelons last about fifty seconds. A colored cook’s helper buys a melon and dives into it when a huge hand belonging to a Jackie from an Indiana farm buries the dark’s into the melon up to his ears. Another enterprising farmer brings some old farm nags on the field to hire them out for “gentlemen’s mounts” to the sailors. Obviously the horses are about as used to their saddles as a hog is to work. But they are hired by the sailors at any price the farmer asks. A lad hailing from Maine takes his first chance on horseback and slides down the horse’s neck.. His shipmate yells at him, “Go aft, you fool, go aft.” The thousands of Jackies swarm over the field. Hundreds of them break and run for the beach for a swim. A crowd of them gather at target practice with small rifles. Six of the ten baseball diamonds are promptly put info use by scrub teams.

And then more launches from the battleships come in bringing the star baseball teams from four of the battleships. A double-header is to be played between four of the best teams of the fleet In a series to determine the fleet championship. The grand stands fill rapidly and soon they are a swelling sea of white suits and red and brown faces as the sailors cheer their ship’s teams on to victory. Rattling good ball is played by these navy teams. The nine men on the diamond represent the pick of' a thousand from a battleship and they play with the interest and a good bit of the money of the whole crew backing them. They train and work for months for a championship series like this. Provides the “Happy Ships.” It is the liberality of private American citizens that has given these men of the fleet their big athletic field. When the war oune on the fleet lost

the Income it usually had for its athletic fund from the Guantanamo canteen and the Navy league of the United States offered to lay out a field for the men of the fleet, v. In all about 115 acres have been obtained. The ground has been leveled, plowed and prepared. Ten baseball diamonds have been laid out. Docks were built at the water’s edge. A bathing beach was cleared. The officers of the fleet also were provided with tennis courts and a "golf course. . Every sort of sport is found there. The result is that every man on the fleet has plenty of healthy outdoor sport and the officers of the fleet say that this provision or their recreation has done much to provide “happy ships” in the fleet as it waits for the opportunity to strike a blow at the Huns in defense of civilization and freedom.

FRENCH WAR MINISTER

This is the latest picture of M. Painleve, the new French minister of war, taken at the British headquarters on the French front.

Signal Corps Is in Need of Men

On the Hunt for Patriotic Telegraphers for Service in the War. TRAINING CAMP IS PLANNED Former Operators Are Urged to Return to the Key to Release Eligibles for Service with "the Heroes of the Army.” New York. —The United States government has leased 381 acres, of land at Monmouth Park, near Long Branch, N. J., to be used as a training camp for the reserve battalions of the signal corps. This land has been acquired because of its adaptability for signal corps work, Involving all kinds of signaling, telegraphy and maintenance of rapidly constructed lines of communication.

The quartermaster’s department will build a large cantonment, consisting of temporary .barracks, kitchen, storehouses, and everything necessary to promote the efficient training of the battalions, several of which have already been organized. The camp will be under the direct supervision of Lieutenant Colonel Hartmann, who will be assisted by other officers of the regular army. An intensive course of Instruction will be given to both the officers and men of the signal corps, preparing them for service abroad in every phase of military life necessary to perform their interesting work on the battlefield and to keep up the traditions of the signal corps.

Experienced Men Needed. , Only men with education and experience along signal corps lines, aside from the special lines mentioned, and cooks, horseshoeps, farriers and mechanics are sought for this branch of service. J,leutenant Colonel Hartmann has been given one of the biggest tasks of the day in organizing this branch of the new national army. He needs some, 3.00 Q. telegraphers—and he needs them now. Telegraphers are scarce. The unusual number of men required cannot be taken from the commercial and railroad forces without Jeopardizing the prompt transmission of government business. Men and women who manipulated the key in former years—and they are legion—are being induced to return to the wire and release ellglbles for service in the signal corps. Brig. Gen. George O. Squler, present chief signal officer, U. S. A., is the man on whose shoulders rests the big responsibility for keeping up to the mark —and, if possible, a bit beyond—the “eyes, ears and nerves” of the army; better known to the layman as the signal corps. The signal corps has recently addressed a letter to presidents of colleges and universities, asking their cooperation in a plan of instruction for telegraphers and prospective telegraphers. Six thuskmnd young men are

NEW MONSTER U-BOATS NOISELESS, SAYS SWISS

A Swiss newspaper corre- , spondeht who recently visited 1 Kiel says the German subma- ] rines of the latest type are ' cruisers of 2,000 or more tons, ] with a radius of action of thou- ] sands of miles. At least four ( of these new U-cruisers have ] already been built, and several ( others will be completed this summer. The submersible cruisers have several batteries of sixinch guns and three torpedo tubes. Their speed is said to be over 20 knots per hour on the surface and 12 knots submerged. Each one of the vessels has a crew of more than 100 men. An important feature of the)' new monster submarines is that they have noiseless motors. As- . ter diving they move silently through the water and their presence cannot be detected by an enemy ship even with the finest Instruments.

POOH-BAH JOINS THE ARMY

Sandberg Held Nearly Every Office In His Town, But War Wooed Him. Bangor, Me. —When Carl J. Sandberg of The Folks enlisted the other day with Company E of Skowhegan, which is now doing guard duty, he upset the entire officialdom of the town. He was principal of the high school, assistant postmaster, chairman of the board of selectmen, superintendent of schools, notary public, tax collector and game warden. But patriotism overcame all these honors, and he walked out of all these official robes to help Uncle Sam in his scrap with the kaiser. The Folks is not a large place, having about 200 residents and a valuation of about $300,000. It is largely a lumbering community and is fifty miles southeast of Skowhegan, in Somerset county. Sandberg was not the whole town, but as shown by the honors conferred upon him, he was a real somebody in the community.

needed for the first army of 500.000, and it is proposed to teach telegraphers the elementary knowledge of physics and electrical engineering; high school graduates and college men will be given this Instruction, and a "course of telegraphy in addition. Will Furnish Instructors. The signal corps will furnish expert telegraph instructors, and the colleges and universities are being requested to furnish the theoretical and laboratory instruction. Young men desiring to avail themselves of this opportunity should apply at once. If found eligible they will be enlisted, assigned to. classes and receive army pay, food, quarters and medical attention during the course of instruction, which is expected to occupy from three to five months, according to the ability of the student.

In time bf peace the signal corpslß perhaps the least heard of branch of the army. In time of stress it is a most vitally necessary arm. It is the “nerves” of the army, and as such, a major factor in the conduct of military affairs. In fact, the last three years of war abroad seem to indicate it as the paramount element in the control of modern warfare. Congress has recently doubled the pay of the private and increased the remuneration of each noncommissioned officer. The signal corps has a greater percentage of noncommissioned officers than any other branch. The pay of a corporal Is now $36 per month, in addition to food and clothing and medical attendance when needed. The rating of a sergeant is now $44, with the same subsistence; that; of a sergeant, first-class, ssl, and the master signal electrician —and many telegraphers have most of the requirements in this direction —$81. The signal corps is a mounted service. A knowledge of horses, If not already possessed, must be acquired, and a healthful life in the open is one of the most attractive offerings of this branch of the service.

STONE AGE WEAPON FOUND

Flint Dug Up in Trench Found to Be -= Club Head Used In Prehistoric Days. London. —An Australian soldier digging a trench in France found a strangely chipped knob of flint and fastened to it a strong handle, thus converting it into a knobkerry, which he always carried In his belt. He used It to crack German heads in trench raids. When he brought it to England the interest of antiquarians was attracted by the flint. Investigations and comparisons resulted tn authorities agreeing that It was a war weapon of the Stone Age, used then in exactly the same manner as the Australian was using it in 1917 and showing that tn the Stone Age men fought over the same battlefields.

, A patient anatomist has counted 272 hatrs to each square centimeter in a European, 252 to 286 in a Japanese, only 214 on the average In the Ainoq, a race noted for its extreme pllosity.

MAKING TIME FLY

By JANE OSBORN.

JJII had just finished washing dishes and setting things to right in the kitchen and the living room when the clock struck eleven. “Eleven o’clock already I” she exclaimed, looking reproachfully from her work in the kitchen toward the offending timepiece. “Only eleven o’clock,” sighed Jack, who was arranging fishing tackle on the kitchen table. “Goodness! -It does seem as if mealtimes never come here. I think it’s in the air—the air and your good cooking.” 1 Jill placed two watersoaked, small hands squarely in the pockets of her bungalow apron. “Jack Nast, I’m just ashamed of you. Why, you had enough pancakes and sausages for breakfast to feed a large family. Home you wouldn’t think of eating anything but eggs and toast.” Jack looked self-reproach and guilt. “I’m sorry, honey, but Tm as-hungry as a bear. This mountain air is- immense. Maybe in a day or so I wont* 'eat so much. “I’m glad you like my first cooking,” sighed Jill with a weary smile, as she • hurried to the cupboard for flour and sugar for the muffins for luncheon. Jack and Jill Nast were on their first vacation together—that is, excepting the wedding trip of a week or so a few months before, when there had been no thought of anything so rustic as a trip to Jack’s little cabin in the mountains, or anything so mundane as the cultivation of a large appetite. After luncheon they planned a short walk through the woods. While Jill was changing her bungalow working frock for a short khaki costume, Jack carried out the plan that had been brewing in his mind since daybreak. The .clock pointed to five minutes of three. Jack reached up, opened the glass face, and, carefully listening for Jill’s approach, turned the hands ahead to five minutes of four.

’ It was not hard to get the conversation around to the subject of watches. “Qf course there are no tramps or burglars around the shack, but I was thinking that you ought not to leave that watch of yours around,” commented Jack. “Suppose I take it and put it in a safe place foe you.” Jill looked up with a little surprise, and then: “I was thinking exactly the same thing myself—about your watcji. You left it in the bedroom the other day when you went fishing. And, anyway, now that we are away from civilization, why should we keep track of time?” “Yes, why should we?” echoed Jack, delighted that Jill had fallen in so readily with his schemes. “Let’s both put our watches away.” “I’ll take them both right now,” suggested Jill easily. So at the outset of the ramble the watches were rolled into Jill’s handkerchief and slipped into the cartridge pocket on her khaki suit. “Funny how time flies in the woods,” he remarked by five. “I can tell by the shadows that it is about six—almost time for dinner.”

“Oh, you silly man,” squealed Jill. “I’m sure we haven’t been gone an hour. I’m sure I can’t tell anything from the shadows, and I don’t believe you can, either. You’re just trying tc bluff the new wife and make her think you are a regular Indian.” They both smiled, and with one accord started to retrace their steps toward the cabin. Jack stopped to gather some wild strawberries at Jill’s request. He wondered whether she would be surprised when she saw the clock pointing an hour nearer supper time than she supposed. Of course there was this difficulty that had occurred to Jack when he first formulated his scheme for making time fly. By leaving the clock an hour faster it would mean an hour earlier rising time, and In order to hasten meals any more the next day there would have to be another abridgement of the time, which would, of course, be rather difficult in the long run. That was why he made an excuse about going to see the ’possum traps that night after dinner. So Jack walked around the cabin three times in the starlight, and then noiselessly went toward the living room with designs on the clock. But as he was about to turn the knob he saw through the window a figure in white—Jill, to be sure. She heard him and, stopped, and then lighted a candle. “Hello, you up?” he asked, casting a guilty look toward the clock. Jill also looked at the clock. He had noticed it when he went out* It said nine o’clock then, and now it said tefi.

He started in alarm. Then he heard Jill’s nervous laugh. He looked at her and to his surprise she laughed again nervously and whispered. “I’m sorry. Jack. I’ll have to confess. I thought it would take longer for you to fix those traps. That’s why you caught me. You see—you see, I set the clock an hour back when you were gathering berries, so I’d have more time to get supper. It didn’t really seem to help at all, though. I had to set it forward again so we could get up at the right time in the morning.” They stood and looked at each other in the candlelight. “I’ll tell you what we’ll do,” said Jack. “We’ll cook the meals together—like good campmates. Then you’ll have time enough in the woods, and you’ll have less cooking to do. Apd we won't fib to each other any more, will we?" And of course Jill promised "No” most emphatically. (Copyright, »17, by the McClure Newspaper Syndicate.) , a. ■ ■ i . .'. -