Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 184, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 21 August 1917 — Page 3

SELF HELPS for the NEW SOLDIER

By a United States Army Officer

(Copyright, 1917, by the Wheeler Syndicate, Inc.) TURNING THE SQUAD COMPLETELY ABOUT. i We now return to the squad for further instruction therein. “Squad, right,” which was explained in the thirteenth article of this series, is at once a movement so difficult and so important —important as the basis for changing the front of a platoon or company —that it would be beneficial to go overit again in preparation for “squad right about.” In “squad right,” the right man on the front rank, at the command “MARCH!" faces to the right in marching and marks time. He must cease absolutely to advance until the movement is completed. If he inches forward, he then ceases to be a “fixed pivotand unless “squad right” is performed upon a fixed pivot, the squads will not fit together properly when a column of squads swings into a company front. If, however, the pivot man turns upon the fixed spot and marks time, as he should, the various squads in company front will slip into place like boards with tongues and grooves. At the command of execution, “MARCH,” the three other front-rank men oblique to the right, place themselves abreast of the pivot man, and mark time. They do not stumble into position in loose and sagging circles. Each of these movements should be precise and military. Otherwise, the squad formation will be as slack as the movement of the slackest man. In the rear rank, the third man from the right (No. 3, in the “count off”), followed in column by ,Nos. 2 and 1, moves straight to the front until he finds himself immediately to the rear of his front rank man. Nos. 2 and 1 place themselves behind their froht rank men likewise. Then all face to'the right in marching and mark time. The other man of the rear rank —No. 4 —moves straight to the front, at the side of No. 3 for four paces and places himself abreast of the man on his right. Each man, as he reaches the new line, glances toward the marching flank —that is, those still to come on to the' new line—while he marks time, and when the last man arrives on the line, both ranks proceed with “forward march” without further commana. For the guidance of the squad members, the movement has been worked out in six counts —at the quick time cadence of 120 steps a minute — from the command “MARCH.” tn other words, if each man will perform his appointed task while counting six, Including the marking time, the squad will be ready to advance in the new direction Upon the sixth count. “Squads left” is, of course, executed as above with the fourth man in the front rank as the fixed pivot. Now, in order completely to reverse the front of a company and the direction of march, “squads right” (left) about” is executed. At this command, the pivot man (No. 1, front rank) executes “squad right” twice. He does not, however, make this a sloppy merger of the two, but starts the second “squad right” when the last man in the front rank on the first “squad right” has arrived abreast of the rank. They execute the movement in two distinct counts of six. The front rank moves then, as in “squad right.” The movement of the rear rank, however, is somewhat different from the same rank’s task in “squad right,” and this difference should be carefully noted. in the rear rank, the third man from the right—No. 3 followed by No. 2 and No. 1 in column, moves straight to the front until on the prolongation of the line (40 inches in the rear of the front rank) to be occupied by the rear rank; changes direction to the right; moves in the new direction until he, and Nos. 2 and 1 also, are each in rear of his respective front rank man, when all face toward the right in marching, mark time, and glance toward the marching flank. The fourth man marches on the left of the third man to his new position, and, as he arrives on the line, both ranks execute “forward march”—on the second count of six—without further command.

EXTENDED ORDER. Everything we have taken up bo far from “the school of the squad” except “take interval” and “take distance,” has been “close order” drill. Close order is necessary for marching, parade and disciplinary purposes, but in modern warfare—that is, outside of a trench —a squad fights in extended order. Even in a trench, the principle of the extended order is maintained ; that is to say, the distance between rifles is approximately the same as when deployed on its skirmish line. Of all the great armies in Europe, the Germans alone at the present time send troops Into battle in close order, lor “massed formation,” with the result ithat their casualties are appalling. Extended order, on the bther hand, a characteristic of American troops, is also uniformly practiced by the allied armies. The purpose of extended order is so to distribute the men of a squad that they may work in unison and without serious reduction of the amount of fire which can be delivered from a single section of the line, but, which at the same time leaves sufficient space between them to minimize the chances of their being hit. — Even a machine gun would not annihilate a squad In extended order

quite so expeditiously as it could dispose of one in close order. For not only does the extended order separate the men, but in that degree increases their chances of escaping bullets, but it also affords them infinitely better chances of finding cover while advancing. . ’ To deploy “as skirmishers,” which is the descriptive command for extended order drill, the corporal at the command of execution, “mar<sh,‘” springs in front of the squad, if hb does not occupy that position already. At a run, the other members of the squad place themselves abreast of the corporal at Jialf pace Intervals. Since a ■pace Is 30 Inches, “there is 15 Inches of space between men so deployed, instead of the four inches of close order. No. 2 of the front rank springs to the corporal’s immediate right. No. 2 of the rear rank takes station to the iipmediate right of No. 2 front rank. TffdTT.lSdnt~FMaKTg bn the Immediate right of No. 2 rear rank, and No- 1 rear rank on the right of Nd. 1 front rank. On the corporal’s immediate left Ls No. 3 rear rank, who has No. 3, front rank, on his left, while on No. 3 front rank’s left is the remaining member of the squad. No. 4 rear rank. In other words, with the exception of No. 4 rear rank, in extended order the rear rank men all place themselves on tJie right of their respective file leaders, and each front rank man, in springing to the side of the corporal, leaves room for the rear rank man of the same number to step into his proper position in the skirmish line. If there are any extra men in the squad (which sometimes happens), they fall in at the left of No. 4 rear rank, or at the extreme left of the skirmish line. In moving, the entire line conforms to the corporal’s gait, whether that be route step, double time, or still faster running. Deployed as skirmishers, a squad does not keep step; but it must take pains to see that a space of 15 inches is maintained between each man. A common error is for the men to bunch after a few steps forward have been taken. Inasmuch as the normal Interval between skirmishers is one-half pace, or 15 inches, each man has practically one yard of front. The front of a squad thus deployed is ten paces, or 25 feet.

WHEN X THE SQUAD IS ACTING ALONE IN EXTENDED ORDER. The squad in combat drill is what might be called a subsidiary first unit. The squad is not the regulation first unit—this is the platoon (one-fourth of a company roughly speaking), as will be explained later.’ But within a platoon, a closer fire control is often necessary, and to this the squad organization is adapted. Particularly is this essential to “firing by squads” which is, under certain circumstances, the most effective way in which the fire can be delivered. In addition, the squad is a most practicable unit for patrol and outpost duty, since it places a small and flexible body of men in charge of a noncommissioned officer for work which requires discretion and concealment. This is not to say that patrol or outpost duty is confined to squads, but it Is often subdivided finally upon the squad basis. In any event, the squad in extended order work of all kinds has many occasions to work independently, and it is then that the discipline and sense of unity acquired in close order drill will Justify Itself, as well as obedience and attention to the corporal. When the squad is deployed with other squads, the front and rear rank men place themselves abreast the corporal at half-pace intervals, as we have seen, but when the squad is acting alone, the skirmish line is formed in the same way upon No. 2 of the front rank. No. 2 stands fast in his place or continues the march, as the case may be. Meanwhile, the corporal places himself in front of the squad when advancing, and in the rear when halted. When he is in line, the corporal is the guide; when he is not in line —that is, when he advances la front of the squad as its commander— No. 2 front rank is the guide of the line, and it is the duty of No. 2 front rank to follow in the tracks of the corporal, with the rest of the squad guiding on No. 2. The command for assembling the squad may be given either as “Assembly, MARCH,” or by the corporal’s waving his arm in short circles above his head. At the command, the men move toward the corporal, wherever he has taken his station as a base, and form upon him, in their proper places, in close order. If the corporal continues to advance, they move in double time, form, and follow him. The assembly, while marching to the rear, is not executed. It will be seen that in deploying as the precise form of movement prescribed for close order drill is not adhered to.' A man has more ease and .latitude in carrying out the movements. This is to make speed. While men in close order arlK. compelled to turn corners sharply) and maneuver, so to speak, in angles, fti extended order it would be inefficient for a man to turn on an angle to reach his position when he could make a straight cut for it Yet this in no sense nullifies the need for precision in close order drill, without it troops would become hopelessly tangled up, and without it also there would not be the uniformity of movement which would cause members of a squad in extended order instinctively to choose the most direct—and in that sense, precise—short-cuts in the r least possible time. In fact, without the close order, they could make no short cuts at all, forthey would not know where to turn in order to find theii places in the squad.

THE EVENING REPUBLICAN,

The 1918 class at Annapolis was graduated on June 28, one year ahead of time, because of war conditions. The 1917 class was graduated in February. The two rows in the center constitute the class of 1919 youths, r

WAR SPEEDS UP COALING SHIPS

No Port in World as Well Equipped as New York to Handle Work. SAVING IN TIME IS SHOWN "“'’l-.' High Speed Coal Dumpers and Lightera Simplify Work—lo.ooo Tons Can Be Loaded in Sixteen Hours. New York. —War has speeded up coaling of ships in the port of New York until no other port in the world at the present time is as well equlpSo fast has become the coaling of big vessels that enormous liners like the Imperator can have their bunkers filled to their capacity of 10,000 tons in 16 hours. The reason for the increased speed is largely high-speed coal dumpers and fuel lighters. Each' of the latter is able to give a ship 1,000 tons of coal in eight hours, an achievement due mainly to special coal elevating machinery. But ships requiring 1,000 tons or less are in the big majority, whether transatlantic or coastwise trade is considered. And it is not essential that for such ships there should be a loading device separate from the coal barges to enable a continuous stream of* barges to ply to and from coal dumping stations. In a Single Day. For the average vessel a total of 300 tons is usually sufficient, and this means that a ship of this sort may discharge a cargo and take on a new one all In the course of a single day. With the adoption of the modern lighter it Is an easy matter to load coal while the cargo is being unloaded and a new one taken on. One modern high-speed lighter can coal three such ships in an eight-hour day. This development of modern lighters is equalled by better facilities for transferring coal from cars to barges. Jliige steel dumping machines now take up a 50-ton car bodily, elevate It and empty Its contents Into the barge

MAKES CLEVER DEFENSE

Mrs. Helen Hill Weed, daughter of the Connecticut congressman,' who by her clever defense of herself and her twelve sister-suffragettes has won the admiration of the court and all members of the bar who followed with Interest their trial for “obstructing the traffic” in front of the White House recently. This ardent suffragist took upon herself the duties of counsel and won great favor with the lawyers by her skillful cross-examinations. Mrs. Weed never studied law in her life .but she certainly made things hum some in the Washington courtroom. Despite’her strong defense, the suffragists were adjudged guilty and fined $25 apiece. Two of the ladles paid, the other eleven electing to serve three days In jail—the alternative. Mrs. Weed was one of the eleven to choose jail. Upon their release they were royally feted'by the woman’s party in the capital. A .

NAVAL ACADEMY CLASS OF 1918 IS GRADUATED

hy tilting the entire car on the side—a great Improvement over the process of unlocking a trapdoor in the bottom of the car and letting the copl slide through. These machines have a capacity of 9,000 tons each a day. Saving of time to the shipowner here is shown by comparison with Cardiff, the English port where the largest tonnage of English cdal is loaded for export. In loading a vessel, for example, the English shipper uses a railroad car of ten or twelve tons, while the American uses one of fifty to ninety tons capacity, so that the Cardiff docks must discharge from five to ten carloads to every one discharged in New York in order to maintain the same speed. “Carried by Steel Colliers. Steel colliers ply between Boston and Hampton Roads, a distance of 600 miles. Each one of these ships is capable of making a round trip every week and transporting 350,000 tons of coal a year. A vessel of the same tonnage, however, carrying a cargo of coal from Cardiff to a port 600 miles away would take a week at Cardiff to load its cargo and another week at its destination to discharge it. Thus New York laden ships can make three trips to one for a Cardiff laden vessel. Such things as these are what places New York as the greatest port in the world and makes American coal operators feel that there is a great opportunity for exporting American coal. Five different companies within recent months have established fleets of specially designed carriers on the theory that with our tremendous coal supply and superior port facilities it

SUBMARINES RAID IRISH FISHERMEN

Blow Up Their Boats in Waters Around the Emerald , Isle. THREATEN COAST VILLAGES To Remark, “We Thought You Liked the Irish,” They Retort, “Ah, You Don’t Know Us Yet”—To Cut Food Supply. Skibbereen, County Cork. —German submarines have been actively engaged in the destruction of the Irish fishing fleets in the waters around these coasts. Of course it is impossible to designate here the exact localities where or the dates when the Prussian pirates did their cowardly work. But their purpose is plain to all the world—to cut off part of Ireland’s and England’s food supply, for mackerel teem in these waters. The submarines were busy many miles outside from Kenmare in Kerry to Howth on Dublin bay. Many fishing craft are at the bottom of the sea, arid the men who owned them and the fishermen who worked on them are ruined financially. Affixed Bombs on Boats. On a certain evening about seven o’clock the fishing fleet put out from Baltimore, on Baltimore bay, near 1 Skibbereen. The first numbered about eighty boats of all classes and embraced- several boats from Ark low. County Wicklow. A few hours after the flqet set out a German U-boat of the latest pattern, about 300 feet in length, appeared. The submarine did hot waste torpedoes or shells on the defenseless fishing- boats; the cretf simply placed bombs on 13 of them and so destroyed them. Only three minutes were allowed the hapless fishermen to get into their small boats; then all their belongings, wfoch in many cases included considerable sums of money, were sent to the bottom. Had it not been for the appearance of a British patrol, which caused the submarine to submerge at once, it is certain that all the fleet would have been destroyed. Those that escaped returned to port with an abundance of fish, but are not venturing out again, so that in one night the fishing fieet of Baltimore has been put out of action by the Germans, which means a loss of many thousands

will only be a question of time before America Is shipping her coal to all parts of the globe.

ABOUT 5,000,000 DEAD IN BATTLING ARMIES

New York. —From a careful study of what has been made public regarding casualties in the three years of war, it appears that about 5,000,000 combatants have lost their lives and about 5,000,000 have been killed, captured, reported missing or so badly wounded that they cannot return to the front. This takes no account of the millions of slightly wounded men. The table below gives the losses of all the fighting nations in killed and in men put out of the struggle by death, wounds, sickness or capture: ENTENTE ALLIES. Total Killed captured or permanently incapacitated Killed, for fighting. Great Britain.... 300,000 765,000 France 975,000 2,060,000 Russia 1,560,000 4,600,000 Italy 120,000 250,000 Belgium 53,000 120,000 Serbia 66,000 100,000 Roumanla 100.000 350,000 Montenegro 5,000 30,000 Portugal Small Small United States Japan Small Small Totals .....3,178,000 8,175,000 CENTRAL POWERS. GermanO’ ........1,120,000 •’ 4,550,000 Austria ;.. 620,000 2,000,000 Turkey 145,000 350,000 Bulgaria 9,000 24,000 Totals for both sides 5,072,000 15,099,000

a government bureau In the Philippines Is trying to supply a dearth of native food fish in certain waters by imported Chinese carp.

of pounds to the poor fishermen and their families. Among the fishing boats sunk were two fine motorboats belonging to the Baltimore Piscatorial schools, a motorboat the property of John Beamish, Sklbbereen, and two motorboats owned by Mr. Cottrell, Baltimore, worth several hundred pounds each. The pirates did not spare even the smallest craft, for they bombed two open boats.' With a great hammer they smashed to bits the engine of a little boat belonging to John Donovan of Castletownshend and left It to drift about. No lives were lost, but for that the Huns deserve no thanks, for they refused the fishermen permission to take oars into their punts. One Cape Clear man, resenting this refusal, ventured to remark to the captain of the submarine: "I thought ye Germans would do nothing to the Irish—that ye liked us?” “Ah, my dear fellow, you don’t know tf?e Germans yet,” was the commander’s curt reply. , The Germans intimated that they had sunk all the Kinsale fishing boats as they had come along to Baltimore, and that off Dunmore they had destroyed the Waterford fishing fleet. They made no secret of the fact, but on the contrary boasted about it and declared that they would have every Irish fishing boat at the bottom of the sea before, a month. Furthermore one of the submarine crew said they intended shelling villages on this coast shortly. “It’s All Up Now." Consternation and despair have seized our unfortunate fisherfolk. “It is all up now, sir,” said a Baltimore skipper, “when they are sinking our fishing boats.” When. I told him I would expose the Huns’ deviltry he joyously exclaimed: “Oh, then, do, sir! Tell all America the Germans, are - the worst savages on earth, and that this is their most cowardly blow and that we hope and trust that with the aid of our kith and kin over there the archfiends will soon be swept from the face of the earth.” \

The Investment in the electrical Industries of this is equal to the assessed valuation of real property and improvement in Greater New York.

THE JAPANESE JUG

By SYLVIA TURNER.

“But there’s no place for it,” protested Etelyn. “I am so sick and tired of these baby white elephants that people call wedding gifts I don’t know what to do, and It’s blue and white. Imagine that with Jacobean furniture and dull olive decorations. I think I’ll put it in the bathroom. It goes beautlfully with tlic white filing- - “You poor sish —” r~ “Bennie—” “I mean goldfish, darling. Don’t you know tjie value of that thing?” The recent bridegroom stood before the long, dark oak table beaming on the object that had Just emerged from many wrappings. It was nearly two feet high—a jug of blue and white porcelain. About it colled In sinuous folds a most engaging dragon. “Uncle Barnaby has collected Chinese porcelains ever since I can .remember,” Informed the young husband. “I am sure It Is. worth its weight in gold. We’ll have to make a place for It somewhere.” “The dear old thing,” Evelyn said, happily. “Let’s invite him down for a week. Perhaps he’d take a fancy to you, and do something wonderful.” The following month Uncle Barnaby arrived. He was a little, light-eyed, alert man, with not very much to say, but nothing escaped his ken. Almost the first thing he spied was the porcelain jar on Its pedestal in the sunny dining room. Evelyn had' put tall sprays of flowering almond In it and a Japanese print on the wall behind it. “Humph I” said the old gentleman. “Looks pretty good, doesn’t it?” “We prize It highly,” Ben answered reverently. And Eve added: “I’ve been up to the library and read up all about Japanese and Chinese porcelains." “You did, did you? Then you probably found out that this Is an imitation.” ——-—7 —- The silence in the dining room for a moment was unbroken. “Yes,” Uncle Barnaby went on, pleasantly, “I flatter myself it’s one of the best Imitations I have ever seen. I had a Jot of them made before I started disposing of my collection. I don’t suppose you heard, Ben, two of the companies I had stock in went up in smoke, so to speak. I’ve been riding close to the wind for a good many years. One reason why I came down here was to look around quietly for a tidy little job. of some sort.” “The worst of It Is,” Ben told his wife that night, “you can’t tell whether he’s joking or in earnest.” “Well, I’ll tell you,” Evelyn was braiding her long brown hair thoughtfully, as she sat before the three-fold mirror of the dressing table. “Let’s treat him just as if we believed everything he said. There’s one comfort, if the old thing does get broken now, !t doesn’t matter. Pm rather sorry I Invited Miss Rutherford up for tea to look at it,”——.. tt-— r

“Don’t tell her,” advised Ben. “Oh, but she'll know, she’s.a connoisseur on porcelains.” , The following Saturday Ann Rutherford arrived. When Uncle Barnaby saw her a look of utter amazement spread over his face, while she gave a little exclamation of pleasure. “Why, Mr. Wynne-Jones, to think of seeing you down here in New York at this time of the year. You’ve come for the Creighton auction haven’t you? The pieces are marvelous, I hear." After she had gone the old man beamed happily at Evelyn. “Found me out, didn’t you?” he asked. “Well, I did come down for that sale, and your jar’s a real one. . just wanted to try you out, and I tell you one thing, if you’ll Invite Ann Rutherford down often and help me make her Bennie’s aunt I’ll give you some porcelains that will make that look like a toothbrush mug. She’s the only person that I believe knows more about porcelains than I do.” Evelyn went into the campaign heart and soul. She willingly forgave the old gentleman his. kindly deception in the spur of the chase. It was such fun chaperoning this pair of lovers, she told Ben. From being a hermit. Uncle Barnaby suddenly developed into a joyous spendthrift and Beau Brummel, and' at the end of another month, when they returned from a motoring trip through the Catskills, Evelyn sank into the willow chair In her own room with a little sigh of relief. “Ben,” she said thankfully, “I’ve got them married. Really married. You’ll never know what I’ve gone through. I’ve trotted that couple to every possible Cupid’s trap I knew of. But they’re safery married now and Tm their honeymoon. Uncle Barnaby’s given me a check. Never mind for how much. It’s enough, and you’re going to stop work for a month and go camping with me up in the wilds. I need a rest cure.” (Copyright, 1917. by the McClure Newspaper Syndicate.)

Appropriate Menu.

“I hear those society folks are going to give a donkey dinner in the barn.” “I wonder how they are going to arrange it?” ~ ~ "I suppose the dinner will be a la cart.”

Wise to Him.

“'/Then do ybu think it wilt stop raining?” “If I answer that question youTl want me to tell you when the war i» going to end.”