Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 184, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 21 August 1917 — HOME-READING COURSE FOR CITIZEN-SOLDIERS . [ARTICLE]

HOME-READING COURSE FOR CITIZEN-SOLDIERS .

(Issued by the War Department and all rights to reprint reserved.) Thi« course of thirty daily lessons is offered to the men selected for service in the National Army as a practical help in getting started in the right way. It is informal in tone and does not attempt to give binding rules and directions. These are contained in the various manuals and regulations of the U. S. Army, to which this course is merely introductory. LESSON No. 6. CLEANLINESS IN CAMP.

When large numbers of men are assembled in camp it is necessary for the good of all that* strict rules of personal conduct and sanitation should be enforced. These rules are by no means a-hardship. They are a protection. By, insisting on strict obedience to these rules, the diseases which-once took so heavy a toll in nearly all military camps have been brought under control; some have been practically eliminated. Suppose you were asfted to make a choice; either -to live under conditions in which smallpox, typhoid fevdiarrhoea, dysentery and cholera flourish; or to live under strict regulations, which make these diseases far more of a rarity in military than in civil life. Your good sense would lead you to choose the latter. Bear this in mind. See to it that you cooperate with enthusiasm in the measures that will be taken to keep your camps clean, comfortable and healthful. 'One of the pests of camp life, if ’perfect cleanliness is not observed, is the presence of swarms of flies. Flies are not merely annoying. They are dangerous. Somebody has said, with perhaps a slight exaggeration, that to soldiers they are more dangerous than bullets. This is because flies carry disease germs. They feed on manure, garbage, uncovered food, human excreta and the like. They also lay their eggs wherever refuse of the same kind is found. The best way to keep flies away from camps js to destroy the places where they breed and feed; in other words, keep the camp spotlessly clean. For this reason the daiy “policing” or cleaning up, of the camp is a matter of first importance. You will be required to keep your company street free from even small objects, bits of food and the like which might attract flies or other-insects.. The best safeguards against disease, either in the army or out of it, are soap and sunshine. You will' be required to keep everything in the camp well scrubbed and well aired If it were not required, you would doubtless be anxious to do it, anyway. The good soldier is almost fussy

in the care of his person, his clothing, his bedding and his other belongings. Personal cleanliness includes using only ypur own linen, toilet artides, cup aha mess kit. Many annoying skin troubles and sudh diseases as colds and infectious fevers are often passed from one person to others by using articles in common. In the training camp there will be plenty of shower baths, and you will, of course, make free use of them. If in temporary camps or at any other time you cannot obtain a bath, give yourself a good stiff rub with a dry towell. Twice a week, or oftener, if necessary, your shirts, drawers and socks should be washed and fresh underclothes put on. In case it is necessary to sleep in your underwear, as it probably will be, put one aside to wear at night, so that you will always feel fresh and clean in the morning. The scalp should be thoroughly cleaned about as frequently as the rest of the body. • This will be made easier if you keep your hair cut short. The teeth should be brushed at least once a day;-twice a day is better. Neglecting this practice will cause decay of the teeth, resulting in failure to chew food thoroughly and probably ending in stomach troubles. Cleanliness includes also the practice of emptying your bowels at least once a day. Get into the habit of doing this at a certain time each morning. It is a habit that can becultivated, just like any other habit. The medical corps of the army and your own officers will use every means within their power to safe-guard and improve your general health. But the responsibility for keeping yourself in good health can not rest wholly upon your officers. Just as in civil life, you are expected to use a reasonable amount of good sense in looking after yourself. You will have plenty of fresh air, exercise and good food, which are, after ail, the chief essentials of good health. It should be a comparatively easy thing for you to look after the smaller things.