Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 196, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 4 September 1917 — Page 2

SELF HELPS for the NEW SOLDIER.

By a United State* Army Officer

(Com right, 1817, by the Wheeler Syndicate, IncJ t. THE PLATOON. In the preceding articles on the School of the company, the platoon has purposely been left out of consideration and the attention confined to . the squad and company. The reason was that the principles upon which platoon movements are executed are based on those of the squad and company; for the platoon, consisting of from two to four squads, is simply a company on a reduced scale, or a squad on an enlarged scale, and is handled, generally speaking, accordingly. Moreover, when the new soldier, after drill in the school of the squad, is first placed in the school of the company, he is taught the application of his squad movements in company formation, and this supplies the natural connection between squad and company evolutions. The platoon, as has been said before, is to the company what the company is to the battalion. In a war-strength company there are four platoons, and In either a peace or war strength battalion there are four companies. It is therefore apparent that such movements as “Company right (left),” which are for the purpose of throwing a column of companies into line of the battalion, are simulated with “Platoons right (left),” by turning the platoons on a fixed pivot into a Hne of the company. As pointed out in connection with “Company right (left),” the movement is the same in principle as “Squad right (left)”; but since a platoon consists of two, three or four squads $( we shall assume hereafter that the platoon is at the war strength of four squads, or 32 men), in such points as ’ the rules vary between squad and company “right,” the platoon follows the rules for the company. The reason for the subdivision of the company into four platoons, instead of two, as formerly, is that modern battle conditions have demonstrated that from twenty to thirty rifles are as many as can be effectively controlled by one leader. The platoon is therefore the fire unit, as we shall see when we take up extended-order drill for the company. The platoons are commanded as follows: The platoon on the right of the line, by the first lieutenant; the platoon at the left of the line, by the second lieutenant; the platoon at right center, by the first sergeant, and the platoon at left center, by the sergeant next in rank. Each platoon has a sergeant for guide, and the file closers are distributed according to their posts behind the line of the company. The musicians march as file closers with the first platoon. The platoons are numbered consecutively from right to left, and these designations do not change. Since the platoon is the fire unit, its usefulness is most apparent in extended order; but it is also frequently employed in marches, on the parade ground, or in the armory. In parades through the streets of a city a company front of 64 men would generally be impossible; also, a company front of 32, or two platoons, is frequently too wide. The colqmn of platoons formation, therefore, of a war strength company would give a front 16 men wide, and this w'ould accommodate itself to streets which were too narrow for the twoplatoon front. Nevertheless, in garrison or ceremonies, the strength of platoons may, if desirable, exceed four squads. That is, under such circumstances, the company might be divided into two platoons of eight squads each.

PLATOON COMMANDS. When the company is in line, to form columns of platoons, the command is, “Platoons right (left).”' This is executed by each platoon as in the school of the company. The right flank men in the front Tank of each platoon face to the right in marching and mark time. The other front rank men oblique to the right, place themselves abreast of the pivot men, and mark time. In the rear rank, the third man from the right in each platoon (followed in column by the second and first) moves straight to the .. front until in the rear of his front rank man. Then all three face to the right in marching and mark time. The remaining men of the rear rank move straight to the front for four paces, oblique to the right, place themselves abreast of the third man, cover their file leaders and mark time. Before executing this movement with platoons, the captain makes it a point to see that the guides on the flank toward which .the movement is to turn are covering—that is, are in a straight row, so that the pivot men, whose positions are governed by those of the guides, will also be In a straight row, which will bring the platoons into a precise column. This is effected/by previously announcing the guide to । that flank. Following the command, “Platoons right (left), MARCH,” the concluding . command is to the company as a whole—" Forward, MARCH,” or “Company, HALT.” Being in columns of platoons, to ichange direction, the command is, “ColiUmn right . (left), MARCH.” At the preparatory command, the leader of the first ■platoon turns to the right on a moving pivot;, then its leader commands, “Forward, MARCH,” at the completion of the’turn. Rear platoons march squarely up to the turning point’

of the leading platoon and turn at the command of their leaders. When a company is in a column of squads, and it is desired to form a line of platoons, the command “Platoons, column right (left)” is given. This is executed by each platoon as already described for the company. The leading squad of each platoon executes a, right turn, and four parallel columns of squads advance in line of platoons. When the company Is in line, to form line of platoons, the command may be either, “Squads right (left), platoons, column right (left), MARCH,” or “Platoons right (left) by squads, MARCH.” The first command Is explained by reference to the preceding paragraph, while the second is executed by each platoon separately as “Right (left) by squads” in the school of the company. Being in column of platoons, to form the company line on the right or left, the command is as follows: “On right (left) into line, MARCH.” . . . “Company, HALT!” At the preparatory command, the leader of the first pla-. toon gives “right, turn.” At “March,” the platoon turns Ito the right on a moving pivot. The command “Halt” is given ■when the leading platoon has advanced the desired distance. At the “Halt” its leader commands “Right dress.” The other platoons march exactly as though they were squads when, this order is given tO\the company in column of squads’. “Platoons, right (left) front into line” is executed as described by squads in the school of the company. The dress for “Platoons, right front into line,” would be op the left squad of the left platoon. EXTENDED ORDER. The purpose of the close order drill through which w’e have just been put with the company is threefold: In the first place, it confers the benefits cited at the beginning of this series, namely, discipline and uniformity of movement. In the second place, by pleasing the eye with the movements, it not only teaches with concrete example the fundamentals of military precision, but contributes an important moral element known as esprit de corps. A company which is in the height of drilling or marching together has a vastly better spirit than one which, however well trained as individuals, has been assembled but a short time. The third benefit is a practical or mechanical expression of the second. This is “teamwork.”

Teamwork is so Important to troops in combat that the infantry drill regulations select this athletic term in preference to the whole military glossary to explain the combination of elements required by a unit for successful action. Teamwork is indispensable, and teamwork can only be learned, to begin with, in close order, just as teamwork with a football squad can be properly learned only by signal practice. But well-developed teamwork Is the more indispensable with deployed units-because the comparatively wide fronts increase the difficulties of control. This brings us tothe consideration of extended order. Because of the increased difficulties of control, noncommissioned officers are given great latitude in the execution of extended order work. We have already seen, in the article devoted to the corporal, how that individual’s im-portance-Increased the moment the squad was deployed in line of skirmishers. The success of the whole," in fact, in the word of the regulations, “depends largely upon how vyell each subordinate co-ordinates his work with the general plan.” In further Illumination of this statement. officers and men are instructed that “it is far better to do any intelligent thing consistent with the aggressive execution of the general plan than to search hesitatingly for the Ideal. This is the true rule of conduct for subordinates —who are required to act upon their own initiative.” But subordinates are immediately warned that independence must not become license. The subordinate officer should at all times have the general plan of action in mind and cause his own acts to conform thereto. The test is for him to ask himself whether he is reasonably sure that his superior in the given circumstances would issue the identical order. If the order he receives is obviously based upon an incorrect view of the situation, is impossible of execution, or has become impracticable because of changes which have occurred since Its promulgation, the subordinate is compelled to use his own judgment and take the responsibility upon himself, if he is unable first to communicate the situation to his superiors. These instructions are directed to officers primarily, bit they are relatively true of the responsibility which devolves upon the squad or platoon leader;-and for this reason have their places in the .consideration pf the company when deployed in line of skirmishers.

Are We Living Too Fast?

, Life In the great centers of the United States has gained such impetus that it makes few pauses in its rush? toward its own destruction. It hurries us along in its current of excitement, battering us against jagged rocks that jut across.it from all angles, poisoning us, polluting our blood with emotions that eat up red corpuscles, and draining our sensibilities of their natural responsiveness. Waste of physical energy is scarcely worse than waste of mental forces. Life ceases tb be enjoyable that moment in which we leave off wondering at it, when it no longer surprises us; when It no longer has unexplored vistas, unexpected romances and adventures, when our jaded palates are calloused beyond the possibility of anticipation. —Exchange.

THE EVENING REPUBLICAN, RENSSELAER, IND»

CONTINUOUS MAINTENANCE OF HIGHWAYS

TYPICAL DESIGN OF SAWED-LUM3ER ROAD DRAG.

As soon as a road is constructed, the action of traffic and the weather begin to destroy it, and to counterbalance .the effects of these deteriorating influences it is necessary to institute some system of maintenance. There are two common ways of maintaining a road. One is to make periodic repairs or renewals after sections of the road have been practically destroyed; the other is to employ a system of continuous maintenance under which all injuries to the road are repaired as fast as they occur. For earth, sand and gravel roads the system of continuous maintenance is much preferable from practically every standpoint, and that system alone will be discussed here. Road Drag. , The road drag is a simple and inexpensive device for maintaining certain types of roads which, when wet, become rutted under traffic but which become firin on drying out. It is useful also in producing a smooth and uniform surface on newly constructed roads of earth, earthy gravel, or any similar material. The accompanying Illustration shows a typical design for a road drag made of sawed timber. Properly used at the right time the drag performs four distinct functions: first, by moving at an angle with the traveled way, it tends to produce or preserve a crowned cross section; ond, if used when the surface is comparatively soft. It tends to reduce irregularities in the road, by moving material from points which are relatively high to those which are relatively low; third, when used after a rain It accelerates the drying out of the road by spreading out puddles of water and thus exposing a greater area to evaporation; fourth, if the surface material is in a slightly plastic state, dragging smears over and partially seals the so-called pores which naturally occur in earthy material, and thus makes the road surface more nearly impervious to water. To obtain the best results dragging should be done only when the surface of the road is sufficiently moist for the material moved by the drag to compact readily after it is moved, but not sufficiently wet for traffic following the drag to produce mud.

The principal factor in successfully operating a properly constructed road drag, provided the condition of the road is favorable, is skill on the part of the operator. Such skill can be obtained only by intelligent experience, and no rules can be laid down which would enable an inexperienced operator to produce first-class results. Under ordinary circumstances the position of the hitching link on the draw chain should be such that the ; runners will make an angle of 60 to 75 I degrees with (he center line of the I road, or, in other wonds, a skew angle ’of from 15 to 30 degrees. But when . dragging immediately over the ruts, ; or down the center of the road after ■ the sides have been dragged, it may ; be found advantageous to place the , hitching link at the center of the chain j and run the drag without skew. An in- ' telligent operator-will learn quickly to ' adjust such details as this, as well ! as to shift his weight while riding upon the drag in order to make it cut where cutting is desirable, and deposit material where material is needed. Making Repairs. If roads of such types as have been discussed are to be maintained properly, they must frequently receive other attention than mere dragging. The side ditches should be kept open and free from vegetation, the cross drains and culverts maintained in proper condition, and worn places in the surface repaired as fast as they develop. The material used in repairing the surface should be the same as that composing the surface and should be put on In such quantity and manner that after it is compacted the surface will be uniform and continuous. Much time and labor can be saved by making repairs as soon as needed, because when a bad place once develops in a road it generally will spread very rapidly until proper steps are taken to correct it. Cost of Maintenance. There are not sufficient cost data available at present to warrant any very definite statements ns to cost of maintenance, but when roads can be maintained largely by use of the drag, as usually is the case with the simpler types of construction, the cost ordinarily is very small- Accurate data kept by; a representative of the office of public roads for road maintenance in Bennington county, Vermont, during 1912 and 1913 showed that under favorable conditions a road could be dragged at the rate of about 1 mile per hoar. This was where the road was comparatively well shaped

and only one trip In each direction was necessary. Where more trips, of the drag were required the rate w’as, of course, correspondingly diminished. In this way county teams with drivers cost from $3.50 to $5 per working day of. from 8 to 10 hours, and the cost per mile for dragging a road in one trip showed a corresponding variation. The number of draggings necessary per year varied over a wide range and depended on the length of time the road had been constructed and the character of the material composing the road. The average cost per mile of dragging an earth road 8 miles long in Alexandria county, Virginia, during 1911 and 1912 was $1.25 for each dragging, which, included an average of three round trips, and the total number of draggings necessary to maintain the road in good condition was 24 per year, making the average cost for dragging S3O per mile per year. This road was maintained as an experiment by the office of public roads and rural engineering.

COMFORTABLE HOGS MAKE LARGE GAINS

No Farm Animal Suffers as Much From Extremes of Heat and Cold—Provide Shade. Farm animals must be comfortable in order that they do as well as possible. This is especially true of swine, since no farm animal suffers as much from extremes of heat and'Cold as the hog. Most men prefer to feed hogs In the spring and fan, Tor they say the hogs gain more at these times on the same feeds than during summer and winter. This is perhaps In a large measure true only because they are more comfortable.

L. A. Weaver of the University of Missouri college of agriculture mentions some of the things which may be done to make fattening hogs comfortable : 1. Provide adequate shade. If the hog lot does not contain plenty of natural shade, then artificial shade should be supplied. Hog cots, made so as to have at least one removable side, would be good to use at this time, or shade may be made by setting four ordinary fence posts so that they may be covered with planks or canvas. 2. Provide plenty of pure drinking water. This may be cheaply and satisfactorily done with a barrel waterer, if an adequate supply cannot be had otherwise. Two or three pounds of water are stored in the animal body for every pound of muscle added, hence the necessity and economy of furnishing plenty of water to drink. Most feeders realize the importance of supplying plenty of drinking water, but it oftentimes is an easy thing to neglect. Some think if they are feeding slop that enough water is supplied. The water in the slop, of course, helps to supply the water requirement, but the flogs should have aepess to additional water. —~ ... 7' >

3. Keep pools or wallows cleam Clean pools or wallows keep the hog s > comfortable, permitting rapid and economic gains. This does not mean, however, that any kind of a wallow is good, for water which is stagnant and filthy may keep the hogs cool, but the evil results front unsanitary conditions may more than overbalance the good derived from the (protection from heat. 4. Keep hogs free from lice, by dipping, spraying or by putting hog dip in wallows. 5. Keep sleeping quarters free from dust, which irritates bronchial tubes, lungs and other organs. This may be done by spraying with crude oil. No hog can thrive if it is continually coughing and wheezing. 6. Keep hogs free from worms. Recipes of some good worm remedies may be found in Agricultural Extension Service, Circular 17, Columbia, Mo. TheToregoing measures are not usually expensive, but they are essential for maximum gains.

COMFORTABLE NEST FOR HEN

Late Sitters Should Be Put In Cool, Shaded Place—-Do Not Leave • Them in Hen House. Tn setting hens for late hatches, give them a shaded, cool, comfortable lpdn't leave them in the chicken house. A nest hollowed opt of the ground under a shady tree is ideal, Shelter them from the

ADOPTING FRIEDA

By JANE OSBORNE.

“Oh, Miranda, will you hold the door open there? I’ve got a little girl in my arms. You haven’t heard of anyone that has lost 9 little girl, have you?” With these words Peter Hobson broke the news of his discovery late that memorable night in midsummer. He had been on his weekly trip to the nearest settlement, 20 miles down the valley. Usually on such nights In summer Miranda dozed in her chair with the screen on the front door unhooked; for Miranda had lived alone with her stalwart brother too many years ta fear tramps or thieves on their, desolate side of the mountain. ; “Where in the land of the living did you find her?” was Miranda’s not too hospitable comment. But, as Peter carried the sleeping child to the light of the solitary lamp that smoked and flickered in the draft on the livingroom table, the sister’s weather-beaten, hard-set features softened and a smile broke over her face. “Hadn’t you better set her down?” she asked. She was pulling at the ruffled white petticoats which had become crushed in the strong man’s arms. “We must wake her up and ask her who she is. Her mother must be worried almost sick. Peter, isn’t she pretty?” Peter made no comment, but from the tenderness with which he brushed with his big clumsy hands a golden curl that had fallen across Frieda’s face Miranda needed not to be told that the big brother of hers had lost his heart to the child he had found. He had heard a cry in the thicket of the woods as he was coming home — about 15 miles down the road. It was just-turning dark at the time. He stopped his horses and followed through the pathless woods for a few rods and then catne upon the little girl. She was crouching under the side of a large bowlder, and at first seemed too startled to. speak. “She started to tell me about herself,” Peter explained to his sister. “Did tell me her name was Frieda, and then she fainted away in my arms. How old should you judge her to be?”

“From the way she is dressed she is a sizable child of nine or ten —can’t be any more.” Just then the little girl waked up, and Peter and Miranda hurried to attentlon. With a little milk and some of Miranda’s good bread Frieda regained strength and before many minutes had passed she was laughing merrily and perfectly at ease with her generous .hostess. “You ar£ so good to me,” she said sleepily. “No one was ever so good to me in the world before.” “Now, do you want to try and tell us whose little girl you are?” Peter asked patiently, kneeling down before her. “No, no, no,” she shook her head. “Maybe tomorrow. But this is so —— —- — A few minutes later Miranda had shown the little girl to the “spare room.”

The morning brought no news of the Tost child’s Identity. Miranda and ffer brother had thought she would be able to explain or give some clew as to who she was. But to all their queries she had but one reply—“l ddn’t know —I am so happy. Let me stay.” By the end of ten days It seemed so apparent that her identity would never be discovered that brother and sister were making plans for legally adopting her. It was two weeks after Frieda had first crept Into Peter’s arms and his heart down there on the mountainside When he opened a New York paper to read this heading: “Movie actress still missing. Film company now planning to make search of mountainside.” And then Peter read the article that told that two weeks before a cinema company had been taking pictures of a big feature play along ihe mountainside. A company of 25 Juvenile actresses w’as included in the scenes. Somewhere one of these girls, who on the day of her disappearance was dressed to Impersonate a girl of ten or twelve, had been lost. A glance at the newspaper account was enough to assure Frieda that her secret was known. She looked at Peter very wistfully.

“I didn’t tell you before, because it was like heaven here with you and Miranda. I got lost that day with the company, before you found me. There w’as a thunder storm and everyone ran to shelter and w’hen It w’as over I was alone. I walked through the woods for an age and then you found me. I was going to tell you, but I must have fainted, and after that I liked you so much I didn’t want to leave you. I tried to make myself believe that I w’as just the little girl you thought I Was.' Pm seventeen, really. But I never had a chance to be a'little girl, so I wanted to stay here. Don’t make me go away, please. There is no one ‘in the world I care for the way I do you and Miranda. Please let mes stay.” ■ ■ » <_____»

“I have been thinking,” he began very awkwardly, “that maybfe Fd have a chance to—to marry you when you grew up. But now you are almost grown up already, I won’t have Jo wait" long." Frieda’s tears had stopped. She looked up at him with the happiness that had shown in her face the first night When he had found her. “Oh, Peter, I am so happy,” she whispered. (Copyright, 1917, by the McClure Newspaper Syndicated

Salvation By Wholesale

By REV. J. H. RALSTON,

Secretary of Cnrrsegnnrftnce Department, Moody Bible Institute, Chicago

TEXT—Look unto me and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth.—lsa. 45:22. When goods are sold article by artide, we call it retail business, and

version of the world. Sometimes men argue that nations as such have moral responsibilities and all the individuals in the nations are involved nilly-willy in whatever the nation does. In some periods of the history of the Christian church, whole tribes and nations have been baptized and all the inhabitants reckoned as proper members of the church. The Mohammedans as a rule make proselytes of people of large geographical districts, and, bringing the matter down to the latest moment, it is very common to hear of the salvation and the regeneration and redemption of society. All this would indicate that in the minds of many salvation is by the wholesale. At the present time, when men are being sent into eternity in large numbers, practically every day on the great battlefields, the question arises as to whether each of these Is saved because he is personally related to Jesus Christ by faith in him, or whether he is saved because he is found side by side with others who are together fighting for some great - principle of national or world policy. Those who accept this latter view, at least some of them, are driven to the establishment of some kind of doctrine of faith, because faith seems to be demanded; |hat is, belief on the Lord Jesus Christ as the only ground of salvation. '

A distinguished writer in a very prominent English periodical recently spoke of some men dying at the battle front who had “a latent faith,” a faith that only came out in extremis, just when it was needed before the soul took its departure. The same writer speaks again of “imperfect faith,” faith that did not take hold of Christ personally at all, but on the things for which Christ stood —honor, righteousness and truth. Peculiar Exegesis. The same writer again speaks of a “freshly born faith.” To find this faith, there is certainly some very peculiar exegesis, which results in showing that the generous and chivalrous acts of men and women In times of great physical danger are proper grounds for salvation. Just how such faith takes on Christ is a mystery, and to this category we might add a “faith to be,” or faith that may be exercised beyond this life. The fact is that all these claims of wholesale salvation, logically and perforce, eventuate in universal salvation, The reach of such community salvation Is such that It would eventually take in the vilest, the most Ignoble, the slackers and cowards among men, and even Satan himself.

When dealing with such a subject as one’s personal salvation, the soul, awakened to the realities of life and the life to Come, is not satisfied with such speculations and guesses. Man wants something authoritative. He Is concerned about salvation because he has read in a certain book that God Is a great moral governor and will some day call him into account. Thus far he has indorsed the Word of God. This being done, he then logically and properly asks: “Does the book say anything about the condition of salvation?” Most certainly, and this has just as much guarantee and authority aS those things which cause the man to be uneasy. An Individual Matter. Looking into the trouble of sinful man, it is seen that it is individual. _ “The soul that slnneth, it shall die;” “There is none that doeth good, no not one.” We find also that the promise of the blessings in connection with sal- , ration are to the individual. “Him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out“ Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any man will open the door, I will come in and sup with him and he with me;’’ “Ho, every one that thlrsteth, come ye to* the waters;” “Son, give me thine heart“lf thou shalt confess., with thy mouth the Lord Jesus ami shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” This fhct of the individualism in salvation gives this salvation a peculiar attraction. Think of the individual having personal relationship with the, creator of the universe, the infinite God! Yet that is precisely what 'the Word of God presents. The logical conclusion of the whole matter is that each man must see to it that he personally believes and repents and thus maked sure of salvation.

D.D.

when they are sold only in large quantities weeall it wholesale business. Has this last conception any application to the matter of salvation? Are men saved by communities, by nations, en masse? This would seem to be the thought of many, for it is not unusual to hear such an expres- - slon as the con-