Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 232, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 October 1917 — Page 3

SELF HELPS for the NEW SOLDIER

By a United States Army Officer

(Copyright, l#rt, by the Wheeler Syndicate, Ine.) DISPOSITION OF OUTPOST TROOPS. A column on the march is preceded and covered by a detachment known as the advance guard. ‘‘ The strength of the advance guard varies from onethird to one-twentieth of the main body, depending upon the size of the main body, and the character of service expected of the advance guard. An advance guard as large as a battalion or more is primarily divided into the reserve and support. The division in strength is usually, reserve, two companies; support, two companies; the advance party, from three to eight squads—about half a company—sent forward from the support ; and the point, a noncommissioned officer and three or four men sent forward from the advance party. The advance guard is also responsible for the reconnaissance of the country upon both sides of the line of march, and this is effected by patrols sent out by the leading subdivisions of the advance guard. The disposition of outpost troops follows the principle of the distribution of the advance guard to the extent that it consists of the'reserve, the line of supports and the line of outguards. There is no uniformity of distance between these different parts, since the problem of keeping .in contact and guarding the avenues of approach will to a large extent govern their positions.

The reserve constitutes the main body of the outpost. It Is located at some central point from Tyhlch It can readily both support the troops in front and serve as a rallying position upon which the outguards and support may retire if strongly pressed by the enemy. The reserve, which may comprise from one-fourth to tw’o-thirds the strength of the outpost, may be omitted if the outpost consists of less than two companies. The supports, constituting a line of supporting and resisting detachments, may vary |n size from half a company to a battalion. The supports furnish the line of outguards. The outguards constitute a line of small detachments furthest to the front and nearest to the enemy. They may “be classified as pickets, sentry squads, or cossack posts. A. picket Is a group of two or more squads—though not exceeding half a company—which Is posted on the line of outguards to cover a given sector. It furnishes patrols, one or more sentinels, sentry squads or cossack posts for observation. A sentry squad is a squad posted in observation at an Indicated point. A cossack post consists of four men. It is an observation group similar to a sentry squad, but employs only a single sentinel. Sentinels are generally used singly in the daytime, but double at night. Patrols or sentinels must be the first troops which the enemy meets and each body in the rear should have time to prepare for the blow. When he once understands the principle of outpost, advance guard or patrol duty, it is infinitely easier for the young soldier to proceed Intelligently, since he then appreciates the relation of what he is called upon to do to the safety of the command as a whole.

GUARD DUTY.

Just as outpost, advance guard and patrol work are pre-eminently important, all guard duty is serious business for the soldier. In, war time and in hostile territory It has been an Immemorial rule to punish with .death sentinels who fall asleep on their posts. And It Is as a sentinel that the young soldier may first contract’ that sense of personal responsibility which renders him not only a valuable member of his own company, but also prepares him for promotion. No man can rise from a private to a first-class private, from a first-class private to a corporal, from a corporal to a sergeant, from sergeant or first sergeant to commissioned officer, unless he has evinced a disposition to take responsibility. The men least capable of accepting responsibility lag longest in the ranks; the men who show earliest signs of assuming responsibility—gladly and capably—will be first to advance. Guard duty is prescribed in detail in a separate guard manual. This contains many regulations for the proper performance of this duty; but in general it may be said that guards in camp or garrison preserve order, protect property and enforce police regulations. A tour of duty for the guard is I twentyfour hours, out of which a sentinel is on duty two hours out of every six. He is under the supervision of the officer or noncommissioned officer of the guard, who In turn is responsible to the officer of the day. Guards receive two classes of orders —general and special. Special orders relate to posts with certain peculiarities and to particular duties. But the general orders for the guard, which every young soldier should promptly £ learn by heart, contribute, as has been said, more than anything else, perhaps, toward bringing him tq a realization of his personal responsibility. These orders, which he should repeat to himself from time to time on post, are as follows: “To take charge of this post and all government property in view. “To walk my post in a military maniner, keeping always on the alert 'and o'bservlng everything that takes place pvithin sight or hearing.

*To report all violations of orders I am Instructed to enforce. “To repeat all calls from posts more distant from the guardhouse than my own.' “To quit my post only when properly relieved. “To receive, obey and pass on to the sentinel who relieves me- all orders from the commanding officer, officer of the day, and officers and noncommissioned officers of the guard only. “To talk to no one except in Una of duty. “In case of fire or disorder to give the alarm. “To allow no one to commit a nuisance on or near my post. “In any case not covered by instructions to call the corporal of the guard. “To be especially watchful at night and, during the time for challenging, to challenge all persons on or near my post, and to allow no one to pass without proper authority.”

APPLYING THE FUNDAMENTALS OF A SOLDIER.

The young soldier has now been Initiated Into the fundamentals which make up the fighting man. All war is a serious business —modern war a business of tremendous gravity. It is not play; with the nation at war, there is no time for play. “America must realize,” say the French generals, “that she cannot play at war.” Whether or not America plays at war or preparing for war depends upon whether the young American soldier. Individually and collectively, goes about his training in a spirit of play, or In deadly earnest. The young soldier would do well to see the moving pictures—if he has the opportunity—delineating the work of the British In building up their immense citizen armies. If he can do so, he will note at once that they did not “play at war.” —— The driving earnestness of their training in England—which reached fruition in France against the Hlndenberg dine-—differs entirely from the spirit In which such training has been undertaken by a nation at peace. And so In every duty which Is now assigned to the young soldier, however trivial it may at first seem to him, he must remind himself that his country Is actually at war—-that he must leam these things for early application In the battle zone. It Is true that details of his training may be altered or modified to suit the new conditions of warfare, hut the fundamentals will remain the same. And these fundamentals —obedience, Ylisclpttne,intelligence, Initiative, teamwork, esprit de corps—have always w’on battles and wars, and will continue to win battles and wars, whether against the bow and arrow, the flintlock or the 42-centlmeter gun.

If the young soldier will return to the first articles of the.series, treating of these fundamentals, he will see that the same principles have run "throughout. He will see that his discipline was as necessary—more necessary—when he was breaking through brush on a patrol than when on parade; that his sense of Identification with his unit prevailed on sentinel duty as fully as in the school of the squad. Otherwise, he does not have in him the makings of a soldier. He will observe that drills are repeated again and again not alone to perfect the men In marching and the manual of arms, but because the repetition is more and more Illuminating as to the reasons why, as well as the methods how, such things are to be done. In short, the man who has once been put through the , school of the company, then has twice the comprehension of the meaning of the school of the squad and the school of the soldier. The young soldier who hasproperly progressed in his duties will find that his mind has been “bucked up" as much as his body. Just as he has discarded slack and shiftless habits of walking or standing, he will discard shiftless habits of thinking. Physically and mentally, he w’ill come to the scratch. He will remember that he is a representative as well as a defender of his country, and he will strive to his utmost at ’all times to do her credit. “Young soldier, attention —Salute the (Dolors!”

The Wit of Mr. Choate.

Joseph H. Coate, the late ex-anfpas-sador to England, had a decidedly nasal voice, but the New Republic says it was a beautiful voice, resonant as some big gong, and his rather unkind wit was as genuine as his,courage. Every now and then his wit was touched with beauty, as when he said, of the freshmen dormitories at Harvard, that all they needed to make them rivals of the Oxford college buildihg was ivy and time. Mr. Choate took a playful satisfaction in suddenly chilling auditors whom he had carefully warmed. Speaking once at a boys’ school, three of whose graduates had acted as his secretaries when he was ambassador, he delighted his audience by his praise of the secretaries. After enjoying the pleasure of masters and boys, Mr. Choate wound up by saying something like this: /‘Perhaps I ought to add that all I ask of a secretary is that he shall keep out of my way and shave every day.”

What Could Be Done.

“So the car broke down again to* day?” said the owner. “Yes, sir,” replied the chauffeur. “It sems to. break down every day.* “Yes, it does, sir.” '■> ■ “Can you- suggest anything we can do with it?" _ “Yes, sir.” . "What?” "Weli, If you’ve got an enemy any* wheres, sir, you might give it to him.

THE EVENING REPUBLICAN, RENSSELAER. IND.

Visit to the Cyclades

THE Greek islands, many of which have taken a prominent part In the Venezellst movement, are full of interest to the student of classical mythology, the artist, and the geologist. The following account In the Sphere describes a visit to one particular group—the Cyclades. We were warned that we must know Greek and that Athens would interest, us very much, but the Cyclades not at all! I was not, however to be put off; we started one evening from Piraeus —two ladies alone —and after two nights and a day anchored in the pretty little harbor of Santorln; and there, 900 feet above us, perched on the top of the cliff, lies the modern town of Thera, or Phera. A collection of boys with their donkeys were waiting to take up the passengers and their luggage, as there are no carriages, and a 20 minutes’ ride along a zigzag path brought us to the summit. The less said about the hotels the better, but with the assistance of some kind friends, a charming ride was arranged for the following day. We w r ent to the top of Mount Ellas, the highest point of the island, and down below at our feet was Messavouna, the ancient town of Thera, full of interesting old remains. In Greek legend, the Island of Thera was connected with the story of the Argonauts, and was represented as sprung from a clod of earth which was presented to those heroes by Triton. After the fourth Crusade it received the name of Santorln, i. e., St. Irene, the patron saint of the place.' Standing on a Volcano.

From earliest times it has been a center of volcanic agfency; we were reminded of this on the Kaumene islands, where the heat of the water, the smell of the sulphur, and the smoke that oozed out under our feet made it very evident that we were standing on the crater, and I was thankful when we got safely off to the harbor, where we had to wait for our boat, w hich was to take us to Naxos.

There we sat on a terrace listening to the soothing sound .of the. water against the fishing boats and watching the approaching night coming on, faintly lit up by a beautiful new moon. About nine o’clock our Greek steamer appeared through the darkness, brilliantly lit up, and slowly glided into the harbor ; it was like a scene in fairyland. Early next morning we reached Naxos; the town stretches picturesquely up the slopes of a rock hill rising from the sandy beach and dominated by the ruined castle of the Frankish dukes. Two nights were all we could spend here as we were anxious to get on to Delos. On inquiry we heard that no steamers went there; that two Englishmen had once crossed in a little open boat, but that it was a dangerous undertaking. Befog a fine day, I determined to risk it and to start at once, A. little sailing boat, the Evangelista, was got ready, and at 2 o’clock we were under way, with our crew of four Greek sailors, and myself at the helm. What a pleasure was that sail across the bEgean sea, ‘-spell-bound withip the clustering Cyclades”! A feeling of mystery and awe came over us as tfie night began to fall and we entered the sacred harbor of Delos. j Sacred Isle of Delos. There are no hotels on this island — In fact, it is absolutely without a permanent inhabitant' —but we had met the director of the French excavations

Island of Santorin.

in Piraeus, and he had very kindly offered to put us up. However, as the wire we had sent never reached him, our arrival caused him no little surprise; he had seen our boat, and thought we were Greeks carrying contraband goods. Delos is the smallest but the most famous of the Cyclades, and the birthplace of Diana and Apollo, to whom it has been forever sacred. In 426 B. C., to ensure the sanctity of the island, the Athenians passed a law that anyone whose condition seemed to threaten Its pollution by either birth or death should be at once removed, and finally they expelled all secular Inhabitants. The following morning Monsieur Replat took us all over the ruins, which are very extensive; he had a good deal to do with the excavations 'at Delphi, and considers these even more interesting. We saw the site of the ancient city where, under the Roman empire, a thousand slaves were often put up for sale in a single day. Further on was the portico erected by Philip of Macedon, and the base of the colossal statue dedicated to the Delian Apollo by the people of Naxos. Climbipg to the rocky peak of Mount Cynthus, we came upon a theater of beautiful Parian marble, and a little further on the remains of a very early temple of Isis. But our time was nearly up; below in the harbor we could see the Evangelista with our crew ready, impatient to start, and after a hurried lunch we took leave of our kind host and sailed for Syra, and so to the Piraeus.

GROW FIGS IN FLOWER POTS

Fruit Will Ripen If Given the Same Treatment That Is Accorded the Rubber Plant. The fig is one of the oldest frtflts known, and since it has become known that figs can be grown in pots and

Town and Harbor of Syra.

fruited in the conservatory or in the open ground, where there is three months warm summer weather, there has been a great demand for the quick-bearing varieties by people anxious to grow fresh figs. These varieties begin to fruit by the time the young shoots are 6 Inches long and form a fig at every leaf. Unlike apples, peaches and other fruits of the kind, the fig is more like the raspberry or blackberry in the respect that the fruit does not ripen all at one time. Figs continue to develop and ripen fruit until checked by cold weather. For pot culture the fig requires about the same treatment as a rubber plant, and If supplied with plenty of water the fruit will ripen. Vigorous plants will have fruit in all stages of development, froth the smallest green fruit to the ripe figs ready for picking and eating. Celeste bears rather small fruit of high quality, but Is not very productive. Ischia has a green exterior, the inside of the fniit being blood red. Hirt” Japan is an abundant bearer and Magndlia bears large pear-shappd fruit One fig enthusiast writes that his figs stood zero weather last year, though when first set out freezing weather would kill them. As they become acclimated the plants stand colder weather. A gardener in Pennsylvania says her fig tree has withstood 20 winters with protection. The tree is bent over to the groufid tn winter and covered with straw and earth.

FOR HOME WORKER

Attractive Hats May Be Made by the Amateur. Bead and Jet Ornaments In a Wide Variety, Are Being Used by Milliners Thia Season. Two charming hats, either of which might be fashioned by the home milliner, are illustrated here. The larger of tJrfe two hats has a brim of velvet and crown of soft felt embroidered in chenille in contrasting colors. Tfie brim might be of black or dark brown and the crown a gray or soft tan, with flaine-colored chenille for the necessary color contrast. The smaller hat, made of black or navy blue velvet, Is an excellent model to select for wear with one of the serge or gaberdine street dresses so fashionable now. The soft crown is surrounded by a rolled brim which is covered over with jet nail heads. Nail heads were extensively used as millinery and dress trimming several years ago, and they have never been entirely relegated to oblivion, especially in millinery. Practically every season some Ingenious milliner develops a few models with nail head trimming, and for the fall and winter of 1917-18 they are generously exploited. Bead and jet ornaments in a wide variety are being used this season, and applique embroidery is also a millinery feature. The service hat of the American soldier is shown made up in velvet and in taffeta for sport wear. For the first fall wear many women wisely select a small feather toque,

Hats That May Be Made at Home.

and unusually good looking ones are to be had this season. - Bather tall hats are to be popular for fall and winters but more often than not this towering effect is the result of trimming arrangement rather than actual height of the crown.

AND NOW THE PETTIBOCKER

New Undergarment Designed for Women Who Dance, Skate or Engage in Active Work. A new undergarment of silk jersey, designed for women who skate, dance or do active war work, has been named the Pettibocker and combines the features of both petticoat and knickerbockers. The bloomers are gathered on an elastic at the waist, cut extra full, and with cuffs also gathered on elastic bands. They are long trough to reach below the calf of the leg, but should be worn directly below the knee. Severtil Inches above the cuff of each leg a flounce is attached,' slightly gathered, but so put on as not to interfere with the width of the bloomers at that point. The flounces are designed to reach the hem of the outer skirt and eliminate the necessity of a petticoat, even when the outer garment is of sheer materials. As the flounces are attached above the elastics, they will be pulled up just as the outer skirt Is pulled up when the wearer is sitting, instead of showing beneath as did the flounces of the old “tango garters.”

COLLARS AND CUFFS ALIKE

Innovation Due to the Recent Vogue for Plain Tailored Serge and Satin Frocks. It Is worthy of note that all the newest models in collars are accompanied by cuffs. This is due to the recent vogue for plain tailored serge and satin frocks, which are to be so smart for street wear this fall, and which require no other trimming than the relief afforded by the white or contrasting tones of neckwear. Lovely little collars cut narrow in the back and in d£ep points in the front are finished with three rows of tiny ruffles edged with picot; these are accompanied by deep Cuffs showing the same trimming. Most of the collars shown are developed in sheer organdie, with double hand hemstitching, hand embroidery and very narrow frills of Valenciennes lace. A great many of them are finished with black crepe de chine ties or small taffeta tailored bows. Filet lace’s extensively used in collars for sepnarte blouses, especially in the high necked models-

DAINTY AND SIMPLE

If this model be a fair criterion, the fall styles will be marked by simplicity and good taste. The simplicity is not extreme, though, for the distinctive collar and belt contrast well with the dominant note in the dress. They are trimmed with one-inch bands of navy serge, while the dress Itself is of sandcolored serge. The bodice is simple and so are the sleeves. The skirt possesses the wide box plaits that go with most smart frocks.

LACE AGAIN IS IN FASHION

Need of Helping the Workers of France and Belgium Caused Revival of Mode. ~ Real lace js again in fashion. The need of helping the lace workers of France and Belgium started,this mode. Women of wealth and position in France used their Influence by sponsoring in tyar relief sales of old and new laces. Grande couturiers lent their aid by using a great deal of veritable lace in their new creations. As a result many lovely gowns and blouses are shown made or trimmed with lace. Among the kinds noted are Bruges, princess, nppliqne, the Spanish bobbin Inces, thread lace and filet, with some guipure and Valenciennes. Mounted over filmy foundations or linings of flesh or white chiffon or net, sometimes in several tints and layers, the effect is about the richest thing that could be thought of in woman’s attire.

FOR THE DRESSING TABLE

Combined Pincushion, Watchstand and Hairpin Tray Is Found to Be Useful Article. This Is a useful article for the dressing table in the shape of a combined pincushion, watchstand and ’hairpin tray. It can be made from a large cigar box of the shape indicated in diagram A, on the left of the illustration. One end of the box is removed cut down and fastened across the center of the box in the position marked by the cross, with tiny nails run through from outside. The portions of box Indicated by the dotted lines are cut away, and the lid is nailed on in an upright position at the opposite end. The wood is next neatly covered with cream colored watered silk, the material being turned over at the edges

Useful Article for Dressing Table.

and fastened on just Inside and underneath with a strong adhesive. The portion of the box that forms the pincushion is filled iwith bran (or sawdust), and covered in at the top with velvet, and the whole thing is edges throughout with a pale pink silk cord. For suspending the watch a small brass hook of the nature shown In diagram B is screwed in in the center, near the top at the back. This little article would be useful also upon the writing table, and the tray In front could then be used for holding odds and ends instead of hairpins.

Wide Brims for Evening.

Probably the wide-brimmed hat wfll always be the favorite for evening wear, most women preferring the small, severe hat for afternoon costumes only.