Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 257, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 14 November 1917 — ART and CAMOUFLAGE [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

ART and CAMOUFLAGE

An organization is being trained in the science of ambush at American University:: It is their business to hide guns and material of war from our

Washington.—Of the novel units which are being organized for the first time in the military'history of the United States, probably the company of “camoufieurs” now in training at Camp American University will create the greatest popular interest; partly because it is composed of the leading artists, sculptors and architects in the country, but more from the unique task which the “camoufieurs'* have set •- themselves. Camouflaged not a new military term developed by the war. On the contrary, it is an old slang word of th e French stage, intendedto be descriptive of the makeup of the actors. In its military sense, in which it is now popularly known, the term refers to the art of so concealing or disguising an object that the enemy cannot recognize it for what it is. A peaceful rock is discovered when too late to be a death-dealing gun. A mound of earth heaped above a trench shows no sign of human occupancy, when the incautious enemy learns to his cost that the seeming mound w’as a row of Invisible helmets with a rifleman behind each. A hedge conceals a regiment, and'the onrushing German finds death lurking behind the cleverly contrived nest of shrubbery whose secret even his airplanes and his cameras had failed to reveal. , It is not surprising that the fascination of outwitting the enemy by means of brush, color and ingenious design should appeal to the artistic sense of our painters, sculptors and —engineers. It was this appeal which caused Barry Faulkner, the artist, and Sherry E. Fry, the sculptor, on uu evening some months ago, to call together In New York as many of their artist friends as they could assemble with the idea of organizing and offering to the government the services of the artists of America to aid the American troops in France to ambush the Germans. Camouflage] by the way, is only another name for ambush. It was first employed by the American Indian; perhaps not consciously, but with such Instinctive naturalness, that the Indian of history always appears to have been merged with the rock and the forest In which he fought. Opinion is divided as to whether the Indian realized the effectiveness of his own scheme of costume colors. However that may be, ambush always has been more than half the art of the fighting Indian, and the modern camouflage w’as his natural resort. When the white man came with the shotgun the Indian at first had the advantage, for he so blended with the landscape that the superior marksman could not * distinguish him, and the bow and arrow won many bloody triumphs over the gun. In the day of the short-range musket with which our early armies were equipped the necessity of concealrnent was__as great as in the days of the pioneer, and the woodsmen who fought in the Continental army and who picked off the British in 1812 had learned better than expose themselves to the enemy In red coats. Then came the long-range rifle, and the art of concealment and disguise became less serviceable. With the invention of the •_ airplane, however, the need of inge-1 _ nlous devices for hiding troops and equipment from the enemy again became vital, and the French developed it until It ranks with the best of their military achievements. It was knowledge of this need and of the new problems into the j science of war by the jggplane that | drew these artists in New i York. Nineteen responded to the first j

call and It was determined to start an organization of some kind and inquire of the government if the idea were worth developing. Fortunately about this time Gen. John J. Pershing went to France in command of the American expedition and it was not long before without inquiry of any. kind “from this side of the water, he began to cable back requests that a company" ■of camoufieurs be sent to France. Thus with simultaneous enterprise and patriotism the commanding-general wns demanding and the American artists were organizing a branch of the service which appears destined to play an important part in the activities of i the American troops on the battle front. The company began to grow and is .still growing. Evarts Tracy, one of. the leading architects of New York, had taken all the courses at Plattsburg and received a commission as major in the, Officers Reserve corps. He entered with enthusiasm into the Idea of organizing the artists and became the moving spirit of the enterprise. To make a long story short, a large company of artists, sculptors,architects, civil engineers and others who have won fame with brush and chisel — and many of them much money with 'thelr bralns and sktil—are now drilling and experlmenting ’at Gamp AmeEfc lean University. They must be soldiers also, as, well as artists, for no one who goes upon a foreign battlefield in the uniform of the United States is permitted to be there until he has learned how to take care of himself. The company ls under the capable command of Capt. Martin Nixon-Miller, U. S. R., from whom they get daily a gruelling course in military instruction.

A first lieutenant of the comyany is Homer Saint Gaudeqs, son of perhaps the_greatest of American sculptors and himself a stage director of note, as witness his Temarkable work with Maude Adams in the preparation and production of the wonderful effects and illusions In “Peter Pan” and “A Kiss for Cinderella.” Second in command is Lieut. Wilfred S. Conrow, the landscape painter. Both are graduates of Plattsburg, and so far highly successful with the task they’ have in hand. It might appear invidious to mention the distinguished professional men who compose this unusual company, but it seems appropriate to make special mention of Barry Faulkner, the New York artist, If only because he is a pupil of Abbott H. Thayer, the great figure painter, who early in life made a study of animals and discovered the law of the coloration of the animal first dared to differ with Darwin upon this subject, the British scientist having attributed the coloration to sex influence while Thayer, combining the faculty-df visualizing and noting the actual aspect of things in their relation to one another with his knowledge of the animal world, proclaimed that nature’s gift of color to her children of the forest enabled th?m to disappear quickly from the sight of their enemies. That the truth was stated by both writers now is generally acknowledged; Mb. Faulkner is a de-" vout disciple of his master, bjit in fits’ most intimate studies with Mr. Thayer he could never have dreamed that the theory of an. artist in relation to the dress of bjXls and animals would some day contribute to the success of American arms. ThZ company bristles’ with men, of the highest standing tn their profession/ Fry is a pupil of MacMonttlibs, Lorado Taft and other distinguished sculptors and, like Faulkner and Harry Thrasher, the painter, has taken the Prix du Rome_jUnong their comrades are Slitter, Tubesing, Dewer and Nell, the painters. Twigg Smith, who has been painting the exquisite scenes of the Hawaiian islands-,-has come back

and enlisted. Sanger. Hovt. Foster and Comstock are listed among the architects. All are young men but they come from the best offices in the United States and many already have made names for themselves. Leslie Thrasher, who draws the striking frontispieces for the Saturday Evening Post, Is a rookie In the awkward squad. Men of this stamp are appearing at the camp every day, and enlistments are coming in so fast that Major Tracy has had his hands full dealing with them. The spirit of the command is an inspiration to the layman. While the achievements of the French in camouflage are well known, and the American organization is in, its infancy, it has been worth much to the men toknow that General Pershing really is eager for their services. Half their day is given to experiments in their own peculiar line, and they are confident that the problems they will' be calied upontosolve are relatively__ simple. The art of concealment has most to fear from the cameras of the enemy, for many an object which appears innocent to the eye is remorselessly exposed by the lens and the plate. Knowing this, the men are conducting a series of experiments in coloratlon which are carefully being tested out An artificial green which would deceive a naturalist at a few hundred yards might show black under the merciless gaze of the camera, and the artists already have mastered a secret of fooling the lens. They have invented a grass which can be turned out in quantities by a machine and usedas-ft CoverTng.and they have learned so to color it that it will defy detection. One of their first experiments was upon an humble latrine, which they so, disguised that at enemy distance it was invisible. They have taken to the trenches, and already have

discovered a method whereby a rifleman equipped with a proper helmet can be so concealed that a whole regiment might slowly arise from their places to fire without the enemy noting a particle of change in the appearance of the background. The sniper or sharpshooters is one of the most useful soldiers on the battle front, and uniforms are being devised which will be indistinguishable from tree or landscape. A fake road is being planned, at the end of which will be placed dummy cannon, while the real cannon are concealed hundreds of yards away. One of the arts of camouflage is to make certain that the object to be concealed contains all the color values of its background, and the artists know that if one color is omitted the object at once becomes very noticeable. The men are working in conjunction with the Signal Corps of the army at Fort Myer, qiid their experiments will be tested out thoroughly with airplanes and cameras.—tt is not pretended that the major part of the training can be' undertaken in this country or that these professional men, however high their standing.-eanteach.the~French. It has been demonstrated already, however, in the month in which the first increment has beep in training, that the company can acquire certain general principles which wil 1 prove useful in whatever work they may undertake In the future. The combination 6f ar 7 ’ tists and architects is a valuable one, for while the colorations of the one group are necessary, the designs of the other are equally important. The men have no doubt, that the American camoufleurs will prove their utility on the battlefield and that their work will result in the'saving of thousands of soldier lives. The finishing touches must be put on In France, but at Camp American University the groundwork is being laid for a service which is wholly unique in charactpr-altd demanding as much of patriotism, selfsacrifice and daring as any that Americans on the European battlefront will perform.- Bosron Transcript,. -- ■ ." - V