Jasper County Democrat, Volume 20, Number 56, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 13 October 1917 — GENERAL AND STATE NEWS [ARTICLE]

GENERAL AND STATE NEWS

Telegraphic Reports From Many Parts of the Country. SHORT BITS OF THE UNUSUAL r “ Happenings in the Nearby Cities and Towns—Matters of Minor Mentiou from Many Places. PRACTICALLY WAR STRENGTH Is the 309th Engineering Corps at Camp Taylor, Kentucky. Camp Taylor, Kentucky, October 10.—The Indianians from the cities of Gary and East Chicago and the counties off Benton, Jasper, Lake, Laporte, Newton, Porter, Pulaski, Starke and Warren, who were assigned in a body to the 309th engineer regiment, are being joined daily by men selected from other Indiana units and sent to that out,fit because their training in civil life qualifies them for the important work of that branch. As with all other regiments, the first work of the engineers is drill in the school of the soldier and the school of the squad. As the men are whipped into shape along. this line they -will be introduced gradually to the real engineering work. Some are having an opportunity now to sh6w their skill as carpenters. Others are being tried out at various clerical tasks. Three regular army men transferred from the regiments at Fort Benjamin Harrison are the only non-commis-sioned officers in the regiment. All the others who are filling this place in drill are only acting sergeants or corporals. Colonel William L., Guthrie, the commander, believes in going slowly in appointing “noncoms,” and is having his company commanders try out various men. Probably the most difficult problem of this regiment remains the training of those of foreign parentage, who come from the steel mill district of northwestern Indiana, and whose knowledge of English is small. The men just transferred to the 309th engineers include forty-one from Indianapolis and Marion county who were in the 334th infantry, eighty-two from the 3 3 sth infantry or other Indiana outfits, and ninety-seven from Illinois and Kentucky organizations. The regiment now numbers 1,575 men, so that it is not far short of Its full war strength of 1,666.