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REORGANIZATIONS NOW COMPLETED
WHAT WORK OF A DIVISION MEANS
Other Army Divisions Hava
Been Going Through Reor
organization Similar to Ex
. periences of Camp Hancock.
WHAT IT ALL MEANS;
DIVISION IS A TEAM
In speaking of the necessary reorgani
zation work which has been going on
in many army divisions as a result of
recent orders, one of the officials of the
29th Division —the “Blue and Gray” Di
vision, at Camp McClellan, Anniston,
Ala. —tells what the reorganization has
meant to the officers tand men and points
out that a division is a team.
A division must be trained as a team.
It must work as a team. It must fight
as a team.
The hopes and ambitions of many men,
have been blasted; or, at least, the real
ization of the hopes has been deferred.
Colonels who have spent years of earn
est work in recruiting, equipping and
training their regiments, and who, hav
ing just left their home towns escorted
to the depot by hundreds of their fellow
townsmen and well-wishers, have brought
their organizations into camp, with bands
playing and flags flying—flags given
them, no doubt, by the hands of the pa
triotic women of their home cities, the
handiwork, possibly, of these very wom
en. Full of hopes for the future, and
dreaming of the new names to be graven
on the staffs of these flags telling of
battles won—these men have been met
upon arrival at their camps, with the
news that they themselves were to be
assigned to other units, possibly to an
other branch of the service, that their
regiments were to be merged with other
regiments, that their very flags were to
become relics, or. at least could only be
used by other organizations.
That these things should cause heart
aches and disappointments, and, even, re
sentment, was to be expected. Who of
us have ever tried to represent his school
or his college on the baseball or football
field and has not suffered heartaches
and disappointments when another was
picked for the place we sought and hoped
tor! But, on the other hand, who of us
has failed tc glory in the accomplishments
of the team and to cheerfully lead the yell
for the very man who had taken our
place, with the individual feeling of dis
appointment completely lost in the pride
we have in our team!
Just so the sorrow, the disappoint
ments, tre travail of disorganization has
brought forth reorganization, 'and then,
organization! and the team idea has been
born!
This division is. a team. It must be
trained as a team, it must work as a
team, and, later, it must fight as a team-
The organization of the team has been
effected. That there will be changes in
the line-up is certain; men now substi
tutes, will show such "class’’ that they
will be put in before the first half is
over. A strong string of substitutes
must be trained to tafle the places of
those who are “put out,” and these
“subs” must be so good that when the
first'team is shot*to pieces the substitu
tion of the second team will bring with
it no decrease in offensive power.
The training will, speaking broadly, be
divided into three phases:
1— The inculcation of discipline into the
minds and very beings of each individual
in the division.
2 The physical training of each indi
vidual, so that there will be gotten not
only the spirit to dare, but the strength
and will to do.
3 The expert knowledge of the use of
the wapon with which the soldier is arm
ed —the rifle for instance —its use as a
close combat weapon with bayonet fixed,
and as a shooting weapon. For, aside
from the development of skill and effic
iency in the use of the weapon, the of
fensive spirit must be developed—wars
are not won by defensive actions!
While the soldier in the ranks is being
developed physically, and is being train
ed as an expert in the use of modern
weapons of warfare, the affairs of the
division must be administered, with the
least loss of motion, and with the least
time taken from active training, the
health and sanitation of the camp must
be looked after; the soldier must be
fed, clothed and armed,_and he must be
taught things which the new development
of warfare has made necessary and
which his officers have not heretofore
had opportunity to study; for the accomp
lishment of all these ends divisional
schools have been organized and are be
ing conducted daily, in every branch of
military science.
The courses in many of them are so
regulated that as a new subject has to be
taken up in the various companies, there
will be graduates of the various schools
ready to act as instructors. While the
private soldier in the ranks is being
trained, the officers, too, are being in
structed in*the intricacies of the new sci
ence modern warfare. The captain of
the team must not only “play the game”
and play it as a leader, but when the
other members of the team are resting
after the labors of the day he must be
planning the work of the next day. In
its final analysis the object of all of this
training is to so train the bodie sand so
educate the minds of the officers and
men of this division that they will come
to look upon the accomplishment of the
impossible as an every day matter—and
that will be brought about by discipline,
and that alone.
The American spirit is essentially a
spirit of fair play. There are those who
are prone to think and are free to say
that discipline is repugnant to the Am
erican mind. That is not so. The forced
enforcement of discipline is repugnant
to the American mind, for discipline it
self is far play ipersonified. To be real
discipline—and fair play—discipline must
be uniform; if uniform, it will rarely have
to be enforced, for it will appeal to all
as fair play.
Take, for instance, the matter of sa
luting, men rarely fail to observe the
proper military courtesies, and to take a
pride in the observance, when once they
have a- clear conception of what salut
ing is for and what it means. The use
of the words “saluting officers” is some-
TREN|CH AND CAMr
what confusing. All men in the mili
tary service salute one another, but for
uniformity’s sake, the junior, whether an
officer, or an enlisted man, salutes first.
It is the honorable recognition by one
soldier of another soldier’s right to be
considered a member of the All-American
team and to be spoken to as a brother
in arms. The wearing of the uniform
is an introduction, in itself, to all other
men who wear the uniform, and being in
troduced thus, and being members of the
same team, it is only proper that those
members should speak on passing or
meeting one another.
In civil life if one meets another whom
he knows and one speaks very cordial
ly, and in return, receives a cold indif
ferent bow one naturally feels that when
next they meet the acquaintance will re
ceive just the sort of salutation he gave
on this occasion. While that can read
ily happen n civil life it should never
happen,. in military life, for the method of
speaking (saluting) is prescribed, the
time when the salute is to be rendered is
prescribed, the method of its rendition
s prescribed, and the only limitation is
that it is to be rendered between sol
diers in good standing—that is, a pris
oner or man under arrest cannot salute
the members of the team, for he has dis
graced the team by committing a mili
tary offense —and when two men in uni
form pass without saluting it is because
one or both is not a soldier —certainly not
a good soldier —a good soldier marches
with head erect; he is alert, trying to
sse what is going on, not to keep from
seeing.
To say you don’t see an officer, as a
reason for not saluting him, is to admit
that you are not conducting yourself as
a soldier should, or that you are slouch
ing. I believe the average officer wants
to salute the average enlisted man—they
belong to the same honorable profession
and are enlisted for the same “great ad
venture,” —but he cannot salute first,
as the enlisted man is his junior. On
many occasions the officer does not know
he is being saluted for, while the enlist
ed man salutes he does not assume the
position in time, or else he doesn’t look
toward the person saluted.
I venture to say that if every soldier
in this camp will read carefully the
paragraphs on saluting and will conform
correctly to it, he will find every salute
cheerfully and properly returned. It is
sometimes difficult to tell an officer when
the coat is not worn, and it is very
difficult for officers at time to tell which
is the junior, but if we are all ready “to
take a chance” the salute can be so
nearly simultaneous as .to satisfy the most
punctilious "senior.”
All these are little things, but of such is
discipline and training. Saluting helps
team work, engenders an esprit de corps,
and makes easy the transaction of rou
tine duties and is generally considered an
indication of the efficiency of a command
because it’s a true key to the attitude of
mind of that command toward discipline
and team work.
For the people back home it might be
said that the time of the members of this
camp is not taken up exclusively in sa
luting one another, but that eifeht hours
daily are put in at drill and other exer
cises calculated to develop the minds and
bodies of their sons and brothers, who
are, in addition, their soldiers. Your boys
may not yet be interested irtotheir daily
work, for they may feel that they are do
ing over again the same things they have
been doing for years, but in a few weeks
they will be writing home of new things,
of new thoughts, and then you will see
that the War College has prepared a
special, progressive, practical, course of
training calculated to fit the men in this
division to know how, and to be able to
stand all of the hardships and the experi
ences which lie ahead of him.
The ."people at home” have their part
to play in actually assisting the. training
here. If they will remember that a blue,
discopraging letter may spoil a whole
day’s work for a large number of the sol
diers of their army; if they will realize
that the flag of our country has taken on
a new meaning for their sons and broth
ers and friends, and that the discipline
and training they are getting here is in
order that the flag, their flag, may be
properly and honorably carried wher > the
nations of the world are fighting for the
honor of the world, then I predict that
the discipline and training in this camp
will have its reflex action back home,
and the temptation to write blue and dis
couraging letters for instance will be
completely routed by and lost in the new
ideas of discipline.. To help make your
boy happy and satisfied in his new com
pany, is true patriotism; to make him
unhappy and dissatisfied contributes to
his inefficiency, and helps our enemies
i nthe end. It’s a little thing what you
write to your boy privately! Yes, but it’s
a big thing what the fathers and moth
ers of the nation are collectively writing
to all of their boys—and to win this war
the entire nation must be organized and
disciplined.
In conclusion, let me sum up, the di
vision is completely organized; the nec
essary divisional schools are thoroughly
organized, and are functioning 'properly,
the comfortable quartering, and the
proper clothing of the men is well ad
vanced; facilities are at hand for the
prosecution of the study of the latest
forms of trench warfare; the health of
the division is excellent; and the morale
high.
The future holds promise of much in
teresting work for officers and men alike
and if the favorable weather conditions
continue to prevail, this division should
be ready to take its place on the firing
hne whenever the call shall come.
SOLDIERS ROB MOTOR I ST.
Five men wearing the United States
army uniform help up F. C. Kuhlke near
the clubhouse of the Schultz Agricultural
Club last Friday night, took his monev
and Buick car and got away. The meh
egaged Kuhlke to take them to Aiken
and when the vicinity of the club was
reached, the men ordered Kuhlke to stop
and get out. Pistols were placed to his
head and he was relieved of sl7, after
which the men left in the car. Police au
thorities were notified, but no trace them
has been found. It is not known wheth
er they were soldiers from Camp Han
cock or auto thieves masquerading as
soldiers.
NEW YORK TROOPS
DIVISION CHANGES
Many Famous Regiments Dis
membered to Conform to New
Army Rules of Fighting War
Tactics.
The National Guard of New York, at
Camp Wadsworth, Spartanburg, S. C-, has
been going through the same painful
theros of re-organization that has dis
tressed the Pennsylvania troops and other
army divisons.
A summary of the New York Division
changes follows:
A summary of the New York Division
changes follows:
Seven hundred men of the First New
York Cavalry became connected with the
One Hundred and Fourth Machine Gun
Battalion.
The Fifty-third Infantry Brigade will
consist of Brigade Headquarters, the One
Hundred and Fifth, the One Hundred and
Sixth Regiments and the One Hundred
and Fifth Machine Gun Battalion.
One thousand three hundred and sev
enty-five enlisted men are transferred
from the Seventy-first New York Infan
try to the One Hundred and Fifth Regi
ment of Infantry.
One hundred and forty-two enlisted
men of the Twelfth New York Infantry
are transferred to the One Hundred and
Fifth Regiment of Infantry.
- Non-commissioned staff officers, first
sergeants, mess and supply sergeants and
bandsmen are not included in the trans
fer.
The One Hundred and Sixth takes all
of the enlisted men of the Twenty-third
New York Infantry, and 1,292 enlisted
men from the Fourteenth New York In
fantry.
The One Hundred and Fifth takes 511
enlisted men from Squadron A, New
York Cavalry, and 30 enlisted men from
the Eighteenth New York Cavalry.
The One Hundred and Seventh Regi
ment of Infantry will be made up of all
the Seventh New York Infantry and 1,
GOO enlisted men of the First New York
Infantry and 320 enlisted men from the
Twelfth, New York Infantry.
The One Hundred and Eighth will con
sist of all the Third New York Infantry,
1,350 men from the Seventy-fourth and
293 men from the Twelfth.
The One Hundred and Sixth Machine
Gun Battalion consists of 550 enlisted men
of the First New York Cavalry.
The Fifty-second Artillery Brigade con
sits of Headquarters, the One Hundred
and Fifth and One Hundred and Sixth
Regiments of Field Artillery and One
Hundred and Second Trench Motar Bat
tery The Fifty-second Field Artillery
is divided into brigade headquarters,
Brig. Gen. Charles L. Phillips command
ing and Maj. Leonard B. Smith adjutant,
the One Hundred and Fourth Regiment
of Field Artillery, the One Hundred and
Fifth Regiment of Field Artillery and the
One Hundred and Sixth Regiment Os
Field Artillery.
The One Hundred and Second Regiment
of Engineers, formerly the Twenty-second
Regiment of Engineers, will receive 87
enlisted men from each the First,
Twelfth, Fourteenth and Seventy-fourth
Regiments.
CAMP WADSWORTH NOTES.
Grigadier-General Gatley, commanding
the artillery at Camp Sevier, spent Sun
day, October 7th, with General Phillips.
Over 14 automobiles have either turned
turtle or have run off the embankment
on the roads between Spartanburg and
Camp Wadsworth. Private James Lay
ton of the 19th was injured in an auto
which turned turtle October 6th. A small
bone in ’the spinal column was injured.
He has been gaining and hope of his en
tire recovery is entertained.
There have been two deaths at Camp
Wadsworth up to the present time. One
was Private Seanlore of the 12th and the
other was Private James A. McGowan,
of the Machine Gun Company of the 3rd
Regiment. The former was from New
York City, the latter from Rochester,
Ne wYork.
There are now about 30,000 soldiers in
camp. The latest arrivals are the First
Battalion of the Second Field Artillery,
eight companies ow the Fifteenth and
two battalions of the Forty-seventh In
fantry are expected soon.
For two weeks Company E of the
Twenty-second Engineers has been at
Glassy Rock preparing the artillery range
for the Twenty-seventh Division. Tnis
is about 30 miles from Spartanburg. The
detachment is under the command of
Lieutenant O’Dell.
The One Hundred and . Second Engi
neers are to have a field which will be
the Polo Grounds of Camp Wadsworth.
It will be used by the various teams in
camp. The present plans provide for a
large stage at the foot of the natural am
phitheater. Out door movies will be shown
here.
Chaplains Fell, Keever, Foreman and
McCord are preparing for quite extensive
programs of entertainments in the near
future. The Y is trying to co-operate
in every way in doing its bit of the
work.
SIGMA ALPHA
EPSILON TO MEET
Members of the Signa Alpha Epsilon
Fraternity at Camp Hancock are plan
ning to form a club for fraternal and so
cial purposes. A notice has been posted
on all company bulletin boards requesting
members of the fraternity, both at the
camp and tn Augusta to send their names
and addresses and the name of their
chapter to James O. Sheppard at Division.
Headquarters.-
Oct. 24, 1917.
CHAPLAIN FUTCHER"
DOING GREAT WORK
Spiritual Overseer of 109th
Infantry Holds Services For
Various Faiths.
One of the most efficient chaplains
in the United States Army is Chap
lain Futcher, of the 109th Infantry.
When no.t in army work, Chaplain
Futcher is„pastor of a Methodist Epis
copal Church (at Phoenixville, near
Philadelphia.
For several years, he has been chap
lain of the First Infantry, now the
109th, and his experience with the men
in the national guard camps and on the
border last year, have given him an
expert knowledge of the needs of the
men in the army. And he is meeting
these needs.
Upon the return of the regiment
from Texas, Chaplain Futcher enlisted
the aid of some well known Philadel
phians in a plan to raise a fund for the
welfare of the soldiers and as a re
sult of his initiative, the sum of SB,OOO.
was given in small amounts for this
commendable work.
This money is disbursed among the
various units from Philadelphia and as
a result, the infantry, cavalry and ar
tillery from Philadelphia have their
own motion picture outfit, a library
of 1,000 carefully selected books, fifty
motion picture films, stereopticon
slides and athletic equipment for every
company.
Probably the two most noteworthy
activities of Chaplain Futcher have
been the distribution of pocket testa
ments and the holding of services for
the Jews in the First regiment. On
the authority of Mr. Davis, head of the
Pocket Testament League, Chaplain
Futcher holds the world’s record for the
distribution of testaments. More than
1,500 have been given to the members
of the old First regiment, and now that
the 109th consists of 3,650 men, there
will be an increase in the number.
The service for the Jews v of whom
there are probably sixty in tlie old reg
iment, is one of the most unique in ths
army. So far as known. Chaplain
Futcher is the only man holding spe
cial services for the Jews. The Sol
diers’ Leisure Hour Fund, whioh the
chaplain raised, has supplied Jewish
prayer books and every Sunday morn
ing at 11 o’clock, the chaplain meets
his Jewish “boys” and conducts the
Service, giving a short address on Old
Testament history. Opportunity is
also given the Catholic priest to hold
mass once a month in the chaplain’s
tent for the Catholic “boys,” as the
chaplain speaks of his men.
In addition to this, the chaplain su
pervises the entertainments and a pro
gram is given every night in the week.
On Sunday nights, he has been giving
illustrated talks, including “Den Mur,”
“The Passion Play” and other noted
subjects. Last week he was called
upon to perform a marriage ceremony
in the Motor Supply Train and also
baptised the child of Lieut, and Mrs.
Rupple, of the 109th Infantry.
There are also the administrative af
fairs to be looked after, the welfare of
dependents, the pleas of-the prisoners
and many other things and with it all.
Chaplain Futcher always has time to
be courteous and kindly to visitors as
well as the men.
THIRTEENTtFIrEGIMENT
PRIDE OF SCRANTON
(Continued from page one)
millionaires, men prominent in the social
and business life. Its officers represent
the best families in the great anthracite I
coal fields; its men the hardest and most
sincere patriots; men who have already
fought and won many battles; who know
what it is to sacrifice home ties and all I
that binds one to the fireside; who have I
been in the active Federal service for sis- I
teen months and all this without a mark J
of discredit or blemish on the unit.
Captain Laurence A. Waters, Co. C, is
a son of the former colonel referred to ■
hereinbefore; Captain George B. K< nkle, ■
CO. £>, is another man who rose in the q
ranks from private in 1898; Captain Rob
ert A. Hull. Co. F, is an attorney in
Scranton; Captain Clarence B. Altemose,
Co. G, is one of the officials of the State
Normal school at Stroudsburg; Captain
Harry S. Barton, Co. I, is a prominent
insurance agent of Bloomsburg; Captain
James F. Cooper, Co. L, was traveling
engineer for the Western Railroad; Cap
tain C. E. Correll, adjutant, is an engineer
of the Erie.
Lieut. James A. Linen, Co. L, is presi
dent of the city council of the City 'of
Scranton, with a population of nearly
200,000 people; Lieut. Staley E. Dolph is
president of the Scranton Pump Works;
Lieut. Albert H. Crane is proprietor of a
large department store in Carbondale, and
Lieut. Arthur P. Matthews is of the firm
of Matthews Bros., wholesale drug deal
ers, in Scranton. The three latter are
battalion adjutants.
Much more might be said of lie line
officers of the regiment, but space forbids.
Let it suffice to say of them all, that a
more soldierly appearing, efficient set of
officers could not be desired.
While eight of the line companies, head
quarters company and the supply com
pany have their station in Scranton, four
of the line companies are from thriving
towns in the vicinity' of the city, all of
them the capital of prosperous agricul
tural and Industrial counties—Honesdale,
Bloomburg, Stroudsburg and Moscow—
while the Machine Gun Company has got
ten practically all of its men, skilled me
chanics, from the railroad shops at Sayre. :