Newspaper Page Text
0ct.31, 1917.
Personal News Items of Camp Hancock Units
MILITARY POLICE IS
FINE ORGANIZATION
Their Duties Are Varied and
Important Both During Period
of Training and at the Frant.
Probabiy the most interesting service
of the men themselves is offered by the
Headquarters Train and Military Police,
under Major Charles F. Clement, a son of
Major General Clement. Their duties, in
addition to maintaining order among the
soldiers of the division, as provost guards,
and directing traffic within the camp lim
its, includes the capture and arrest of
deserters, and in times of war, the es
corting and guarding of troop, ammuni
tion and supply trains, in time of bat
tle, their position is taken up in the rear
of the firing lines where they keep the sol
diers in order. At this crucial test of the
soldier's courage, the bravest are likely,
during their first encounter with the en
emy, to break and run. It is then that
he faces the relentless military police
man, who scon convinces the men that
his placo is at the front, no matter how
urgently he pleads a pressing engagement
elsewhere.
Two Companies of M. P.
There are two companies of military
police, numbering 150 enlisted men each.
The First Company is from Pittsburg,
and the Second, from Philadelphia, Pa.
The personnel of both are picked men of
extraordinary stature, professional po
licemen and firemen. Many of the mili
tary police are ex-state policemen, which
insures their caliber, as the Pennsylvania
State Police Force ranks with the Cana
dian Northwest Mounted as the two best
bodies of soldiers in the world.
Detectives in*Force.
Many detectives are also included in the
organization. The curtains are drawn
tigntly over the inside workings of the
force, and the utmost secrecy guards
their every move. Not only is this true
in regards to the rest of the guard and
the inquisitive outside world, but within
the organization itself. Verily, the right
hand knoweth not what the left hand
doeth. Otten one of the men will be
called to the "head of the street," away
from the canteen, or from a friendly game
of craps in which he may have a decided
business interest. Suddenly, from the
midst of his fellows, he vanishes. He, is
under secret orders. He may be in Maine
dressed as a citizen, or be may go to Cal
ifornia, and pose as a deserter. vv hat
cver he do'is, and wherever he goes, he
represents the long arm of Uncle Sam,
and has the entire government behind
him. He may be gone a day—he may be
gone a month.
One day, as suddenly as he left, he ap
pears among his fellows again and takes
up the camp life where he left it oft’.
None know whence he comes, or where
he was sent. No one knows what duty
sent him off, and, knowing the futility
of the question, no one asks. In a mat
ter-of-fact manner he has performed a
secret mission for the government, the
nature of which possibly only he and his
commanding officer knows.
Absent Without Leave.
A soldier may be absent without leave
for nine days, twenty-three hours and
fifty-nine minutes before he constitutes
himself a deserter. After the tenth day
passes the secret service ice is trailing
him, nor does it relax its vigilant search
until the culprit is safe in the guard house
awaiting his court martial.
The activities of the Military Police are
not confined to police and detective du
ties, however. The men, as a body, are
trained as fire fighters, and under the di
vision fire marshal, answers all fire calls
from any part of Camp Hancock. A com
prehensive and efficient system of fire
fighting has been worked out, and the
well drilled firemen have already proved
their metal in combating blazes.
Much stress has been laid upon this
important point, as the mess halls and
other buildings throughout the camp are
constructed of yellow pine, a wood that
is especially inflammable, and owing to
their proximity and positions, a small fire
starting in one of them might sweep down
an entire line, destroying half a hun
dred.
Organized This Year.
The Military Police, as a unit, was
organized in May, of this year, and at
tached to the Hdeaquarters Train. Pre
viously, their duties were detailed to a
selected provost guard, chosen from men
of the ranks. Virtually every man in the
tmit has had military experience and
training, prior to entering this branch of
the service. They wear the yellow hat
cord, with leather buck-strap pulled to
their chins. In addition to the duties out
lined above, they will be required, in
actual war conditions, to keep open all
lines of communication between the vari
ous troops, and between commands and
their commanding officers.
Roster of Officers.
The headquarters of the Military Police
are at Sunbury, Pa. Captain Jackson W.
Study, adjutant of the unit, whose home
is in Philadelphia, has been sent to
France, to study war conditions. During
his absence Lieut. James T. Ward, of
the Second Company, is acting in his ca
pacity. he complete roster of officers
of the Military Police is-as follows:
Colonel (vacancy); major, (command
ing) Charles F. Clement; captain and ad
jutant, Jackson W. Study (detailed to
foreign duty): first lieutenant (vacancy).
Assigned from Medical Corps—Major,
vacancy); first lieutenant, (vacancy);
First Lieut. Charles L. Schaeffer.
First Company, Pittsburg, Pa.—Captain
J. Clyde Miller, Homestead, Pa.; First
Lieut. Elbert Shultis, Pittsburg, Pa.; Sec
ond Lieut. Frank R. Burgard, Sunbury,
Pa.
Second Company, Philadelphia. Pa. —
Captain Henry Crofut, Philadelphia, Pa.;
First Lieutenant, (vacancy); Second Lieu
tenant, James T, Ward, Philadelphia, Pa.
TRENCH AND CAMP
One Hundred and Ninth
Field Artillery Field Day
Wednesday, Oct. 24th, was a gala day
for the 109th Field Artillery, formerly
the Third Pennsylvania Field Artillery.
The day was set aside for two purposes,
namely to show our patriotism by sub
scribing to the second Liberty Loan, and
to exhibit our athletic ability. The regi
ment as a whole responded nobly to the
call for financial aid. It was due to the
untring efforts of the physical directors,
G. Davies and D. Hughes, that. Battery
C was able to emerge victorious in four
of the eight field events.
In the 100-yard dash there were en
tries for each battery, but as usual the
prize was awarded to ( orporal Gordon
Davtes of Battery C, who is one of the
dismounted tug of war team which was
captained by Sergeant Grabosky, and de
serves special commendation as they en
tered the contest with no practice and
emerged victorious with apparently lit
tle difficulty.
One of tho most interesting events was
the mounted wrestling match. When
the various contestants entered the field
it reminded one of those old tournaments
held by knights and lords. After several
minutes of expert riding and struggling
among the contestants, there were but
two left on the Held, Thomas of Battery
D and Arbchesky of Battery C. Some
fierce struggling ensued ad finally Arb
schesky succeeded in unseating his oppo
nent and, midst the cheers of his C Bat
tery men, was carried across the field.
Battery C was also fortunate in se
curing first place in the running high
jump, captured by Corporal Hahn, whose
exhibition of high jumping also delighted
tho vast crowd.
In the most humorous event, the mixed
shot- race, Merrill of Batter}' C took sec
ond place. Semmers, of the same bat
tery, who apparently had secured first
place was for some technicality disquali
fied.
After the exciting events of the morn
ing the men were keyed to the proper
pitch in anticipation of the football game
in the afternoon. The game was played
under the supervision of Lieutenant
Brown, the former Penn State Star, who
served as referee. As umpire. Lieuten
ant Hogg, who in his college days played
with the University of Pennsylvania,
served in a very efficient manner .
The second battalion team was com
posed of men from Batteries D, E and
F, while the team of the first battalion
was made up of men from A. B and C
batteries.
From the first sound of the whistle if
was apparent that the first battalion
team, composed mostly of men with
much gridiron experience, would emerge
victors. The line presented an almost
stone wall defense and many times the
swift backs of the second were thrown
for losses, while repeatedly the first bat
talion backs would skirt the ends for
long runs and so place themselves in a
position to intercept forward passes. The
honor of scoring the first touchdown fell
to McKune of Battery A, who took ad
vantage of a fumble and crossed the
line. Houston of Battery B, who played
right tackle, proved by his excellent
playing to be one of the best line men
on the field. The guard positions were
filled by McKune, the Hazleton star,
and Enke, the erstwhile Gettysburg star.
In the center Morgan innumerable
times broke up the plays before they had
really started, and many attempted punts
were blocked by him. The beautifully
executed punts of Quarterback 11.
Hughes were well handled by the ends,
Davies and Hahn.
If end runs were needed it was a safe
bet to give th eball to "Red” Hughes.
Many times “Turk” Jones would hurl
his ponderous weight against the oppos
ing line, and he was ably seconded by
Evans, who scored the second touchdown
following “Herb” Hughes' spectacular
run of 50 yards.
Quarterback H. Hughes, who inter
cepted a forward pass and with splen'
did interference by Evans ran fifty yards.
The second battalion employed forward
passes to good advantage, and their
backs made several very consistent
gains. Tender, ana end, and Gunster, at
quarter, proved to be their most consis
tent ground gainers.
The final score of the game was 13-0
in favor of the first battalion, and all
present were thoroughly pleased with the
sportsmanlike manner in which the ath
letes conducted themselves.
Plans are now being made for the or
ganization of a basketball team.
The men of C Battery have great in
terest in sports because of support given
them by the officers of the battery.
SHOTS FROMII2 REGIMENT
Every preparation is being made for
the winter weather that is now beginning
to reach this section. Mess shacks are
being boarded up, the government-issued
floors are being installed and stoves have
been issued. Fellows who haven't over
coats are hoping the Supply Company gets
a big stock at an early date.
Even the officers are having a touch
of drilling these days. Friday afternoon
Lieut. Joseph Connell had a score of them
in line, giving them the manual of arms,
school of the soldier and other drills—
and he gave it to them just as hard as if
they were the enlisted men!
The prediction was made by Ben Sco
vell, in hiss piendid talk on the trenches
the the Y. M. C. A. the other night,
that the war would run Fel
lows of the 112th aren’t expecting It to
last that long, although they are all
hoping they’ll be able to sieck in the game
to the end.
The band concerts of the 112th band
are to be on Sunday afternoons at three
hereafter, instead of Sunday evening,
that residents of Augusta may have the
opportunity to appreciate the sterling
worth of Chief Musician Roy Miller’s ag
gregation of instrumental artists. Few
military bands have established such an
enviable reptuation in so short a time as
this.
The boys of the 112th, working hard
eight hours a day at drill and kept busy
in their spare hours, are beginning to
wonder if the author of the statement,
"The army is an easy life,” isn't tn line
for court-martial at one of the numerous
sessions the general court is now holding.
It looks like grim work out on the
drill field now, with the bayonet gallows
and dummies all in readiness for the com
ing attacks. Trenches have long been
ready, and it will be but a few days
until that class of work, as well as bomb
throwing, is on in real earnest.
One of the most impressive parades the
regiment has held was conducted on Fri
day evening, just before retreat, on the
112th drill field. The new formation,
with four platoons of each company
marching abreast, made a favorable im
pression on the large number of specta
tors. While the parade was in progress,
the 111th boys returned from Augus
ta, marching along the Wrightsboro road
and forming a fitting background to the
I battalions of the 112th.
Colonel Rickards is confident that even
with the much-talked of mental and
nervous ’examination now being conduct
ed the regiment will lose few men. Only
the boys of the old 16th are undergoing
the simple test, as those of the Sth were
given the exam before coming South.
While the official totals showed that
the 112th regiment gave a total of only
$111,150 to the Liberty loan issue on Wed
nesday, in reality the regiment gave more
than $200,000. 'The subscriptions made
b ythe Bth regiment, which became a part
of the organization a short while ago,
were not. counted in the official total.
They represented SBB,OOO. Additional sub
scriptions, coming in shortly after mid
night Wednesday, also boosted the total,
so that $200,000 and more was given.
The various companies of the old 16th
regiment, gave as follows:
Officers, field and staff $ 3,250
Headquarters Co 3,000
Sanitary Department. 1,500
Supply Co 4,200
Machine Gun Co 4,200
Company A 4,850
(Company B 4,850
Company C 5,650
Company D 4,350
Company E 7,500
Company F 14,000
Company G 12,550
Company H 0 7,650
Company T 5,559
Company K 4,150
Company L 13,300
Company M 10,600
The splendid last minute response is
still being talked about in the regiment.
Lt. James R. Thompson is telling with
a smile of the record run Wednesday
evening, when subscriptions came in so
fast that it was no trouble at: all to roll
up the splendid figure. Six buck pri
vates in one squad gave a total of $l,lOO
and others subscribed in similar fashion.
Captain Williams, of Company L,
made a pariotic appeal to the men at
noon Wednesday. The total then was
a little over S9OO. By nightfall it had
mounted into the thousands and by mid
night was over the $13,000 line. The boys
literally emptied their pocketbooks with
the cheers.
Colonel Rickards, too, is especially
pleased with the result, in view of the
fact that the regiment’s original goal was
only SBO,OOO. Much credit for the suc
cess of the campaign in the regiment,
must go to Lt. Milford Fredenburg, who
managed the issue for the 112th.
13TH INFANTRY - REGIMENT
IMPRESSIONS OF THE
DRAFT MEN
The men of the National Army who
have been assigned to units in this
division appear like fine fellows and
in their brief association with the men
of the guard they have acquired the
confidence of their superior officers
and the esteem of their comrades.
On the average they seem like intel
ligent fellows, who learn readily and
willingly. They take to present con
ditions without comment, and there is
little or no grumbling. Last of all, they
like Camp Hancock better than they
liked Camp Meade.
Didn’t Like the Flags.
When Jim Flick and some of the
other fellows from the 13th went over
to the 109th Infantry, they started out
for signal practice one day and met
the enemy long before they expected
to. They hardly had time to get set
for signalling and somehow or other
they got their signals mixed. Anyway,
the enemy being an enraged bull stood
the wig-wagging as long as possible,
and then charged. The lieutenant com
manding was the first of the retreating
army over the fence and he started as
soon as he spied the bull sharpening
his horns on the trunk of a big pine
tree. “Katty” Haynes, Harold White,
Art McPhillips and Joe Fritzen, all of
Headquarters Company, scampered
over a fence through a cotton field.
"Stubby” Barth was the last one start
ed, and lie took to the tallest tree in
the woods. Two hours later the army
succeeded in driving the enraged ani
mal from the tree and “Stubby" came
down, but it was half a day before his
hair went back to its normal position,
and he could w'ear his hat.
When the Band’s Not Playing.
Say, comrades, do you recall when
you marched away from the home
towm? The band was playing then and
you thought, well, this war business
isn’t so bad after all. Didn’t you feel
that way about it? Os course you did;
so did I. There’s a big difference
you’ve found out since then, haven’t
you? It’s harder than you thought.
You’ve found out that the war business
is a serious profession, with endless de
tails, hours of long, hard drill, and eve
nings of study. There are hours for
recreation, too, when you like to He
around camp and visit with your com
rades. Those are the hours of diffi
culty; those are the times when the
real test in the man comes; when the
tempter sneaks in unannounced and
starts his uncanny work in the crowd.
It’s not all flowers and sunshine, this
army life; especially when the band's
not playing. In the time for rest it’s
bard to keep one’s mind occupied when
the band’s not playing.
MED IC A IToFfTc ER “SPE AKS
Y. M, C. A. Indispensable Ad
junct to the Army—Quiets
Miners’ Fears
My point of view and observations are
those of a member of the Medical De
partment, serving in the capacity of
Dental Surgeon. I therefore believe I
can give you an unbiased opinion of the
great work the Y. M. C. A. is accom
plishing in this camp.
The secretaries who are scattered
about in the various Y. M. C. A. build
ings doing their bit are the best obtain
able because they are volunteers and
have offered then 1 services in interst
of the soldiers, regardless of th sacrifices
they are making because they are also
men of broad vision who saw their duty
and were glad for the opportunity to ren
der a great service to their fellowmen in
arms.
They are particularly qualified to en
ter into this work because they are men
of mature age, men who have lived anti
therefore know how to handle the prob
lems of men and minister to their needs.
They have not been attracted to this
work for mercenary reasons. Many of
these men have left excellent positions
and various professions to enter into this
work for the good they can do and are
meeting all their own expenses out of
their persona! savings. They are whole
souled. self-sacrificing Christian men who
have heeded the Macedonian call, and
who are now doing a great work in a
worthy cause.
Any organization with such a person
nel as this is bound to succeed in its aims
and I am pleased to inform you that the
Y. M. C. A. here is rendering such valu
able service to the boys of Pennsylvania
that it has become one of the necessary
auxiliaries to the army.
It would take a great deal of time and
space for me to tell you all the Y. M.
C. A. is doing here for they are doing
so much, but I shall state briefly some of
the things being done and how nicely
this organization fits into the army.
Each brigade in the division is blessed
with one capacious Y. M. C. A. building
which provides an assembly room for
the soldiers and a place for the various
activities.
.Stationery, pen and ink, and a con
venient place for the boys to write their
many letters to the folks at borne are
provided free of charge. In addition to
the above there is something doing every
night, such as religious services, enter
tainments of various kinds, concerts,
boxing bouts, moving picture and in fact
everything is provided for the uplift of
mind, soul and body and for the making
of better men and therefore better sol
diers.
I want to make special mention of the
religious ministration of the Y. M. C. A.
for in this respect I am confident they
are the greatest factor that exists, in
the army today for providing religious
or spiritual inspiration to the men.
There are now two regiments in a
brigade, each regiment numberinig about
four thousand men. To each regiment
a chaplain is assigned who looks after
the religious welfare of the men in his
organization. The chaplain, being a
commissioned officer, is necessarily lim
ited in his activities for he is under
military orders and has other duties as
signed to him other than religious work
and as a result he can only go so far.
The Y. M. C. A. religious workers not
only take up the work where the chap
lain is forced to leave off but they also
co-operate with him in every respect,
working hand in hand with him and
thereby not only reinforces the excellent
work of the chaplain but also follows it
up with further Y. M. C. A. work. The
association workers have freedom of ac
tion not enjoyed by the chaplain which
enables them to meet the soldier in a
personal way and many a hard problem
is solved for the soldier by the ever will
ing and tireless Y. M. C. A. worker.
To sum up, I would say that the Y.
M. C. A. is the only solution to the
moral, spiritual, physical, mental and
social problems of the soldier. To the
folks at home who are worried about
the welfare of “her boy” let me assure
you that if "her boy” gets in touch with
the Y. M. C, A. workers ail his problems
will be taken care of.
I understand that a campaign for rais
ing thirty-live million dollars for the Y.
M. C. A. work is now in progress. If
u»is amount were just doubled it would
mean that your brother in arms or per
haps your son would be just twice bet
ter off, morally, spiritually, physically,
mentally and socially while he is serving
his country. It is a most worthy cause,
to which all can contribute for the sake
of humanity and humanity’s God. You
can buy Liberty Bonds for an investment
and thereby help the government equip
these men so they can fight, but if you
would like to see these boys enjoy com
forts of mind and body after they have
fought, a contribution to the Y. M. C. A.
will fulfill your desire. I therefore wish
this campaign for money for this great
work the success it merits.
Yours very truly,
O. C. WALLACE,
First Lieutenant Dental Corps.
LONG BOY-
A New Song in Camp.
Good-bye, Maw, Good-bye, Paw,
Good-bye, Mule, with yer old hee-haw.
I may not know what the war’s about
But you bet, by gosh, I’ll soon find out,
An’ oh my swetheart, don’t you fear
I’ll bring you a King fer a souvenir;
I’ll get you a Turk an’ a Kaiser, too.
An’ that’s about all one feller could do.
Shapiro, Bernstein & Co-, Inc., New
York, have furnished music for each
Y. M. C. A. building.
Hall, Mack Co., Philadelphia, hava
sent a thousand copies of new religious
songs.
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