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i 1 I H | » ii £O3 f Major Strickler Given Beautiful Silver Pitcher Constructing Quartermaster of Camp Hancock Dined By Prominent Augustans. Camp Practically Completed. Two Million Dollars Disbursed. Other Interesting Facts Those who are familiar ■with “The Arabian Nights” and the story of “Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp,” recall how the hero had but to rub his lamp and the genii appeared instantly, granting Aladdin’s every desire, even to the erection of cities and palaces. Camp Hancock has witnessed a greater marvel than Aladdin’s won derful exploits,—although there is a similarity to some extent. The Camp Hancock Aladdin is none other than Major G. B. Strickler and the genii who has made possible the creation of Camp Hancock in a few weeks’ time is the United States government. With the exception of a. few minor details, requiring the services of a few hundred men, the work at the camp is completed and Major Strickler and staff will leave in a short time. Major Strickler Banquetted. As a token of appreciation, the en campment committee of the Chamber of Commerce and the Board of Com missioners arranged a banquet at the Genesta Hotel last Friday afternoon in honor of Major Sfriekler. At the close of the dinner, a season of speech making followed, during which Major Strickler was presented with a beau tiful silver pitcher, the presentation being made by Thomas W. Loyless, of the Augusta Chronicle, who was chair man of the encampment committee. Major Strickler expressed his ap preciation of the remembrance and paid a high tribute to the officers, and men who assisted him in his herculean task, especially the oficers of the quarter master’s department at Washington. Major Stephen O. Fuqua, chief of staff at Camp Hancock, expressed his ad miration for the great work done at the camp, and a number of prominent Augustans made felicitous remarks. Description of Task. When Major Strickler took charge of construction work at Camp Hancock, the entire land was covered with pine trees, scrub oak and some cotton fields. Roads had to be constructed, and buildings erected for the super vision of the army of laborers who soon came flocking to the camp by the hun dreds and thousands. The constructing quartermaster’s building is at the entrance to camp. It is a long, low affair, 260x20, and here the plans were made and the work su pervised. From August Ist until the present time, the building has been a hive of activity, but in a few days, it will remain as a souvenir to the skill and indefatigable efforts of Major Strickler and his associates. The roads leading to the camp were crowded morning and night with the thousands of men from all parts of Georgia and some from as far south as Savannah, where the government employment bureau secured a number of men. The maximum number of men employed at one time was 3,821 —2,201 skilled and 1,620 laborers. Bit by bit, the army of whites and blacks brought order out of chaos; erected 1,500 buildings in the camp; constructed eight miles of fine roads; provided necessary sanitary conveni ences and established an adequate wa ter and electrical supply. From Au gust Ist to October 31st, the average number of employes was 1,976. Some idea of the immensity of the task may be. gained by the statement that 1,460 cars of solid freight have been brought to Wheless Station, un loaded, and taken to all parts of the camp. Os this huge mass of material, there were about 20,000,000 feet of lum ber, while 30,642 squares of roofing paper were necessary to make the buildings water proof. About 333 miles of electric wire have been strung and at night, the camp seems like a met ropolitan city, with the arc lights along the way and the red glow from the electrically-lighted tents giving the camp the appearance of one of Alad din’s enchanted cities. Some additional facts, showing the size of the undertaking are given: There were 7,530 doors installed; 13,- 658 window sashes placed; 3,910 kegs of nails used; 35,000 feet of cast iron pipe; 169,000 feet of wrought iron pipe; 8,000 feet of fire hose; 1,383 - showqr heads and 600,000 brick. In the Field Auditor's department are some placards, which reflect the attitude of the men in charge: THIS IS WAR NOT PLAY KEEP BUSY. H. F. Owens, of Savannah, Ga., had the responsible task of looking after all details of accounting, with about 70 employes. Mr. Owens and his assist ants saw to the disbursement of ap proximately $2,000,000 for wages and materials. T. O. Brown & Son were the general contractor# for the entire camp, and the work of construction was done un der the personal supervision of Major Strickler. Five commissioned officers assisted in the work. Captain Worth and Captain Lyon supervising the electrical Hind water departments, re spectively. The camp has already been turned over to Colonel Humber, camp quar Page 2 TRENCH AND CAMP termaster, and he will have entire charge of the property hereafter. Dur ing the past few days, 3,560 tent stoves have ben distributed, while 250 larger stoves have been installed in the buildings. The mess halls have been equipped with 360 large refrigerators. In addition to the roads, wiring, wa ter, and buildings at the camp proper, Major Strickler has also supervised the erection of the remount station and rifle range. Oficers, civilians and men-all unite in paying high tribute to Major Strickler. The thoroughness of the work done is largely responsible for the excellent health conditions pre vailing. To erect a city for 30,000 men in fhree months’ time and provide the inhabitants with all the conveniences of a city, is no small achievement, but with it all, Major Strickler is unusual ly modest in his derdeanor. GOVERNMENT HELPS DEPENOENT WIVES When Allotments Have Been Made. United States Will Give Family Allowance. Hundreds of letters a week are re ceived by secretaries of the Y. M. C. A. and chaplains of the division, asking about sofhe soldier from whom the parents or friends have not heard for some time. A case of special interest came to the administration building during the past week. A -wife in Penn sylvania City writes that she has a husband in the army at Camp Han cock who has been sending her twenty dollars per month from his thirty dol lars’ pay. She finds it impossible to support herself and—two children and asks that some steps be made to have him discharged. Evidently she does not know of th<* law passed by the last Congress ap plicable to her case. It is probable that there are many others similarly ignorant of the provision* made by the United States government for the re lief of the dependents of soldiers. The law provides that compulsory allot ments of pay shall be made to a wife, a former wife divorced, who has not remraried and to whom alimony has been decreed, and to a child, and that voluntary allotments may be made to other persons. The compulsory allot ment shall not be more than one-half the pay, nor less than fifteen dollars. When these allotments have been made, a family allowance of not to ex ceed fifty dollars per month will be granted and paid b'y the United States upon written application to the Bu reau of War Risk Insurance, Treasury Department, Washington, D. C. This application may be made by the en listed man, or by or on behalf of any prospective beneficiary. The family allowance shall be payable up to the time of death in or one month after discharge from the service, but not for more than one month after the termi nation of the present war emergency. The payments are as follows: If there be a wife but no child, sls; a wife and one child, $25; a wife and two children. $32.50, with five dollars per month for each additional child. Provision is also made to take care of children in case of the mother’s death. In the case above cited, the man was sacrificing to pay S2O per month. By making application under the above law he would have paid sls and his family would have received $32.50 each month from the United States govern ment, sls for the wife, $lO for the first child, and $7.50 for the second. This would have given the family an income of $47.50 per month. The soldier could have sent the additional five dollars, or any other amount besides. .Other provisions of this law can be learned by writing to Superintendent of Documents, Washington, D .C., and asking for •Public Document No. 96, Sixty-fifth Congress, H R 5723. SOLDIERS WILL RALLY TO C. E. THANKSGIVING NIGHT Everything is in readiness so r the monster C. E rally that is to be held in the First Presbyterian Church of Au gusta on the evening of Thanksgiving Day. A great program has been ar ranged. Rev. W. R. Dobyns, of St. Jo seph, Mo., who has been appointed by the Southern Presbyterian Church to work among the enlisted men will ad dress the gathering, and an excellent program has been arranged. Splendid soloists, the First Church quartette, great mass meeting sohgs, and special numbers by the One Hundred and Tenth Infantry Band will be features of the evening's program. The interesting fact about this rally is that the suggestion came from en thusiastic Christian Endeavor workers among the enlisted men. It has been reported from Pennsylvania headquar ters of the C. E, that there are up wards of 3,000 Pennsylvania Christian Endeavorers in Camp Hancock. This will insure a big crowd Thursday night. SAND SHOTS FROM 112TH REGIMENT New Officers Given Places With Companies. 3,800 Pounds of Turkey Assures Splendid Dinners. On Saturday morning, Captain Jerry ■I. Hartman, of the Eighth Regiment, as sumed command} of the enlarged Head quarters Company of the 112th, and- Cap tain John T. Bretz was given the cap taincy of Company L. filling the vacancy left by* the promomtion of Captain Ben jamin R. Williams to Major in the Judge Advocate’s Department. Major Williams has been busy all week receiving con gratulations on his well-merited advance ment, and the boys of L Company will certainly miss him. although they have already grown to like the new command er. Among the Lieutenants assigned for duty with the companies during the week were: First Lieut. Jacob F. Mackey, to Co- L: First Lieut. Harry A. Souders, to Co. K: Second Lieut. Patrick J. Sweeney, assigned to Co. F. Every soldier boy in the 112th Regi ment is going to have the best Thanks giving dinner that is possible to pro vide in any army camp. This was as sured when announcement, was made that 3,800 pounds of turkey would be distributed to the companies on Wednes day, insuring a pound of real gobbler meat for the soldier boys the next day— proclaimed a holiday for the whole day. Many of the companies have purchased cranberries, celery and other trimmings to go with the Thanksgiving feast, so even though away from home, the boys are going to dine like kings. From First Class Private to Regimental Supply Sergeant is a pretty big jump, but John A. Minin, of Franklin, who has been working hard in the Supply Com pany s office looking after the subsistence certainly earned it. He is now receiv ing the congratulations of many friends because of the advance in rank. Splendid feasts were held by two com panies in the 112th Regiment during the past week. On Wednesday night, Com pany E had a gala time, with plenty of entertainment to keep pace with the good menu provided, and on Friday night Company D did itself proud with an elaborately prepared menu, a printed program and entertainers galore. The 112th Regimental Orchestra v r as engaged for the occasion, and every one of the 280 persons present pronounced it one of the best banquets they had ever enjoyed. Autumn leaves, southern pine and holly gave a picturesque setting to the ban quet, while table covers of red, white and blue shield designs added a patriotic touch. Consequently, with such a fine menu as Mess Sergeant McMullen pre pared and a good program such as Cor poral Holliday arranged, the fellows never grew tired, and 10 o'clock came around all too soon. The cold wave that arrived on Fri day bringing the severest weather the camp has had, brought out overcoats and made the fellows feel as though they were up North instead of in the so-called sun ny South. Stoves have been removed from all tents because of a division or der, and will not be replaced until a ■wood supply is available, it is learned. It isn’t very often that any company has two brothers among its five -or six officers. Such is the case with Company G. Lieuts. Charles M. Robison and Har old R., ,Tr., are both on the commissioned staff of that organization. Company L, as well as Company M, now boasts a Ford truck. It arrived just a week ago, and is being put to good use. It will be recalled that Company G has long had a touring car for the ’use of its men, purchased out of a company fund raised before the boys left their home station in Erie. The whole regiment underwent a whirl wind examination for teeth last Mon day, and passed with a good record. It only goes to prove that the physicians who did the examining before the boys left for the South performed their task well. The photographers who are working for the Philadelphia concern; now busy preparing the History *of the 112th Reg iment, which will be a work of 136 pages and which will sell for $2, have already started taking the individual pictures of the men. When the big job is com pleted every enlisted man and ..officer will find his photograph in the handsome volume, together with a well-written his tory of the regiment and its beloved com mander, Colonel Rickards. Chaplain Hall is happy since his wife and two children, Russell and Marjorie, arrived early last week. They are stay ing at 1156 Broad Street, where they have a nicely furnished flat. Chaplain and Mrs. Hall were guests on last Wednes day evening at a delightful party in their honor in the Second Methodist Church. A delightful program was presented, and several hundred members of the congre gation. who have become well acquaint ed with the 112th’s chaplain, were pres ent to extend a warm welcome to both him and his wife. From every corner of the 112th Reg iment on these moonlit nights, as fellows gather about in their squad tents, they talk of everything from the possibility of furloughs (which is so slim as to need no mention) to the departure for France some of these days—but just now atten tion is being centered on the topic of those non-commissioned officers who are to be given the opportunity of trying for the Division School of Instruction, to open January sth. As was explained to every company a few days ago, the nam ing of twenty-five men ..from each or ganization must be completed by the cap tain of each company, on recommenda tion of his platoon commanders, by De cember 2 2d. Every non-commissioned officer in consequence is doing his best and is brushing up on all paragraphs of the I. D. R. The Eighth Regiment Band partici pated in a military funeral on Thursday afternoon, when it escorted the body of the late Earl Harmon, Company K, boy from York. Pa., who was fatally wounded on November 17th. Harmon's father ar rived in Augusta just two and a half hours after the 23-year-old soldier boy Nov. 23, 1917. died, Wednesday morning, too late to see his son. - A comrade of Harmon’s ac companied the body to its resting place. This is the second time within the past month that a band from the 112th Regi ment has escorted the body of one of its soldiers. The boys of Company E, catching the banquet fever the same as the other companies of the regiment, participated in an elaborate feast on last Wednesday evening. There are two boys in Company G who are about the happiest soldiers in the camp. They are Sergeant Frank Washok and Corporal Charles Gram, who, on Wednesday evening, were united in piar riage with Miss Hanna Latimore, of Erie, who became Mrs. Washok, and Miss Martha Jacobs, of the same city, who is now Mrs. Gram. The ceremony was per formed at the Augusta home of Cap tain Lucius G. Phelps, Rev. England, pastor of the Woodlawn Methodist Epis copal Church, officiating. The same eve ning Lieutenant Smith, of Company M, one of the best liked lieutenants in tho regiment, was married. The past ten days have witnessed some of the most beautiful moonlight nights ever presented for soldier eyes—an in spiration to the fellow r s who are writing to the little girls back in the old home town. Camp Hancock reminds the travel er of the Pyramids of Egypt in some resoects—moonlight on -ne sand of the drill field and moonlight outlining boldly the forms of the pyramidia! tents. Art ists could paint a remarkable picture of squad tents as- they are outlined against the horizon on such nights as these. The Y. M. C. A. library at Buildi'.g 76. is becoming a thriving place, with the demand for books constantly increas ing. It keeps one secretary busy nearly all the time giving out volumes and checking up those that are returned. To Lieutenant Colonel Gamble, of the 112th, is due a great deal of credit for the securing of many of the books. On a trip to Meadville more than a month ago, he told the citizens that -what the sol diers needed during the spare hours was books—and they came, scores of them, fresh from the shelves iof private homes. And here they are, finding their way into good hands, and being read as thorough ly* as though it was the onk Christmas present. HOWITZERHOWIZITS FROM JOBTH F. A, Delightful Coffee Served on Range. Rex Beach Spoilers in Mess Kitchen. Lieut. Hubbs Quite a Horseman. Speaking of “vocational education,” and classifying the men of the army, I should suggest that we have an efficient chemist in the person of Cook Leslie Reese of ‘'B“ Battery. The coffee which was NOT, which he so benevolently gave us out on the range Tuesday morning was the nearest approach to a formula the battery has ever tasted. , With all due apologies to that famous author Rex Beach, we wish to inform him that we have his famous gang of “Spoilers” in our mess kitchen. Will William J. Burns, the famous de tective, give us some of his time and ferret out the mystery of this, the fol lowing blood-curdling crime: Scene: Mess Kitchen. One pot of bean (been) soup boiling happily away on the fire (far away from boiling). Grand Finale: Soup is served. (Water is done but the beans are not). Who Is the answer? As ammunition is plentiful, the 108th has gone on another hike. In Lieut. Edward Hubbs of “C” Bat tery, we have quite a horseman. A few lessons from the lieutenant and perhaps there would be fewer coat straps used as “driver retainers.” All drivers will not the fact that brake shoes are expendible. We haw; no doubt of Ed Barrett of “F” Battery being a guitar player. Conversation heard the other morning in camp between two "Spoilers” (cooks): “What time shall wo get up tomorrow morning?” The other answered in a very painful tone—" Cornflakes!” We have Mr. Hoover to thank for meatless days, because if we had too much meat in the army, the soldiers would become violently savage. Speaking of war economy, we have to hand the Augusta Southern' the prize. An old engine was sent into the shop the other day for repairs and the repair shop foreman sent the following brief report to his superintendent: “In repair shop No. 88. In order to make exten sive repairs jack up her whistle and build a new engine underneath.” We hear that Villa is again active on the border. Nothing stirring! Villarino, - where were you hiding in 1916? A special inspection has revealed that Corporal Dickey J. Callahan, and William Duffy, all of Battery A, have unusual en tertaining ability and will soon be de tailed for a performance at “Y” building No. 75. _ Captain Moorehead, formerly of the John Wanamaker Commercial Institute, thought so much of his title there, that he joined Battery A, of the 108th Field Artillery, as a private. MacDor, f Battery A, is known as the h' ":*ion box. | Cost_ of Some of The Great Ware Current Affairs, the Boston Chamber of Commerce paper, pre sents the following table of cost of some of the world’s great wars: Napoleonic $6,250,000,000 Crimean $1,700,000,000 Civil $8,000,000,000 Franco-Prussian.. .. $3,500,000,000 South African $1,250,000,000 Russo-Japanese . . .. $2,500,000,000 Great War, 191,4 to . date $97,450,000,000