Trench and camp. (Augusta, Ga.) 1917-1919, February 13, 1918, Image 6

Trench and camp., February 13, 1918, Page Page 6, Image 6

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Newspaper Page TextPage 6 J (am '1 I JjESz 'Kw i 1 ’ V Cl \ t \ f $ An n BLJ ■i 1 1 □33 TRENCH & CAMP Published weakly at the National Campa and Cantonments for the aoldlors of the' United Stater National Head quartern . Room 694, Pnlltaer Building New York City ’ JOHN STEWART BRYAN Chatrsntfi.' es Advisory Board of Co-operating Publishers Camp and Ixieatlon Newspaper Publisher Camp Beauregard, Alexandria, 2a-. . . JNew Orleans Times PicayuneD. D. Moore Camp Bowie, Fort Worth, Texas.'"ort Worth Star TelegramAmon C. Carter Camp Cody, Deming, N. MexEl Paso HeraldH. D. Slater Camp Custer, Battle Creek, Mich..... .Battle Creek Enquirer-NewsA. L. Miller Camp Devens, Ayer, Massßoston GloboCharles H. Taylor, Jr. Camp- Dlx, Wrightstown, N. JTronton Times James Kerney Camp Dodge, Dos Moines, lowa.-Dea Moines Register Gardner Cowles Camp Doniphan, Fort Sill, Okla.)Oklahoma City OklahomanE. K. Gaylord Camp Fremont. Paio Alto, Cal San Francisco Bulletinß. A. Crothers Camp Funston, Fort Riley, Kan Topeka State Journal Frank P. MacLennan Cann* Gordon, Atlanta, GaAtlantic Constitution Clark Howell Camp Grant, Rockford, IIIThe Chicago Daily News Victor F. Lawson Camp Greene, Charlotte, N. C...Charlotto ObserverW. P. Sullivan Camp Hancock, Augusta) GaAugusta Heraldßowdre Phinlzy Camp Jackson, Columbia, S. CColumbia StateW. W. Ball Camp Johnston, Jacksonville, Fla Jacksonville Times-UnionW. A. Elliott Camp Kearny, Linda Vista, Cal Los Angeles Times Harry Chandler Camp Lee, Petersburg, Vaßichmond News Leader John Stewart Bryan Camp Lewis, American Lakes, Wash.. .Tacoma TribuneF. S. Baker Camp Logan. Houston, Texas Houston PostGough J. Palmer Camp MacArthur, Waco, Texas Waco Morning News Charles E. Marsh Camp McClellan, Anniston, Alaßirmingham (Ala.) NewsF. P. Glass Camp Meade, Admiral, Md. Wash., D. C. Evening Star... .Fleming Newbold Fort Oglethorpe, Ga..... Chattanooga (Tenn.) Times>H. C. Adler Camp Pike, Little Rock, Ark Arkansas Democrat Elmer E. Clarke Camp Sevier, Greenville, S. CCharleston, S. C., News and Courier..R. C. Siegllng Camp Shelby, Hattiesburg, Miss New Orleans Item James M. Thomson Camp Sheridan, Montgomery, Ala Montgomery AdvertiserC. H. Allen Camp Zachary Taylor, Louisville, Ky.,.Louisville Courier Journalßruce Haldeman KeHy F^rtn^camrsunle^’’:::} 81 * 1 Ant ° n, ° L “ ht Char,es S ’ Dlehl Camp Upton, Yaphank, L. 1., N. YNew. York World Don C. Seitz Camp Wheeler, Macon, Ga. Macon TelegraphP. T. Anderson Published under the auspices of the National War Work Council, Y. M. C. A. of the United States, with the co-operation of the above named publishers and papers. Distributed free to the soldiers In the National Camps and Cantonments. Civilian subscription rates on application. ‘ When they call you in to give you these new mental tests they are talk ing so much about, you will hesitate between two opinions: One will be that the man who is testing you is crazy. The other will be that he mis takes you for a fool. You will think one or the other of these must be the only possible explanation of the fool ish questions asked you and the fool ish tests to which you are put. But there’s a method in this seeming madness—a very sensible method and a very saving reason. It is this: No two men in the army are exactly alike in mind and muscle any more than they are alike in face. Put two good soldiers in the field and one can walk as far or run as fast as the other. Put them in the mess and it is a draw as to which of the two can eat the most. But call them both suddenly, and one will start nervously, while the other will answer quickly. Hurl them around rapidly in a chair, as they do with the candidates for aviation, and one will regain his balance almost on the instant, while the other will feel that whole room swimming ajpout him. Tell both *to perform certain muscular actions while a third person counts five, and one will regulate his movements to the count while the other will be confused by the very fact that he must make haste. All these differences between men are the so called muscular, mental and nervous “reactions” and if thejr mean very lit tle in ordinary business they mean all the difference between success and German duplicity does not end with the battle-lines. It extends to diplo macy, to trade and to government. It seeks to deceive the Russians into believing that Germany favors peace “without annexations and indemnities,” and, in the same breath, it assures the junkers that nothing will be done to limit the conquests of the sword. It maintains the unyielding autocracy of the kaiser and, almost in the same phrase, it tells the German people that theirs is a free government. This was the spirit that prompted the Allgemeine Zeitung of Essen, whan in discussing Mr. Wilson’s great ad dress on peace terms, it scoffed at the President’s arraignment of the Ger man system of government. “Presi dent Wilson,” it said, “seems not to know that the smallest appropriation for the army requires the sanction of the reichstag, the most democratic parliament in the world.” “The most democratic parliament in the world”—the phrase is turned with such calm assurance that the unthink ing may be disposed to accept it as a statement of fact. In reality, it is cf a piece with the whole German policy of deception—including self-deception. For this “most democratic parlia ment” is only one house of the Ger man parliament, and if it is democratic, its influence is largely offset by that of the other house. In the reichstag. which corresponds to our Federal House of Representatives, members are chosen by universal suffrage on the basis of population. That is de mocracy. But the upper house, cor responding to ouf Senate, is a far dif ferent body. It is composed of fifty eight members, of which seventeen come from the kingdom of Prussia. At its head is the chancellor, the direct spokesman of the kaiser. Its members do not represent the people of the several kingdoms, duchies, principali ties and free tcwxu, but the govern- TESTING TO SELECT AND PROTECT GERMAN “DEMOCRACY” AS IT IS TRENCH AND.CAMP failure—yes, sometimes, between life and death—when it comes to selecting men for the thousand varied duties of the army. Every good soldier is ambitious—to shine, if he can do so honorably, to rise, if he be found worthy■—but am bitious above all to do his duty. That involves a world of things, courage, persistence, willingness to learn, pa tience and real manhood. But it -in volves more than some of us think being rightly placed to do one’s work. Most men who are worthy of the name try to do their best, no matter what task you give them; but few men can really do their duty—their full, whole souled duty—unless zlhey ar’e as signed work they are fitted to per form. These tests are designed to demon strate what duty a man can do best. If he was born to be an aviator, the general test will show enough to war rant more detailed experiments. If he has the eye and the sense of time that fit him for bomb-throwing, the tests will d.isclcse his qualities. And if he ought to be assigned duty in the rear, in justice to himself and his com rades, those simple little experiments and those innocent little questions will put the right mark on him. Some of these boys will probably growl a little at more examinations. That is our prerogative. But you may write this down and remember it: These long-named tests are as truly protective as they are selective and they are to help make Uncle Sam’s the best army possible. ments, and they must always vote under instructions. This state of things makes the bundesrat the crea ture of the governments and sets at naught the seeming democracy of the reichstag. But this is not all. AU the delega tions in the bundesrat must vote as a unit, although the total number of the votes of each delegation is counted. This naturally gives Prussia an advant age which is made positive tyranny by other sections of the constitution. For when it comes to military and naval matters, the Prussian representatives in the bundesrat have an absolute veto upon all legislation. If, tomorrow, the reichstag were to vote for demobiliza tion and the majority cf the bundesrat would approve it ft he vote of Prussia alone could continue the <ar. It is the same with all laws affecting the Imperial taxes. Prussia can absolutely control these through the veto. And to make assurance double sure, the kaiser has the right to appoint the whole ox the bundesrat committee on naval affairs and all except one mem ber of the committee on army and fortifications. As the consent of the bundesrat, but not cf the reichstag, is necessary fcr treaties and declarations of war, Prussia once again is supreme. As is the bundesrat, so must be the reichstag; as is Prussia, so, manifestly, must the bundesrat be. And when we come to Prussia, the mainspring of this “democratic” empire, all the world knows that its electorate is controlled by the kaiser and by the ruling class. The richer a man is in Prussia, the more his vote counts. The pooiti he is, the less he is considered. Equality in representation is not even pre tended. On this foundation of class distinction and autocracy rests the corner-stone of German democracy. Is it a wonder that such a state is absolutely controlled by an ambitious line of autocrats? War Secrets Are Disclosed By Controversy At Capital “The country will soon learn whether he (Secretary Baker) or his critics understand the business in hand.’’ This significant paragraph ap peared In the statement Issued by President Wilson in reply to the ad dress by Senator Chamberlain, Chair man of the Senate Military Affairs Committee, in which the legislator said the war machinery of the coun try had broken down. President Wilson, while conceding that “there have been delays and disappointments, and partial miscar riage of plan, all of which have been drawn into the foreground and ex aggerated by investigations,” insist ed that “nothing helpful or likely to speed or facilitate the war tasks of the government has come out of such criticism and investigation.” The chief executive said, “the War Department has performed a task of unparalleled magnitude and difficul ty with extraordinary promptness and efficiency.” THE DAY OF RECKONING v By H. ADDINGTON BRUCE Dully, almost with unseeing eyes, he gazed out of the window of the doctor’s waiting-room. It was late afternoon, and a ceasless flow of automobiles whirled up the fashion able avenue, homeward bound. His own car, a massive limousine of un usual lines, wafted at the eurb. Pas sers-by gave it quick, approving glances. One portly old gentleman paused to ask the chauffeur a ques tion, evidently moved by admiration for the car. The man in the window noticed this, but with no feeling of satisfac tion. On the contrary, he stirred uneasily. “I must get rid of that thing,” was the morbid thought that flashed into his mind. “Strange how much like a hearse it looks.” He heard his name spoken, and knew that the doctor was ready for him. Eagerness battled with re luctance, as he walked from the wait ing-room into the office. The first Impression he got was of a pair of eyes, keen but sympathetic, looking up at him from across a small fiat-top desk. The doctor, for his part, perceived instantly the anxiety in his patient’s finely chiseled fea tures. “Sit down,” he said gently, “and tell me about yourself.” ' “Perhaps I have waited too long in coming to you,” began the other, nervously. “But you know how it is. I hated to admit to myself that I was ill,” “Yes. And your symptoms?" “There are times, increasingly frequent, when I have momentary feelings of suffocation. It is hard for me to get my breath. "Sometimes I have attacks of dizzi ness. I have queer coughing spells. But worst of all is the pain I oc casionally feel here." He put his hand to his breast. "Is it only there that you feel pain?” asked the doctor. "I have it also in my arm, at times, my left arm, and in my neck, a sharp, shooting pain. It does not last long, but it is very severe.” "I wish you would strip to your wajst,” said the doctor. The physical examination was long, deliberate, careful. When the patient had again put on his clothes, the doc tor asked him: "How old are you? Forty?” "Just about. I shall be forty next month.” Then, with startling unexpected ness, came the query: "Have you ever had syphilis?” The patient winced, flushed a little, but answered candidly: "Why, yes. I did have syphilis when I was a young fellow in my early twenties. But it was a very light attack. I needed treatment only a short time.” "So you thought,” commented the doctor, "just as so many other poor young fellows have thought. Some day, perhaps, young men will know better.” "What do you mean? The medi ciirel took made me well quickly. I have had colds that affected me worse than that trouble did? But”—sud denly appreciating the physician’s drift —“was I not really cured? Am I suffering from the late effects of a youthful indiscretion?” “I’m afraid you are,” said the doc tor. "And,” in a voice now trembling with undisguised alarm, “?*• r-y cor. dltion* serious?" .“it might bo uniter than it February 13 “To add, as Senator Chamberlain’ did, that there Is Inefficiency in every department and bureau of the Goy* ernmeht is.to show such ignorances of actual conditions as to make it impossible to attach any importance to his statement,’’ said the President In reply to the White House state* ment, Senator Chamberlain made at lengthy speech, into which he intro* duced considerable confidential id. 4 formation given the Military Affairs Committee in secret session behind closed doors. This information about} the United States Government’s wai; plans and how they were progressing thus became public through the col umns of the Congressional Record, Immediately after Senator Cham-i berlain’s speech Secretary Bakeft asked to be heard by the members of the Military Affairs Committees of both houses of Congress to whoM he wished to explain in detail exacts ly what the War Department had and had not done since this Nation en«t tered the war. is,” answered the doctor “Your heart Is not in the best con dltion in the world. ; “You will have to ease down in every way possible. But do not fall! into a panic. You may depend on] me to do the best I can for you.’’ Alas! There was little that could be done. Within a year the stricken! patient was dead, from the suddenl bursting of the enlarged arterial tubej at the top of his heart. In his sad fate there is a lesson for| every young man. • Had this doomed man of forty not] been “indiscreet” in his youth, had’ he not through Immoral intercourse contracted the germ disease knownl as syphilis, his life’s ending would probably have been altogether dis-J f erent —and probably would have been far longer postponed. i As he perished thousands of other men have perished, from a similar cause. The syphilis germ lurking id their system for years has suddenly sprung into activity, attacking thd heart and blood vessels. t And once syphilis clutches at a> man’s heart his chances of escape ar® slim indeed. k “Syphilitic heart disease,” say® that eminent medical authority, Dr.| Richard Cabot, “gives with one ex-' ception the worst prognosis. Th® syphilitic heart does not often survive five years. j "It is seen IN YOUNG AND MID DLE-AGED MEN, far less often ini women, almost never in children, seldom in~the old.” ; These are facts for all young men to ponder. ’ Syphilis is easily acquired, but with difficulty cured. Its imrfiediata effects may not be serious. But its remote effects may involve a terrible day of reckoning, a sudden cutting) short of life when life is most successful, most rich in mean-] ing. J To be on the safe side, prevention’ of syphilis is imperative. And therqt is just one rule for the sure pre vention of syphilis: ‘ BE MORALLY CLEAN. ' SORROWS OF SALUTING ■ MT /b w - . _ FRAMK HINCi First Lieutenant—“ Why, what’% the trouble, old fellow? Did you; sprain your arm?” Second Lieutenant—“ Worse than th*'-, i walked down Main sFrcti.