Newspaper Page Text
March 13.
■SENATOR HITCHCOCK
I AT CAMP HANCOCK
distinguished Visitor Declares
■That Investigation of Senate
■ Military Committee Had
■ Wrought a Wonderful Refor
| I mation in the War Depart-
■anent—Praises Efficiency of
■2Bth Division
gfe-’W The United States is now rapidly ap-
a war footing; the first shock
■o the republic of being converted from
SB| nation at peace to a nation at war with
ifeßbo most etTiotent fighting machine in
iJfM’l history has passed and the country
fast becoming adjusted to war con-
The American, under disclp
; is the most formidable opponent'
today and with the hundreds of J
ausands of American soldiers now un- ;
z- arms in training camps in this coun-i
M V, in addition to these already with'
«■s) neral Pershing’s expeditionary forces.j
German dream of world conquest isi
t’BgZomed to disappointment.
substance, tho foregoing are some of,
> e declarations of Hon. G. M. Hitch-;
U. S. senator from Nebraska, who
■ as been in Augusta during the past
reek for rest and recreation, having
.!■ topped over on his return from Florida
| o Washington.
Senator Hitchcock discussed the war
■ /'.nd the situation in this country freelv
a Herald reporter Saturday after-
Koon at the Bon Air Hotel. It will be
■recalled that Senator Hitchcock is a
■member of the senate military commit-
ee and was one of the leaders of the
■war department investigation, during
■which inefficiency on the part of Secr-
Baker was charged.
■ Executive Inefficiency.
I The senator w r as asked if, after wit-
I essing the review of the 2th Division
aturdav and the exhibition in bayonet
H ractice’ on Friday, he had changed bls
IB rind with respect to the manner in
I ’hlch men in training camps are being
■prepared for intensive fighting.
“You evidently misunderstood the na-
of the military committees criti-1
■Lsm of the war department,” replied thc :
"We never doubted the rffi-;
of the material at hand —the man-:
—but it was the lack of a display
executive ability on the part of the
MHagar department. Complaints poured int<"
military committee about the lack of
■slothing and equipment for the men, and.
the unfortunate psychologlca l
of such a condition upon the civil-
BBSgm public, the committee began assem-
■ ®ing its data and ascertained that while
■ gAme of the complaints were not justi-i
| Bed. many others were.” ,
Senator Hitchcock then mentioned a|
■Kimber of Instances to sustain his posi-i
■fion that there had been lack of efficiency
jUjwi the war department, stating that the,
of war had not been in close
■ »nough touch with the siuatlton, but had
epended upon those under him for his
with the result that he
tarned. only of the favorable side of the
rogress of the war preparations.
Results of Investigation.
■—The senator declared that the senal*
■ ivestigation had brought about a won
■eeerful reformation in the war department
■t md while he would not say that tn
■trihanges which have followed the invest.’
■seretion absolutely satisfied the advocates;
■iriu. the war cabinet measure, he-stated
■is rt many of the results contemplated
■of the war cabinet measure and the di-j
■lledctor of munitions are now being at-)
■varined since the senate committee's in-,
■is, jstigation. His point was that the in i
■ay estlgation had completely aroused th-'
■nisrar department to a point of alertnes s
■ne, nd that greater efficiency is being at I
■ ildlined thereby.
■am Praises 28th Division.
■nu’ Senator Hitchcock spoke in glowing
■ligerms of the 28th Division—the general
■spkealthy appearance of the men, and thein
|™mihorough knowledge,of the military game/
yei’hey bear every evidence of having been
wefficiently trained, he declared, adding!
amiat since witnessing the review Satur-J
an ay morning and the bayonet practice
ludriday afternoon, he could easily under-,
d and why the 28th is looked upon as the
on vize division of the country. The sens-
Wr also praised the camp itself, saying;
se\at the premises appeared to be per-'
h Sctly sanitary and well adpted to tha
conjrposes to which they are being put.
ran Duration of tho War.
is ’“Well, how long do you suppose ti.
d -Par will last?” he was asked.
3 l “One man’s guess is about as good a.
notheFs,” he replied. “The duration of
Fiehe war depends altogether upon man’
amircumstances. We have hoped that th<
>g conomic situation in Germany would
:ause a collapse, and there is no doubt
r. >ut that there is some ground for tha!
tonope, but so little news of a reliable na>
tgure is permitted to get out of Germans
arhat on this side we are almost ignorant
heis to what is really going on in the
ekempire. But tho stagnation of Germany's
y commerce and the prodiguous war debt
inthat has been rolled up are certainly
nt-causing widespread unrest. Whether it
mwill ever reach the j»»' n t of causlr.g a
Kjcollapse of the government, though, rek
liijnains to seen.”_ , I
e ’ Z
I A new draftee had arrived. “What
j a does the Depot Brigade do.” he asked.
>f "Stay in ’tho depot,” said Corporal
, Binks of the Eleventy-leventh.
* “How about the Provisional Brigade?”
“Oh, (they supply provisions.”
le “The Telegraph Battalion?”
“They telegraph.”
“What do the Engineers do?”
01 "Runo engines.”
’ “Well, what does the quartermaster
pborps do?".
»ig’ “Son, nobody has ever been able to find
his i’ RoQkje a <- provisional Depot: “What
[1 ioes this word ‘superfluous’ mean?”
I. ■ Corporal: “Well, you know these big
flu rucks.”
.. Rookie: “Yes.”
nOk Corporal: “Well, if you and me were
talking down the road and one of those
pent rucks come along—”
s H_ “Yes op • of them comes along.”
ivisit’“And I say ‘Let’s get out of the
ipiani.nad’—”
“You say get out the road —?”
•'Then that’* superfluous-”
TRENCH AND CAMP
Camp Hancock As Seen By the
Eyes Os a Pennsylvania Civilian
By C. L. Goodwin, Greensburg, Pa.
The physical surroundings, or setting,
of any important place, are the first
things on which the eye of the visitor
rests. Thus at Camp Hancock, the new
comer sees the staid old Southern city
on the cool plain along the river, rising
gently toward the west into the fine resi
dence section, many being winter homes
of Northern people. These beautiful
homes, and also the fine winter hotels,
stand amid groves of pine, oak and mag
nolia: and in late February or early
March the lawns and gardens show vines,
shrubs, and trees swelling with buds or
showing tiny pale green new leaves, the
pink of peach blooms, flowers of lavender
purple, blue and white. Adjoining this,
and near on the south and east to the
beautiful Augusta Country Club and pic
turesque gold links, is Camp Hancock.
Along the brow of the hill sloping to the
Savannah river and on the border of the
golf links stand the remains of old Con
federate forts built to command certain
roads against the forces of Sherman,
whose daring march to the sea and whose
definition of war will be memorable in
the military annals of the American peo
ple for all time.
Camp Hancock occupies an elevated
plateau formerly cotton and corn fields,
stretches of sand and brush and patches
of pines. It slopes to the south and
west dipping into ravine sand lowlands,
commanding beautiful prospects of hill
and valley, a landscape of pine woods
spotted with farms. The ground was
cleared of brush and rubbish by the thir
ty-odd thousand soldiers, most Pennsyl
vanians, who are here. The pale gray
sand is cut by the reddish colored main
roads, while from these at right atigles
run back the company streets with the
one-story wooden mess halls next tjje
street and back of these the tents. The
sides of the hill slopes are gashed deep
into the red subsoil with trenches zig
zagging far into the surrounding pine
wood's.
First and last everything to the eye
spells Sanitation and order. The incinera
tors outside the mess halls are built, of
brick and white-washed. Garbage cans
stand ready for all refuse. Inside the
kitchens are clean. The mess tables are
constructed so that every other top board
is loose and can be readily removed for
the daily cleaning. One does not remem
ber seeing a fly. Floors are swept and
scrubbed. Latrines are as clean and as
nearly odorless as it is practicable to
make them. The huts of the officers run
ning along the opposite sides of the main
streets are neat and tidy. In front of some
of these, little patches of grass and flow
ers have been started. The tents of the
men holding eieht men each, are gen
erally floored with pine and are built up
three feet around the sides with boards
and banked to keep out the cold. The
tent flaps can be readily drawn into the
center pole to sun the interiors on warm
days. A stove is in the center and am
ple ventilation is furnished by an opening
at the top of the tent. Men are re
quired to sleep with the tent door open
except in weather that is too stormy or
cold. Showeb baths are provided for all
the men. Cleanliness, fresh air and good
order are written in every arrangement.
Were one required to arrange a plan for
the physical upbuilding of a company of
even semi-invalids it would seem diffi
cult to improve on this soldiers’ camp
among the pine hills of Georgia.
Food is plentiful and of good quality.
Os necessity there cannot be the variety
found in a private home. Os course, too,
there are cooks and cooks. At least one
company has a regular “chef.” Here
Xe the good, the indifferent, possibly the
poor. In lumber camps the cook is often
described by the men as ‘a’ fellow who
couldn’t boil water without burning it.”
There is no point on which companies of
men are so prone to criticise as the cook
ing. Anyone who has had to run board
ing camps can sympathize with Uncle
Sam in the matter of cooks. But two or
three meals at camp and casual observa
tion of the food served up and the appe
tizing odors therefrom gave the impres
sion that at Camp Hancock the eating is
very good. Even in a company where the
cook and his assistants were described as
having come from bricklayers, found
ries and other non-culinary employments,
an actual eating of a meal showed it to
be good.
Trie big base hospital set at the highest
elevation, with its many separate build
ings connected by sheltered board walks,
showed patients in bath robes sitting on
the porches on a day in February. The
mercury in the tube at the front porch
showed the top of the red at 80. Many
cots were out in the open, the occupants
reading, smoking, or talking. These pa
tients are especially in need of light read
ing matter, books, magazines and news
papers. So far as care and surroundings
go. their condition seems nearly ideal.
“The deadly monotony” is an expression
often used in describing the chief com
plaint of army camp life. It is drill, drill,
drill, doing the same thing over and over
again, week after week, month after
month. “You know exactly what you are
going to do, Monday, Tuesday, Wednes
day, Thursday’, Friday and Saturday.”
You know what you are going to have to
eat next Wednesday a-week and the
day after that and the day after that.”
These show how the men feel. They want
to be where they can seem to be doing
something to get “across.” All seemed
eager to go to France. Most do not seem
to realize that in steady, daily dull drill
ing a man is made over, his efficiency
developed such as cannot be done in other
ways. Out of the daily grind of drudg
ery year after year there come forth
furnished actors, musicians, experts, and
artists of all kinds. "There is no excel
lence without great labor.”
Seven Young Men’s Christian Associa
tion buildings, two Knights of Columbus
buildings and “the hut” of the 110th
infantry with their forces of efficient
workers strive to make for the young
soldiers places that may in some degree
take the place of home. The busy scenes
at these buildings attest their success. At
nearly all hours when the men are off
duty there places seemed filled with them,
writing letters home, listening to the mu
sic of the Victrolas, seeing the moving
pictures or hearing the concerts or talks
that are often given. Eminent men are
often heard in these places. Eight hun
dred men filled the seats, all the stand
ing space, crowded the doors and looked
through the windows to hear the illus
trated talk by Dr. Read at No. 79 on the
horrors of venereal diseases. This lecture
should be heard by every young man in
America. “Don’t know what we would do
without the Y. M. C. A.,” seems to ex
press the feeling of every soldier. The
American Library Association has 12,000
to 15,000 volumes and a nice library
building for the men. Many of the books
are given out at the Y. M. C. A. and K. of
C. buildings. These buildings also have
small collections of books of their own
as has "the hut” of the 110th Infantry,
"The hut” is unique in army camps, be
ing built and promoted by the men of the
110th and their friends. Officers’ dapces
are given weekly in this building and the
regimental band furnishes musical. "The
hut” is ably managed by Chaplain Schall
and his Y. M. C. A. assistant, Luther I).
Miller. The War Department has taken
notice of this “nut” with approval.
The men are in need of nooks. They
read much friction, the new war books,
those by lan, Hay, Empey, Dawson, the
number of 'Mark Twain, the poems of
Kipling and Servis. They like love stories
and stories of adventure. "To tired to
read books that require much thought,”
somesay, yet the librarian at the A. L. A.
library said many technical books on
war, were called for by men as well as of
ficers. They incline to Jack London and
Zane Gray in fiction, rather than to Mrs.
Humphrey Ward. Stevenson is a favorite.
Many are delighted with such stories as
the Olive Optic stories, showing the spirit
of boyhood still among them.
The observer cannot fail to note that
this is a great school in citizenship, in
courtesy, in manliness as well as in things
military. The salute seemed to be cor
dially given by men and invariably re
turned with courtesy by the officers. lie
who wears the mantle of courtesy strews
his pathway with flowers. The standing
at salute as the national air is played at
evening, the singing of “Onward, Chris
tian Soldiers,” and other hymns by the
great chorus of soldiers as they stood
facing the secretarv of state, and the
commanding officer, General Muir, and
surrounded by thousands of other soldiers
and spectators (after the bayonet and gas
drill in the old reservoir) was inspiring.
“Back Home Again in Pennsylvania,”
sung in conclusion added a touch of pa
thos and home memories, recalling the
scenes of the old song;-.; of army camps in
Civil War days when the soldiers sang
“Annie Laurie,” and “Do They Miss Me
At Home, Do They Miss Me?” A mu
sician mentioned that it seemed odd the
band never played "Marching Through
Georgia. They often play "Dixie.”
■The great development of national spir
it in these training camps, especially upon
the young men of foreign birth or parent
age will be one of the rich compensa
tions for this war and for some dread
days which the future may have in store.
One notes how glad a soldier seems at
being greeted especially by somebody from
the old home state of mountains, blue
grass, trout streams, coke ovens, steel
mills and coal mines. One California boy
was greatly pleased to talk with one who
had lived in sight, of the mighty sierras,
vineyards and poppy clad slopes of his
native state. "They get tired of seeing
uniforms and want to talk to civilians.”
This is quite a contrast to the civilian
who is spell-bound by the scene of March
9th, when the brown infantry with rhyth
mic step marched past the Secretary of
State, the Commanding General, and a
great crowd of spectators for hour after
hour, followed by engineers, machine gun
battalions, artillery, long supply trains,
great trucks, the hospital units and all
the other parts of the great engine of war.
GEORGE VARSHINGTON
FIRST KING
“From smiling Yvetot we went to
an old gray abbey at Caudebecen-
Caux," says Edward Eyre Hunt, writ
ing of his experience in the war zone
in the Red Cross Magazine, where Bel
gian refugee boys paraded out and
sang for us “The Star Spangled Ban
ner.” The part about “the rockets’ red
glare, the bombs bursting in air” they
very wisely dropped a full octave, and
so avoided the unpatriotic squeaks
which American school children have
to employ in getting over those treach
erous bars. But it was amazing and
very beautiful to hear them sing, and
they sang with a will.
“‘You have heard of America, then?’
we asked.
“‘Oh yes, mynheer; yes,' they
answered.
“ ’Who is the president of the Unit
ed States?’
“ ’Mynheer Weelsoonl’
“‘You know Georges Varshington?’
“‘Yes, mynheer; yes, yes!’
“‘Who was he?’
“‘The first king of America, myn
heer!’
“ ‘No!’
“’Tho first Prisident, mynheer; and
the Father of that distant land.’ ”
COMPLETE LINES OF JEWELRY AT
REASONABLE PRICES.
GUARANTEE JEWELRY COMPANY
Popular Price Jewelers.
976 Broad Street. Phone 484.
YALE TRACKMEN TO
BE AWARDED LETTERS.
New Haven.— The athletic council of
Yale University will award the “Y” this
season to members of the Yale track
team.
This is the first team concerning which
such an announcement has been made
since the abandoning of formal athletics
at Yale on account of the war.
TENNIS.
M. E. McLoughlin, former United States
singles and doubles lawn tennis cham
pion. is now doing war service on the
U. S. S. Oregon as a member of the naval
reserves. W. W. Johnston, also singles
and doubles champion, is an ensign on
the .US. S. Cincinnati.
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15 Acres Gov’t auction bargains. Illustrated
frgtf Vy Large 428 Page Cyclopedia Catalogue mailed
50c. stamps
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