Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-08-31
THE DRILL ENDED
The Closing Contests in the Three
Days Competition.
THE CRACK PYTHIAN DIVISIONS
There Have Been Twenty-Five
Teams in the Field.
A SHARP COMPETITION

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plain about the Washington weather, even
If they were soaked en- their first Sunday
In camp. The three days of the competitive
drills at the base ball park for the various
purses have been practically perfect, with
out excessive heat ard mainly without d.
rect sunshine to blind and fatigue the drill
ers The third and last day was q worthy
successor to the other two. and in the par
lance OF the turf. the track was fast The
field was smooth and every obstacle had
been removed
Again the knights were on hand before the
critics or the committee from headquarters.
AT s:4o, a quarter Of an hour before the
schedule was to take effect a line of
plumes entered the ground gate, and Oak
Division, No. 20. of Cleveland. Ohio.
commanded by Capt. Richard Leighton.
marched on to battle. These men wear The
old style silver helmets and present a fine
appearance. Before the officials in charge
OF the competitions had arrived the second
division OF competitors had taken seats in
the stand
Ihere was very general feeling this
The present and the ex-champions-tbe cir
ard, Kan, and Hastings Mich, knights
who drilled yesterday. Yet those who
watched the drills Of Wednesday admit that
There are at least five divisions that. from
an unprofesstoEal point of view, seem to be
punched at the wire. But the IDEAS of the
Judges. whose decision alone can settle the
question OF superiority. are beyond scrutiny.
Silent ms CLAIMS.
When questioned as to their personal
views on the competition they smile and
either avoid an answer or make a general
reply that is wholly unsatisfactory.
mo Of2nN H4... IL
hardly be found In America. At the close of
each drill these officers sign their individual
tally sheets, turn them over to Lieut. Wood
ward, the senior OF the three and after he
has glanced at them to make sure they are
properly signed he places them in charge of
the committee Of colonels from Gen. Carna-
hans stan. The precious documents are
locked in a small leathern valise that is
guarded as closely as though 1t contained
rubies, and at the end Of the day the sheets
are carried to headquarters and there locked
up securely. At the close of today's drills
the sheets Of the entire series of twenty
five competitions were collected and the
work Of addition, division and averaging
was begun. The three army officers-Lieuts
French and Kennan-are in
charge of this work. but they were aided by
Gen Carnahan and his stan. The results
of these consultations cannot be known
until tomorrow.
The Opening Drill.
three Of the judges had gathered in the
committee room at the foot Of the main
grand stand entrance. where they were
Joined by Col Thomas Boutall Of Cleveland.
detailed for the day to aid the critics and
the citizens committee. The official list of
the remaining divisions yet to drill showed
the following: Oak. No. 20, OF Cleveland;
No. Ne f ScedS
No. 35. of Toledo. Ohio; Parkersburg, No. 3,
of Parkersburg. w. Va; Anson. No. 16. of
Rochester. N. Y. and Ashland. No. 16. of
first on the first day, having traded to ac-
another division. That left seven
divisions to compete.
The first drill began soon after o'clock.
Leighton in command of Oak Division, No.
20, of Cleveland, Ohio, lost all possible
chance of winning at the outset by persist
ing In dressing his men in audible COM
rcands, calling knights out by name, to the
utter confusion of his score. Some of the
evolutions, however, were cleverly perform
ed The right turn was executed with
fair smoothness. The sword manual was
done with but few errors, which were i'm
material The drill ended at 0:41, having
occupied twenty-three minutes.
With Varying Success.
The Porghkeepsie knights received the
applause of the hundred or two spectators
VIXEN they entered the field at 9:45. headed
by Capt NJ. d. Beneway. The men passed a
good inspection. but lost points in the fac
ings. some the men swaying as they
turned One OF the neutenants made a
break by starting TO run around the flank
on the com mand Ito the rear" The align
ment by files forward was ragged, the Ten
going forward too fast, and making con-
siderable leeway. The first division front
was we'll formed and evoked applause. The
ION the left into lire would have been good
distance.
The d. -.3ion fronts and wheels Of fours to
march to the rear were very well done. The
sword II anual was far below the average.
Three men put their hands up to their
faces. and the rhythm was not well main
tanned. At the close of the drill, which
lasted eighteen minutes. Capt. Beneway was
presented with a handsome bouquet.
The Altoona men followed the Poughkeep-
sic knights at 1912, captained by Samuel
Roberts. One man brought his hand to his
face during roll call and thus lost scores
for his division. During inspection several
knights followed the judges with their
heads. One reached around to adjust his
sword chain during the formation OF d.
vision line. Opposed to these Individual er-
rors, however, were several very creditable
marching movements, executed with pre-
cision and snap. The sword manual was
marred by but one individual break. when
q knight remained at rest after the COM
nand to carry" had been given On the
whole, the Altoona men put up the best
drill up to this time for the day, 1t occu-
pied sixteen minutes.
The Toledo knights.
The fourth division on the field for the
day was Toledo, No. 35. of Toledo. Ohio.
Capt. ]. d. Virgins. Inspection was COM
pleted at 1O:43. and Capt. Virgins began
10 drill his men with brisk. sharp COM
mands. The faclngs were well done, and
also the first advance by division front.
On the march by the flank, however, some
distance was lost. The alignments by files
and fours were better than those Of the
preceding divisions. The reallgnment af-
ter passing an obstacle was not smooth.
The ''fours, right about, was excellent
and deserved the applause 1t received.
Through the drill there were numerous
minor errors that were noted by the
Judges although beyond the ken OF the
spectators. In the deploy not enough dis
tance was taken by some Of the files. and
as a consequence two helmets were slashed
off by sword cuts. The drill lasted eigh-
teen minutes.
At the end of this drill an intermission
Of ten minutes was taken. leaving three d.
visions yet to drill.
A Superior Drill.
Parkersburg Division. No. 8. Of Parkers-
burg. W. Va, Is a clean-looking. trim BODY
of men. This division has q considerable