Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-05-10

| trial and conviction will be sufficient to
impress upon Capt. McElgin the neces-
| Sity of strict compliance with para
graph \ army regulations =;
| Potomac Forts More Healthful.
Army surgeons report great improve
ment in hygenic conditions at Forts Hunt
| and Washington. on the Potomac river.
Last year those posts were distinguished
as having a malarial rate higher than any
other military posts in the United States,
! and a special effort was made by the
! medical officers to reduce the illness from
! that cause. The result has been that
/ the sick rate from maiarial fever at Fort
Washington has been reduced to less than
| One-half of the rate Of the preceding year
while the reduction at Fort Hunt has been
| about One-third. That was accomplished
by the eradication of the mosquito by
! the destruction of the breeding places OF
I that insect. as well as by thorough
screening of the buildings and the use
of prOphylactic quinine.
| Retirement of Chaplain Pierce.
| Chaplain Charles c. Pierce. L. S. A..
who was retired yesterday for disability
| incident to the service. was born i'm New
! Jersey February 6. 1858 and was ap-
pointed chaplain in the 9th United States
Cavalry in December. 1882. and resigned
| IN June. 1854. He was appointed post
| chaplain May II. 1855 and was assigned
to the 18th Cavalry in February. faol
was transferred to the I'd Cavalry
| i'm November of that year and was
transferred to the Artillery Corps in
1893. Chaplain Pierce was promo ed
| major in 1901 and was transferred to
/ the Corps of Engineers IN 1906 He
served at Fort Myer and then at Wash
! ington barracks tor many months and
| has host OF friends in this city.
Power Plant for Lake Station.
| The Navy Department has awarded to
the DOlier Engineering Company of Phil
adelphia. Pa. contract for supplying
-! equipment for the electric power plant for
the Great Lakes Naval Training Station
at North Chicago. The contract price is
! vl26,JJJ.
The National Rife Matches.
The cadets of the Military Academy
Will not be represented by a team i'm the
national shooting match, which will be
held at Camp Perry Ohio in August. but
| undoubtedly will be IN the 1909 contest
In the first place there is d lack of facili-
| ties for target practice at West Point a
! defect which is now being supplied and
| there is not enough time to select the
marksfnen from the corps of cadets this
| season.
| Secretary Metcalf has decided TO limit
ethe selection of candidates for the Camp
Perry. Ohio, small arms matches to
'noSe hidihSmen who are att 1ched to
| ships on the Atlantic coast This il is
feared will seriously cripple the team
| to represent the navy at Camp Perry for
| the reason that most of the members
of the 1907 team are with the ships on
the racine coast The department con-
s.dered it. would be a waste of the public
funds to bea" the expense of transporta-
| ton across the continent.
An Army officer on Bands.
|
treats in the Journal of the Military
| Service Institution of military bands from
the standpoint of an expert musician.
| He divides the instruments of band
into four classes. the classification being
based on the way the air columns are
set i'm vibration. The first class is the
mouth instrument or flute group: the sec
end. the single-reed instrument or cIari-
nets and saXophones; third the double
| reed Instruments or the oboe baS soon fam
| lily and that of the sarrusOphone: fourth.
| the mOuthpece instruments the f1uge!-
! horn and the trumpet and trombone fam
/ lilies. Maj. Mahan says he has tried to
| learn why the cOrnet is used as il is in
! civil and military bands of the United
| States. and the only reason he can find
Is that most band leaders here are Ger
mans. and as the fiugelhorn in Germany
| Is generally called ''cornett. the like
ness in sound has led the bandnlaster to
| take cornet for cornett The blunder
once started has spread It'll the cornet
| is used the soprano of the f1ugeihorn
| family. well of the trumpet from
bone family. while in reality it belongs to
neither. and its tone quality jars in both"
| The essayist expresses the hope that the
! War Department will order the suppress
sion of the cornet and the substitution
| of the B-fat trumpet" In Belgium the
cornet has disappeared very largely from
military bands. and in France move
| ment with that object has begun.
May Take Part in Matches.
] The Secretary of War has decided that