New-York tribune., 1911-04-23
PRAISE ARMY HEARTILY
Guardsmen Home from Camp
Jeer at the Lack Of Sanitation.
NO WAR, OFFICERS BELIEVE

Learned Much, but No Efforts
Were Made for instruction,
Visitors Report.
Tho national guard officers VINO went to
San Antonio three weeks ago to learn no"
tho regular armv 'oes business got oach
,,.s,erdav with III equipment CT sur
prise. criticism q. enthusiasm The frst
thing they learned when they reao"eu
Texas was that the regular army olncer'
looked on the prospect OF war with MeN'co
as a Joke. the second was that they "e'.
40 miles from the border ana the ''"'
that they got their Mexican rebellion news
by way Of New York.
On the second day they began ~ look
around for the instruction they had gone
down there to get. There were t"e"'!
eiyht mon from New York regiments III
the party. and they wanted that ins'ruc-
tion In large sections. They only had TWO
weeks 10 stay In the sunny Sohth an"
they wanted to come home and make thei'
regiments into units Of the regular army
before next practice camp time.
But something had gone wrong with tne
orders. They began all right with the resi-
mental adiutants, VINO made up pro-
pranme OF drills and inspections for the
mlIitjamen. and half dozen or so COM
panies OF regulars al war strength planheo
for the visitors to drill, while the reeu'a'
officers criticised. The orders passed the
colonels Of the regiments and passed ori-
gade headquarters but when they reacheo
division headquarters General Carter sa'o
This Is not a camp for the instruction
OF national guard officers. II Is conceu'
tration camp The national guard o"''
GERS are here as observers ana are oui
guests. Let them conc and go as they
please and give them every facility Tor
| observation. But this f. concentration
camp
! The next day the national g,iArdsmen
began 10 observe one OF them told ABOUT
=, last night
Getting On to the Regulars.
I'VE had bully good time" he said
| but the next time the regulars come 70
! Pine Camp we Will be On to them. They
came I'D there last year and made us walk
a chalk line Our company commanders
A
! at assembly and report to the battalion
major. IT was 5:l5 a. m. for us. But at
| IN. mannuvre camp-say, the second lieu
! tenant who Is officer OF the day, Is the
only commissioned officer who throws on
I the blankets at reveille.
THE first sergeant assemblies the com
pany, and instead OF the captain walking
over 10 battalion headquarters and going
| through a long formal report on his COM
pany being present. the sergeant stands Al
| the head of the line and shouts his report
down to tho officer Of the day, block
! away. The company officers have their tea
end toast in bed and get up about 5
! o'clock.
They made us plan our camp with every
eye 70 sanitation. They put theirs down IN
a hollow, where the water collects in lake
every time it rains. The two regiments in
the bottom of the hollow had to be moved
out to high ground because It was so wet
where they were.
The kitchens and the hospitals were the
worst features. The regular officers went
| through our kitchens at Pine Camp with
a magnlfying glass every day Down III
Texas didn't see an officer inspect the
mems mess while I was there. The kitchen
| tent was a fly strung on couple OF poles
and there wasn't a screen In the camp.
THE flies were SO thick around the kct.
ties and tables at dinner time that you
could hardly see the cooks. The Ice chest
was a packing box sunk half way in the
ground, and everything to be kept was put
: I'm the same place. Fish and meat were put
! in the same box and milk was put in the
handiest place.
! There was no such thing as table for
| the mems mess. They squatted on the
ground and held the ham down with one
hand. while they carved 1t with the other
The officers supplied their own tables. but
they had no screens. I asked one OF them
why they didn't have screens
Waving tho Flies Away.
| He kept one hand busy waving the flies
away from his dinner while he said:
LOOK at the kitchen. What's the Use
having screens here with all those flies
over there?'
"An order was put in for screens for the
! kitchens on April 6, but when We left, on
the 18TH no screens had arrived.
The hospital was In deplorable condi-
ton. 1t was up on hill, in Il fine position,
but there was no working staff. The major
surgeon In command told me that he had
plenty of the best equipment, but not
litter bearer In his corps. That means that
there was not man TO carry the wounded
from the line of fire to the field hospitals
I'VE went out with the Sd Brigade on a
seven days practice march to Leone
Springs. 4 regiment is supposed to have
with ii a major surgeon and two captain
surgeons The regiment I wa3 with had
10 wagons, forty-three Of which were hos
pital wagons. and outside of that our hos.
pital staff WAS two lieutenant surgeons.
saw the lioutenants doing enlisted mems
" ork in striking camp, pulling on guy
rcpes of tents. when the buge sounded
but We learned tremendous lot while
We wera there. We learned how tho men
are trained 10 individual responsibility and
knowledge. They are a careless looking
lot hut they are the best disciplined men
| ever saw.
There were not enough officers though.
The regiment ! was with had about two
thirds Of ihc officers II should have had
The average strength In officers was hfty
per cent In the regiment | was with
a second lieutenant Just ont OF West Point
last September commanded one company
Two of the battalions were without
ma jors. One-third OF the companies had
no captains. IL they had the 10000 men
there we were told they had before we
went down ! don't know what they would