Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-07-01
Veterans, Arriving in Excess of
Number Expected, Suffer
From Exposure.
ARMY HAS DONE WONDERS:
BOY SCOUTS GREAT AID
No Washington Veteran III, and All
Members Of Delegation Are
Faring Well.
BY EARL GOODWIN.

cept the unsleeping army officers here
VIII ever know how near the DESTROYING
angels OF death and disaster lowered 10
this camp Of the nations veterans in the
early hours of the morning and although
the whisper of their wings die out as the
hours go by. there are anxious moments
ahead of the trained and skillful men in
command here.
Loose management on the part of sew
eral state organizations has come close
to upsetting the well laid plans of the
army men who have devised the system
here to such an extent that late today
old men. scarce able to walk about on
their canes and crutches have not been
able to find the assigned places which
should have been given to them by their
state committees when they arrived be-
fore dawn today.
Two Big Weaknesses.
The army has not fallen down, but
there are two big weaknesses In the
scheme which the army cannot con-
troll. One Is the fact that too much
liquor is being consumed by men who
cannot stand IL. and the other is that
in state camps holding from 1000 TO
10000 veterans there is almost a total
lack of system and organization.
The liquor question has been hushed
up until now. but there is well de-
fined determination on the part of
medical officers in charge here to move
heaven and earth to close the saloons
of Gettysburg.
Whisky of a fearful brand is knock
ing out old men by the scores. and the
hospital cots have been filled for twen-
ty-four hours with veterans overcome
by too much alcohol. All night long
a a
camp taking vets to the dozens of re-
lief stations and hospitals Which are
scattered over the camp and through
the town.
No Washingtonian Ill.
WashingtOn's delegation is mar.
velously free from the dangers which
threatened the rest Of the camp. Not a
man has been i'll. and from the looks
of the delegation there is scarcely any
chance Of sickness there Practically
the whole contingent is now in camp
the last OF the Washington veterans
having arrived before noon.
The army took the word of the state of
Pennsylvania and prepared for 1000 vet
Grams Then they boosted the number to
5000. and the army hustled a little
harder. Now they have rung in an extra
5000. and the bulk of them arrived to-
gether before dawn today.
of ninety. who had come from far
west as the Pacific coast, found them
selves suddenly in the midst of rush
and a turmoil which would make Broad
way seem like a quiet lane back in the
farm country Some of the old fellows
actually could not walk. They had no
friends except those Of their own age.
Their state organizations were not there
help them. and they would have had &c
lie down by the road and wait had IL
not been for the army and the Boy
Scouts.
Praise for Boy Scouts.
And right here is a good place to shout
praises for the Boy Scouts. Work is
like eating candy to them. They have
done more to make a name for American
youth in this past twenty-four hours than
any band of 600 boys ever did before.
Look at 'em." said Maj. Normoyle,
late last night as the boys handled the
situation like trained men, They are
peaches. This camp would fall down
without EN-.
They led the veterans to their tents.
They brought them what comforts the
camp affords They guided them 70 res.
stations and hospitals. They did the
things which the state organizations OF
veterans should have done, and tnen
legged hard for more to do.
With the 5000 extra veterans In camp,
the troubles began The biggest PROPOSE
ton was to furnish blankets. Maj. Nor
moyle as chief quartermaster, had pro-
vided two blankets for each veteran or
the $1,000. and then a whole lot more IN
reserve Yet the blankets did not begin
to GO around Some of the men who had
been here twelve hours and were on to
the ways of the camp stole blankets from
the freshmen who had just arrived
Today's Battle Over Blankets.
You could see veterans scrapping for
blankets i'm the tents and streets.
crowd of Kansas and Maryland veterans
swooped down on the District of Colum-
bia camp and came near to devastating
1t Of blankets. However, the Washing
ton men held their own and preserved
their pair of blankets apiece In the
Pennsylvania camp, where 10000 vet
Grams are placed. there was a loud cry of
no blankets, and 10000 had been issued
Sentinels inspected each tent and brought
to light some marvellous results One
veteran was sleeping on six blankets
with three over him and nine under his
cot
n was things like this which caused
the trouble. The army men naturally
knew that the old fellows would have
to be well taken care OF, but they
did not figure on having to hold them
apart to keep them from stealing one
another's grub kits. blankets and even
cots The result was that many an old
man had no place to sleep. and today
is suffering in the hospital
They call each other comrades by
day." said a sergeant Of engineers who
had been on duty thirty-siN hours
without a wink of sleep, "and then
they steal each others blankets at night"
night"
No One Dared Sleep.
II was so critical a moment that no
army officer dared to sleep. With fifty
trains coming in between O'Clock and
daybreak today. with the general ominous
feeling Of impending disaster, score OF
officers worked as if for their lives.
Some of these men had done work after
the San Francisco earthquake and fire.
and declared the climax Of last nights
work was worse than the situation on
the coast at that time.
They made firemen of themselves.
made pack horses Of themselves, made
nurses of themselves and never lost
a grain of temper. never failed in their
courtesy and their efficiency; took
seedlings from provost old vets who
wanted impossible thingA and even today