The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-08-29
American VIII Find Himself
in Eminent and August
Company
HARD WORK FOR THE
PRIVATE SOLDIER
Every Hardship of Actual War Except
Wounds are Undergraduates
Officers Come Up to Stand
ard They are Dismissed

or Kaiser maneuVers in Silesia. Septem-
ber to TO- at the personal invitation OF
| Emperor William, will find himself in
eminent and august company, the Em-
perors other guests including General
Polio, chief OF the general staff of the
| Italian army; Gen. Ramon Ruiz. chief of
the general staff of the army of the Ar
gentine Republic; the King OF Saxony,
| Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria. head of
| the Bayarian army Prince Friedrich Will
| helm of Prussia. and long list of dis
| tinguished German generals headed by
| Field Marshal Yon der Goltz and Count
Won Haeseler. Even military women
will be represented. the Emperor having
! invited his sister, the hereditary Princess
| OF Sake Meiningen, In her capacity as
chief of the second Silesian grenadiers. to
take part in the campaign on the native
| soil of her regiment.
| The Kaiser maneuvers are held between
two army corps, and involve about 10000
men. The Emperor always attends in
person, for those are the most important
! army exercises OF the year. They are.
| however, preceded by smaller maneuyers
In which the demands upon the men and
| officers are fully as great. Probably. In
| Decd these preliminary maneavers are a
| harder test than the Kaiser maneuvers.
since they start with the men not yet
conditioned TO the hardships OF strenuous
campaigning.
/
and autumn maneuvers mean hard work.
| long marches on hot days, the fordng of
| rivers, bridge building. and every actual
: hardship that real campaign can bring
except wounds. But the private is in
| some ways to be envied, when compared
! TO officers of the rank of major and up
ward. The latter it. is true, have no So
pound pack, or rifle to carry and they
are on horseback but an officer gives
every command with the consciousness
that sharp eyed observers are watching
| him and that an error may and probably
will end his military career. Every COM
| mlssoned officer under normal conditions
eventually becomes a major as a matter
! of course, whether he goes higher de-
pends upon the yearly maneuvers.
| The officers test begins when the brig
ade divides for maneuvers. Each major
| Is likely to be entrusted with the COM
mand of his side for a day and a briga-
dier general and force of umpires OBJ
serve him. The division maneuvers bring
announces, you and your orderlies and
the corps maneuvers furnish the final
| test.
Manifold are the pitfalls awaiting the
commander Of any unit. He may become
excited in the heat of the sham battle
and fail to keep well behind his men. as
| a commanding officer should do Pres
enty an orderly from the general staff
observers approaches him. Colonel" he
| announces, you HIr your OfuerHeS ana
staff have been killed You will please
| withdraw"
| The commanding officers are held
| strictly to a high degree of perfection
! Not only are mistakes counted against
them, but any officer who. uneasy at
! the close scrutiny to which he is sub
| iected. becomes nervous and excited, Is
lost. There is no room for the nervous
and exctabe officer in high places in
| the German army. Errors in the disposi-
tion of his forces may on occasion be
| overlooked, but the general staff, which
represents the Emperor. demands that
men entrusted with command over others
! shall have no nerves.
Occasionally the maneuvers cost a life
or two. Colonel Bode, for instance, COM
mander of the Fifty-ninth regiment of
| infantry, dropped dead recently during
| field exercises, and from time to time
| soldiers succumb to the severe tests,
| although. strict as Is the German army
| discipline, the bodily welfare of the men
| Is most carefully looked after.
| The chief mortality attendant upon the
| autumn maneuvers is to commissions.
| When all is over the reports of the crit
| les come to the Emperors private mill
tary cabinet. of which Gen. Baron Won
| Lyncker is the head. The reports are
| carefully considered and later number
of unfortunates receive a letter from the
| cabinet In blue envelope There is no
need to open it. The colonel, for in
| stance, knows that the communication
| inside means that further promotion Is
never to be his
Recent progress in the world wide fight
against tuberculosis will be clearly set
| forth at the eleventh international anti
| tuberculosis conference, to be held this
| year In Berlin from October % to 26 One
evidence will be the attendance. Twenty
eight states will be represented by dele
| gates and although no cure" for tuber-
| culosis can be reported, encouraging
| progress will be recorded toward the con-
| troll of the disease by natural restorative
means, food and fresh air and by mod
ern methods of sanitation, dsnfection
and isolation.
DR.. +. r. Friedman has not applied
for a place on the programme and. ac-
cording to one member of the COMMITTEES
of arrangements, none would have Zen
| given him had he done so the German
experts being more than ever scepticai
| and insistent on the submission of the
Friedman serum to the conventional
| tests before taking the doctors preten-
tions seriously. The American visitors to
! the conference will, however. have oppor-
| tunlty to see the patients on whom DIR.
friedman based his original claims OF
| success, is months to two years after
treatment was begun and to judge how
| his claims have been borne out by time.
! Aside from the social and business ses-
slons, the programme shows reports and
| discussions under the general topics of
| Tuberculosis and Mankind "rhe Sur
/ gical Treatment OF tuberculosis, THE
Role Played by Life Insurance in the
Struggle Against tuberculosis" ''Profes-
siona Schools for Children Predisposed
TO Consumption" and an afternoon de-
voted to miscellaneous topics. American
delegates are expected to contribute
| largely to the programme. the United
States being admittedly in the lead In
many respects In the successful handling
of tuberculosis problems. In Europe al
though the Scandinavian countries, par
! ticularly Sweden, have scored the great
! est results in combating the white
! plague, Germany is considered to show
the highest degree of organization.
! The delegates viii find that Germany
has made substantial progress since the
| first of these conferences i'm 1902. in de-
ducing the terrors of consumption. From
the reports of 34S cities of more than
| 15,Oo0 population each. IL appears that the
| yearly death rate from tuberculosis was
reduced from 92.2G per 10000 population in
1895 TO 1870 IN 1911. For the whole king
dom of Prussia the rate for 1912 was only
| 14-i9. The reduction has been particularly
rapid in hospitals and homes for con-
sumptives. having dropped within Is years
| from 81 TO L. In penitentaries and jals
formerly regarded as breeding centers for
| tuberculosis diseases. the mortality Is
now only about one-sixteenth OF what It
was some Is years ago.