New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-08-10
Pitches Tents All Day ard
Spends Night Nursing
Blistered Hands.
OFFICERS PRAISE
HIS ONLY COMFORT
Cruel Commander Assigns City
Head to Teach Recruits
Camp Mysteries.
From A stan Correspondent, o, Tn. Tribune

From a SIAN Correspondent UT Inc itl"uhe'i
Plattsburg. N. Y, Aug. 9.-Private-
and not 80 private, ut that. since four
other men share his tent-John Purroy
Mitchell, who mayors for New York
City folk. when at home. is now try
ing to reduce the swelling which rose
on his palms in performing the pre-
lminary work as student at the
military instruction camp here to-day
Mr.. Mitchell was one of the first
military amateurs to reach Plattsburg
The main body of business and pro-
fessional men who seek Federal in
struction in the duties of an army
officer will not get here until to-mor-
row morning, when the four weeks Of
schooling will officially begin.
Probably the Mayor now regrets his
began to pick on him from the jump.
Soon after he had aided others in lay
ing the platform for the tents. he was
ordered to set UP several other cots.
and when that task was finished he
was told to show other military novces
how to do it.
1t is hard work. You straddle a cot.
quite as a cowboy does when he
breaks" a coll. You jerk pair of rope
lines and try to get the legs up right.
Most of the time the legs defy your
efforts particularly when your strength
has been slapped by loss of sleep.
Mayor Arrives Sleepy.
The Mayor tackled this job after a
sleepless night. He came up here with
Henry II. Curran, vice-chairman Of the
Board of Aldermen, and William Brown
Meloney, an intimate friend Of Mr..
Mitchell. The Mayor, who boarded the
train at Poughkeepsie, was sleepy when
he entered his drawing room last night,
but this feeling vanished when he was
informed that Rhinelander Waldo, for
mer Police Commissioner, was to be IN
charge of his company. Though the
report was baseless, the Mayor, in his
Joy at the prospect of serving under
his old friend, could think of nothing
else. Curran and Meloney felt the
same way
The Mayors party arrived at 7
o'clock this morning. At s o'clock,
after breakfast, Messrs Mitchell. Cur
ran and Meloney, in an old blackboard,
were driven two miles to the camp.
The camp is set out on plain of
thirty acres, adjoining the barracks
ard tents of he Both Infantry. L. 5. A,
Practically everything that the college
men had used in their instruction had
been taken down. Few tents were
standing and in these fewer plank plat
forms for the cots. The temporary
stores had fresh stock and some Of the
regular army men were cleaning up for
the new battalions. The camping
ground runs down to the sandy shore
of Lake Champlain. In few spots
the roadways were muddy. but the
strong sun, encountering no trees to
resist its rays, soon dried them.
Shoes Make Mayor Twitch.
The New Workers. reported at head
quarters about $3.50 o'clock and intro
duced themselves to Captain Halstead
Dorey. of the 4th Infantry, L. S. A.,
camp commander. Archie Roosevelt,
who. with his brother, Theodore, jr., is
remaining over from the college en-
! campment, and who is an orderly on
Captain Dorey's staff, was told to show
the Mayor and his companions their
tent location. Mitchell and Meloney were
assigned to Company A soon after they
had begun to erect their 14xl4 tent.
They were joined by three Philadel-
DEMONSTRATION Clark. jr., W. B. Doug
las and Dr. A. r. Allen. Alderman Cur
ran was assigned to the adjoining tent.
This is very pleasant work." said
Meloney to the Mayor, "and would be
a darned lot pleasanter if one could
wear carpet slippers while doing it. |
spent three days trying 10 break my
shoes in. | take it that you echo my
sentiments"
Mr.. Mitchell, who had not had the