Putnam patriot., 1916-06-09
SUFFIELD BOYS
 FORM COMPANY
Are Equi9Ted with Regulation
 Springfield Rifles
THE ARMY SERVICE TYPE
Embodiment of a Preparedness Idea Which Did Not Have to Wait for Federal or State Aid to
 Evolve into a Reality.
Special Hartford Correspondencel


 Hartford.-Wlth preparedness as it's main purpose. a military company has
 been formed of the students of Sutfield
 School. The company has been in eX-
 istence for more than month and
 during that time has had weekly drills
 and military exercises under the in
 struetion of Captain Richard w. De Lamater of this city. who for a num-
 Der of years has had charge of the
 military instruction of the Hartford
 police force The company is already
 equipped with regulation Springfield
 rifles of the army service type and is
 daily expecting & shipment of uni
 forms which have been ordered in
 New York.
 The Suffield School company is the
 embodiment of a preparedness idea
 which did not have to wait for federal
 or state aid to be evolved into a con
 crete reality, and it is largely due to the enthusiasm and the aid of Norman F. Allen of this city that the project was started and put through. Mir Allen. who is one of the trustees of the
 school. is a thorough believer in pre- students could be taught enough of the art of soldiery so that they would be more than rockies" if called upon in an emergency to fight for their country. He broaehed the proposition at recent meeting of the trustees Of the school and got the consent of the board to have the company formed Hobart G. Truesdell, principal of the school, also approved of the plan, not only from the preparedness viewpoint, with which he is in thorough agree | ment, but as a means of improving the physique and discipline of the stu dents. In order to make the organiza- tion Of the company possible without any delay. MT. Allen then gave the
 money to the school to buy rifles and
 uniforms and to pay for the military
 instruction the boys are receiving. The company is not intended to be anything in the nature of a boys bri-
 gade" or an amateurish organization | of paraders, but a practical military organization in which the students
 will learn how to be real soldiers. | Although some of the students are rather young. most of them are ages of the young classes which have been called out to do the actual fighting in l the armies of Europe Many of the l members of the company are eligible I for enlistment in the National Guard. | It is not intended to make the Suffield | School a military school in any sense. l and the uniforms will be worn only | for drills.
 When the work of the school boys l has progressed to the proper point | they will be taught nearly all the | essentials of practical soldiery, in cluding map work, target shooting and even trench digging. At present they have only been taught the simpler | things in military tactics such as marching, learning to recognize the | orders that are given to troops on ! parade and the simple but highly i'm portant requirement. of absolute obedi- ence. They have already begun to | learn the use of their rifles, though
 no target practice has yet been tried.
 It is expected that the main part of 1 the work will be developed next year, as there are only two or three drills | to be given this year before the school
 closes for the summer vacation. There are about 115 boys in the company, everyone of whom seems I to like the work and to be enthusiastic I over the military training he is re- ceiving. Officers have been elected as follows:
 First Lieutenant-Alonzo J. Blood
 good.
 Second Lieutenant-Dexter D. Cof, fin.
 First Sargeant-V Vernon Lovejoy.
 Sargeant-Francis Sickler. Corporals-W. s. Caldwell, Alexan.
 der Malcolm, Arthur P. McKenna, J.
 Harry Burke, Harold Lee, Franklin
 Rathbun L Irving Beach, John Dunn,
 Roy Rogers, Charles Wexler, Color Bearer-Carl Carlson. On Memorial Day M Allen gave
 large silk flag fringed with gold to the company The flag standard bore the following inscriptions "As an inspiration to patriotism this flag is presented to the Suffield School
 by Norman F. Allen, May 30, 1916.