New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-07-16

With the ranks Of the two generals
as they are, Organ, had not ths
present insecure scheme been devised,
would have been Parker's ofhcer' lot
"Galloping Jim" is n brigadicr genera, !
n peg lower than the Guard soio'er
from New York.
Were ranks equal General Farkor'
as the regular army man, would DC III
command. II will be interesting 10 see
how the situation works out. "1aloP-
ing jim" may find himself a major
general shortly, which would be the
best solution, as officers OF the regular
service see it, Or il may be that
Major General Tasker II. Bliss. VINO
went from Washington to San antoine
early in the week and comes TO
Brownsville Monday, Is destined 10
command the sector.
However, il has been announced that
General Bliss expects 10 stay only
few days and will return to Washing
ton after visiting Laredo and Eagle
Pass.
The Troops in Camp.
The 1st and I'd Virginia Infantry. the
LIST Illinois Cavalry tan organization
paralleling in personnel New YORK
famous Squadron Al and a strong mrs,
line of regulars are already IN camp
here. Regular troops OF nalioping
Jim's" command include the Attn lnfan-
try, the Seth Infantry Tin process OF
organization). the I'd Squadron OF the
LIST Vavalry. Battery ID OF the attn Ar
tillery mountain, Battery ID or the
5th Artillery. with A. howitzers,
company of the LIST Engineers and the
9Th Field Hospital.
With the arrival of battalion OF
virginia artillery, squadron OF Hi
nois cavalry and Virginia field hos
pital and signal corps company. the
local encampment will be complete.
In the matter of equipment the Nir-
gina troops are practically on a par
with the regulars. The LIST Illinois
Cavalry is also in excellent shape. al
though they travelled and spent their
first few days on the border in heavy
woollen uniforms. like those which con-
tributed to the great number OF neat
exhaustion cases in the New YORK
camps.
Say Mills Was at Fault.
DESPITE the insistence Of the Federal
ouartermaster corps officers that light
uniforms could have been had for the
asking, the Illinoisans blame Washing
ton for their early discomfort. Fhey
say General Mills, chief of the militia
bureau, wired in response to repeated
requests for cotton khaki clothing that
such supplies would not be issued un-
Ill the troops had reached their sta
tions along the Rio Grande. Regular
officers are loath to believe this.
When "Galloping jim" saw the way
the Illinois men were clad-which was
before they had time to detrain-he
galloped then and there TO the radio
station and flashed rush requisitlon
to the supply depot at San Antonio, and
the uniforms came back by express, not
freight. Heavy rains that have oc-
Cured daily, as on the New York line.
have turned the Brownsville camps into
mud puddles, through which the
Guardsmen slop in rubber boots, but
the resultant discomfort is something
which no degree Of prescience nor
preparedness could have forestalled. So
the optimists of the camps have made
an adaptation of that old slogan con-
corning the doughnut and the hole:
Don't look at the mud, look at the
boots"
Food Displeases Some.
There is some complaint about the
food, as at McAllen, Pharr and Mis-
sion, but it is the same garrison ration,
and there is plenty OF it. Some OF the
kicks are the result of bad cooking:
Still, the men have the selection OF
their company cooks, just as they have
in their homes.
Then, too, the men are beginning to
fret over the prospect of a long period
Of inactivity. Such of them as have
serious business and family response
bilities-and there are many OF them
are not nearly so enthusiastic about
militia service as they used to be. Like
the New York men they have been
thinking, and there is a striking SINH
larity in the conclusions at which the
men of different states have arrived.
Room for Youngsters.
"A few years ago it would have been
all right" they say, "but we can't af-
ford to be away from the job and the
home folks now. The work we are
doing now could be done just as we'll
by a lot Of youngsters without depend
ents or business worries. How 10 get
them is the question. What do you
know about this universal service they
were talking about while back"
Certainly a lot of universal service
missionaries who know at any rate
where the big flaw is in the National
| Guard are going back North to preach
when this cruel war, or cruel walt, is
over.
Brownsville offers little more amuse
ment to the Guardsmen than the little
towns in which the New Workers were
| thrown. There are more saloons-a
| full dozen-but they close tight at
$3.50, like those of every garrison town
/ in the sector In McAllen, Pharr and
Mission further hardships have been
undergone by those of the men who
are fond of cocktails, for cocktails are
not TO be had. But Brownsville boasts
not only the ingredients, but couple
of expert Mexican mixers.
Bridge to Mexico.
The town is built on the bank of the
| Rio Grande, and is connected with the
Mexican city of Matamoros by the only
bridge east of Laredo. Once, in the hey
day Of Matamoros, thousands passed to
and fro over the International bridge
every day. Matamoros was rich popu-
4 lar and proud then. Its bull ring was
the finest in Mexico, its cock fights the
most talked about, its band no less IA
nous than that of Mexico City itself,
/ its night life gay, its opera as well pat
/ ronized as the Metropolitan, its streets
/ almost clean.
But the old Matamoros is gone, its
bull ring into smoke, its fighting cocks
into dinner pots. its band and opera on
the trail Of the peso that chinks no
more in the unhappy Matamoros Of to-
/ day. Its walls are marked with the
scars of half-dozen sieges. lombard
ments have razed some of its finest
/ buildings, rotting refuse fills tire
streets and typhoid. smallpox and war
| talk are everywhere.
No Trains Over Bridge.
The railroad tracks over the interna-