Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1916-07-29
NEW ARTILLERY
TOBE EXPENSIVE
Capitol Wonders Why There
Was So Much Delay in Or
ganizing Regiment

Transfer of the Ninth and Thir-
teenth Regiments of Infantry of the
National Guard of PENNSYLVANIA to the
artillery arm will cost the United
states government about $2,000,000
The details of the transfer. which will
include the furnishing of ordnance,
aotses ana other equipment, will take
several weeks to work out and there
IS no telling when the Luzerne and
baSkaWanna men will get into service.
rms transfer and that of the Potts
Nllle company OF the Fourth REGIMENT
70 ihe engineer battalion completes
Mhat the War Department REQUIRED of
1 ehhsSINanla some time ago but which
lor some unknown reason was never
carried out by the adjutant general.
General stewart, who has been sharnlv
Sfluclsed for failing to organize motor
transport service and for not encour-
aging machine gun and aeroplane
auNlllarieS, has insisted that there was
no appropriation for these branches.
Nhen asked why more infantry was
not turned into artillery, as REQUIRED
py the divisional order on Pennsvl-
wanna; ne always passed the buck"
washington that it was passed back to
the Pennsylvania chief of staff rather
Sharply on Thursday and that he made
haste TO go to Mount Gretna Yesterday
10 start things moving. The Pennsyi-
Vania National Guard was REQUIRED
lohE ago 10 have two regiments of
artillery and no one could ever UNDER
stand from what was said at the Cant
tol why the organization of the First
Artlllery was held UP so long or why
the organization of the second artil-
lery regiment was not effected.
one of the things to which people
at the Capitol are not looking with
any degree OF comfort is the pulling
ana hauling which will start when the
ume comes to drop officers of the
Ninth and Thirteenth. Artillery regi-
ments have considerably fewer Off
GERS than infantry. and. as the Gov
ernor has to make the appointments.
there Will be plenty doing in the wav
OF seeking appointments. Every officer
VIII naturally want to go to the border
and viii naturally write numerous let
busy.
An Associated Press dispatch from
Mount Gretna says:
camp Armstrong passed out of ex-
lstence to-day when the tents of the
Nlnth and Thirteenth Regiments and
the separate battalion We're razed and
the men of these organizations left for
their homes, where they will stay for
an undetermined time before return
ing here again. The Thirteenth was
the first to get busy. The spirit of the
iiell was IN marked contrast to that
SHOWN when they arrived here. The
prospect Of active work at the border
mas nlled them with enthusiasm.
How long it will be before this
camp will open again, Adjutant Cen
eral Stewart would not say. Tt ia
impossible to tell how long it will take
to whip these infantrymen into shape
for the artillery he said. TT is pos
slble that some of the officers who
have handled the infantry Companies
Will not be found fit to direct artillery
Forty-seven officers of the Ninth
regiment were examined and out of
these eighty were rejected on account
and eyes and heart. The officers who
failed were John T. Jeter. first lieuten-
ant, attached to headquarters; Captain
John L. FehlinEer. Company e: First
Lieutenant Patrick ], Gibbons. Com
pany H; Captain Albert Bowen, at
tached to headquarters; Captain An
drew c. Overpeck, attached to supply
company; Second Lieutenant Edward
c: Wormelsdorf, Company l.; First
Lieutenant William Snyder, Company
9, and Second Lieutenant Conrad p.
Smith, attached to supply company.