The diamond drill. (Crystal Falls, Iron County, Mich.) 1887-1996, 1916-11-25
TROOPS GOT
LITTLE BENEFIT
MOBILIZATION IN TEXAS WAS
POLITICAL MOVE
MOSTLY DIGGING bitches
When Men Should. Have Been Get
ting Technical instruction They
We're Squandering Time

J. j. Gritiths, engineer for the Jud-
son Mining company, returned re
Gently from the Texas military camp
where he went with his regiment, the
First Illinois Artillery. Mr. Grifiths
is loud in his denunciation of the mo-
tive that prompted the mobilization
and the management OF the affairs
after the men were assembled al the
southern camps.
Mr. GrifIiths Is young man OF keen
perception aud il Is evident that moth
ing escaped his eye while he was In
camp for he is conyersant upon each
and every feature of the recent mill
tary tiasco. He left here late in June
TO join his regiment at Chicago and OH
July 4th they started for San Antonio,
Texas, where they were kept until
two weeks ago when they were or
dercd back to Chicago and dismissed
4 Political Move.
He says that before the regiment
left Chicago 1t was known among al
most all Of the men that they would
never be called upon TO do any fight
ing and that the motive AT the bottom
of the call was political This fact
bred listless spirit that peryaded
the force from one end to the other
Mr.. Grihiths says that his regiment
embraced many prominent young pro-
fessional and businessmeu who were
as we'll informed upon current mat
ters, commercial and political, as
were the men at the head of the gov
ernment These men had channels OF
Information open to them whereby
they could get at the real. underlying
facts and when the military atmos-
phere was eclipsed by one OF parade,
a spirit best expressed in the ditty |
The King Of France with
Forty Thousand men, first
Marched up a hill. and
Then marched down again
peryaded the entire force and the men |
looked upon the affair as sort Of
holiday and not business trip. The
regiment, as we'll as almost all the |
National Guard regiments, included in |
its ranks many wealthy mems sons |
and the holiday spirit that ruled led |
to the spending of money The militia /
men got small pay but almost all OF
them were spending not only the pay I
they got but money from home" a
well so that the mobilization proved /
to be a gold mine TO the people Of the /
southern sections where the camps |
we're instituted These people sought |
to keep the guard in camp for they |
were reaping big returns, especially |
the restaurant and garage men. Mr.
said that several garages
were maintained wholly upon the pat
ronago OF different regiments.
When the militia men got to thu /
camp conditions Of appalling incom
potency confronted them The man
agement of tile AFFAIR was fully as in /
competent as was that which dis
graced the mobilization Of the troop !
az tho outbreak Of the Spanish Amer 4
lean war.
pitch Digging Specially.
As an eNample Mr. GrMt18 cited /
TIE work of mixing tho camp sani
tary Tho country is Hat aud Il ne
ces u1tcd many and large Eitchcs &c
carry away The sewage from the large |
traa of land Included in ho camp /
The mon were set ut work diegin
dttches II was fine work 10 cond
ton ono flr military duty and whil |
ia eus hard ou them. the men didn't
e .mplain at The necessary part Of u /
bit owing 10 the Iucompetency q
these directing affairs almost all o'
this ditch digging had TO be done over
~ least five times and some OF Il more
than that.
No one seemed to know just how 10
do things and instead OF providing |
each company with a regular army
assistant to advise the captain, the
national guard was allowed TO noun
der along and do the best that II
conld The captains did tho best they
knew how. but they didn't know what
ought Is bo done or how to do II and
conseo emily they would give an order
and ter work was completed |
voul discover Iat Il h'd heen done
wrons and il woaid thon BE- neces