The Johnson City comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1916-1917, 1916-03-30
SQUAD ROOM STORIES.


heavy walking shoes and a sweater,
and noticing looks of surprise on the
part of the old heroes present, said
Il have talked in praise of walk
ing as a means of finding pleasure,
of keeping more intimately in touch
with Gods earth and universe, of
promoting health and of cultivating a
democratic spirit. And whenever II
have had opportunity, / have urged
soldiers, especially, to walk. Just
now when we are all thinking and
talking of preparedness" l would
remind the boys, especially, that
practice in long-distance and hard
walking has its preparedness" val
ues. In the first place, it helps to
give the will mastery over the body,
to teach the body to endure; and, in
the second place, it is at the founda-
ton of all physical training. What
ever special form of discipline or
training is necessary later, the ability
to walk, to endure on ones feet, is
an essential part of it. So as the
days of the open road come on, as
nature begins again her laboratory
courses in field and stream and noun
tain, may every member find, on foot,
the blessings of the out-of-doors, the
strength that comes of battle with
the natural forces that oppose, and
the joy of overcoming. And if there
be those who because of some in
trinity are unable to walk, may they
be carried even as wounded COM
rades are borne by the strong. So
shall we all be the better prepared
to meet the opportunities and obliga-
tons which come, or may come, to
us as men with civic rights and civic
duties. So, come along and join me
in a hike of say ten miles. 1t will
give you an appetite for dinner
Then the Old Crouch remarked:
Nit; | knew you when you walked
ten miles for dinner with an appe-
tite for two-yourself and a tape
worm"
Looking up from his paper, the
Old Regular said: THE aeroplane
as scout is having its first practical
test in this country in the hunt for
Villa. Squads tehind rocks waiting
for the appearance of American sol
diers so as to pick them off will
work at a disadvantage with an
aeroplane circling overhead and sig
mailing their locations to the troops.
There could be no country where the
bird man will be better able to rem
der a good account of himself and
show more practical advantage in
the use of his machine. That part
of the Sierra Madre mountains where
| Villa is accustomed to take refuge is
a rugged region, great sand hills with
rocks jutting up here and there and
caverns penetrating the mountain
sides where men and horses can get
well out of sight. Nature could not
have constructed better places of
refuge than those accessible to the
bandits. But the aeroplane ought to
prove great aid to the soldiers in
hunting them out"
Then the Gunner had his say, as
follows 1.-THE artilleryman of the
present day is highly skilled spec.
ialist. The knowledge to handle a
piece successfully is not acquired in
month or in three months. Much
is to be learned and much is abso-
lutely essential to the work of hand
ling field piece. More and more
war becomes series of artillery
duels and ire country without ade-
quate field guns and skilled men to
handle them will always be at a Sc
rious disadvantage. On shipboard
and on land we have some of the
best gunners in the world. The
wisest and most effective move that
could be made today would be to put
in training for this work enough men
to capably man two thousand more
pieces of field artillery and then Or
der the guns. Making the guns Is an
easier and quicker process than
training the men to handle them. But
we need the men and the guns.
Said the Old Volunteer: "It is fine
to reach out to life; but in reaching |
out, we ought to consider that We are
human, consequently fail, and that
we haven't as many hands as cen
tipede has legs"
The treatment of tuberculosis at
the hospital in its incipient stages
has been very successful since the
new annex was opened and modern
handling of the white plague intro
Ruced. Here is the way t. b. puts
il:
II say!
Tubercular bugs are pesky things,
Yet they're the seed that sprout our
wings
And start us on the way that hath
No turns--the straight and narrow
path:
No more we'll clink the festive glass,
No more consort with winsome lass,
No more we'll deal the hellspawn
deck
That skaters nerves and sleep doth
wreck
Cigarettes, too, well have to ban,
Doctors say it's bad for man,
Jungle germs-Ye Gods, the curse!
The true forerunner of the hearse!
The simple life is what we need, !
With fresh air, sleep and damgood |
feed; II
And that's just what we're getting !
here,
With plenty of it, never fear {
Fighting the bugs for all we're worth, /
And still above six feet of earth |
Hurrah /;
,
1t was wise old vet who said {
Never wear your uniform into a [
place where you wouldn't want to be {
'ound dead" If every member would ]
observe this rule, his comrades inter- I
ssted in him would be benefited. il