New-York tribune., 1916-07-13
1000 ROCKIES IN
PLATTSBURG NOW
Rapid Work Done in Reg
istering Men as Hun
dreds Reach Camp.

From a star Corresponient Of The Tribune
Plattsburg, N Y, July 12.-Uncle
Sans biggest military school for citi-
zen soldiers got into full swing to-day
with the arrival of two additional regi-
ments of business men, swelling the
numbers in the combined senior and
junior camps to more than 1000 men.
The fields and roads about Plattsburg
and the city streets were living IL
lustration tonight of General Woods
description. which he gave the rockies
in an address after mess this evening,
of what he considers the military sit
uation in this country should be.
"The time Of great standing armies
is past" he said. "This is the age of a
nation in arms. That does not mean
a nation standing in arms, but nation
whose citizens are trained to spring to
arms if the need comes, and under
modern conditions OF war, they would
have literally to spring to arms"
He repeated his familiar criticism
of the militia and volunteer system, lay
ing stress on the fact that he did not
mean to say anything against the Ma
tional Guard officers or men or the
spirit of the volunteers, but that his
remarks were aimed at the systems.
Great Efficiency Shown.
The remarkable degree of efficiency
to which the machinery of the camp
has been developed was strikingly illus
trated to-day by the way in which the
hordes of newcomers were expedi-
tiously registered and assigned TO their
regiments, companies and tents, on one
hand, while on the other hand the in
struction of the two junior regiments
of rockies went on as smoothly as
though the army had nothing else to do
but to take care OF them.
The 4th Junior Regiment spent the
day at the target ranges, firing
through the first stages of their in
struction practice. 1t was a gruelling
Job in the hot sun, and as they marched
back to their quarters their obvious
fatigue bore token Of the hardship Of
spending all day with the thermometer
: at nearly 100 and with the incessant
banging of guns pounding on their
. ears.
Their fellow juniors in the 5th Regi-
ment had an equally hard time, being
taken on a fve-mle hike with their
infantry packs on their backs. Forty
or more of them fell by the wayside
!, and were allowed to rest and come in
as they could.
The work Of enrolling the seniors
began at a. m, when the first section
of the four-tran special from New
York rolled in on the siding below
camp headquarters, and il continued
all day and late tonight. In rapid sue
cession the sections piled in, until forty
Pullman sleepers had emptied their
human freight upon the camp officers.
New Englanders Arrive.
The men had not been disposed of
before the regular trains began bring
ing in more, and about noontime came
the Ticonderoga across Lake Cham
plain from Burlington, bringing 525
New Englanders. But this did not add
greatly 10 the burden Of the head
quarters staff as Lieutenant Thomas
Bradlee came on the boat with them,
and the work of registering and assign
ing them was done on board.
Among the prominent men who en-
tered camp to-day were: From New
York, F. T. Birchell, j. L. Hussey,
Frank Z. Webb, 46l Fourth Avenue,
assigned as assistant quartermaster to
the medico- military training division
of the camp; Elihu Root, jr.; J. Lloyd
Derby, secretary of the Military Train
ing Camps Association; Roderick
Tower, son of Charlemagne Tower,
former Ambassador to Germany; Conde
Mast OF "Vogue"; Henry Mortimer,
who appeared with Mrs. Fiske in "Erst-
while Susan; l.. S. Morris, DR.. Clar-
ence Fahnestock, who is serving as
assistant quartermaster; c. +. Watson,
jr., the tennis player; Phil Hoyt, the
Journalist; Eben Cross, swimming
champion; and Dean Mathey, tennis
champion.
Welt. a nephew OF the Colonel, making
the sixth member of his family here
or coming.
Many Doctors Arrive.
The doctors who arrived for the
medico- military camp are DR.. Frank
W. Corning, Of Plainfcld, \. j.; DR..
Howard F. Shattuck, l25 East Fifty
seventh Street; DR.. Thomas H. Curtin,
~ East l49th Street; DR.. John II.
Kearney, Fitehburg, Mass; DR.. Chester
4. BeckIey, Lancaster MASS III =. T.
Yale. Pigeon, Mich; DR.. John II. W.
Rhcin, Of Philadeshi DR.. A. p. c..
Ashhurst, of Philadelphia, and DR.. l..
Martin Gings, of Sackett Harbor.
The most distinguished visitor of the
day was Franklin X. Lane, Secretary
of the Interior, whose son, Franklin K,
jr., is a junior rookie in Company B
of the 5th Regiment. Secretary Lane
called on General Wood, who also has
a son, Osborne, who is a rookie.
When General Wood was asked to-
night 70 comment on the rejection Of
the commanding officers of the 69th he
said that it was purely matter of
medical routine based on the examina-
tions made by army surgeons whenever
a militia body is mustered into Fed
eral service, and that the same pro-
ceeding has been gone through in every
case, and sometimes as many as five
or six officers have been rejected and
hundreds Of men. The government is
responsible, he said, for a certain
standard of physical fitness for the
men, which is determined by physical
examination, and rejection or accept
ance is based entirely on those facts.
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