Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-11-24
CAMP MEADE MEN
TO GO lover TOP"
Miniature of French Front
Best in World, Ex-
perts Say.
CORRESPONDENCE. of The Star.

Special Correspondence Of The Star.
CAMP MEADE, Md, November "a
The selected men Of this camp are
about ready to go "over the top" for
the first time. They will begin. prob
ably next week, a course of training
over battlefield which is declared to
approximate actual conditions on a
section of the French front more near
1y than any other training field in the
world.
This estimate was made by British
officers to Brig. Gen. w. j. Nicholson.
senior brigadier of the Army, who
commands the 157th Infantry Brigade.
The work Of constructing the field has
been completed. and it is ready for the
assaults of the selected men whenever
the military authorities want to start
them. French officers, too, have ex-
pressed hearty approval of the work
done in constructing the course.
Shell Craters and Barbed Wire.
When the selected men here are
ready for their training to advance
against an enemy trench, they will do
so against every obstacle they will be
liable to meet in actual warfare ex-
cept rifle and cannon fire and bayonets.
Shell craters dot the thousa nd-yard-
wide course. Barbed wire entangle-
ments will battle the men. They finally,
Of course. will VIM the opposing
trenches. where they will find life-like
dummies. representing the enemy.
These they will be required to bayonet
with a quick downward thrust as they.
rush onward to the next line of
trenches. leaving what remains of the
enemy In the first trench to be taken
care Of by the "moppers up" those fell
lows who. with bayonet. bomb and
bludgeon. clean out any 81 the enemy
who may still show fight after the first
wave has passed on.
Officers OF the environments are get
ting ready to put q stop to what has
become a grave waste of food through
the Jealous and good-hearted. but mis-
directed. efforts Of women who send
big loads Of food to the soldiers.
Gen. Nicholson declared that he had
caused the distribution Of as much as
a ton of food sent here by groups of
women, not directed to any particular
soldiers.
Fine Spirit, But Too Much Food.
THE spirit which prompts such
things is fine" said Gen. Nicholson.
but that doesn't do away with the
fact that much Of the food is wasted
because the men don't need 1t, and
can't eat it. Their army fare is plenti-
full and substantial and is designed
by experts to meet the needs of men
working hard in the open. II they
want delicacies. they can get all they
want in the regimenta1 canteens, and
the profits from these go to the COM
panies and can be used to buy extras
for the mess, II the mon want them.
"It seems to me, from what I hear
and read, that there are women and
children in the cities who have been SO
hard hit by the high cost of living that
| the gift Of such quantities of food
would come as a Godsend. and II the
women who send 1t want to do the most
good with 1t. they will distribute 1t
there. Why people get the idea that
Uncle Sam stints his soldiers on food
I don't know, unless 1t is because the
young rascals want the sympathy OF
the women and want to appear as mar
| tyrs and heroes and tell tales Of going
without enough to eat They are mere
boys, many of them, and suspect there
is something Of that attitude about
some Of them, although don't hear of
any of them losing flesh or looking
peaked from want OF food"
First Oamoudage Performances.
Tho frst Of two performances BY the
camouhage corps Of Company 3, 18th
Engineers, from Camp American uni
yersity, Washington, was given In the
7. N. c. A. auditorium. It will be re-
peated tonight.