The Canon City record with which is consolidated the Canon City cannon., 1917-08-09

This is mighty busy place these
days. Twenty-Five hundred men are
in the training camp. Twelve or thir-
teen thousand regular troops have
been gathered here recently. The lit
the town of Junction City has SO much
business it doesn't know how to han
die it. Every day is circus day in
Junction City and Saturdays ali stores
are crowded to overfiowing- The ho-
tells and boarding houses are filed to
capacity with relatives and friends of
the soldier boys. A great boom in
real estate has sprung up and you
couldn't rent store room for city
prices.
And the boom has just started. By
early September $4,000 of the draft
army will be gathered here for train
ing.
East of Ft. Riley a great wooden
city is being built. How many build
ings it will require to house 10000
people don't know. Nobody seems
to know. Acres of buildings are al
ready completed. and others going
up like magic. $50 cars of lumber is
al THAT has been delivered so far, 1
was told. and 5000 car loads have
been ordered. Streets are being
paved and sewers being put in. 1t
will be modern sanitary city. this
wooden city being built SO rapidly to
house 10000 men. The new town
Will stretch out along the railroad
track for about eighteen miles.
We saw some of the Canon City
boys here in training They all look
fine. They have had hard training.
but are in excellent physical condi-
tion. They look strong and happy
They are all on the nervous seat just
now, anxious to know who will get
commissions. This question will be
settled this week some time. By Aug
11th they will be thru and are all
hoping for a furlough of few days
before they begin their work training
other soldiers.
In recent weeks the training has
grown sitter. The average man
around Canon City couldn't, follow
these husky fellows a week and stand
the strain. They get up at 5:15 in
the morning andj work hard until,
1880 at night From 1880 to 1000
they have little rest All they have
TO do during these rest hours is to
clean their guns, their camp kits,
their shoes and clothes. draw map
or two. read few books of a few
At Manhattan a bunch of training
camp boys got on our train. Sat
urday was a rest day, so just for fun
and to keep in training a company
had marched down to Manhattan
that morning from Ft. Riley for an
esghteenimile stroll. The day was
hot, but they made the eighteen miles
in AZ hours actual marching time.
A few nights before several of the
companies. including Co. 8, in which
are some Canon City boys. had been
out for an all-nIght maneuver. This
Included sham battle and the charg-
ing of a hill position in the dark
About 2:30 they got to bed. Their
bed was the dew-covered grass. The
boys said that by that time their
clothes were as wet with perspiration
as if they had been ducked in lake
and the grass as wet with dew as af-
ter spring shower. but that they en-
joyed their short sleep very much
and got up in the morning feeling none
the worse for the experience. At 5
O'Clock they were called They cook
ed their own breakfast and they say
they have never better enjoyed
meal. After breakfast they marched
back to camp and did regular days
work and drill. Not satisfied with
this experience Co. pulled off a
small dance in the evening.
There is a gymnasium in camp for
those who do not get enough physical
exercise in the reuglar routine of
camp life-but the Canon City boys
say they have found no pressing need
for the gym, not yet.
On july 4th they had great drill
competition and Co. got away with
the prize. which our Canon City boys
were very proud of
Y s.s
] called at the camp Y. NJ. C. A.
TO see what was going on. 1t was full
OF soldiers. Two hundred were seated
at long school desk-like tables. /
asked if it was night school and
was told that 1t was only a bunch of
men writing letters home. The Y