New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-09-02

military experts Of the old school are
! destined for the waste basket.
Beginning Monday, the entire regi-
( ment will start advancing upon imagi-
nary enemy under curtain Of imagin-
nary fire to the screcching and whin-
ing of imaginary she'll.
Over in France the men stage their
charges under the protection of real
artillery. A company deploys and adj
yanccs certain number Of PAGES at full
speed by the clock. They arc then
ordered 10 throw themselves fat on
the ground, while the curtain of fire is
advanced another twenty yards or so,
when the men charge again to within a
few feet Of the bursting she'll. This
formation is kept up until the demora-
lied enemy is engaged in his own
trench. The men of the 165th will find
much Of their time from now on taken
IN with instructions in this new form
of attack.
They are going TO make the most
Of the airplanes from Mineola at Camp
Mills from now on At the blow of
a whistle every man is to stand rigidly
at attention. regardless of what he
may be doing II is the sign that an
enemy plane is lowering overhead,
ready to send its winged death to
earth and that no man, under penalty
of death. must reveal his units posi-
tion by his activities.
When these instructions are obeyed
10 the letter all that is left to the view
Of the airman is drab hat, almost in
distinguishable against the green and
brown grass weeds. BY the time the
men reach France they will know this
primary rule of modern warfare and
will already have learned to stop dead
in their tracks when the warning OF
an impending air attack is given.
Machine gun squads are being formed
in each company. The members OF these
units will be taught how to handle
machine gun as well as they do rife.
Bomb squads are being organized, too,
and tin cans filed with stones Will be
thrown by the men into bitches several
yards away, where an imaginary enemy
lies in waiting. This will whip them
into shape for the hand grenade attacks
they will have to carry on abroad.
The Germans have perfected a sys-
tenn of covering effectively retreat by
quickly throwing up nasty wire entan-
elements in the enemy's path. The
men of the LIST Rainbow Division will
soon be learning how TO get through
such entanglemcnts. Every man VIII
get a set of wirecutters. He Will be
taught how TO 90 through the ughcst
of wire distractions in a few minutes
time and with a fair degree Of safety.
They are planning school OF
"crawlers," too, in the old 69th. Owe
there" they need brave men to crawl
out far beyond their own first line
trenches into No Mans Land at night
and from their fre-swept point of van
tage observe the enemy's strength and
position. These men must learn the
art Of tying ropes 70 their own wound
ed Who have fallen close to the enemy's
lines.
Human Rattlesnakes
These crawlers must glide close 20
the earth like rattlesnakees, neither
lifting body. arms nor legs. 1t will
take weeks to develop an etFicien;
squad of crawlers. They will begin
this most important work next week.
The various company commanders are
securing their units for double-jointed
men. Men adapted to this business of
crawling are at a premium. for il IS
they who must take the place of the
picturesque scout of bygone days.
The battalion commanders are trying
to get away as much as possible from
the trying, deadening, routine drills
that used TO take up all their time.
About two-thirds of the drill periods
are being used for setting up exercises
and general gymnastics.
And the men like the change. They
no longer come back from the field with
the heart out of them. Watch them as
- :. L..
at ; o'clock in the afternoon. Note the
springy step, the smiling faces. They
seem almost a. fresh as when they first
marched away from camp in d swirling
cloud of dust.
Five Hundred in Wrestling Match
Nothing is being left undone which
might tend 10 develop each mans indl-
vidual initiative. They have ceased
staging the old sham battles, the prize
exhibit Of National Guard cantonments
of the past. Now the men stack their
muskets, peel off their shirts, line up
two hundred and fifty on a side and
charge each other This is 70 accustom
them 70 the impact Of flesh against
flesh, body against body, that is soon
TO come abroad.
They are training for one big day
ahead, day when they will have TO
put forth supreme effort. One COM
pany has already started boxing bouts,
and the other day Private William Hur-
ley ("Bdttling" Hurley they used to
call him when he fought in the profess
siOnal ring gave an opponent love
tap and broke three bones in his right
hand doing it.
TO Entertain Visitors
The officers and men Of Company c
have arranged an entertainment on the
company street in honor of the friends
and relatives Of the men who visit
camp tomorrow afternoon. Private
OKelly, the John Mccormack" of the
165th. will sing some of his favorite
Irish tunes, while a set of Irish fiddlers
will scrape out merry jigs and one
steps for those who wish TO dance.
There is still time to mix little fun
with the serious business of learning
10 do the deeds that will be expected
Of them in the land where fun is no
longer known.
British Watch u. S.