Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1916-1918, 1917-09-11
Ottumwa Troops on Fifth
Train Which Left Capital
at 8 O'Clock Last Even
ing; Expect To ''Go Over
Almost Immediately.
RACE IS ON TO SEE
WHO WILL SAIL FIRST

Ottumwa's contingent Of $50 men
and three officers is among the $500
members of the fully equipped 16Sth
regiment of United States infantry
which is speeding across the United
States today bound for France.
The first Of seven long trains steam
ed away from the state fair grounds en-
campment at Des Moines at 1:1C
o'clock yesterday afternoon. The OF
tumwa crowd did not leave until the
fifth train and it was almost 8 O'Clock
last evening before they got away
Somewhere In the United States
today these lads are advancing on Ber
lin at the rate Of 40 miles an hour. The
last two trains left Iowa this morn.
ing.
GOING RIGHT "ovER."
The 168th regiment, better known as
the Third Iowa, Is one Of the regiments
forming the rainbow division" of the
national guard and they will hardly
have time to get rested from the long
trip half way across the continent be
fore the men will be on transports
bound for the scene Of the big adven-
ture over there"
Before leaving Washington to as
sume command Of the division Major
General William A. Mann said the stay
at Mineola, N. Y, would be brief. The
division will stay under canvas there
only long enough to fully mobilize in
Its new divisional form along the lines
of = French division and to get its sup.
plies and equipment before the trip
across is begun
NO TRAINING At MINEoLA.
There will be no training ut Mineola
only Nlch work ~ can be done Incl
dentally while the men are waiting fos
the transports. The training will be
given on the other side, back OF the
lines In the French villages which by
that time probably will have been
vacated by Pershing's men.
The Iowans and the other units In
the national guard division will not be
sent to the fighting lire until winter.
They will not have time for training
sufficient to fit them for part In the
fall offensive. The first taste Of actual
trench warfare the Iowans will re.
ceive will be we'll into winter and be-
fore being sent to the front they will
be given hard work outdoors to fit
them for the exposure they will later
face when actually sent against the
Germans.
Tracing" TO FRANCE.
A race has been started between
General Mann's rainbow division" and
Major General Clarence Edwards New
England division for the honor of be-
ing the first national guard division to
reach France. The Edwards division,
the Twenty-sixth. is mobilizing at var
ious points in New England. If ship.
ping facilities can be provided for 1t
before transports can be obtained for
Mann's men, the Edwards contingent
may be first to France, though the war
department officials believe the rain.
bow" troops will lead the way to the
other side.
USE MANY sLEEPERs.
Eighty-six sleepers, thirty box cars,
fifteen kitchen cars and one flat car
were required to move the $500 men
and their equipment.
The average number Of men in each
OF the seven sections is slightly more
than 500. The biggest train is the first
section. It's twenty-four cars carry
Colone, Bennett and his staff, the
headquarters, supply and machine gun
companies and their officers. The
other sections have from eighteen to
twenty-one cars and carry two COM
panies each.
Hundreds of people thronged the
platform while the soldiers were clam
bering on the cars. AS they were
switched while railroad men were ar
ranging them in their proper order
box cars In front, kitchen cars between
the companies and the officers sleep
er in the rear-dozens followed up and
down the tracks.