The Pleasantville press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1912-1929, 1917-12-29

The training of young American Of
ficers In a special camp has a grimmer
seriousness and intent than l can mag
inc anything of the sort could assume
at Plattsburg, Fort Sheridan oil any
similar camp in America. There is,
first, the psychological reason that
these embryo leaders of the Sammies
in the ranks are receiving instruction
upon the soil of France, n that he
environment surrounding them smells
more of real war than would be pos
sible 5000 miles away across blue wa
ter, says a correspondent writing from
the American field headquarters in
France.
There is also something of that in
spiration and quality coming from con-
tact with the French people !; those in
horizon blue about them those In civil
ian clothes who are doing their bit be-
hind the lines. For France stands out
among all nations that are taking part
in this wal as an example in devotion,
courage and fortitude beyond compare.
In this school several hundred en-
bryo officers are doing everything and
learning everything that the enlisted
man has to perform, and bringing it to
a degree of perfection ere he can be
truly listed as a soldier of modern war
fare.
There is nothing of the ~kid-glove,
freside, easy-chair side of their work,
and when taps sound at night, their un-
trained muscles ache, and the cot Is a
welcome thing. There is nothing either
of textbook courses or of dignified
drills. It's practical hustle from MORN
ing to night.
Dig Trenches and Throw Grenades.
They are digging trenches, learning
the use of machine guns and Y. B.
rifles, throwing live %grenades, d%ischarg-
ing service shells, going through attack
formation and jabbing imaginary
Boches in the eye. the throat, the heart
and the stomach taking gas tests, GO
ing through every phase of hard work
that involves trench warfare.
There is an old regular army adage
that any sort of a man physically fit
can be rounded into a soldier, but that
the officers are especial creatures, en-
dowed from the gods. This, as many
an ancient belief that existed in the
days of civiltzed-in-the-open warfare,
has gone by the board.
In its place has risen the certainty
of knowledge that the real differer~e
between the soldier in the ranks and
the officer commanding him is truly
al 4I,A ~ 80 &c rood a.. +ba a4lor
in the stuff that makes the fighter.
What is more genuinely important, in
order to properly command men and
inspire them with confidence, what is
needed is not theory or book larnin'"
or a better quality of cloth in a blouse,
but actual experience and knowledge
of the work itself.
Better Than West Point.
This is General Pershing's opinion,
as well as that of Gen. Robert Billiard,
a veteran infantry officer, in charge of
the caf.p, who declares In tones of
genuine enthusiasm that the commits
stoned men when leaving this school
to undertake commands will be better
soldiers than they even know them
StlfeS, anu lIdl llfy Will SO up dSdllSl
the Boches with the knowledge and con-
idence impossible We're they merely
graduates of West Point.
The school is purely for infantry of
ficers, who, in the main, will become
second and first lieutenants when they
graduate" if the term may be used.
1t is an established French institu-
tiop aonnhinipU pnroanap+ ho ole
and, to a certain degree, modern COM
forts for the men when off duty. AS it
is the intention to greatly enlarge 1t, a
number of new buildings are in course
of erection. The location is in a beau
tiful section of rural France.
Go Through All War Tactics.
A battalion of French soldiers may
be seen going through all the stunts Of
modern warfare, while embryo officers
from over the sea look on. The Poilus
captured mock German trenches with
an eclat indescribable, demonstrating
rocket signaling, bayonet charges,
grenade and liquid fire, and every
branch of field work.
Immediately afterward the youthful
Americans were put through the same
maneuvers, entering into the work with
a genuine will. 1t seemed odd to see
these young officers-to-be, working and
active exactly like so many Sammies
in training, as witnessed in other
camps. They will know the game when
they 'get on the real job" And to
know the game from the ground up is
the way properly to trim the barbarian.
One thing stands out. That is the
use of the rifle, The rifle is the Amerf
can weapon, and, according to General
Billiard, who is here in 100 per cent
harmony of opinion with Generals
Pershing and Sibert, every man in rank
or file in the new American army must
be a marksman, in addition to being
able to handle the grenade.
British and French Instructors.
Instructors are both British and
Eronob Erapo tho foruaor q OQnQrol