Evening star., 1917-10-30
'10MORE D. c. MEN
LEAVE CAMP MEADE
Ralph SaffeII Rejected Few
Minutes Before Starting
for France.
NUTRITION SURVEY NEXT

CAMP MEADE, Md. October 30-No-
body drilled here today, bad weather
keeping the men in barracks. where
they heard lectures on rifle and pistol
practices.
Ten more District men were sent
home today, having been found phys
i ically disqualified for service. They
were Samuel Bassett, John Sullivan,
Dennis Mclaughlin, Fred Dowell. An
tonic Puguiss, Leroy Bradley. Robert
Brady. Murray Rabbit, Ralph Saffell
and John McDermott.
| Safells rejection came a few minutes
/ before he was to have boarded the train
with the other District men transferred
| yesterday for service in France.
/ At the direction Of the food division of
| the surgeon generals office a nutritional
! survey of Camp Meade Is to be made by
Lieut.. Col. Huntington. division surgeon.
1 The survey is to include an investigation
Of kitchens and mess halls, instruction of
mess sergeants and cooks in the inspection
| and selection of foods from a nutritional
| standpoint, and instruction Of cooks in
| economic management Of kitchens and
| making up of menus.
| More than tinge of solemnity hovered
| about the barracks of the 3l2th Ma
chine Gunners yesterday after the fif-
teen District selects departed on the
first stage of the journey that is to
eXpeditionary force in France.
Every man of the fifteen was well
liked in the battalion. and every man
was picked because he was specially
will fall to the lot of those who are
to be the forerunners of the District
| men with Pershing's forces.
One of the battalion's officers, com
menting on the frequent calls made on
the battalion for men for special duty,
said yesterday that, while, such calls
are complimentary, in that they are
recognition of the high class of men
composing the three District COM
panies, they have the effect of hinder
ing the development of the battalion
that would be possible were the men
permitted to remain.
Men Not Easy to Spare.
1.-THE numerous calls on us for first
class men," he said, make the 312th
something of depot battalion in ef-
feet as these calls take from US men
Not man of the fifteen who were
chosen to go. however, offered the
slightest objection. Notwithstanding the
fact that the brief notice left prac-
tically no time for the men to COM
municate with the folks at home. That
is the spirit that is strikingly preva-
lent among the men from the District: ::
they obey orders without any attempt
to argue or evade duty, and that is
the first requisite of good soldier
The men, with the remainder of the
200 leaving Camp Meade yesterday and
today. are assigned to the Quarter
master Corps at an Atlantic port. From
there they are to proceed to France,
where they will join the American
Practically all of the District men
are to be assigned to clerical work
and as typists and stenographers.
days practicing hurting grenades and
bombs and going over the top" al
though as yet there isn't any actual
top to go over. The men. however.
are becoming proficient in the SO
formation used in making raids or
attacks on enemy trenches. In this
formation the men spread out on leav-
ing their own trenches, until the mass
becomes. apparently. disorganized
diers.
Each unit in the attacking mass,
however. has its specially assigned
duty. The men acting as regular in
fantry take care of enemies who show
their heads above the trenches, snip
ing every German helmet that ap-
pears.
The bomb throwers. using a peculiar
side arm movement, half toss, with
a suggestion of the motion used in
bowling, and kind OF twist, hurl the
bombs high into the air. SO that they
will fall into the trench that is aimed
at. When the trench Is supposed to
be cleared out, the wire cutters go
forward. and clear away whatever
may be left of the barbed wire en-
tanglements; then the "hoppers' go in
and account for any Germans who may
be left.
This is where the bayonets and the
wicked Hooking trench knives come in.
Then the captured trench is faced
around and reorganized. while. if the
! order is to go aheaH, the men pro-
ceed to the next objective.
French officers Watch Work.
French officers watch all of this
work. advising the American officers
into the work and showing the men
just how it should be done.
Maj. Gen. Kuhn and his entire staff
yesterday made a tour of inspection Of
the quarters assigned to the negro Sc
lects. The commanding officer of the
18th Division went into squadrooms,
mess halls. kitchens, property rooms.
etc. At the conclusion of the inspection
Gen. Kuhn expressed complete salts
faction with the condition Of the quar-
selected men on their appearance and
the excellent spirit they are displaying.
The general and his staff then COM
pleted an inspection tour of the entire
camp. though the remainder of the in
spection was not as thorough as that of
the buildings in blocks A, 3 and D..
where the men are quartered.
The poor condition of the roads leading
into the reservation, and almost equally
bad shape of some of the roads in the
camp, resulted yesterday in all but two
or three of the camp jitneys giving it
up as a bad job and leaving for home.
The road from Naval Academy juno
road can be, though a force of road
builders is at work trying to get the
road into shape for the heavy and con-
tinuous traffic that passes over it.
Army Trucks Stick in Clay.
During the day a dozen or more of the
big army trucks stuck in the clay or
went down to the hubs in the soft sand,
while smaller cars were almost help
! less One of the little cars, stuck be-
yond the possibility of getting out un-
der its own power, hailed an Army
truck and asked to be pulled out. The
truck crew hitched a heavy cable to the
| rear axle of the little car. started, and
pulled the whole Eear end off the ma
chine 1t was trying to help.
Conflict threatens to arise between
the military authorities Of Camp Meade
and the Maryland public service COM
mission, because the concession to on
crate automobiles in the camp and on
roads leading to it has been awarded
to one man, who controls the trafic.
The commission thinks the camp an
thorittes exceeded their rights in 90
tablisning a schedule Of fares to he
charged for traffic over roads ontside
of the camp. and also believes that