Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1917-09-10
.CRONKH|TE TAKES
COMMAND At CAMP
Relieves General Hall and AS
sumes Full Charge of Ma
tional Army Men.
FIRST SUNDAY UMEVENTFUL
Men Given General Holiday, and
Seek Recreation While Be-
coming Acquainted.
FIRST SUNDAY UNEVENTFUL
tFrom a Stan Correspondent.1


tF'rom n STAFF Correspondentl
CAMP LEE. VA. September o.-Gcn-
cral Albert Cronkhite. who will be I'm
permanent command of Camp Lee. ar
rived at the cantonment early to-day.
The general came to the camp almost
direct from Panama, where he has been
on duty. only stopping at Washingt ton
for few hours. He was accompanied
by Captain Terry. his aid. and replaced
Brigadier- General Herman Hall. VIII.
has been i'll temporary command here.
General Cronkhite's chief Of STAFF, Col
onel Waldron, has been at the camp
for some time. and had everything in
readiness for the new commander.
on the same day of General Cronk
hite's arrival. the last Of the per cent
quota of National Army men arrived.
The general expressed himself tonight
as being we'll pleased with the cYn.
dition OF the camp. and was particu-
larly commendatory of the expeditions
manner in which the drafted have been
handled after their arrival at the can
.onment
Il am somewhat of a stranger here
and have first to become acquainted
with the details of the camp admins
tratiop," said General Cronkhfte to-
night. but 1 am certainly pleased a,
the manner in which the men have been
received at the camp. and assigned &.
their quarters with expedition and to
the entire satisfaction of the officers
and men. find that the plan. as de-
veloped by Colonel Waldron, fc, tho.
handling Of the men has worked
smoothly. and it could hardly have
been done better"
LAST MEN OF FIRST QUoTA
REACH VIRGINIA CANTONMEN1
The last OF the $500 men. making the
hrst quota. arrived at the cantonment
ABOUT o'clock this evening ana
promptly were assigned 70 their bar
racks They were from West Virginia.
All day men have been arriving from,
west virginia and Pennsylvania 1t
mas been found that 1t required an
average OF twelve minutes TO handle
each lot OF men rs they arrived at .he
camp. In that time they could be iden-
tihed. checked, registered and assigned
TO their quarters. The booths recojv-
Ing the men had large numbers of of
hcers in charge. and. except in rare
cases. was there any serious trouble.
To-day, the first Sunday to be spent
at the camp by the National Army
men. proved quiet. The Y. 81. c. A.
held religious services at it's tent.
erected for use while the association
buildings are being constructed, and
the devotions were attended by large
number of the men, Y. NJ C. a. work.
ers and clergymen from Petersburg
conducted the services.
All Of the men were given general
holiday. there being few duties for
them to perform. Some of them were
put to work assisting in preparing
their meals. while others lounged about.
wrote letters and became generally ac-
quainted with the men with whom they
VIII see service. On account of the
rains. large part of the men remained
in their barracks. but some of them
were out pitching ball. and seeking
other means Of recreation.
AS yet none of the men has received
any equipment. and they present
molly appearance when seen about the
camp Some have army shirts they
have picked up. but the maiority of
them have nothing more than the
clothes they wore on reaching camp
They will. however. receive uniforms
and all other equipment as soon as
the officers have completed prelimin-
aries necessary before the men begin
their military duties. The embryo SOL
diers. however. have been supplied with
mess kits. and are becoming apt in
dishwashing. After each meal ser
geants see to it that every man has
properly cleaned his aluminium kits.
Cleanliness I'm all things Is one of the
first lessons the men are receiving.
Little OR NO SICKNESS
HAS DEVELOPED AS YET
Although there are $500 men In
the camp, the number is completely
lost In the maze of buildings. and il is
hardly realized that they are on the
ground. So large is the cantonment
that IL will require several thousand
more men for one to realize that it is
inhabited. There has been little or on
sickness reported since the men have
been here, and the hospitals have had
little to do.
cases of illness have bee perfected in
detail. Each regiment has it's own
hospital. to which men with slight
troubles are sent. If, however. the
sickness lasts longer than twenty-four
hours. the men are transferred to the
base hospital. which has accommoda-
tions for 1000 men. The hospital is
of a series of buildings. COW
ering ffty-two acres of ground. 1t is
heated. and equipped with every
modern means for combating disease.
Practically all OF the Richmond men
at the camp have been assigned to
duty at headquarters, and special bar
racks have been prepared for them. All
of the Virginia men are in the Three
and Seventeenth and Three
and Eighteenth Regiments of
infantry. the former being In command
Of Colonel Jameson and the latter COL
onel Wells. Lieutenant-Colo James
NJ. Love. Jr.. formerly attached to the
Office OF the Adjutant-G eneral Of Vir-
ginia. is with the Three Hundred and
Eighteenth Regiment