Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-12-30

seniority, TeStEaihoo
war promo+;. by periodical exam
nations and tests
in the Army. Of fitness for serv-
| ice. There.~fSH division of opinion
among military experts OF the War De-
partment as to whether or not this Is
the best rule for the peace-tine estab-
lishment. This. however, it is pointed
out by experts Of the War Department.
is obviously not adapted to great mill
tary establishment in time of war.
If a vacancy in the rank of captain
were to occur in France 1t would plain
" not be possible to Ali 1t by bringing
in the senior lieutenant Of the Army.
who at the time might be in the Philip
pine Islands. Practical limitations make
such a course impossible. But other
considerations are equally powerful A
division forms a composite unit. 1t mas
a spirit of it's own which is understood
by its members: its relations run to 9
common commander: the unit is small
enough to afford accurate opportunities
for estimating relative merit. The de :
partment has, therefore. established {.
system of divisional promotion. Such &
system does not however. fntegrate
perfectly with the preparation OF ofh-
GERS in training camps for which the
A third series of training camps has
been announced to begin in January, to
be held at the divisional camps OF the
Army and to be attended by men for
the most part selected from the ranks
of the enlisted men in the division. BY
this process the training camps will
start with men who have had the ele-
ments Of military discipline in the
ranks: The candidates will. moreover.
have been chosen by the practical tests
of actually observed experience rather
than on the basis of theoretical quail
fications, and the whole Army will be
stimulated by the opportunity thus af
forded the man in the ranks to qualify
for commissions by fidelity Intelligence
and zeal In their ordinary occupation
as soldiers. Succeeding ofiicers' camps
Will in all Likelihood follow in the main
the plan laid down for the third series,
with such notifications as may seem
wise from time to time to bring into
training some part Of the large body of
men yet remaining in the country who
have had military training. but who for
cefved in the first two series of camps.
The declaration of war resulted in the
greatest demand on the government
printing Office in its
Official PRINTING history, convincing
:. proof, say its Of
ing and binding are vital essentials in
the organization and prosecution Of
any and all government activities
During the past year the amount Of
printing and binding produced far ex-
ceeded that Of any previous year since
the establishment of Uncle Sans
printery. A large portion Of this. nat
urally, was due to preparedness and
war activities OF the various depart
ments and bureaus of the government.
This situation demanded urgent and
rush delivery on vast number of or
ders, covering every conceivable class
Of printing. These orders varied in
quantity from 1000 to 25.000,000 copies
each, and in order to properly handle
this rush work, In addition to the cur
rent work for departments and Con-
gress, the working forces were in
creased and many of the divisions
were put on practically twerrty-four-
hour runs. divided into several shifts
Among few of the emergency rush
orders received were: Registration
cards. 25,000.o0o: certificates CT regis
tration. $4,000. 900; liberty bond posters,
posters. in several colors. 100000 and
many others.
In connection with the increased
work which is being done by the print
that new building is needed to prop
erly take care of the work. When the
printing office took possession of the
present building in 1904 the volume Of
work produced each year had increased
about rs per cent, as compared with
1880, and il evidently was this per-
centage Of increase which was used In
estimating for the new building. Even
before moving into the new building it
was the Judgment of officials connected
with the work OF the Office that sur
the proper handling OF the work. which
at that time had outgrown all previous
estimates; it then became necessary to
at once use large portion of the old
building. just vacated. although 1t was
recognized as an unsafe proposition.
That was the condition in 1904. Since
that time the need for additional room
has increased to an enormous degree
by reasons of various unforeseen activi-
ties taken over by the public printer.
The work produced by the printing
office in 1916, as compared with 1910,
showed an increase of 81 per cent in
and 100 per cent in machine folding;
large percentages Of increase were also
present in other work. During this year
the increase has been even greater, and
so it can easily be seen that more room
Is in demand.
The enrichment Of ore deposits is a
and during the past
Enrichment of fifteen years the
methods OF such en-