New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-05-27
Nv MARQUIS JAMES

r.
r,ui,arv tongue. without ii a man
= r,,forn isn't soldier. or a collec-
az, o. soldiers an army. The perfec-
49,, 81 the individual in the military
.,a,cs IS not enough. There must be
~, pride in organization. that CO.
,.,;ve and united effort which merges
-. fortune Of the individual with the
,.-.u5es Of his troop. or company or
t.,,e-v and make them one. The unit
-. r;se supreme over the man every
time. That is the test
To re civilian il seemed two or
.,,ee DAYS after the officers training
s.un opened before Lieutenant Colonel
Paul A. Wolf, the cOmmandant' began
% display any remarkable interest IN
\, Eo00 charges. He remained IN MS
a.. a. headquarters. where there was
.ie,tv 20 do. and the organization OF
.ho camp proceeded without a single
18th according 10 prearranged plan
Colonel Wolf and his adjutant. Cap
81, Joseph A. Baer. had worked out
days in advance.
This preliminary work all had TO 90
- the individual candidate-the IS
nance Of his equipment, his assign
u.,t 20 quarters. TO company and to
mad With the selection of the picked
,.oct Of all the East from the thou
s.nds who had volunteered for the
..ur Colonel Wolf was through with
a. individual-for while. Presently
,ha men appeared on the parade ground
3, company formations. Then you
.i,bt catch the colonel snatching
t,u minutes from his administrative
dr,iss 70 stand at the window in his
headquarters. gazing out with critical
,yss on the marching bodies OF mus
tard-clad men.
Some Were Out of Step
The lines were ragged at first, the
cadence was irregular and some OF the
men we're out of step as often as they
,ro-s IN Non-commissioned officers re
heated their superiors' commands II
uncertain tones, generally accenting the
wrong SYLLABLE. This disturbed me
soiorel not at ell. Perfection wouid
come with practice. He was IooAlhi
for something else. .e.. IS
one dav one of the crack outhts VI
the New England regiment was OUT 40
inc company drill. A New YORK com.
many. after a particularly lh1lHeisns
performance, was resting AT Ihe eufS
~ the parade ground. The New ioIS-
ers fell TO studying the Ne" Ehgsa ~
ers and the unpleasant feature 0 VI, wy
eomparison was unescapaole'
two puzzling commands, Squaus ~
right into line ana Squaus Is.
ers for the New York men, were eAS
cuted with never bobble:
IL was more than Manhattan prioe
eorld stand. An acting sergeant stepped
go the ranks, saluted the regular
arr,v captain in charge OF the company
- renorted that q straw oallot Oh
&c nlatoon was in favor OF an extra
haIf hour Of drill. The New 1ofheIs
,ook the field and did themselves pronu,
Colonel Wolf turned away from the
.-;,5ou With a satisfied smile. IL was
,bere.-esprit de corps. His, men were
soijiars in the rough, with the maKihgs
Of officers of the line.
Developed by Gradual Process
TT. davelopment Of this precious
o,aii,y necessarily is a gradual process
H~. 49,, volt on other things. II pre-
srnnoses personal acquaintance
drw tho men of the various UNITS
az ~ acouaintance with thelr com
49, 49,, snrroundings and mode oil ne.
a,d hove they came to Plattsburg ohIy
~ ueeks ago in general ignorance oI
all these things. -. pooi-
The ID Provisional Training kegi-
r,ent of New Workers may serve a. on
evample There are about t"ehty1n
tmr5red of them, from all the ilve oor-
ongh and committing environs. I'm
~, -, on the train man OF wac ac-
nrssivtance may have known dozen
49, IN tho lot. DISSEMINATING at the
rarn, the contingent was split INTO slN,
.een companies of 100 men each anu
te-So6 together into long wooden par
rscks. with about as n.ueh privacy %
40 many goldfsh in tank MeSOv
yor Enew three men in your company
and mavbe YOU knew none; roiis,vo
rnakes no stranger bedfeiIo"s IMAM
Plattsburg. rho change
smites one fairly between !ns ;s,;tb his
every individual is occupied WIN ne
49,. ;1dividual concerns He learns
a. he engagement that civilian lie mas
no. much 10 offer that is or service
~ ,be soldier. He cannot even shave
,r;,bor. a mirror without marking MN
solf He doesn't know that sadie
,,-oaso md not ordinary commercial
sboe nolisb. is the thing for ms army
No. sewing with a thimble may seem
a, ,,rsoldierly occupation, but wneh the
snrrert;ce officer uses his right iorehn-
~ ss nincushion for while ne -
a., 80 change his mind. Later, wheh
a. ,ocrrit takes the field, he VIII pc
,o,,e q ,nere boy scout, learning TO coos
s,d br;id a FIRE without matnes anu
10 spnlv a tourniquet and hrs' "'u
bandage.
Energies from Mental Fog
Things mass along right briskly az
plsttsb1rg and within day or so tne
esns;5ste begins 20 emerge from wei-
a. NJ mental fog and 70 take s'oeh
Of what's been going on about MN my
Will lie knows his bunk mates anu
NJ. scyad mates now, and presently II
hes,ins ~ occur 70 him that the Ne"
York regiment simply has IL an oNel
that crowd from down East. IL Is as
pls,, as ANYTHING that his particular
eomnanv can drill rings around any
other on,Gt in the regiment HIS pls-
toon- too. Is the best in the company
and his squad the best IN the piatooi..
And II is barely possible tha' ne ne
may cherish the secret conVi~Ion .%H
he is about the niftiest SOLDER OF i NE
eight men in his squad. THIS Is MS MS
full nr,vile0e FOR the camp is an sp-