Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1917-06-29
FILLING THE ARMY.
REGULAR FORCE SOON TO BE ON
WAR, BASIS BY VOLUNTEER
RECRUITING.
WAR DEPARTMENT is AWAKE
sentimentaIity Has Given Place to
Realization That Country Is in
Most Serious Conflict -Pershinu
Probably Will Have Army Corps.
BY EDWARD 3. CLARK.


officials that the regular army, through
volunteer recruiting, soon will be on
war basis. From 1900 to 1000 re-
cruits are being added daily. An op-
portunity is given to registered men to
enlist in the regular service, thus CIV
Ing them a chance to get to the front
perhaps more quickly than would be
the case if they should wait for the
final grinding out from the draft ma
chine
There has been speeding up recent
" along all lines Of military prepare
ton. The war department is awake.
Not long ago the officials allowed it to
be said that General Pershing would
be sent tcs france and that troops
would follow quickly. The public is
not to be allowed to know how quickly
American soldiers are to march on
Paris and from there to their training
grouhd back to the lines, but there
has been enough printed with the sane
ton OF the department to make it
Known perhaps that the interims be-
tween the departures of the different
t.kntingents will not be so long as was
nc first thought must be the case.
The newly appointed major gener-
ais and brigadier generals of the reg
ular army will find full quotas Of
troops "at hand to command" Perish
Ing soon will be a lieutenant general
and this fact makes it certain that the
first thought Of the American people
that he was to be given at first only
one division, and was to remain ma
jor general, was good deal beside the
mark. It is confidently expected that
In the regular order of military pro-
cedure Pershing before long will have
a corps of American troops under his
command, with each division in charge
Of major general.
No More Sentimentality.
Some of the sentimentality of kind
which fatigued the virile has taken its
departure from the places of high au-
thority. 1t took some Of the men OF
high official position in Washington
a long while to realize that this cOun-
try was at war. Complaint was made
that some sections Of the country did
not realize what was confronting the
United States, but possibly the truth
was that the complainants in the case
had no realizing sense themselves that
there was anything doing out Of the or
binary. Now wakefulness has come to
the truth Of things and sentimentality
has been shown the nearest way out of
the departments.
Not long ago there were sent from
this town stories to the effect that the
first American troops to be sent to
France would be put in the trenches
in Belgium to support the troops Of
that devastated land. The public was
given to understand that this PROPOSE
ton had the sanction Of the high au-
thorities, and that it was to be good
thing for sentiments sake to send our
khaki-clad lads into an unoffending
country whose rights had been violat-
ed by the Germans.
There is no more reason to believe
that the American troops which first
go to France will be sent into Belgium
be sent into Alsace. They will be
sent, authority says, where the mill
tary sense of the high commanders die
tates that they shall be sent. The
word is that sentimentality does not
win war and that the military chief
tains know 1t.
It may be that our troops will go to
Belgium, but if so they will be sent
there because Papa" Joffre, General
Petain, General Bridges and General
Pershing think that for military rea-
sons they should be sent there
Our New Major Generals.
The war department has promoted
20 the rank of major general of
the United States army William
L. Sibert, John F. Morrison and
Charles G. Morton. These three men
will command three divisions of Ameri-
can troops on the fighting line in
France under the higher command Of
John J. Pershing, corps commander,
who unquestionably soon will be made
lieutenant general of the United
States army.
Sibert, Morrison and Morton until
the day Of their promotion We're briga-
der generals of the army. In giving
them the higher rank the president,
acting under the advice of the war
department, advanced them over the.
heads of several other brigadier gen
erals of the service. 1t is to be taken
rs a case of selection"
Maj. Gen William L. Sibert, en-
gineer and artillery officer, is the build
er of the Gatun dam, locks and spill
way of the Panama canal, and recent
~ was in command Of all the artillery
on the Pacific coast. This war Is large
~ an engineering war, the artillery ne
cessity speaking for itself, and the en-
cheering necessity made evident by
the methods of modern campaigning.
Maj. Gen. John It. Morrison is an
honor graduate Of the infantry and
cavalry schools, was member Of the
general staff for four years and was q