The Dickinson press., 1917-12-22
THE new WORD THAT
COMES TO US FROM
WAR--CAMOUFLAGE

Camouflage, one of the late words
introduced into our vocabulary. by
the war, is not a new characteristic,
according to L. A. Simpson, who at
a recent meeting, made a few timely
remarks apropos the word. "Camou.
flage enters largely into our lives"
said Mr.. Simpson, "from birth to
death. The crying infant attracts the
solicitude of the mother who explores
the baby's coverings until the trouble
some pin is found. But here the in
FAINT learns the use of the deceptive
quality. It becomes possessed of the
knowledge that a good cry will call
attention to the subject. And it
bawls, pin or no pin. Here is bred
the effectiveness Of the quality"
Many articles of the toilet r but
camouf1age. The surprised look, the
artful glance, the note Of explanation
are all symbolic of camouhage. The
decoy duck and the attorney before a
jury use this practice to effect. The
poker player has utilized the term
with every deal and the utter air Of
indifference Of the young man as he
pulls the engagement ring from his
pocket is but another form of camou-
1age.
IF there is n word more battling
than another in the war lingo that
Americans have now a quickened in
terest in mastering that word is
"camoufage." Probably the answers
to the question, "What does camou-
hage mean?" would be as varied as
the answerers. But the word-pro-
nounced "kom-oo-fah-zhe"-convey
volumes to the military man.
Camouffage means primarily MAX
ing something look like nothing. It
means generally the art of fooling the
enemy's eyes.
The moving pictures of the British
tanks in action, shown recently in
this country, well exemplified the pri-
mary meaning of camoufage. The
crawling landships were covered with
streaks and patches of vari-colored
paint, reproducing light and shadow,
to disguise them from the German
airmen or artillery observers. News
paper readers seeing pictures Of heavy
guns covered by branches behold an
example of camouf1age.
Another trick camoufage is familiar
to readers of American history by the
name of Quaker guns. On all the
fronts Of the world val all the armies
erect dummy guns made of tree
trunks, as our fathers and grand
fathers did in 1861, to- draw the
enemy's fire. But now the camoufage
experts have added the modern frill
of Stimulating a flash and cloud of
smoke for the dummy guns by touch
ing off a charge of loose powder.
The digging Of false trenches that
the hostile airmen may spot them
and signal his battery to waste time
and shells on an empty ditch is camou-
flage.
When snipers crawl into No Mans
Land with grass in their caps, and
when raiding parties go out at night
with faces and hands blackened to
make them as nearly invisible as may
be, their officers cali it camoufage.
The American khaki, the color of
earth and dust, is an example Of the
field gray and the French horizon
the least known use of camoufage is
in daylight.
This is done by expelling great
clouds of smoke or vapor from the
CrencneS' before Cne Infantry 20 OVeI
top. Generally the men wait until
the cloud has settled over the enemy's
trenches, confusing them and prevent
ing their firing accurately at the at
tackers. Sometimes the attacking
troops leave the trenches with the
cloud and advance in it's protection.
The varieties. of camoufage are in
finite. Probably the most ancient ex-
ample is the-wooden horse of Troy.
Any little trick that makes the enemy
see what does not exist, or prevents
his seeing what does exist, anything
that makes him do something he ought
not to do is camoufage.