Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-05-10


The United States Marine Corps, consd-
.rod one of the most important branches
,,o Government service, is rapidly as
,,,ng III nroportions far beyond the expecta-
go Of its most sanguine supporters,
rsa,eands of young men from every Sec
.,nn of the country who have hocked to the
sn,ors during the last month nave found III
,ha marine corps just the klnd OF lie
thaf appeals to them most
corseouently recruiting officers OF TINS
,..onch of the service have been literally
.,,an,ned with applications with the result
.ha. accommodations which proved ample
VI IL ~ neace were found wanting and 1t
hocame necessary to provide quarters for
Tho new recruits as soon as possible.
To meet the emergency. Colonel 'harles
r. Long commanding officer of the marine
s.r,s for this section, with the sanction of
syaior General George Barnett, command
ant of the United States Marine Corps. mas
.s,obI,shed a great receiving camp at
League Island
RECEIVING RECRUITS
This camp is veritable sea OF tents,
arranged in regular company streets ana
oouinped with every modern convenience
Lpown to military science. the tents are
bia and roomy, affoPding ample protcctlon
.r,inst the severest weather. Each tent
Aas a wooden floor set about five inches
above the ground.
As quickly as the raw recruits arrive
a, the camp they are lined up and nme-
diatelv given warm blanket each and as
signed to a tent. Afterward they are COM
nelled to pass a final medical examination,
which. incidentally, is more severe than the
preliminary examination given by the re-
rruitinr officers. If accepted they are
sworn in by the executive officer, taking
the oath of allegiance.
Then each marine is provided with a
uniform This uniform is the regulation
campaign outfit. consisting of khaki suit.
underwear, shoes, socks, leggngs flannel
shirts, overcoat and hat. The men are
then assigned to company and their
training begins.
The training. while preliminary in its
ecope, consists of the general rudimentary
principals of drilling, marching, target
practice, overcoming obstacles such as
barbed wire entangemcnts, laying out
trenches mining operations, open and closed
formations, etc. Later on the men are
given instructions aboard ships in the !ard
Because il Is upon these men whom the
country will largely depend for its first
line of military defense, the officers II
charge of the camp are anxious that they
be given a thorough training, first in the
rudiments and then in the more important
work incident to the branch of the serv
ice in which they have aligned themselves.
The men are not driven. Their develop
ment is being accomplished by degrees
The object of the officers is first to harder
them This is done by daily marches
and manual labor calculated to develop ant
strengthen Their physical being. The fac
that the recruits are living in the open ali
greatly aids them in reaching the physica
condition so much desired by their com
.nanders.
THIS Is THE LIFE"
To say that these sea soldiers are he
coming adapted to their new life would no
cover the situation. The appearance of tn,
men indicates oontentmcnt. They are actu
ally getting pleasure out of their work
Every man wears a smile. They go abou