The Washington herald., 1917-11-03
Plan TO BUILD
CAMP THEATER
FOR SOLDIERS
Regular Dramatic Produc.
tions Likely to Be Staged
at Admiral, Md.
By ANDREW r.. KELLEY.

be started upon q camp theater,
which will when completed be ade-
quate to stage regular dramatic pro-
duotions. musical comedies. vaude-
Vile and moving pictures.
The evenings are long down here
for many of the men, for despite
the fact that several organizations
are engaged in the task Of furnish
ing entertainment and activities that
will occupy the spG": moments, the
variety of amusement is not extern
sive, and the few hours preceding
taps find dull moments for some of
the soldiers not accustomed to read
ing or. writing letters.
The new structure will be one Of
the largest in the cantonment, with
seats for more than 900 men and
the entertainers will be direct from
Broadway, and furnished by a COM
mittee OF which A. L. Erlanger. of the
theatrical firm of KIaw and Erlanger,
Is head, and in which George NJ.
Cohan is a commanding figure.
The performers are willing to give
their services to this patriotic work
at less than their normal salaries,
and It is hoped to limit the expenses
so that the soldiers will be able to
see first class performances at .
cents top price Details Of the plan
are fast approaching completion and
all revenues derived over and above
expenses will go to the post eX-
| changes.
To Play Football.
All eyes in the camp interested
in sport will center on Philadelphia
today when the officers team from
Meade hooks UP on the gridiron with
the crack League Island Navy Yard
team of Marines with Eddie Mahan'
the former star half back from Har-
ward. in the lineup. The Meade
team will be captained by Lieut.. Gus
Welch. of Carlisle fame. and leaves
for Philadelphia tomorrow accom-
panied by a big bunch of rooters.
Hopes of winning the championship
Of the sixteen cantonments repose in
their success in the Sleepy City.
good. 1t is the wonders" who do
things in the world. who are always
undertaking.
under the new insurance law recently
enacted by Congress has begun. a
number of the life and casualty COM
panies greatly increased the premi-
ums on this security for enlisted men,
and the new law provides generous
enouSh rates to Offset these increases.
1t will not go into full effect until
February l, but its terms are such
bnf falEn aThpt M
them without serious damage to his
pocketbook. In the meantime every
man Is automatically insured against
death for $500.
By the rates provided, a soldier or
| sailor at 10 years Of age would pay
63 cents a month for $1,000 insurance,
or $3.50 a month for $1,000 insurance.
A soldier 60 years of age will pay
1885 a month for s1,COO. or $3.50 per
month for $4,000 insurance. Inter
mediate ages are in proportion. This
applies also to women in branches of
the military or naval service.
Distributing Guns.
Distribution of the Enfield rifles. and
the Lewis machine guns continues
and with it the circulation of rumors
that units will soon move from Camp
Meade to embark for lover there"
These unofficial guesses invariably In
corporate the 312th Machine Gun Ba-
tallion which includes the men from
Washington as among those scheduled
for early departure. Not one word
officially is forthcoming from divis-
ional headquarters on the subject, and
some of the best informed officers eX-
press a belief it will be at least six
month before any extended movement
is made.
There are now enough rifles in the
camp to arm 800 men in each In
fantry regiment, while the IL machine
guns will suffice to equip every ba-
tallion which has been organized at
this camp.
The drill work among the Districts
quota has now reached the point
where they can go through much
OF the routine by signals. and whistles
are preplacing the human voice in
issuing commands for much of the in
tensive training. In the practice of
going over the top" every command
is given by a whistle. To the un-
trained eye each blast produces some
thing that resembles chaos, but to
the practiced eye of the soldier these
evolutions mean everything. Squads
form and platoons come out of the
intricte mass with precision and regu-
uarity and every detail is carried out
exactly as the regulations demands.
The colored man have not been as
well taken care of by their friends
as the white soldiers and only a few
have monographs and other musical
instruments for the company barracks.
The Washingtonians ask to be remem-
bered in this respect by their relatives
and we'll wishes