New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-08-12

ever attempted In the United States
They came here TO test the theory that
army officer material can be selected
and trained, II not completely, at least
enough TO give a man flying start
at the game, in ninety days.
Would It work.
"Who can tell % said Major Merch B.
Stewart, of the General Staff, when the
question was put to him in May. Yet
Major Stewart is one Of the tactical
and technical experts Of the army, an
early prepayment Of the Plsttsburg idea
and the senior instructor and part au-
thor of the trimming curriculum fol-
lowed at this end and other officers in
struction camps.
No one could tell. The officers short
course in America, an unmilitary eoun-
try, had never been tried. Military
Europe made its acquaintance In the
first year Of the war, 1t Is true, and the
results were short Of what was ex-
uected and desired. But here II was
X-the unknown quantity.
Even the most earnest and friendly
advocates Of the enterprise, officers like
Major Stewart who were on the sin
side" from the start, confessed the out
como a matter Of speculation. There
were others-army men Of vast expert
sncs and Observation-Disclosures had
doubts, honest, open, well-dehned
doubts, as to what the result would De.
The camp ends Tuesday and the ex-
psriment Is over. Did II workI It
did-and with success tina. its most
optimistic sponsors never eontem-
plated
Plattsburg a Success
"a success? Plattsburg a success y
remarked Lieutenant Colonel Paul A.
Wolf, the camp commandant. why, l
would rather command regiment ON
e.red by these men than regiment OF
regulars
Now, that is considerable assertion
II Is a remarkable assertion IN fact
but when asked if he really meant It,
Colonel Wolf repeated the statement
with emphasis. Wolf is a regular, an
oldtime regular Of the battie-tried
school and a West Pointer STEPPED In
every tradition Of that great academy
During the early days Of the camp
there used to be a saying among the
newspaper correspondents up here VINO
saw the colonel every day that WOLF
believed IN the Divine Right Of West
Point; It could do nothing wrong and
no place else could do anything quite
as good.
That Is an exsggeration, Of course,
but just the same the colonel has lived
studiously up to his announcement Of
the opening day Of the cantonment,
which was that the course here would
be conducted as nearly along West
Point lines as he could model II.
"The fact that the work of the three
months Just concluded has demon
strated that officers training camps IN
the United States have emerged from
the experimental stage" asserted Colo
mel Wolf, sis due largely to the men in
training. They proved the proper KIND
of material TO work with. Most OF
them are college men, not too old TO
learn and old enough to grasp the es::
sential points of the large number OF
subjects which have been covered at a
necessarily rapid pace.
"They came here with open minds
They had nothing TO unlearn. This is
something that facilitated matters g
great deal. Take the old non-com and
nut him in training for commission,
and he is apt to be hampered by the
hidebound practices he learned in the
ranks. Tell him to do a certain thing
a certain way, and because it was done
differently in the 47th or some other
regiment, he is likely to become con-
fused.
"But these men began with clean
slate. They had zeal and spirit for
work that have proved amazing. That
is a great thing. Zeal and will to
work and work hard will carry man
through almost insuperable difficulties.
Of course the men who leave this camp
with commissions have their spurs
vet to win. The test comes in Sep
TENDER OF whenever they take their
commands with the National Army
There they must demonstrate their
ability 10 teach what they have learned
and 70 adapt 70 the new circumstances
the principles Of the service which nave
been inculcated into them here.
"But IL they show the same promise
there that they have here | want 70 say
that the signs ougur we'll Tor our forces
picked by the selective draft. Ot
course, the work will be slower with
the drafted men. The material will not
be the same and the work cannot De
rushed at the killing ten and twelve
hours day pace set here. IL %lii De
a year, should say, before the draltea
men will be ft soldiers. But with sueh
officers as have developed here, they
will be soldiers In time, soldiers sueh
as ! should like 70 command.
Led by Indian Fighter.
Fo, that matter II Is hard TO imagine
a set Of American soldiers who
yopldn't show the best that is in them
under a regimental commander IKE
Cnionel Wolf Men Of his stamp are
tbe kind we like 70 depict as represent
nc nretty close 70 the ideal OF the
A1eIiean officer. An Indian fighter OF
the days when there was no seereS 81
90 u,bst made the wild West wild, a
yoteran OF the Cuban and dozen
pbiiinpine campaigns, he has served
the flag for thirty years. Ineioentally
he y,oTganized the military penal sys-
tsm in the United States wnen IN
charge Of the Leavenwortn PRISON sho
80 N. Palmer trophy for being the
hest rife shot In the army. ,xI
lie is hard worker ana ~ naiu
, -. Tennis il his game. He rs a
pibgNA. =. . ltactnltparian with