Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1917-11-02
I'm 0rganZati0n IS
bexng nuined TN the
science Of 'ambush
afAme,1can Uni
Ueraty :: lis their
bnslneSS tOhidegunS
undmater7a/0f gar
from our enemies


Washington.-Of the novel units
which are being organized for the first
time in the military history of the
United States, probably the company
of .'camOufleurs" now in training at
Camp American University will create
the greatest popular interest; partly
because it is composed of the leading
artists, sculptors and architects in the
cOuAtry, but more from the unique task
which the "camoufleurs" have set
themselves. Camoufiage is not a new
military term developed by the war.
On the contrary, 1t is AN old slang
word of the French stage, intended to
J be descriptive of the makeup of the
actors. In it's military sense, in which
it is now popularity known, the term
refers to the art Of so concealing or
Disgusting an object that the enemy
cannot recognize it for what it is. A
peaceful. rock is discovered when too
late to be a death-dealing gun. A
mound of earth heaped above trench
shows. no sign of human occupancy,
when the incautious enemy learns to
IHs cost that the seeming mound was
u row of invisible helmets with "a rifle
man behind, each. A hedge cOnceals
q regiment, and the onrushing German
finds death lurking behind the cleverly
contrived nest of shrubbery whose Sc
cret even his airplanes and his cameras
had failed to reveal.
It is not surprising that the fasci-
nation of outwitting the enemy by
means of brush, color and ingenious
design should appeal to the artistic
sense of our painters, sculptors and
engineers. 1t was this appeal which
caused Barry Faulkner, the artist, and
Sherry Z. Fry, the sculptor, on an
evening some months ago, to call to-
gether in New York as many of their
artist friends as they could assemble
with the idea of organizing and offer
ing to the government the services
of the artists of America to aid the
American troops in France to ambush
the Germans. Camohflage, by the way,
is only another name for ambush. 1t
was first employed by the American
Indian; perhaps not consciously, but
with such instructive naturalness, that
the Indian of history always appears
to have been merged with the rock and
the forest in which he fought. Opin-
ion is divided as to whether the In
dian realized the effectiveness of. his
own scheme of costume. colors. How
l. 1c<I, .nlxx 1,a
been more than half the art of the
fighting Indian, and the modern ca
moufiage was his natural resort. When
the white man came with the shotgun
the Indian at first had the advantage,
for he so blended with the landscape
that the superior marksman could not
distinguish him, and the bow and ar
row won many bloody triumphs over
the gun. In the day Of the short-range
musket with which our early armies
were equipped the necessity OF con-
cealment was as great as in the days
of the pioneer, and the woodsmen who
fought in the Continental army and
who picked off the British in 1912 had
learned better than expose themselves
to the enemy in red coats. Then came
the long-range rifle. and the art of
concealment and disguise became less
serviceable. With the invention of the
airplane, however, the need of inge-
NOUS devices for hiding troops and
equipment from the enemy again be-
came vital. and the French developed
It until it ranks with the best of their
military achievements.
1t was knowledge of this need and
of the new problems injected into the
science of war by the airplane that
drew these artists together in New
York. Nineteen responded TO the first