Semi-weekly herald., 1917-09-06
FIRST OF AMERICAS
NEW ARMY ON THE WAY
(By George MARTINI

Americas first 34,350 drafted men
today bade home goodby and marched
away to war.
They went amid the cheers and
tears of millions. Some with the
light of adventure in their eyes, and
others not SO happily.
From every walk of life and from
every nook and Granny in the nation
they came trooping in early today,
each with his meagre bundle and his
vision of France and the fighting
front.
In cities, towns, hamlets and vii
lagos gayly bedecked in honor of their
going they lined up, the first Of
Americas conscript legions, at salute
before the local boards which chose
them.
Their procession formed but the
vanguard of larger which followed
in their wake. Wives, mothers and
sweethearts, brothers, fathers and
friends trudged along at their sides
and stood at distance while they
reported themselves ready to do their
bit
Tomorrow these boys who yester-
day were prosperous young business
men, clerks, laborers, artists, roust-
abouts, stenographers, students, So
cial butterflies or pool room hangers
on, will all be leveled to the drab
plane of khaki, indistinguishable units
under the orders of the war masters,
learning the business of battle at the
country's 16 cantonment camps.
| Assembled from homes and hotels
and rooming houses where many of
them spent the night, the groups were
each put in charge of drafted man
selected from among their number.
Headed by the members of each To-
cal exemption board, all day long,
thru the land, parades of drafted men
followed by parades of their relatives
and friends, wended theiI way thru
home town streets to long trains wait
ing at the railroad stations to whisk
them away to camp.
They go on their own recognizance.
Each man is on his honor to report
to his cantonment camp commander.
The only guardian of their loyalty as
citizens and members of the military
organization Of the nation il one Of
their own number.
Comedy and tragedy commingled
in the scenes of parting everywhere.
Mothers wept. Brusque old fathers
bluffed it thru. Sweethearts threw
kisses or cried as the mood seized
them. Boys without parents or homes
went quietly with no one to mark
their going. Others left families,
and prosperous businesses they had
worked hard to get and knew they
would have to build over again when
they return, if they ever do.
Some conception of the magnitude
Of the railroads task in moving the
men may be gained from the fact
that it requires 6,229 cars made up
into 1866 trains with engines and
crews for each train, to move field
army of $4,000 men.
But the railroads have assured the
government the men will be at camp
on the dot and the boys climbed into
the trains all over the country all day
long and rolled away.
- - - -
| According to Mr.. George w. Martin
secretary of the Denver committte
commission on Car Service, who has
just returned from meeting of rep
resentatives of the Railroads War
board held in Chicago on August 90
and 80 by reason of the fact that the
cotton crop will begin to move this
fal at a time when combination OF
government and commercial business
will be bringing tremendous pressure
TO bear upon the railroads, the com.
mission on Car Service of the rail
roads War board has issued instruc.
ticns prohibiting the shipping of cot
ton in quantities less than 65 bales
per car and requiring as many more
to be loaded as the size of the car
will permit. Notice to this effect he's
just been sent to buyers that they
place orders for their requirements
on basis of not less than 65 bales
or multiples thereof. In the south
west and Mississippi delta district.
the average car will load IS bales
and in the southeast district the av-
erage car will load rs bales, conse
quently buyers are asked to order in
multiples of 65 from the southwes.
and multiples Of rs from the south.
east districts.
- - - -
/ R. G. Gallavan Of Pueblo arrived
1 la 81 s~l, - Al. - A.