New-York tribune., 1917-06-23
Camps for Army
OF 625,0O0 May Be
Ready by Sept. l
Secretary Baker Says There
Will Be No Delay in Can
tonment Building
State Guard to Help
Fifteen Militia Engineer Units,
Including New York, Called
to the Service
fRr The A..ociated Prcssl

TBy The Associated Pressl
Washington. June 22.-There will be
no serious delay in construction OF the
sixteen cantonments for the national
army. Secretary Baker said to-day, and
all of the establishments probably VIII
be ready about September /, the tenta-
tive date considered for summonlng to
the colors the first $4,000 men. The
process of selecting the men, the Secre-
tary indicated, probably will be set in
motion early in July.
Regulations for the exemption and
selection processes have been prepared
and will be made public next week.
Pres dent Wilson is understood to have
approved the general scheme worked
out by the War Department TO secure
fair and unsefsh application of the law
through local officials Minor modfica-
tions are being made, but plans will be
complete in d few days.
Machinery for the great task of con-
structing the sixteen cantonments also
is virtually complete, and in some cases
actual physical preparations have be-
gun. Most of the contracts have been
let. army officers have been detailed to
oversee construction, and under an or
der published to-day the engineer units
Of the National Guard of fifteen states
will be mustered into the Federal ser
vice Immediately to aid in technical
features of the work.
Army Officers in Charge
At each cantonment, it was an
nounced to-day, all construction op-
eratons will be under direction of
construction quartermaster. Seven OF
the men designated for these posts are
regular army officers and the other nine
are successful civilian engineers who
have been commissioned as majors in
the Quartermaster's Reserve Corps.
The department attaches particular I'M
portance to the work of the construct
ing Guartermasters because as the re-
spOnsbie representatives Of the gov
ernment they will check up all the
figures of the contractors.
The only question as to cantonment
sites that is not finally settled, Mr.
Baker said, involves a possible re-lo-
cation OF the cantonment now assigned
TO Des Moines. Objection has been
raised TO the Des Moines location on
the ground that railway facilities are
not adequate and that il will be i'm
possible 20 provide proper drainage. F,
These points have been reopened for |
consideration.
Building Of the cantonments, the |
Secretary said, would proceed on the
present general specifications, though
some minor notifications would be
made because OF suggestions by the
Medical Committee OF the Defence
Council. OF which Surgeon General
Gorgas is a member. After the camps
are built and the troops under train
ing, additional funds may be asked OF
Congress 10 carry out further the sug-
gestoas of the doctors.
Shortage of Iron Water Pipe
The main problems now are those Of
material and transportation. new dlf-
fculty has presented itself in the shape
of a shortage Of iron water pipe. An
enormous quantity Of piping will be I
needed for the mains and connections
AT the camps, and the available supply !
will not meet the demand without !
Gripping ordinary activities of the /
country. For this reason consider, /
aole quantity OF wooden piping VIII !
be used.
Bv way of emphasizing what can be /
done in short time when all the re- !
sources of the department are put 10
work, officials said that the canton |
ments for the regular army. MADE ne
cessary b. the expansion FOR war pur- I
poses. have been rushed almost to COM
plotion. The work did not involve, OF
course, anything like the amount OF
material or labor needed for the SIX
teen big cantonments, but II was IN
itself big undertaking and was put
through on record time.
The nine engineers, given Reserve
Corng majors commissions and made
constructing quartermasters are
O'Kellv williams Myers. of New YORK,
assigned 20 the Yaphank Cantonment;
Ralph F. Proctor, of the Baltimore
Bonding Company, Annapolis Junction
Cartonment; william Couper. OF the
pernsvlvania Railroad, Columbia Can
tonmcnt; James y. Pease, of Colum-
bus Ga. Atlanta Cantonment; Frank
+. Lampherc. of the Baltimore ONO
Railroad. Louisville Cantonment; Earle
r Norden. of st. Paul, Battle Greek
Cantonment: ronald II. Sawyer, OF
Snokane. Rock Ford Cantonment; John
r Fordyce. of Little Rock. Little Rock
Cantonment. and Millard A. Butler, OF
St Paul. Des Moines Cantonment
New York Engineers Called
The regular army officers named ms
constructing Quartermasters are Cap
tain Edward Csnfield, jr.. Aver; Major
Harry c. Williams. Wrightstown; Cap
tain Frank B. Edwards, Petersburg;
Captain Ward Dabney, Chillicothe; ?
Captain Frank j. Norman, Fort Riley;
CAPTAIN George +. Thorne. Fort Sam
Houston. and Captain David l.. stone
American Lake. 4
To-days order calling National
Guard engineers into the Federal ser
vice applies TO engineer troops IN tne
guard establishments Of Massachusetts,
New York. Pennsylvania. South Caro-
lima. Georgia. Ohio. Indiana, Michigan,
Illinois. Mississippi. Iowa. Kansas.
Texas. California and New Jersey. y
!. expected the troops will be returned
to their own National Guard divisions
for military training after they have
completed their work on the canton
ments.
The only National Guard engineers
now in the Federal service are two
companies from North Carolina and
four from Ohio. which were retained
when demoblization of the National
Guard on it's return from Mexican
border duty was ordered.