The herald., 1917-11-15
I'm organisation IS
heing trained in the
SCieUce Of aMbNSh
at american Uni
Ueryity :: Iris their
business tohidegunS
andmafe,7a/0fzy ar
from our enemies

NaShingtOn.-Of the novel units
which are being organized for the first
'line 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 ii is composed of the leading
| artists, SculptorS and architects in the
| country, but more from the UNIQUE TASK
! which the "CamouficurS" have set
themselves. CanOuflage is not new
military term developed by the war.
Tn the contrary, IL IS an old slang
word of the French stage. intended to
De descriptive of the makeup OF the
actors. In its military sense, In which
II Is now popularity known. the term
refers to the art Of 50 cOncealinC or
Disgusting an object that the enemy
cannot recognize II for what il IS. A
peaceful rock Is discovered when too
Rate 10 be II death-dealing gun. A
mound OF earth hcaped above a trench
shows no sign of human OCCUPANCY.
Wien the inCautlous enemy learns TO
his cost that the seeming mound WIS
row OF invisible helmets with rifle
man behind each. \ hedge concpals
regiment, and the onrushing German
finds death lurking behind the cleverly
contrived nest Of shrubbcry whose Sc
crrt even his "irplancs ana his cameras
had failed 10 reveal.
Ii 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 l.. Fry, the sculptor. on an
evening some months ago. to call to-
gether in New York az 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. Cam0Uilage. by the way.
II only another name for ambush. II
was first employed by the American
Indian; perhaps not consciously, but
with such instructive naturalnesS. that
the Indian of history always appears
10 have been merged with the rock and
the forest in which he fought. Opin-
ion is divided us to whether the In
dian realized the effectiveness Of his
own scheme Of costume ColorS. How
ever that may be. ambush ALWAYS has 4
been more than half the art of the ,
fighting Indian. and the modern ca I
was his natural resort. When .
the white man came with the shotgun
the Indian ut first had the advantage. /
for he so blended with the lnndScap,
that the superior marksman could not
him, and the bow and ar.
row won many bloody triumphs over
the gun. In the day Of the short-rnnre
with which our early armies
were equipped the necessity Of con-
cealment was as great rs in the DAYS
Of the pioneer. and the woodsmen who
fought In the Continental army and
who picked off the British In 1912 Ind
earned better than expose themselves
10 the enemy in red coats. Then came
The long-range rifle, and the art of
'oncealment and disguise became less
'erviceable. With the invention OF the
iirplane, however, the need OF inge-
Nous devices for hiding troops and
equipment from the enemy again be-
'ame vital, and the French developed
{ until II ranks with the best OF their
military achievements.
II was knowledge Of this need md
Il the new problems injected into the
cience Of war by the airplane that
rev these artists together In New
iork. Nineteen responded TO the first