The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1917-10-04

MAJ. M. j. PICKERING OF the UnlVer-
sity of Pennsylvania is the official ath-
letic officer for Camp Meade. He is a
man who knows how to put snap IN
every athletic sport.
''The army is run by civilians now,"
was the blunt statement of an officer
the other day to the newspaper men,
but he at once made 1t clear that he
fayors the new ways,of the new era.
The first civilian to get on the job here
was Kenneth Clark, who used to write
music for the Princeton Triangle Club.
All the Princeton men who recall Mr..
Clark S work will not be surprised at
his success in this. Here is a civilian
who has done wonders at this camp in
way that he never could have done in
a uniform. He gets right to the men
thousands of them at a time.
Other civilians are on the way here to
| do things never done before in an army.
They are to help in that most delicate
job of fitting square pegs into square
holes. 1t is said although the name
could not be learned-that man was
passed as fit for service who has two
fingers off one hand. There are aygreat
many jobs in the army where brains
count more than fingers. These civilian
personnel advisers will handle such
cases as that.
The boxing here at camp is of kind
to please the lovers of that sport. Many
men here came from places where there
was an almost unbelievable prejudice
against this sport. For them it is q
great treat that is offered one or two
nights a week on the Y. M. C. A. lots.
"Hill 300'' is the name given to one
of the funny little Jumps of land. Cap
tains seem to enjoy leading their COM
panies up and down there The time
for charging has not come vet, but it is
easy to see that the movements now
are preliminary to something more
strenuous.
The daredevils of the hour are the
chauffeurs. Nearly everybody who has
business of Importance travels from
Admiral to Naval Academy Junction by
jitney and nearly everybody wants to
catch train in hurry. The result is
that the widest kind of chances are
taken. Many machines are smashed
up. One day this week the front end
was torn off Ford by Pennsylvania
express at Odenton. Up on the Part
| land road another car was almost junk
ed. Every effort to get exact details
about one accident brought out reports
of others. The daredevil spirit is in the
air. Wrecks by the roadside do not
serve as a warning. The News man
asked a chauffeur his name and the lat
ter said Lawrence Grim.
Booze gets into the five-mile zone in
spite of military police, guards and
sleuths. Persons caught with loaded
bottles are taken to the guardhouse and
locked up pending investigation. The
| handling of these cases is to be more
severe now that so many soldiers are
at the camp. Bootleggers are taking a
long chance.
C1,nr.I L r,hn InI;ovOc -,
and it is clear to any observer that he
has not spared himself He is the
picture of fitness. If he ever has oc-
casion to send out smash with that
| fist of his it will make dent in some
thing. There is a real dynamo up On
"tower hill," the name given to the
lump upon which headquarters is perch
| ed.
I'VE are all learning something, !"
! said Joseph Amin, New York Sun
man, who was at the border last year,
and is now with the District of Column
bia machine gunners. Everybody has
stopped calling the officers brother. ="
Amin reported for duty clad in a full
uniform. He says it's much more fun
to be in the game than to be writing
| about it. Who can doubt that?
When the draft came along Leon Kid
well was floor manager in Golden
berg's IN Washington. Now he, is
drilling five hours day in Gods open
country, and there is a smile on his face
and clear ring in his voice that no man
ever acquired IN a department store.
Leon has forgotten all about ribbons
and laces, and he is anxious only to
note the latest frills in machine guns.
The end of perfect day comes at
9:45 p. m. Every muscle is tired by
then and when the lights go out the
darkness seems very soothing. The
sounds of insect life fill the silence.
Tired men sleep very soundly with a
few exceptions. One exception was of
a man who sat up in his cot and insisted