Evening star., 1917-10-01
pep" AND VARIETY
At CAMP MEADE
New Uniforms, Dust Storm and
10000 Visitors, Including
Secretary Baker.
so PIcKPoCKETs CAUGHT
By a star Correspondent.

By staH Correspondent.
CAMP MEADE, Md, October 1.-The
chilly northwest gale that swept the
camp this morning put plenty OF pep"
into the exercises and drills OF the
selects from the District as well as all
the other 10000 newly made soldiers
here. Squad drill was mostly done at
double time, and the calisthenics went
with a snap.
Issuing of uniforms, begun yestef-
day. continued today. and the men were
outf1tted with their new clothes as rap
idly as the boxes could be trucked to
the barracks and opened. Most OF the
men already had hats and big hob
nailed shoes, but blouses and breeches
were not issued until yesterday after
noon. Private Joe" Amin, who had
been wearing his District Of Columbia
cavalry uniform, and who was fire.
auently taken for an officer and saluted
as such. drew one of the uniforms the
first thing.
10000 Sunday Visitors.
More than 10000 visitors came to
camp yesterday. though the crowd. scat
tered all over the huge cantonment,
did not seem extraordinarily large. Ihe
Districts selects had their full snare
of calls from the folks back home.
Mother and dad. Sister Susie and Aunt
Emma and the rest of the family came,
saw AMI went homo convinced that It
is a good thing they don't take women
in the Army.
Cheyenne has nothing on Camp
and yesterday brought the worst the
camp has experienced. This means
that soldiers. visitors and every one
else got pretty well busted up and
gritty.
Among yesterdays visitors were Sec
retary Baker and Assistant Secretary
Ingraham of the War Department and
Gen. Bliss, chief of staff, who called on
Mai. Gen. Kuhn and headquarters OFF,
GERS. The Secretary's party arrived
Just in time to see a detail of nearly
700 Baltimore men marching into camp.
Secretary Baker called group OF To-
cal board men to his automobile and
expressed his delight at the appearance
of the men and the spirit they mani
tested as they swung along singing at
the top of their voices.
IT want to shake your hand" the
Secretary said. ''and l want to say to
you that the whole country is aston
ished and pleased to see that for the
first time in the history of the civilized
world the civilian authorities, with no
soldiers around. have selected from the
mass of men a great army. 1t is some
thing to be proud of"
Singing and Boxing.
Private Jimmy Shows quartet
helped to entertain visitors to barracks
s5 and 40, block s. yesterday afternoon,
singing several close harmony selec-
tions. God Help Kaiser Bilr' was the
best thing they sang. and it got big
hand. During the afternoon several
boxing bouts were staged In the street
between the two barracks. The Dis
trict quota includes several good
amateur boxers. and there are also a
number of first-class exponents of bar
Der shop harmony in the bunch.
Five full hours of drill are scheduled
for today. beginning shortly after reveille.
which sounds at $50 am
Butter and Jam at Supper.
proving a lot. Complaints have been made
among the men over the failure to issue
a butter ration the men having had but
ter only a couple Of times since they came
in. For supper last night. however. they
had butter and JAM too. to go with the
excellent fresh bread. Capt Taylor is as
much interested as any Of the men in
seeing that they all have plenty to eat.
The fact that it Is necessary to feed be-
tween 400 and 500 men in the messroom
Of barracks 35. which is intended only to
cater to about ITS men. makes the Job OF
preparing meals hard one. AS soon as
the messroom and kitchen of barracks 40
is completed this overcrowding will be
done away with.
No more District men are scheduled
to get to camp until Wednesday, by
which time the men already here houe
to have complete uniform equipment
and to feel like veterans as they well
come the newcomers to camp.
Pickpockets; Liquor Smugglers.
Saturday afternoon and evening the
camp was overrun with pickpockets
and hold-up men WORKING ~ tahorer=
who were paid off Saturday. and on
visitors During the evening the mil
itary police and members of the 10th
New York Regiment on guard duty ar
rested fifty and are holding them in the
guardhouse for trial. Arrest of sew
eral visitors yesterday who were caught
trying to smuggle liquor into camp
was reported this morning.