Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-12-22
Must Start With Kindergarten.

Our officers must start with the kin
dergarten, This must not be considered
a criticism of their quality or their
training. Most of them were in civil
life six months ago, and have been
hastily packed full of facts they have
not yet assimilated. Others are West
to them as to the man just from a
freshwater college. The European war
game is a new game to them, played in
strange ways. The man who can make
a Moro come in and turn Methodist may
not be able to convert a boche.
The man who is six months away
from the front must learn it all over
again. the French officers say. He is
completely behind the times"
The basis of the whole thing. as it
seems to me, is perfect organization.
The whole fabric of successful war
stands on that There the American
should have a bit of pull over some of
his European competitors and antago-
business" men we have. They are used
to taking hold of an enterprise and
making 1t scramble with all four feet
at once. officers of a regular army-of
any regular arnay-are not necessarily
good organizers. They are apt to be
afraid of red tape. They are used to
Teadymade organizations and they
like to follow the red roads on the
Organization Is Best.
If there is a better organization in
the field of war than that of the Brit
fish ! have yet to see it-and I was
with the German army when the Ger
Everything on the British front moves
like cleckwork. Hot food gets to the
man in the front trench at the hour
appointed. The guns are served with
shell. no matter how the boche may
rage One is checked in and checked
out of the forward area" and of the
area behind as though one were a bale
of goods
In the matter of food it may be we
shall have nothing to learn from the
Briton. although his is notoriously the
best fed army in the field Compari-
sons are impossible at present, because
we have been obliged to buy what food
we need to supplement- what we are
bringing over. and that has resulted in
occasional unevennesses. Americans
are excellently fed, however. There is
run against a national prejudice. This
is the rum line.
your men cannot do without rum
during the winter" is the belief of
every officer have talked with
The exposure will be too much for
them"
Is Rigidly Restricted.
American officers of experience feel
$ the same way, but rum to the Amer
lean ear brings picture to the Amer
lean eye of buck private heaving and
tossing under the combined weight of
I the village constabulary. That does not
happen in the British lines The sale
Of hard liquor to soldiers in the ac-
tive area is rigidly restricted-the I'M
wary seller is restricted out of business
but during the cold weather Mr..
Atkins lines up at frosty eve and gets
his tot OF rum. tot" by the way: is
q tablespoonful If the weather is yery
bad ne gets two tots That does not
lead him to break into rousing glees,
In the summer he drinks tea
There is also the matter OF clothes
sand personal equipment. told some
somcers on the British front TODAY
that our men are each provided with
3 Q collapsible steel cot. 1t was ma
licious OF me. | admit. 1 wanted to
snock them But I suspect the story
backfired. for I fear they did not be-
-lieye me. They thought / was
spoohng" It became so serious ulti-
mately, that / had to affirm that /
did not think the cots would last. As
soon as we began to. go to the front
no doubt theScots would be jettfsoned
we know. of course" / said. that
equipment on that scale would stick
our transport in the mud. We couldn't
get to Berlin even IL the boche were
not in the way. Our men will even
tually do what all other soldiers do, and
carry all their worldly goods upon
their backs"
Carries Thirty-Five Pounds.
Then I asked how much weight a
british officer is permitted to carry.
We have been fed, you know, with
fancy pictures of the Briton CARRYING
p tin bathtub and a cross barred dress
ang gown into the front trench
There is a sort of theory among us
that at one time the movement for
ward OF the guns was impeded by the
transport of sponge bags and reclin-
ing chairs. 1t appears that an officer
Is permitted to carry thirty-five
pounds. but he rarely does more than
Dnce.
How much weight are your officers
permitted?" they asked. This sort OF
thing has an intense interest for the
oman who has liked through the Elan
-ders mud and has now and then carried
8 u jrihe for some private who was tired
out, because an officer has no rife OF
his own. Oh. they do it. I've seer
them. But I refused to answer tina,
question I have been told that ar
American officer is permitted 800
pounds of baggage and sergean,
efghty-five pounds. but / will not be-
1ieye 1t until get the evidence. re.
fuse to believe il.
4.-4 TAVH cry OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES