The Washington herald., 1917-10-04
Urges Letters
TOCAMP meade
sen. Kuhn Says News from
Home Cheers
Soldiers.

! Camp Meade. Admiral, Nd, Oct. a.
Just as the District boys were be-
coming accustomed to the surround
ings and quarters OF 5. block, the
312th Machine Gun Battalion, OF
which they are members received or
ders to move today Bag and bag
gage the boys packed up their be-
longings and marched over to bar
racks c. "A, c. IS and C. Is, which
will be their future home for an in
definite date.
The new quarters are in a grove
surrounded by pine trees and the out
ward indications are that when the
vintry winds begin to blow in and
around the cantonment, the sheltered
quarters Of the Machine Gun men will
be warmer than the S. block barracks
they have vacated.
1T was moving day all over the
camp. The thirty-three training bat
talions were separated into individual
units. each company being assigned
to separate quarters. The moving
means that the men will have more
comfortable houses and that the mess
will be greatly improved.
Division headquarters gave out a
list containing the names OF l69 men
who have been rejected up to date
and not one member of the Districts
quota was included in the group Of
reflections. The men in the list had
physical defects that the army doc
FzTN FAl IUr
process of any reconstruction they
propose.
Urges Letters from Home.
The folks back home-parents,
wives, friends and sweethearts-are
urged TO write to the boys in training
at the camp. Mai. Gen. Joseph E.
Kuhn. the cantonment commander. is
anxious that the men keep in close
touch with their people.
THE influence of letters from home
means much to the soldier" said Gen.
Kuhn. 1T will drive away the glooms
and the malady known as homesick-
ness cannot urge too strongly the
need for the friends and parents Of
the boys to write-write long letters
And often"
Daily the training program at the
eantonment Is growing more intensive
and great strides are being made by
the selective soldiers. Although they
have been in camp but a short time,
many Of them less than two weeks.
there is a marked difference In their
work and appearance. Rivalry is
keen between the different regiments
relative to their training. which acts
as a spur to their efforts.
Tomorrow the District boys will be
taken on their second hike and the
seven-mile march OF Tuesday may be
extended to ten miles.
The District boys all speak and un-
derstand English. and for that rea-
son they have not been confronted
sith the difficulties that some OF the
Pennsylvania and Maryland units must
meet Many of the new soldiers can
not understand the orders. and classes
IN English must be organized to ac-
quaint them with the language.
Twenty-one men from Maryland,
members OF the 115th Infantry regi-
nent, made formal protest against
army service today as conscientious
objectors." Nineteen refused to put
on uniforms. Most of them we're
Dunkards They were placed in the
detention camp with twenty-four other
objectors. ali Mennonites, from Penn
sylvania. Two Of the twenty-one said
they were willing to do service in
non-comJatant work and were return
ed to their companies.
Defines status of Objections.
The official status Of conscientious
objectors has not yet been defined by
the War Department, but it is under
stood the attitude of the Adjutant
Generals force j.:
First they will be offered service in
noncombatant force in work neces-
sary to an army in the field. The OBJ
jector will be assured he will not be
exposed to actual combat or compelled
to take part in actual killing. A GER
tain percentage will accept.
Another alternative which may be
offered is that OF military or engineer
ing work in the United States which
will relieve others for duty at the
front This might be post duty, work
in the national forests or the care of
government property.
II the conscientious objeCtor Is so
avcrsc to war he IS unwilling to take
p job which will relieve another man
for the work OF killing. he must take
the penalties meted out to war de-
seTters. 4 desCrteT may be shot. 1t
is not thd plan of President Wilson to
have him shot. but to have him i'm
prisoned during the term of the war.
The government probably will set up
a number OF military prisons for the
special accommodation of the con-
scientious obicctoTs at hard labor un-
I'll the war ends.