Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1917-10-28

abstractor, nm oil-well contractor. two
clerks, two laborers. q cattleman. q
college student and two lawyers, with
an average age OF twenty-sIx years.
Nine OF these men were married, two
had served in the regular army, ono
In tho navy and one in the militia.
There was not ono who could not road
and write.
In a third batch Of twenty recruits
there were eight married mon, and
yet Of the whole number but three
had sought exemption. a percentage
that seems to be about tho general
average. In this lot were three at.
intended graded school Of 500 pupils.
The first duty that fell to the men
Of the National Army of whom I
write was brief letter to tho folks
at homo, which they dictated to one
OF their number ut the instance OF
their superb and thoughtful young
captain, fresh from training camp.
I saw ono Of these letters. It read:
Dear Mary.-My address is Company
x. XXNth Regiment XXXth Brigade.
xEth Division. N. A.. Camp Travis, San
Antonio. Tex. Address mo as Private,
for I am soldier now Best love for
you and the kids.
BILL"
1 have seen a good many patches of
recruits. AS a rule they have been a
noisy. and often not very clean. lot
either in appearance or morals These
men arc not only quiet. but clean and
decent In every way. Their one Idea
seemed to be to get settled az soon as
possible. and their whole manner was
ono OF Intelligent inquiry-'what
nextT An old sergeant remarked rs
he watched them shake down in quar-
ters: Sure. an they'll be drillin' US
afore long"
COULD EASILY WIN A
CAPTAINS COMMISSION
More than ono OF these recruit. could
easily have won q. captains commits
sion At training camp. When asked
why they did not attend a camp, the
answer was usually as follows: 1T did
not feel that ought to go unless
drafted, and / took the chance Of not
being drafted for while. and lost
out" The men who made this answer
were cheerful. not tho least Indifferent
to their new duties. and were, I be-
lieve, much relieved that the suspense
and uncertainty OF the draft was over.
They had had time enough to figure
out the justice OF the system, and were
too intelligent to complain ovor the
inevitable. There Is puritanical
stolidity about them indicative OF a
staying power that the emotional vol
unteer does not always possess And
yet one must admit that II was some
what disconcertinE TO take a card from
the hand OF a clear-eyod, clear-cut
farmer In the flush Of life and read:
years. married. two
children" At any rate. It made one
wish from the bottom Of his heart
that the business of the soldier In the
ranks might be loft to the fellows
without wives and infant children
There arc dependencies in this life
other than the material ones. Cold
statistics do not always reveal them.
and brave lips are sometimes sealed.
MANY MISCALCULATIoNs
BEING MADE AT THIS TIME
tions being made. I believe, as to the
machine out OF tho National Army.
This is due in part to the experience
of our older officers with volunteers
in the past They forget that large
OF the volunteers were men
with comparatively light responsible
ties, and who were "out for good
time" so to speak. Then, too. in those
days we had canteens In every camp,
and liquor hells and gambling dives
arrayed along every approach to the
soldiers training camp. About half
the troops were more or less con-
stantly engaged in rounding up the
other half, and trying to make them
behave like soldiers. and, besides, the
officers first had to learn at the ex-
pense of the men before the latter
came in for their share Of the train
ing But whisky Is a curse the Ma
tional Army will never know. and the
men of this army are not in 1t to
hurrah and have n good time. The
great majority OF these men are what
darkies called settled Eemmen." and.
while they may not be any better
scrappers than the volunteers, and pos
sibly less recklessly brave. certain 1t
is they will prepare themselves for the
unpleasant business Of fighting much
more earnestly and judiciously than
the large flre-eating element Of first
call volunteers. Let there be no mis-
take about that.
During the days when the vanguard
was assembling one never heard the
war or the dangers OF military service
There were no harangues,
no attempts at oratory. no displays OF
emotion and sentiment. In the minds
OF the officers ard men alike there
s, eIned to be but one idaa-silcnt order
speed and cheerful bending of every
effort to the cold efficiency that all
have in view. The ultimate purpose
for which the great human machine
that has already set in motion is to be
employed plays no part at present In
their calculations. In this direction
there Is no lost motion, no wasted
energy whatever. The folks at home
may read about and discuss the war.
but the soldiers OF the National Army
do not, except in the manner in which
q surgeon studies the abstract science
OF his profession. There is no more
show and display connected with the