El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1917-12-17
5 MEN
To Be OFFICERS
All Have Chance for Pro
motion Out of the Non
Commissioned Ranks.


Dec. 17.-Orders just issued by Gen
J. J. Pershing providing for a system
Of promotion from the ranks. under
which any private who demonstrates
his ability may win q commission.
makes all noncommissioned officers,
even corporals. eligible for a school
which is being established at q large
training center for the instruction Of
candidates for commissions Privates
who desire 10 become officers must
first demonstrate their efficiency by
earning appointment as noncommis-
stoned officers.
The noncommiss5Oned officers VIII
be sent to the training school on rec
ommendation OF their superiOrs,
which viii be forwarded by the COM
manders Of divisions OF other separate
units and by the chiefs Of depart
mental staffs to the cOmmanderin-
chief Before submitting such recon-
mendations. the officers charged with
this duty are instructed by Cen Per-
shinEs orders TO give the most careful
consideration to the record Of those
recOmm ended. having in view. in the
case Of noncommissioned officers OF
the line. only the fighting efficiency
OF his unit. and in all other cases only
the ability to perform duties eff
GENTLY.
No Limit in Replacement Division
When candidates attending the
training school have been found TO
be proficient they will be assigned to
vacancies as second Eeutenants and
replacement divisions Thence they
Will 90 TO fiji vacancies Occasioned by
casualty and other causes in combat
divisions. There will be no limit 10
the number Of second lieutenants in
the replacement divisions On the con-
trary, IL Is recommended that there
be at least three times as many IN a
given organization as in 4 correspond
ing combat division.
Within the combat units vacancies
to the extent Of one-third Of the total
viii be filled in this manner and two
thirds by promotion within the COM
bat unit itself
Filling Up Vacancies
In the replacement divisions, va
cancies from the grade Of first lieu
tenant TO colonel viii be filled by Of
ficers recovering from wounds and
officers VINO have received no assign
ments. Those fully recovered from
wounds viii be assigned TO the COM
bat units. Arriving depot battallons
hereafter vii be considered part Of
the NlAaa-E4lAeAAA AAh ANAA-as
Study Attacking PHI Boxes.
Intensive training in the science OF
attacking pill boxes" has begun At
one Of the largest training grounds
Numerous concrete structures ideutl-
cal with those used by the Germans
have been erected and the troops are
being taught how the British take
them
The system Of attack involves auto
matte rifle fire from number OF
POINTS into the slots. a sufficient
number Of rifles being used from
various points 10 assure continuous
stream Of bullets entering every slot
from each direction from which the
pill box is attached Under this fire
bombers crawl TO the pill box and the
firing ceases. The bomoers then
quickly hurI grenades inside the
miniature forts. This system. II
faithfully carried out. seldom fails
20 bring about caDituldticu Of the
largest OF the pill boxes.
where the Raid Occurred.
Although German claims in an Of
fetal comm unication regarding
raid in the Buers sector are not con
firmed by a French source IT may be
said that the locality described viz
tuzllv 81 Identical with the position
where the Americans were raiced re-
Gently.
Buers IS ten miles northeast OF
Luuevile and about mile north OF
the RhiEe-Marne canal parallelinE
the Sauon river. il IS about two
miles west Of the Franco German
border. in the department Of Meurthe
and Moselle.
German troops raided the Amsri-
can trenches on November Q. Three
American soldiers. the first 20 die
fighting on an European battlefield,
were killed. five were wounded and
u were captu-ed--(B - A p