The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1917-11-07
Especial to The Farmer.)

than 500 draftees in one of the ar tillery regiments knocked, one by one. yesterday and the day before, at tho door of their regimental head quarters marked "Colone1."
 r-Come in!" The invitation was clipped off each time by the com nianding officer.
 The rookie would enter bravely, close the door, face the colonel and try to remember the words and ges- tares of the piece he and all the oth- ets were expected to speak perfectly:
 S'Ssr, Recruit Bobbdns of Battery Bs reports as ordered.'' Fewer than mo words, and only one salute as the gesture; but there were many varia- tions offered by those rockies. One of them managed to get four "sirs'' sandwiched in somehow.
 kOnce, the reporting as ordered was over. the colonel would look squarely af his man for a few seconds, and those few seconds were enough to d1ster few who came into, the pres- eoce of his highness for the first time.
 F.Where do you come from?" ~
 ''somerset County"
 Somerset County, where?'
 Maine, sir.,,''
 -A11 right, Now go over in that cor ner." The colonel arose and walked from behind his desk to the center of the little office eNow we're supposed to be outdoors. Understand Now you walk by me. as if you were going down the street, ' s
 NC was simply a salute test, one of the wrinkles in what the officers call ''customs and courtesies," and the
 f<~-r
 Tworor three more equestfons and the colonel would say That's al1,'' and the draftee would smartly salute right-about-face and walk out of the office, or hustle off unceremoniously- depending on how well he had kept his boise through the personal inter view.
 A college sophomore draftee from New Hampshire got half out the door before he remembered the motions he had forgotten. stuck his head back in 70 the room, saluting and stammer- Ing: T beg your pardon; thank you, !, After each caller had left, the col onel would turn to a lieutenant sit- ting at his side and announce "s," -86.w or some number in between, just ~ flaw times giving a "40."l
 
 be a noncommissioned officer in the cozoneFs regiment. The noncom ex- ans were going on all day long Thurs day and Friday in each of the three arf1llery regiments. The visit to the ro1onels office was only one of sew aral stunts they put the candidates through
 Every man who wants to take the ox2mfnation may, was the order; and in the Artillery Brigade there were about 1900 out of 4500. Fifteen hun dred wanted to fill places for not more than half as many.
 When they started this army, you see, fhsy had officers, some 2 1000 of them. trained in three months, given the job of making an army division out of 10000 civilians. There were no noncoms to help out.
 The camp had not been going long before a few hundred regulars were nant up from Gettysburg, Pa-.. to help in the noncom-ing: but out of the ranks of the civilians had to come hundreds of leaders.
 It wasn't hard to spot some special. zEts for the special jobs. A Boston ost-office employe was promptly rn@de mall sergeant of the 301st In- fantrys a son of the founder of a big I@oston restaurant became supply ser- eeant of the s01st Artillery; the sec retaryf to the Mayor of Fall River stepped into the 302d Infantry head q1artsrs as sergeant major, secretary { 70 the adJutant, as 1t were; and a Mayor himself. from Dover. N. H., ! wns soon sergeant majortng in the 3o3d Artillery, with the former secre- f2<y to a governor of the Philippines c& sergeant major of the artillery out <i< two doors below.
 But special jobs for spectalties were Eew m compnriSon to the hundqeds of corporal ana sergeant places to be ffi1Dd. The scramble started.
 4 corporal draws sse instead of !, pr1vakeis s20, a sergeant $44 and a <irn< sergeant s51. And besides, you only have to be q corporal to be able \ fo stand foreman-Ifke and watch the trast of thA squad do the trench dig Efnx.
 Eacza regiment could choose it's own t1nethod of packing the noncom ma }tsria1 out Of the tumble. In most of 1the infantry outfits the captains sent ifhs Il1Eslfest man to noncom schools \ Alm tho regiment for part of each day, kWylM&rD thSY travelled through the mfli- NtnEy courxo a few steps ahead<of the { rest of their company. stepping on the fhosig of officers who had to keep on tGofng to officers schools themselves, oar1y in the forenoon or late in the 1. n<tcxnoon- to keep ahead of the jam. ! Those noncom schools are still go- ffmx on, Whom recruits come along lconspzcuously the captain makes tho kreconzr1erdations and the colonel signs 3fl,e pensrz and the rockies buy the lcheyronG Nonooms have been born {1rery day Eince camp started. in the Izn<nukxy.
 X I'm. fhe artillery they used differ eM< gyEtem- No sergeants or corporals tSters appointed until after the exam 1 nations this week. They called it sCommencemsnt Week On bulletin boards of the barracks were posted l the notices declaring that the non- lconxaziaaioned on1cers are the back bona of the army" and inviting every lanhbfttous man to take advantage of a fnIl opportunity.
 There were IA qualifications an- nounoed- The noncom must be a
 s-naknra1 leader" "fndustrious," mot fhe HIlEhtest trace of laziness," in- tonnp loyalty to those above him. un- hnnthR&fnRfy obedient,~ A'always on 'tinnG--nover late," of "unquesticned Lonor." ciean morally, mentally and |IphvHtoafIy. of "superier knowledge" i" M~.. A