The Logan Republican. [volume] (Logan, Utah) 1902-1924, 1918-09-26
COMBATANTS AND NON-COM-
BATANTS :.

; BATANTS
Mr.. George H. Lyneof Metuchen, N. J..
has favored us with the following COM
munication which we are glad to answer
to the best of our ability because it pre-
sents phase Of the military situation
which is as important as it is unusual:
evil you kindly enlighten me as to why
YOU always seek to differentiate between
combatant and non-combataht troops
when discussing the size Of the United
States army in France and do not DO so
when referring to the armies of other
countries? Is the American army the on
ly one which uses quartermaster and en-
,gineering divisions, or is the proportion
of these obnormally large compared to
other armies?"
The reason for the differentiation is
the fact that the American army has a
far greater proportion of non-combat-
ants in France than has any other belig-
gerent either enemy or ally, and we
deem it wise to keep this fact constantly
in mind when discussing the number Of
men in the trenches in relation to the en-
tire force.
\ Our army is the only army in Europe
which is solely dependent upon itself for
sustenanca and support. There are thous-
ands of men in American uniforms who
are doing a kind of work for our forces
which is being done for the other armies
by civilians and some cases by prisoners.
when General Pershing landed in France
he found that it would be necessary to
build as he moved and to get virtually all
of his supplies from America. He had to
build the docks upon which his men and
supplies anded-furnishing the labor
and material-the barracks in which they
slept, the lines upon which they travelled
and the hospitals in which they are
nurSed.
Following the arrival Of the first reg
hlar division, stevedore regiments, COM
posed Of laborers; forestry regiments,
composed of lumberjacks; engineer regi-
ments and q dozen other types were or
ganized and sent to France. Carpenters
plumbers, electricians, shoemakers, tail
ors and every type Of mechanics, artis-
ans and skilled laborers were sent over
to do the necessary work. For military
reasons it was necessary to induct these
men into the service and put them in uni
form despite the fact that they will never
see the front, although they are included
in all the official announcements concern
ing the size Of the American army.
! Much of the type Of work General
Pershing has been compelled to do has
never even been considered by the Brit
ish and French leaders, while much more
of it behind the French and British lines
is beng done by the native population, by
coolies, Cinnamon, women and prisoners.
Of course, none Of these people are listed
on the French and British army rolls.
The War department is unable to sup
ply precise information bearing upon the
relative size of the numbers of quarter
master and engineer troops used by the
various armies in the immediate vicinity
of the front, but we assume that there is
no great difference between them.
In military paelance the proportion of
noA-combatants is usually estimated by
the length of the supply line. At present
the German line extends to Berlin, the
British to London, the French to Paris,
and the American to New York; and so
long as this difference exists, the present