Weekly journal-miner., 1918-04-24
YOUNG SOLDIERS PATRIOTIC AND
 FULL OF PIP
CAPT. MITCHELL AT COM ELEMENTARY LUNCHEON TELLS OF THE SPLENDID DISCIPLINE OF THE WESTERN RECRUITS.
CFrom Wednesdays Daily1


 extremely short, every seat al the big table was occupied and it was ueccs- sary to establish places for the over flow at several individual tables.
 At the conclusion of the luncheon Captain Mitchell spoke briefly and in an interesting way of the men and the morale al Camp Lewis, Washington He said:
 One Of the most significant of the conditions to be noted is the intense loyalty of every unit of the national army. When the men came to camp. they came as civilians. Even then the general feeling was one of a whole hearted desire 10 do their entire duty.
 The atmosphere Of the camp and the nature of the life to which they were introduced brought out all that was best in the men. As a result they not only found themselves in the pink of physical condition, but there was aroused an enthusiasm for the work before them and an esprit de corps that absolutely gave the lie tG all rumors Of any discontcnt or dis affection"
 Men Welcome Discipline
 Tn commenting upon the cnthu- Siasm and earnestness with which the men had taken up their work. Cap- tain Mitchell stated that he had noL been under the necessity of punishing q man in his company for any serious infraction of discipline. He had found the men not only willing but anxious 10 adapt themselves to the demands of discipline that are essential to the making of a good soldier. During Q the last three months he had not found it necessary to even inflict kit chen police" punishment on any Of the men in his own company
 Captain Mitchell then suggested that he would be pleased to reply to any questions that might be asked him. The questions shot in from ali sides of the room These questions were answered as fast as they came and in every instance the reply was such as to satisfy the loyal citizens of Prescott that the men at Camp Lewis were not only being prepared for-t their great work with. every. ,cN- petition, but that when the time same for the great adventure" they would face it with an carnestness and enthusiasm that would assure a sue cessful issue. As result of the qucs tions. the following statements were made by Captain Mitchell.
 As far as I know there Is no truth to rumors of capital punishment hay ing been inflicted on the enlisted men. There has been no capital pun ishmcnt at Camp Lewis. Quite re- gently. I visited Camp Kcarny and General Futile advised me that there had been no capital punishment in his camp.
 In a number Of the camps, few men who were called in by the con scription were so anxious to evadc military service that they deliberately committed acts that forced them to face a court martial It was so cvi- dent that these men were acting through a desire to escape active serv. ice, that they were awarded very stiff sentences Of imprisonment at the var ious military prisons.
 There is hardly question but what ii these men had delayed their action until they had learned some. thing about the life they were enter ing into, that practically all of them would have been imbucd with the same enthusiasm and carnestness that marks the entire national army today
 Eager For France
 There is one sentiment common to practically every man al Camp Lewis. This is a desire to go to France as soon as possible Every month of delay whets the cagcrness of the men for service. From time to time. the forces al Camp Lewis arc called on for men and officers to com- plcte units for the regular army O. the national army that are going abroad. The entire camp Is eager to be assigned and if volunteers were called for. there would not be a sin gle laggard As it is, we naturally pick out the men who have shown the greatest proficiency and those who are transferred to the army con- Sidcr that they have been favored ano the assignment is considered by the men as reward for merit
 When asked as to the completeness Of the equipment Of the men, Captain Mitchell said:
 "The infantry is now fully equipped with everything except packs. We are advised that the department con siders it wiser to keep these packs ih store houses in the East and they will be distributed when the men are moved for Europe The entire force is now equipped with Enfield rifles The unanimous judgment of both of icers and men is that they are a su- pcrior arm Experiments at the rife ranges showed that men made a big ger proportion of hits with the new rifle than they did with the old Spring field. The difference in the placing of the sights and other small matters are thought to account for this
 No American Machine Guns
 How aDout artillery he was asked
 'We had no American machine guns at Camp Lewis for some time" was the reply There were a num- ber of English and French guns but no Lewis guns and no Browning guns. Just before l left Browning