The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-02-27
SOLDIERS HARMED BY GLOOM LETTERS FROM BACK HOME Officers of Dixie Division Appeal to Relatives of
 Men to Write Cheer
 full News

Camp Wheeler, Macon, Ga, February 2e-(special) the good of the army, for the welfare of. the service and to make it easier to train in manner to lick the Germans the officers of the Dixie division are anxious for the peo- pie back home to know that heart-rend- ing and homesickey letters to the boys of Camp Wheeler keeps them contin- uaIly unstrung and in a bad mood all the time.
 Some of the letters are so tragic, said one of the officers today who has been making an investigation into guard house conditions" that when the soldier is not allowed to go home on pass he will desert and then have to serve for month or more in the guardhouse After the soldier goes home and bars his chance of ever getting a promotion in year or so he finds that the home folks were about as he left them.
 We have no real bad men in some of the regiments, but the guardhouses arc kept filled all the time with sol diers who could not bear the separation from home when the folks are reported as distressingly sick. I would implore all the people back home to write whole some, cheery letters and then the sol- dier's life will be so much more pleas ant
 J. D. Spaeth, head of the chair of Eng fish at Princeton college, temporarily re- leased from the faculty, has arrived at Camp Wheeler to take charge of all educational and social work under the auspices of the army Young Mems Chris tian association. He succeeds President James H. Shelbourne of Howard col lege, who has returned to his home at Birmingham, Ala, after three months service as camp educational director at Camp Wheeler.
 Prof. A. Spaeth is a we'll known ex- tension lecturer, having several times toured the country from coast to coast, speaking at colleges and before various organizations. Princeton college is pay ing part of his salary while at Camp Wheeler in the service of the red trian- gle.
 The duty of the new educational direc- tor of the Dixie division is to teach S>S- lisl, to a large percentage of the guards men of Georgia, Alabama and Florida. French is another one of the important subjects which will be taught under his direction. He has staff of six assist ants, building, educational and social di- rectors, in charge of this work among the men served by their respective red triangle huts.
 As coach of the Princeton crew, Pro- lessor Spaeth demonstrated to America that the system of amateur coaching was feasible; that professional coaching was not necessary for championship crews. Under his coaching the Tiger crew has been victorious over Harvard and Yale and other famous collegiate crews of the country.
 According to figures gathered from the statistical department of the division of the more than 20000 soldiers in the camp the members of the different re- ligious denominations are as follows: Baptists, 40 per cent; Methodists, 32 per cent Presby terians, 6 per cent; Roman Catholics, 5 per cent; Christians, per cent; Episcopalians, per cent; Jewish l per cent; all others, per cent.
 The governm ent intends to save every thing worth using. Boxes will be placed in a suitable place in each organization for the collection of load tubes and tin foil from tooth paste, cigarettes, cigars candy chocolates and other packages The lead and tinfoil so collected will De turned over to the camp quartermastei as directed in a former memorandum