The Wheeling intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1903-1961, 1918-09-05

CAMP LEE. PETERSBURG. VA.
Sept. 4--Fifty thousand soldiers are
! cncuprd at Lee tonight, since the last
Of the 10000 Prnnsylranans arrived
| here today. OF this number from inc
| keystone state great proportion Is
from Philadelphia while ttfre is
large number from the counties contlGu-
! Gus TO that city.
! III Sizr. scope and personnel lamp
! Lee stands without IL peer i'll any army
camp east Of the Mississippi. Cilfnp
! Lewis. outside Tacoma "uSh., Is laF9-
or. tcrriturially. but none of the can
comments combine such area ana Such
: training methods as this camp.
Ii is apparently an imposSibllitF Tor
j the lay or the military mind. either 10
grasp completely Camp Lee. Like CITY
! Of i0hnn souls. il has it's diversified
clements. and these present a complex
ity that probably is not entirely asSinll-
! lated even by RriEadier S. II. HcocRfn.
! the camp commander.
| An Infantry replacement camp such as
Lee is utilized for n specific purpose
It furnished incn to tho completed COM
uandS in France Roughly speaking,
there are $4,000 acres in Camp Lee, and
j there is business on every foot OIL thcSe
acres. More than $4,000. 000 arc to be
expended. too. to bring 10 tho canton
ment all the essentials that have hccn
planned for this gigantic undcrtakihs'
To France In Six Weeks.
Naturally, where the men must ne
rushed to Franco in five or SIX weeks.
there is something doing every waking
moment. In addition. the officers have
n terrible time. too, for they no more
| sham Mound Hhe elementary military
science into one bunch Of recruits before
that Aggregation is whisked to point or
cmhakation. and "grecnhorns' take their
place.
As result the licutenants who nan
die the sounds here are doing a Work
seldom heard about but every bit as
faithful and every whit as hard as the
men In Franco do except those, OF
! course, who arc actually on the firing
limo
The recruits life begins OF course,
when he boards the train. after his
draft board has sent him TO Lee He
rides from twelve TO twcnty-four hours
on a train. and he arrives here with
his mental and physical powers al n
| low eth The method by which nc IS
indicted into army lifo Is a marvel OF
speed combined with efficiency.
Before Medical Examiners.
He is checked upon arrival and then
marched 10 the medical examiners. Thcy
that station he is sent to the quarter
masters where nc finds number or
his future comrades ready to ontilt
him. These men have been on duty SO
long that they have become marTelouSiF
expert. and they size fellow IN less
time than it takes to tell Rarc!! uo
thes, chaps make a mistake IN the SiHo
OF the uniform or the NUMBER OF l'fe
sboe and their ability makes for speed.
IS-
rookie he RI taken to the war risk insur'
aDce board. where he is requested tot
nike out a policy on his life. made pay
ohio IN his next OF kin. This concluded
he Is given. the psychology tests in the
big hut OF tho Y M. c. A. where his
mental stnturc is scientifically and &C
cur.telv measured by n bunch oC 'hlGh-
brow licutcnants Of the scientific corps
The, have this mental measurement
stunt down to an eHactitude that is Won
derful and one Of the interesting sights
of the cantonment is to see LOO men
Going through this elementary stun IN
tho mind
After these Introductory matters. Pri-
vate John Doc is sent To 8 barracks
| whore he remains two weeks in Quaran-
tine Those two weeks usually make
him curse the army fcrVentlE. and with
deep and abiding strength. For an
active man to bo kept in tho house IN
communicate for one day il usually in
sufrerable, but to multiply this by four
teen gives the raw recruit an insight
into General Sherman's appraisal OF war.
20. g. s." or ~. s. g."
After two weeks if no disease devci-
DOS. tho recruit is placed with n COM
pauton in the training battalion. where
| he is given the five weeks training
usually needed before nc is sent over
seas. This brings the soldier TO the test
whether or not hc Is 10 hc rated rs %.
S. s." ~. S. S.
Tho first is overseas service. and the
man who passes the final organizations
here and ut the port Of cnltnrfakaiion Is
a 100 PCT cent. American and soldier.
The tests for overseas service are re-
markably rigid and the man who passes
ma, rest assured that he is perfectly
healthy specimen. Aftcr ne gets To the
point Of cnbarakauon he is again quar-
! anttncd for two weeks in order that no
disease may be carried across the water.
owcrcr. tho fact that soldier
doesn't. qualify for overseas service does
not BY any means signify that he ~
through with tho army. Far from 1t. He
is marked III s. S. which means ser