The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1918-02-19
Boys Rejected by u. S. Army
Do Proficient Work in Ar
tillery Abroad
FIRST ENTERED
FOREIGN LEGION
Then Transferred to the ARTILLERY
School, Where They Are Fast Com.
plotting Their Courses-Have to Study
the French Language.

the French Language.
EBLEAU, France. Feb. .
Correspondence of The Associated
Systematically in an almost van
lshing minority. though standing out
clearly and distinctly among their 5000
felow-pupils by reason of their work
p young Americans are fast complet-
ing their courses in the French Arril-
lery School here.
All of them are graduates or have
been students at American colleges or
universities; all of them have seen
service with such organizations as the
AMERICAN ambulance or the Red Cross.
More than one OF them wear the French
war cross. Yet all of them in n wav
have renowned their own country and
gone over to the service of France for
the duration of the war. because thew
have not quite been able to pass the
strenuous American physical fitness
tests, and yet are 50 anxious to do
something for 1.-THE cause" that they
could not remain idle.
With the exception of two or three,
all have had TO enlist in the Foreign
Legion in order to get into the school
ct all, as government regulation put
a stop to the original ease with which
Americans could Join the French ArtiI-
lery School
The eagerness to serve which has in
dueed the % Americans, who range
from IS to % years in age. to enter
French service is reflected in the work
they are doing, which, according to the
commander of the school, is generally
OF a very high order. in spite OF the
French language
ihcy were romping in from their
morning work one day this week when
an Associated Press correspondent
found them. Eventually they picked
ont Whitney Warren ir., Of New York
to set down the facts
There are approximately 5000 pu-
plls at the school, he said. The
course laSt' about three months and
a half, and is not disSimilar in MANY
ways to college course at home. es-
peclally in that graduation is on the
point system.
rho competition is keen rs can be
to get ~ higa q number as possible
however, for AT graduation time
those who stand highest must have
inst choice ~ the regiments that need
future officers
The course that leads TO these
POINTS consists of theoretical classroom
tructlon-thcmatics and all the 9th
er studies that an artillerr officer must
hnoW-and practically instruction with
the guns themselves, particularly with
the - 5 and the l55 S. We Americans
most Of whom did not know French be-
fore we came here to France since
1914. have to put i'll long extra hours
On the language 50 as to be able TO nm
derstand what goes on in classroom the
better
" The outdoor work with the guns is
Implanted by great amount Of ath
letlc work-games that bring all the
muscles into play, horseback rides
dulh2 which we have, without stirrnus
to extend our arms horizontally and
guide with our knees and legs. LONG
country hikes, and so on.
The French are splendid TO MS The
instructors, on the one hand, make ey
cry effort to see that we clearly under
stand everything that is said in the le,.
lures. The French pupils, on the other
hand, are all good fellows and we re
all great big family together. =
The men live in a huge barracks near
the famous chateau. Each week cnJ
they are given leave to Paris. Deapite
their signing up with the Foreign Le-
eion they are as kecnly and patrioticaI.
~ American as any one in the Ameri-
can army. They are disappointed that
the American physical regulations are
- unusually severe and feel confident
that the time is coming when the
United States will let down the bars
little. Their service for France has
made them enthusiastically pro French
The list of American students shows
the widely scattered constituency az
the American contingent at the school
Here it is, with only a few of the men
missing:
Harold L. Scott, Granville. O.: vii
liam Nj. Barber, Toledo, O.; Coleman
l. Clark, Westticld n j.: Whitney