Charlevoix county herald. (East Jordan, Mich.) 189?-1953, 1918-05-24
Great Lakes School Declared to
Be Greatest of Kind in
the World.
AMAZED At SCOPE OF WORK
Famous Norwegian Explorer Gives an
Interesting Description OF His In
spection of the Big Train
Ing Station.

Great Lakes, nl.-Hlgh tribute to
the Great Lakes naval training sta
ton and the great work being done
here Is contained In an article writ
ten by Capt. Roald Amundsen, famous
Norwegian navigator and arctic ex-
plorer, who recently visited the sta
ton. The article, which follows was
published in the continental edition of
the American Daily Mail In Paris:
81 have visited the Great Lakes
naval training station at Lake Forest,
just north of Chicago. It's scope
amazes me. 1t Is the largest, and per-
haps by this time the most widely
known training school In the world.
It's locatiOn-1,000 miles from the At
lag.t.iic, 1000 miles from the Pacific
in the heart of this yast continent,
makes 1t unique In the naval annals
Of the world. Some years ago 1t would
have been impossible to conceive of
such thing. But once again the United
States has demonstrated to the
world that, under the leadership
of one of It's most competent naval Off
GERS, Capt. William A. Moffett, 1t was
capable of accomplishing the apparent
ly impossible.
Has Trained Thousands.
"Since the United States took up
arms 1900 men have been trained at
this school. AT present, there are 3d.
600 jackies In training there, and yet,
thanks to the phenomenal size Of the
wooden huts and tents pitched there,
1t can accommodate the enormous In
flux of recruits. And still more hut
ments are going up.
standing at an entrance to the
camp l watched the arrival Of green
rockies who, after being subjected
to severe medical test, are put
through their course Of naval instruc-
ton at the hands of the most skillful
trainers In the country. Their studies
finished, these finland seamen,' fit as
fiddles, are ready to be assigned to
fighting craft in the war zone.
"At Lake Forest there are also air
craft fitted out with all the latest de-
vices. The United States has the ma
chimes and the men to pilot them.
"In one building saw men learning
how to detect the direction and location
Of sound. Numerous electrically
equipped listening towers reared up
toward the sky. 1t was astonishing
to see how accurately the men gagged
the sounds and whence they came
from. They are being coached In this
"art" with a view Of discovering the
whereabouts of hostile U-boats. The
teamwork Of officers and men In all
branches Of the camps activities
strikes the observer.
Praises the Band.
"a commodore told me that vice
among the recruits is virtually non-ex-
istent. Out of 10000 men but 20 were
being treated for venereal diseases.
rejoiced to learn that a great many
Scandinavians had enlisted, proving
their loyalty to the cause of America
and her allies.
at was indeed impressive to hear
the bands, composed of some 700 men,
of the Great Lakes training school, led
by Lieut.. John Philip Sousa, as they
paraded In the huge arsenal, the CEN
ter of hollow square Of embryo sail
ors, all singing the popular "hit,"
america, Here's My Boy"
81 have seen the great United States
navy at work, and / can assure my
own country that when the hour
strikes II will deliver blow which
will be heard throughout the world,
sounding the death-knell of autocracy
and proclaiming that the heartless
slayers of innocent folk have finally
been crushed"