Evening journal., 1918-08-30
BY LOWELL MELLETT
nited Press staff Correspondent,

lnlIeQ Press StdU correspondents
WITH THE AMERICAN ARMY IN
FRANCE, Aug. 10 (by mail THE gen
eral never batted an eye as he pro-
nounced this verdict on his own dlvis-
ion:
They're the best division in France,
sirl"
Thus calmly-he didn't raise his voice
and he didn't bang the table with his
flst-he gave his men credit for having
won the keenest competition Of its
kind that France has seen. This is the
competition between the divisions. II
has been under way ever since there
have been as many as two divisions
over here to compete. Each is striy-
ing TO prove that in organization and
In spirit it leads all the others.
"rll tell you why" said the general.
"These tar-heels and Tennessee cOun-
tain lads of mine are all real Ameri-
cans / don't suppose more than a doz-
en- Of them ever saw a foreigner until
we came over here. You go and look
them over and see II I'm not right"
Which we did. Several companies
OF them were passing the generals
house at the moment. They trudged
along easily under the pack that some
soldiers, consider so heavy. They were
cheerful and unwearied.
Americans, All Right.
"Wheah do we so from heah ?" asked
one Of another.
The other replied that the captain
had called for volunteers to storm the
brewery in the next town. He didn't
smile and the others who heard en-
iOyed it without smiling And British
Tommies working on the road put them
down, no doubt, as some more Of those
serious Americans.
They looked just as good as the gen.
eral said they were. But when we
visited one Of their camps half an hour
later the first man to whom we were
introduced bore a name as German as
Ludendorff. That might seem TO re-
fute the generals theory, If this man,
a captain, had not talked with a drawl
that comes from being born in the land
Of cotton
on a hill-slope close by target prac-
tice with machine guns was under way.
Every now and then there came a burst
Of excited cheering. lt sounded like
ball game That was one Of the rea-
sons this was the best division i'm the
army, the captain explained; there was
keen competition among the men them
selves and instead Of keeping this feel
ing bottled up IL was encouraged i'm
every way. OF course, he said, there
wasn't much real necessity for teaching
his men 30 shoot, since they came from
a section where everybody knew how
to use a rifle A man who couldn't hit
a buzzard in a tree top OF half a mile,
was considered a community disgrace.
Good ot Yelling Too.
The yells Of derislOn and delight con
tinued from the hin slope. They forL
casted a new experience for German
troops when they peet that bit Of civil
war frightfulness known as the rebe,
yell
They looked mighty good, these
Southern boys. However,
"Tll tell you why our division has
the lead over the Others" said a New
York colonel. We've been a division
for twenty years; were not a yearling
outflt. like the rest We've worked to
gether for a long time, and came over
here together And now we've got an
alright. fighting division"
That was today. Day before yester-
day 10 was the general commanding GER
tain Illlnoisans. The exact argument he
offered I'm support Of his contention that
his is the best division in France can't
be repeated without running counter