Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1918-10-17
one YEAR COURSE
FOR West POINT
MILITARY ACADEMY is TO .eE
UTILIZED TO THE FULL LIMIT
DURING THE. WAR PERIOD.
TEACHING FLYERS STUNTS
Aviation Students 70 Learn the Aero
B battles Quickly or Not at All--Was
Departments compers the Making Of
Clinical Thermometers.

OF war has approved the recommends.
lions of General March, chief Of staff,
to. graduate the two upper classes at
the United States Military academy on
November l. and to authorize one
year course at West Point for the re-
mainder Of the war: tits proposed to
utilize this valuable and expensive
institution. the war department an
nounces, to the limit during the period
of the war;. The number of cadets
graduated each year from West Point
is now only about 200. Under the new
system 1T will be possible to graduate
1000 officers year.
Vacancies resulting from thu ,gradu-
alton of the two upper classes will be
filled by the war department, if pos
sible, by the admission on November
4, 1918, of qualified candidates. APP
pointments will be made in, the usual
way-through senators and represent
atives in congress, and other customary
channels. The war department de-
sires that candidates to be admitted
on November ] Sha1l be not under
eighteen years of age on that date.
AS the result Of an Investigation by
the. war department, Following the
failure of the medical department to
obtain supply Of clinical .thermome-
tiers except at what were considered
exorbitant prices. the general staff has
ordered 18 manufacturers in different
parts of the country to furnish about
668,O0O of the instruments, which are
urgently needed here and abroad.
Under these orders the war depart
ment willie not only take the entire
stock Of clinical thermometers now
manufactured, but will require the fac
tories to produce in large quantities
for 20 weeks. The compulsory order
specifies that the entire quantity must
be delivered by February 10, 1919.
The price Of clinical thermometers
has advanced in the past year from 25
cents and 80 cents to so cents and &C
cents each. The investigations of the
military authorities disclosed a comb
nation between the glass-blowers and
the makers Of thermometers.
The prices to be paid by the gov.
eminent for the 66s.0OO thermometers
which have been requisitioned will be
fixed by the war department board OF
appraisers
One undertaking In connection with
the registration Of more than 13,OOO,
600 men for the draft, September u
is illustrated by figures by Provost
Marshal General Crowder. A Stats
tician in the provost marshal's office
has calculated that II all the printed
forms distributed since August Z II
connection With the work of registra
ton, classification and mobilization
were placed in u pile ten feet square
1t would tower above the ground to {
height of 1877 feet, or more than one
and half times the altitude Of Wash
fngtOn monument.
: Altogether there have been printed
and shipped out. since August Z, 224,
100000 forms 4of all kinds, weighing
100, 600 pounds, and measuring, in thu
aggregate, 88,787 cubic feet. A tota
Of A 600 mail sacks were used to carr,
this vast quantity of matter. Thu
largest number Of sacks shipped In ,
single day was 1923. These weighed
about 83 tons.
If these forms were placed in on,
mail train 143 6O-foot postal car
would be required and the train would
be one and two-thirds miles long
Placed end to end, the forms would ex
tend 68,O44 miles-more than .twic,
the distance around the earth.
Many sample cans of tomatoes sucl
as are used in the army have beel
found by the inspection branch of tn
subsistence division, quartermaste
corps, to be filed only to three-fourth
Of an inch Of the top although weigh
ing the requisite amount. Instruction
have been issued that regardless O
weight, the cans must be filled t
within three-eighths Of an inch Of tn
top. If the cans are not filled to with
in half an inch Of the top there is Il
be a REIMBURSEMENT of prices and unde
no circumstances, it Is announced, viii
underfilled cabs be sent overseas.
1t has been calculated that If thi
saving Of threc-eighths Of an inch wer
made In all cans Of tomatoes pur
chased by the army for a year, 1
would equal 417,00O cases, cosHn
about $1,50O,OO0: The saving of tin
plate used in the can would equa
about 100000 square feet.
German prisoners are being used Il
the construction Of homes for Belgia
refugees in the village which tn
American Red Cross is building nea
Havre, France, for families who wer
driven from their country by the Gen
man invasion. Many such prisoner
also have been put to work in tn
fields in the section surroundin
Havre. They have harvested whea
and other crops, thus lassening th
burden on the women and very Oh
men who have been operating tn
farms while the young and vigorou
males are fighting at the front.