The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1918-10-09
Entrance to American Sta
ton Made Of, Artificial
Trees and Shrubs
NEW WEAPON OF
WARFARE POTENT ONE
Art of Disguise Has Been Highly De
veloped Since Outbreak of Present
Conflict and Americans Have Been
Quick to Make Use of Science.

BEHIND AMERICAN LINES IN
FRANCE, Sept rs Correspondence of
the Associated Press A make believe
forest stands along the edge of the road
at the entrance to the American camou-
flage station here. Ii looks as natural
as the real woods along the fighting
front, with the shiny silver bark of the
beeches, the rough Jagged trunks of the
old apple trees and the sprouting tops
of the dwarf willows.
Yet, every tree in the camoufage for
est has steel core within which an OBJ
server peers forth to watch the move
ments of an enemy or a machine gun is
located to sweep forth from its hidden
recess. They are only one of the many
strange devices TO deceive and mystify
the enemy which this American camou-
fage station is sending forth to the
fighting army.
Camouilage is one OF the distinctly
new products of the war. even in the
name. which was used for the first time
by General de Castleuau chief of staff
of General .Ioilre The word j. not good
French, but comes from the argot. or
French slang the verb "camouner" being
used by French police to indicate any
disguise used TO capture criminals. For
example. a detective camOufages him
self by dressing a. a coachman.
Early in the war the famous portrait
painter, Giron de Sivela. conceived the
idea of Disgusting batteries and build
ings by painting them in fantastic pat
terms blending with the landscape He
laid the plan before General de Castle
nau. who, struck with the practical value
OF the plan. exclaimed "Camoufage
And from that time the words grew and
with il grew into a tremendous magni-
tude this art of misleading the enemy.
The American army has been quick TO
make a full use of the strange new
weapon of warfare and the camouflage
plant is one of the most complete in
existence with a working force of near
" one thousand and u staff including
many Of the wellknown mural artists
and decorators and sculptors of Ameri-
ca, all of them engaged in producing
these curious devices by which military
art deceives the enemy
One of the officers Captain Homer
Saint Gaudens, is a son of the American
sculptor Saint Gaudens.. Another, Ma
jor Tracy, il prominent architect who
did much OF the work ON the Lincolr
Memorial. Lieutenant Barry Faulkner
is an American mural artist and Lieu
tenant Sherry Frey, an American sculp
tor in Paris. Sergeant Leslie Thrashel
and f. Earl Christy and Corporal DUE
are well-known American illustrators
Walt Lee is cartoonist and Sergeant
Murphy is an American mural decora
tor whose work is well known in Eng
land.
But there must be something NOR
than stage properties in the production
Of these artists. they must be practica
and suited TO the uses of warfare. and j
is the part of Colonel Bennion, head o
the camouhage station to keep thes
artistic productions within practical linn
it's The Colonel is an engineer office
with West Point training. and when an,
camoufage is adopted for American arm
uses II has double merit of being tn
product OF American artistic skill an
ut the same time an eminently practica
device from the standpoint of mil;tar
engineering.