Trench and camp. [volume] (Augusta, Ga.) 1917-1919, 1918-07-31
SOLDERING AT
CAMP HANCOCK
CONTINUED from Page onel


to mention in this correspondence-an
this I say unhesitatingly-that the oftl-
GERS in the American army are Inc hhest
set Of men to be found in any army IN thS
world. am not spekaing here IN terms o.
military achievements. My knowledge o.
military affairs is too limited to permit
myself to speak cempetently on the suo
iect. I am referring to their petsoi1ldJ
qualities and to their mode OF oenaViot
towards the men in the army VIII nor
be guilty OF enbeilishing facts when
say that it very often exceeds that Q!
the courtesy of the men toward them
observation. In eonsonance with the true
spirit of American democracy the oHiCeE
painstakingly endeayors 10 impress the
soldier with the absolute equality per-
vading the army.
The salute for instance is a concrete
example in point. ind 1t to be the most
annoying experience of the new recruits;
With amazing lueidness ana in spirit Of
utter disinterestedness, the Commanding
Officer of my company took the pain 70
dispel the prevailing false impression that
that salute denotes servility. Nothing OF
the kind 1t would not be true to the
spirit OF true democracy which we eS-
pouse. The soldier does not salute the in,
dividual holding the rank Of officer. MOI
He salutes the rank which he happens 70
hold which is promptly returned TO MN
holder of the commission may eevn be
less able than a rookie, which 10 possible
in a democracy Ike ours.
Having exhausted the subject OF SER
Witty beyond dispute, a. comrade IN arms
who enjoys the happy distinction OF pos
sessing the very rare qualities Tor de-
ductive and induetive method OF reason
ing resorted to a carefully reasoned out
argument, to wit, that the saluSe q an
unnecessary fatigue for the soldier.
must confess that it is striking argu-
ment But IL is not always safe TO make
a fianking movement. You may oftsn pc
= n
know where it came from And here IS
how our officer outfanked this surprise
attack with steel cold mathematcal
weapon, which made a deeper cut into the
flank than the clever surprise attack.
'fYou complain of fatigue" said the
commanding officer Admitted that 1t IS
correct which do not Then those VINO
really oueht seriously to consider the
aboIition Of the salute are the officers
themselves, for an officer salutes on the
average of about seventy-five times TO
your one salute This ingenious reply
put quietus to the field OF attack Thus
al unpleasant subject was ended pleas
have somewhat deviatsd from the
subject started out by dwelling at at
| length on this seemingly unimportant
matter But the false notion of the sa-
| lutte is not only current raw recruits but
| even more so among the civilians at home
which ought to be dispelled.
| To return TO the subject ! started out,
| I will relate but one instance which VIII
| suffice to show that not only are the Of.
| hcers interested In exhibiting the spirit OF
| absolute equality pervading the army
but that they are also interested to the
utmost degree in the welfare Of the sol
/ der I might say that their interest in
he soldiers welfare is almost equal to
1t happened one afternoon The ruth
\ less Southern sun was piercing through
| our tents, as if to test our endurance e
| the utmost Suddenly we hear the shrill-
! {fte5 tfyg Of XEh wi
| time had learned signiied drilling. Nc
amount Of grumhling will help you. When
that whistle blows so you must. Suffice II
| TO say that the array of forceful and
grandiloQuent language was not up to the
standard Of the New York Times. We
fell in:' got into formation, and of we
went--Hep, hep, hep The harmony OF The
step WAS every nov and then interrupted
/ by faint chorus Of DIS.
| Our course that afternoon seemed to be
| different and longer than usual. The un-
| certainty of the distance and final place
/ of destination tended to increase the rest
| lessness Of the men to the extent OF
! increase the restlessness of the men to the
extent Of arousing suppressed 'mutiny
among the men in the rear rank.
| However, a note of relief came when we
| sighted thckly dotted woods. The large
! shady trees raised q ray Of hope in the
| hearts of the men. Another five minutes
| Of marching and we reached our goal
! Haiti" the command was given We
were then hidden by the commanding Of
ficer to fall out and seat ourselves in a
circle about him II reminded me of the
good old days Of the Cheder when on Lag
B'omar the Rabbi used to take his pupils
out into the woods to bring back to our
memories the siege OF Jerusalem
When We were all seated, the command
ing officer to our delight began to tell US a
series OF most interesting stories. OF
course each story had bearing on our
future military life, which deeply en-
HANGED their interest. We asked ques-
tions, a good many foolish and some 9TH
erwise, and he answered them all good
naturedly. This intimate gathering Of
pupils and tutor lasted several hours I'M
til the relentless Southern sun showed
signs Of readiness to make leaveway for
the sister moon This was indeed per-
fe~tins ending for N ali hiIf a Y1erfact nav