Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1918-10-27
An Army of Scientists Helping Allies Win War
Ho,o the Colleges, Labo'
Ho'o the Colleges. Labo-
rator;;es and Learned
Professions Have
Been Mob;1;zed-M7-
;tary G,eo1og;;sss and
!. Chem;sts--CamouAage
Artists and Medical
Scientists. @

/" Scientists. &C."
Copyright. 1918. by Frank G. Carpenter.)
7 UNCLE SANS army of scien-
lists! 1t is already numbered
by tens of thousands. and the
government has just taken
over the colleges to educate thous-
'ands more. I talked with group
Of university men who have been at
work for months preparing text
book Of military geology to be used
by the boys of the draft, and other
text books will be made, dealing with
physics and chemistry as applied to
the war. Today the physicist, geolo-
gist and chemist are even more inn
.portant to military success than the
strategist and tacticlan, and, in fact.
all strategy and tactics have to be
based on the work done by them.
Gen. Pershing has his regiments Of
foresters. who handle all problems Of
lumber and care for the timber from
the French woods. He has his corps
of biologists who tell him where
-, trenches can be located, so that the
water will drain away from rather
than into them. A mistaken survey
fills the excavations with mud and
brings on the curse of trench feet
which so often puts our men out Of
business. Gen. Pershing> has his cam
outage division, experts in the science
= of optics as well as in art. He has
his individual topographers and map
ground. showing the best places for
railroads, to carry men and supplies
to the front and bring back the
wounded. From such maps the ar
tilerX officers determine I'll the heights
are to be placed. They show. where
the, rivers can be forded or bridged.
and the best routes for motor-car
roads. Many Of these topographers
they have been plating the United
States for years and showing its
drainage Some have had, to do with
the retaining the deserts OF the far
s Wsss sn Of 9 the Mississippi Valley
- q. az 80: -
Connected with the Army in France
is the chemical service selected from
the. ablest men Of that branch of
science from all over the Union. and
allied to 1t is the vast number Of
chemists who are working, upon war
problems at home. We have, in fact,
as a part Of the bureau Of ordnance in
Washington division of chemical war
fare which deals with poisonous gases
as a means of human destruction. It.
And then there Is the army of sci.
entists connected with the health OF
the soldier. have not the latest sta
tisics. but not long ago we had $4,000
doctors actually working, and 1t was
then estimated that we would need
also thousands Of doctors doing war
work at home. both here at Washing
ton and in hospitals all over the
country. Some; are engaged In re-
building the wounded and in making
tradey and still do their work in the
world. We have a large number Of
medical psychologists whose business
, 1t IL TO test aviators and others and to
show how to build up the minds Of
the. mon affected by shock and we
description. Among the doctors are
the Mayos, who have left their enor-
nous practice to work for the war.
. and. others who have been making
and who now work for Uncle. Sam on
. the salaries of captains. majors and
We have enough dentists already
. enlisted to take care OF an army OF
100000 men. The total number Of
such officers when the war began was
only IS. 1t now. approximates 5000.
and there is large number of such
men in the ranks. During the draft
something like $4,000 dentists agreed
to give gratuitous service in examine
ing the teeth Of the enlisted soldiers.
and several hundred thousand opera
lions have been performed by them.
It is not improbable that we shall
have 10000 dentists in the Army It.
self before the war closes
As to the scientific work done at
homo. this embraces every branch Of
the war preparations and almost
every industry which is now going
on. Every munitions plant has It's
chemical and physical laboratories
where the materials which go into
our guns, shells and explosives are
tested, and where the action and re-
action Of every element Is actually
gauged before 1t Is used. Many OF
the parts must be fitted to the one
-thousandth Of an inch. and the
weights must be SO exact that
baby's hair would turn the scale. It
, is. the same In the aeroplane factory,
where O half-dozen different woods
are Joined together to make the pro:
pellers and where every bit of metal