The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1918-03-22
BAKER PRAISED
NEW ENGLANDERS
Division Has Been Making
Good in France,
He Says
TRAINED RAPIDLY
FOR ARTS OF WAR
e" Strike Hard and Shoot
Straight" Was His
Admonition

With the American Army in France
March - ASSOCIATED Press The first
division of the American eNpeditionary
force 60 arrive in France was addressed
By Secretary of War Baker Wednesday.
III would seem more iit," said the see
rotary, "and | should much prefer, in.
stead Of addressing you, TO listen TO your
experiences Your division has the dis
tinction Of being the first 20 arrive in
France May every man in your ranks
aim 60 make the first division the first in
accomplishments. With you came a
body Of marines those well disciplined,
shipshape soldiers of the navy.
when your division arrived, il was
regular only in name, judged by the high
standard set by our regular army. Some
60 per cent of the priyates were recruits
and even Il larger percentage of the off
GERS came from the reserve. Had we
chosen, Ne could have sent TO France at
the outset veteran regular contingent.
While this might have been u source of
momentary qualification, IL was contrary
TO the long view of our responsibility in
giving adequate military assistance to
the allies and out OF keeping with the
broad plan of our staif TO Use our pro-
fessional soldiers of all grades in train
ing large army which should have units
of even quality or efficiency in order TO
assure dependability upon all parts,
which is a requisite to successful action,
Yours was the first experience in be
ing billeted and in all the initial details
of adjusting yourselves to the new and
strange conditions. In this, as in de-
veloping a system of training, you were
the pioneers blazing the way, while sue
ceeding contingents could profit by your
mistakes.
DAY after day and week after week,
you had to continue the hard drudgery
of instruction which is necessary to pro
ficiency in modern war You had to re.
strain your Impotence TO go into the |
trenches after General Pershng's wise |
demand for that thoroughness, the value
of which you now appreciate ms a result |
of actual service in the trenches.
IF sometimes discipline seemed wear
ing, you now know you would have paid
for its absence with your lives and with
failure.
If had any advice to give, it is to
strike hard and shoot straight, and
would warn you at the same time
against any earelessness, any surrender
to curiosity which makes you mark
needlessly. The better you are trained
the more valuable is your life to your
country as fighter who seeks TO make
the soldier OF the enemy, rather than
yourself, pay the supreme price of war.
On every hand | am told that you are
prepared TO fight TO the end and see
this spirit in your faces, Depend upon
us at home to stand by you in a spirit
worthy of you.
another early arrival among the di-
visions was that from New England
which in common with all other di-
whether regular, National Guard
or national army, are part of the homo
genous national forces, From the day
Of my arrival in France have been hear
ing the praise of the New England di-
vision which has made good in its initial :
experience in the trenches in a manner
TO guarantee it viii be equal to future
1t trained rapidly as later ,
divisions are training rapidly because of
The larger period OF preparatory training
at home.
Some of the men in this division are
descended from the Minute Men !
II the Revolution or Aliens mountain !
sers, while Others are sons of soldiers I
vho went to the Civil war from New \
England. Those fathers who came to the
United States since the Civil war havei j
rad opportunity to prove their Amer !
canism is OF the same quality as that i
If the descendants of the Pilgrim ia. :
hers, even better Americanism, we hope, !
Is an augury for the future. Whether :
he soldier is from the factory town or /
he farm or the Maine woods, the ac- !,
cunts hear are equally as good After I
long period Of peace in which our met i
lie had not been tried by war and we !,
lad known commercial success and com !
ort, some skeptics feared that we had
rown soft | shall bring home mes \
age from our men in France who have .
iyen up their comfortable home life for :.
ne trenches that we have not" =