Grand Forks herald., 1918-09-10
the other end. Occasionally a man
who failed to meet some standard was
thrust out at some stage of the pro-

VINO IalleO TO meet some standard was
thrust out at some stage of the pro-
cedure.
The first section Of the machine was
devoted to finger prints. In tent set
aside to them eight men trained in
many stands. Printers ink was used.
Then the recruit washed his finger
tips with gasoline, fastened the tag
bearing the camp serial number as
signed to him around his neck and
stripped. Enlisted men detailed to
that duty tied his clothes into a
bundle and tagged it with his name.
In a small section next to his room
groups Of enlisted men at scales and
height-measuring stands took the
weight and height of each recruit
which other enlisted men entered on
blank from the recruits bunch of
papers. Here also all tattoos, scars
and other bodily marks were entered
on a peculiar form which showed their
exact location. Each recruit was
measured for chest expansion and
then he passed on to the skin exam
iners.
An optical board tested the recruits
ability to read letter charts at varying
distances. One specialist examined
all the recruits ears. He worked rap
idly, closing one of the mans ears at
time and whispering different num-
bers of phrases at varying distances
from the open ear. If the man re-
peated these correctly he passed; if
not, he was recorded as having de-
tions would reveal the cause of the
trouble and show the ailment either
durable or incurable. Then appro-
pirate notes would be made so that he
might have proper medical attention
later on.
The orthopedic board examined
each recruits feet and joints care
fully, noting minor defects which
might be cured by simple treatments
and paying much attention to his
knees. This board also measured the
recruits feet, having him stand with
4O-pound weight in his arms while
doing so. This was to determine how
much his foot would spread when he
was carrying the regulation pack so
he might have shoes that would fit
under actual service conditions. The
shoe size so found was entered on one
of his papers and while he remains
in the army that will be the only size
shoe he can obtain.
Twelve officers, made up the heart
and lung examination board, which
had large room to itself. Examin-
ations here were made with minute
care. If any examiner found evidence
of a defect in a recruit, that man had
to submit to a second examiners at
tention and if these two disagreed.
third made still another examination.
The neuro- -psychiatric board stood
each recruit up with arms outstretch-
ed, testing his nervous condition by
watching the wavering Of his fingers
and by other means. Nervous response
was tested by seating each man and
striking certain nerve centers with a
tiny rubber hammer. All sorts of
questions were asked the men by the
officers of this board, some of them
apparently of the vaguest nature.
Each, however, had it's purpose and
some of the simplest questions brought
certain men were unfit for the strain
of duty on the firing line
Besides all this there were general
medical and general surgical examin-
ations. The surgical examiners con-
tented themselves mainly with in
quiry as to the state of each recruits
bones and muscles feeling each bone
for signs Of old fractures that might
weaken it and searching for any lack
of symmetry in bony structures.
Some Of the men found wanting bv
SNNA'
the pasageway toward the discharge
office, bewildered a little and as yet
unaware they were to be rejected for
service. Each was in tow of what
amounted to a traffic policeman, an
enlisted man ordinarily stationed at
some turn of the long passage to
keep the recruits travelling in the right
direction.
Those who were more fortunate
continued through the procedure
alone, ultimately reaching the dressing
tent at the end. There they put on
the clothes they had lugged with them
through the tests and went into the
inoculating teams. There were six
Of these, occupying building to
themselves. Each was composed of
medical officer and a sanitary corps
man. and before them they had
everything necessary even to a tiny
file for cutting off the ends of the
ampules in which the anti-typhoid
serum comes. Indeed, throughout the