Norwich bulletin., 1918-09-25
FACTS AND COMMENT

a young men had volunteered for one branch or another es their country's service that college classes were re-. duced from ten to fifty per cent. Sen for classes in many institutions had practically disappeared before com mencemsRs, and the younger classes
 had 50 diminished in numbers that
 many subjects were no longer taught, and many instructors who were not in 6ervice found thamsezEes without oc- cupatioE. The colleges also found themselves not only without students to teach but also in some cases with out the funds necessary to maintain their planes in good physical cpndi- tion. The first draft law did not con tribute much to these difficulties, in- asmnch as the majority of college men are under q ana most of the older ones had volunteered before the law was passed. The new draft law however seemed destined to close the higher institutions of learning abso : lutely or at least to leave as students only those physically incapacitated for military service. The colleges as go- ing concerns would have suffered greatly, and civilization. whose cause they serve, would have suffered in : calculably, had the continued exist ence, of these institutions been al
 lowed to lapse.
 The war department has come to the rescue of the colleges with a new plan, whereby all young, men ready for college are urged n enter this tall. Once there, they will be exam ined by regular army surgeons and if not physically disqualified may en- ter at once the Students Army Train ing Corps. thereby becoming soldiers or sailors in government service. Their board and tuition will be paid
 directly to the college by the gov ernment and the students will receive in addition the regular priyate's pay of $30 per month. College dormitor- | ies will be designated as barracks, | college commons will become the sol diers' mess. and the men will be un- der military discipline every moment | Eleven hours a week are to be de-
 voted to military training and the rest | of the time given to allied academic
 subjects selected from a lis. prepared
 by the war department. One commis- stoned officer will be detailed for ev-
 cry 75 students At the end of, eact
 three months this officer will recon
 mend the disposition -to be made o1 each member of the s. A. T. c. who l has reached the age to join the col
 oFs. Students of engineering, chem isIry or medicine may be allowed te continue their studies. if their prof l ciency warrants it, others may be sent to officers training camps CT q depot brigades as privates. It i: planned that the s. A. T. c. shal hereafter be the only channel where by a young man may be sent. to al officers training camp.
 | In accordance with this plan uni versailles as strict in their require lments for admission as Harvard ar, admitting any high school graduatj
 of IS or over. The war is thus af fording to many young men Wh' could never have gone to college thu opportunity for a taste of college life if not for an entire university course
 with every incentive, both patriots and personal, to make good. Most o
 tEe colleges on or near the caster coast will have naval trainf2g Nnit
 uas well as army training corps rang
 ing all the way from 30 students a
 some of the smaller institutions { YaIe's large contingent Of. 600. Thu , the war department. while assurin
 itself of a suf1ciency of officers ade quately trained. has apparently solve ; the really serious problem that wa l IdCIilS OuT IiiS4lSiA ItlSl4lutlOIiS V!
 learning. These will in this way D . enabled to continue their existenc
 until the return of normal times al lows them to resume their usual func tions
 At the details of the battle of s Mihiel come out, the marveiously per
 feet work of our new army officers
 becoming known. Preliminary to tn ; laf o1lS- kta rf had been mapped from aerial obser , vation so that every hill and Valle, [ every regiment and battery were ac
 curately located. ThousAAds of de tail maps had been distributed amon the officers who were to take part the operation, and each man knew be } forehand exactly on what ground an 3 with what unit he was to enga g g Five thousand miles of telephone vii r had been laid up to the salient befol the battle, and once the attack We , launched motor trucks followed ha1 on the heels of the advancing troeI unreeing wires behind them. Whe | the trucks could go no farther, sign 5 corps men carried the reels beyon s instruments were attached, and heaC 8 quarters was informed of every nov . ment immediately on it's executio
 
 = ble, phone call promptly brought : to the attention of American gul !. and the offending Roche artillery W; e given it's quietus. So perfect was u : coordination of infantry and arti e lery, that the victory was gained wi l Ia minimum of loss To provide f T all emergencies, tfirty-f five hospit n trains were waiting behind the lin ]. and 10000 beds were in readines o but less than tenth of this equi x ment was needed for our own ca
 ualties and the German wounded e -. joyed Americas lavish preparatio
 Miles of American standard and na
 row gauge railways brought men a s supplies to the railheads. whence 4S a motor trucks carried them to
 fighting front. The whole gigan n enterprise was triumph of know L. edge and organization, and it attain n success commensurate with t
 wisdom that had planned and
 dash and confidence that executed n It is Americas beginning in a fit g in which she has never claimed II even desired proficiency, a field u
 has been considered Germany's ov Germany has gioried i'll similar sJ <. cesses as if the winning of victC n was in itself the exploit; Amer IL views her own initial success W < calm satisfaction, in that it pro' h to herself and the world her abili d not to perform a martial exploit. I N to complete and have forever dc z with disagreeable job,
 ss As the fighting seasoA wanes Is Europe the climate. of the near ei h becomes favorable for military opt
 ations, and Gen Ailenby has not ia
 ed to move promptly in Palestine. IS ter months of enforced quiet his A ot glo-Indian force swept forward a l. broke through the Turkish entrent IT, nients north of Jerusalem. and wf ,g the Mediterranean coast was dor
 hated by the British naval guns