The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1918-11-14
CAMOUFLACE IS ART
OF MODERN WARFARE
Word Comes From French
slanggJ5How It Came to Be
Used at This Time.
Miss Willie Duncan.

Behind American Lines In France.
(by mail.)-A make believe forest
stands along the edge of the road at
the entrance to the American camou-
flage station here. 1t looks as natural
as the real woods along the fighting
front, with the shiny silver bark of
beeches, the rough. jagged trunks of the
old apple trees and the. %sprouting tops
Of the dwarf willows.
Yet every tree in the camouflage
forest has a steel core within which an
observer peers forth to watch the
movements of an eneny or a machine
gun is located to sweep forth from its
hidden rec ass. They are only one of
the many strange devices to deceive
n mystify the enemy which this
American camouflage station Is sending
forth to the fighting army.
Camouflage Is one Of the distinctly
new products of the war, even In the
name, which was-used for the first
time by General de Castlenau, Chief of
staff Of General Joffre. The word is
not good French. but comes from the
argot, or French slang, the verb
"camoufler' being used by French po-
lice to indicate any disguise used to
capture criminals. For Example, a de-
tectiye camouflages himself by dress
ing as a coachman.
Early in the wal the famous portrait
painter. Giron de Sivela, conceived the
idea of Disgusting batteries and build
ings by painting them in fantastic pat
terms blending with the landscape. He
laid the plan before General de Castle
nau, who, struck with the practical
value OF the plan, exclaimed "Camou-
flase." And from that time the words
grew and with it grew into a tremen-
dous magnitude this art of mislead-
ing the enemy.
IL Tho 4 f,,arfno,. .r-... -, 49,
10 make a full use of the strange new
weapon Of warfare and the camou-
flage plant is one of the most complete
IN existence with a working force Of
nearly LOCO and a staff including many
or the we'll known mural artists and
decorators and sculptors Of America,
al OF them engaged in producing these
curious devices by which military art
deceives the enemy.
n Of the officers. Captain Homer.
Saint Gaudens Is a son of the American
sculptor Saint Gaudens. Another.
Major Tracy, is a prominent architect
who did much Of the work on the Lin
coin memorial. Lieutenant Barry
faulkner, Is an American mural artist
Lieutenant Sherry Frey. an Amer.
lean sculptor in Paris. Sergeant Leg
lie Ihrasher and r. Earl Christy and
Corporal Duer are well known Aneri-
can illustrators; Walt Lee Is a car
toohlst and Sergeant Murphy is an
American mural decorator whose work
Is well known in England.
But there must be something moro
than stage properties in the produc-
tons OF these artists. they must be
practical and suited to the uses Of war
fare, and 1t is the part Of Colonel Ben
Mon. mead OF the ~camouflage station
to keep these artistic productions with
In practical limits. The colonel is an
engineer officer with West Point train
ing. and when any ~camouflage is adopt-
ed for American army uses, it has the
doubie merit OF being the product Of
american artistic skill and at the same
time an eminently practical device from
the standpoint of military engineering.