The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1918-09-20
BALLOON IN WAR
DOES GREAT WORK
"ElEPHANTS" USED FOR o1sER.
WALTON AND % DIRECT
FIRE OF BATTERIES.
PILOTS PARACHUTE JUMPERS
Thousand Community Labor Boards
Have Been Organized-Gun Produc-
ton for Army Grows RapidIy-Iron
Rations Ordered.


Rations Ordered.
/, (From Committee on Public Information
, Washington.-Up to a few years age
, In the public mind, all balloons wer
associated with parachute jumpers
. county fairs and circuses. They wer
used very much like their rival the Of,
side show, full Of freaks, solely t,
draw a crowd. Today Uncle Sam 1!
making balloons and training their op
orators for distinctly another purpose
The ungainly old balloon of circus days
Is now a rival Of its smarter and more
modern brother, the airplane, In the jot
Of being eyes for the army and navy
A dead industry was revived when thu
war balloon was originated.
Swinging far aloft at the end Of q
cable, these elephants" as they are
now called, support trained observers
who. by means Of powerful field glasses
and telephones, give range and direc.
ton to batteries. These in turn, with
well directed shots, put enemy batter
les out of business and break up infan-
try forming for attack. A stationary
balloon four or Ave thousand feet In
the air Is an ideal place for an OBJ
server.
So Uncle Sans parachute Jumpers
are being instructed today, not as
entertainers to draw and thrill crowds
BY Ieaps from the Clouds" but for
their own personal safety and
the safety Of their records made
at high elevations, when a shell
or an enemy airplane rips their
balloon and they have to jump. For
although their balloon may be destroy
ed, the men in the basket usually come
safely to earth and bring their maps
and photographs with them. It is life
full Of excitement these men of the bal
loon lead, and to be a member one has
to have plenty Of nerve, courage and
daring In his makeup. @
Aviat0rs take off their hats to the
balloon men. One recently returned
American air pilot told Of an adventure
he had on trial trip In a balloon;
how interested he was becoming i'm the
work Of the observer as the latter ex-
planned the great panorama outstretch-
ed below him; when suddenly the bal
loon man interrupted his talk to see
that his parachute straps were O. K,
climbed to the edge of the basket
shouted: BEAT It; follow me-" and
disappeared over the side. The avi-
atOr said he took one look at the wind
lass pulling the balloon to earth below,
another at the oncoming enemy plane
and said to himself, "Not for mine."
He said he did not have the courage
to jump and did not. Fortunately the !,
enemy plane was beaten off by allied
planes before it could get any nearer.
Provost Marshal General Crowder
was requested by the British embassy
to give notice to the fact that British
subjects, including declarants, who had
registered before July 80, 1918, may
enlist voluntarily in the British or Ca
madam army up to and including Sep
ember %, 1918. Those who registered
IN August "a, 1918, may so enlist up
o and including September %, 1918.
Those who register on September IL,
91S, may so enlist up to and includ-
ng October IL, 1918.
During the period so allowed for vol
lntary enlistment, British subjects may
lpply for exemption to the British am
assadOr.
AT the end Of the period allowed for
enlistment, British subjects,
n each Of these classes, may no longer
Mist in the British or Canadian army;
ut unless exempted by the British
AMBASSADOR, they become liable to mil
AIRY service and may claim exemption
nder the United States Selective Serv-
q law.
Experiments in laundering shoes are
eing conducted at various camps by ,
le conservation reclamation division !.
the Quartermaster corps. The meth
used is the same employed by the
merican expeditiOnary forces.
A solution composed Of one quart Of :
rong disinfectant to 30 gallons Of wa
r was used to wash about 200 army
ices in standard laundry machine. !.
he solution used is germicide, antisep- .
and deOdorant After. IA minutes =
ASKING, the shoes were removed, dried :
r about an hour and then resoled. :,
he results were found to be highly :
tisfactory. After the shoes are laun- !,
red and repaired they are creased =
lth clubbing to make them more pli- =
lie and at the same time to preserve -
Q leather. :"
Save a nutshell to help save a lifei
Nuts, the shells Of nuts and seeds :,
d pits Of several varieties of fruits ~
Q needed In quantity supply to make =,