Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1919-08-28
BY THEODORE ROOSEVELT
Officers as Keen as Men in Competitions Organized to In
terest Soldiers Drum and BugIe Corps Add Noise With
Great Enthusiasm Helps DoughbOy "Show off,"
CHAPTER Iv-Continued.

About this time We were issued gas
masks for the first time thus furnish
ing us with another weapon, of means,
of warfare about which we knew moth
ing There was small active individ-
ual with glasses from general head
quarters who was supposed to be our
instructor. He used to give us long
lectures on gas, in which he told us
when gas had first been used in the
past q believe by the Creeks how it
had been employed in the beginning
of the war, what gases had been used
and what their chemical components
were. He to d us at great length how
to protect ourselves against the gas
cloud, and then informed us that cloud
gas was not used any longer. Later he
took up the deadly effects of mustard
gas and how We must Immediately put
on the gas masks when gas was evil
dent. Toward the end of the lecture
a deeply interested officer asked him
how one could detect gas when it was
present in dangerous quantities. He
didn't know, so We left the lecture
with full information as to obsolete
methods of using gas, with full infor-
nation as to its chemical components
and effects, but with no information
as to how to detect it when it was
present in dangerous quantities.
To try to put interest in the work
and make it less hard on the men, we
organized competition in everything
competition for the best platoon billet
competition for the best platoon in
close order drill, bayonet, etc. The
prize was a most negligible. Some
times ii would simply be that the vic
torious platoon was excused from
some formation, but the men took to
1t like a duck TO water. The officers
became fully as keen as the men. I
never shall forget the company COM
manders who. together with me,
formed the judges. They would al
ways start off by saying in an airy
manner it was for the good of the
entire organization and that they per-
sonaIly did not care whether their
company won or not, provided the
batta ion was benefited AS soon as
the contest was under way, however,
all was different and it generally mar
rowed down to me doing all the judg-
ing. They would come up and protest
and standing in competitions in The Of
ficial bulletin for all the word as if
they were managers of a big league
baseball team.
Drum Corps Organized.
About this time we organized a
drum and bugle corps. This corps
got so it could render very loudly and
very badly a number of French and
American tunes. We used them on
all our long marches and maneuvers.
We used them for reveille in the
morning, for retreat in the evening,
fpt I1iI
les. The men got so they thought a
good deal of them and frequently
when marching through towns the
troops would call out, How about
that band?" The doughboy likes to
show off. l know myself that | al
ways got a thrill of conscious pride
going through a town, the troops
marching at attention, colors flying,
bugles playing, drums baeting and the
women and children standing on the
streets and shouting.
We had, in addition to this early
training long training in maneuvers. !
! disapproved heartily of these man
euvers at the time, looking at them
from the point of view of battalion /
commander, who feels that any at
tempt on the part of the higher COM
msnd to have maneuvers on a large |
scale is wasting valuable time that |
might be employed by him to better
advantage. / am sure now that Cen |
eal Fiske was right when he pre-
scribed them ana that the maneuvers |
contributed greatly to the ability of |
the First Division to keep in contact |
when it struck the line. The necessity !
them, of course, was based on the fact |
that, great as was the ignorance of our
junior officers, ii was comparatively |
far less than the ignorance of our
higher command and staff. These
maneuvers were bitter work for the |
soldiers who would be out all day, |
insufficienty clad and insufficiently |
fed. l have had a bloody trail left |
in the snow by the men who at this
time had virtually no boots. We used |
to call it Indian warfare and say |
We were chsing the last of the Mohi-
cans over the Ligny sector
Trench Maneuvers.
About this time we began to work |