Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1919-04-04
CAMP LEWIS WILL
Be PERMANENT POST
NEW DIST DIVISION WILL BE
MAINTAINED THERE, MARCH
ANNOUNCES.

ment has definitely determined to
make. Camp Lewis q permanent divi.
sional post, announcement was made
In the national capital this week by
General Peyton c. March. chief OF
staff, that one of the divisions pro
posed for the new army will be
formed at Camp Lewis and will be
known as the 91st division great
honor to the wild West
( According to the announcement, as
reported by Associated Press dis.
patches from Washington, D. c., the
general staff has decided on the re-
tention of the numerical designation
of IA National Guard and National
Army divisions which have brilliant
war records. These will be kept in
the permanent military establishment
in order to preserve their inspiring
traditions. -. ~'sass,
Among the divisions to be retained
In name is the 91st, which was or
ganixed and trained at Camp Lewis
and went overseas from the Ameri-
can Lake camp, winning glory in the
Arg0nne and in Belgium. This does
not mean, military men say, that
there will be delay in demobilizine
the present personnel of the 91st.
Instead, 1t means that the 0rganiza-
tion as an organization will not 60 out
OF existence with demobiliation, but
will be continued in skeleton form BY
iYeans Of transfers to It OF men who
elect to remain insthe service and by
the addition Of recruits. until the
new army can be fully organized and
manned. In other words. the ofIicera
and men now Ia the 91st (Wild West)
division will be permitted to leave
the service just the same as the men
Of other divisions. but their division
al numerical designation will be re-
tained at the place of organization.
The announcement by General
March regarding the proposed new
divisions specified the camp on which
each is to be based. The 9lst II Hist
cd for Camp Lewis. thus .perpetuat-
ing the tie between the division and
the place where 1t came into b Ing
and received all but its advance bat.
tie training. s
: No nnal announcement has ever
been made by the war department
that Camp Lewis would be divi.
sional post. although from its incep
tion this development has been dis
cussed and generally favored by army
oflicers. Secretary of War Newton
D. Baker has expressed himself sim
ilarly favorably, but the uncertain
ties Of army reorganization were re-
ferred to as preventing any definite
statement as to the future of the va
rious camps.
Secretary Baker was noncommuni
cative on the subject at the time OF
his recent visit to the American Lake
cantonment. although he praised the
ramp highly and indicated. that the
war department ranked it as second
to none.
The announcement Of General
March naming Camp Lewis as the
home for the division that will per
petuste the name OF the 91st. coming
20 soon after Secretary Bakers visit
II regarded az significant. 1t is sug.
gested that Secretary Bakers recent
visit to Camp Lewis was to look over
the ground again before definitely
taking the step indicated In General
March's announcement.
The importance of making a per
manent divisional post Of Camp Lewis
has been recognized from the first
and those In closest touch with the
deciding powers in the national cap
ital have believed that this ster
would be taken. il congress left the
war department. opportunity to work
out it's own plans, unhampered by
Continued on Page Ten.