Imperial Valley press., 1919-06-21
ARMY COLLEGE.

BEAUNE, France, June 17.-(Cor-
respondence of The Associated Press.)
The possibility of making the Uni
ted States Army great educational
medium for all America has been dem
onstrated by the American EXpedl-
tionary Force University here, in the
the opinion Of leading educators in
that institution. Their experience in
two months of its sessions has con-
vinced these instructors that the
great experiment has pointed d way to
universal education in the United
States
The university soon must close for
it's students are going home to Amer
lea to be demobilized. (The closing ex-
ercises were held May 30.) Yet what
it has done and still is doing at this
writing will perhaps serve as a
guide to the development of an army
educational system yet to be worked
out in America.
More than 5000 American soldiers
have since March Is been obtaining a
| higher education in this university as
a gift from Uncle Sam. The institution
was COMPOSED of 13 colleges with 584
! instructors and offered 303 courses of
study any of which the soldiers might
elect to pursue. 1t was unique in re-
spect to the fact that its entire stu
dent body was clad in khaki, that the
students slept in army cots, so or 60
| in hut with their rifles slung be-
meath them. They rose for the days
studies at the call of the bugle and
marched to their school rooms in
companies.
Outside the schoolrooms army dis
cipline prevailed but in them tie army
was forgotten and private was as
good as captain.
The directors of these 13 colleges
were distinguished educators in Amer
lea and grade of instruction given
at Beaune was regarded as equivalent
to university work in America En-
trance examinations were not requir-
ed. The word of the applicant that he
had had high school education was
the sole requirement and this was
waived if he had had its equivalent.
Colonel Ira l.. Reeves, a regular
army officer well known for his work
as president Of Norwich University at
Northfield, Vermont, was the direct
ing head Of the university. Three
months ago this university was little
more than project. Abandoned
American hospitals where the wound
ed from the Argonne drive received
treatment were seized upon as nu-
cleus and other buildings appeared
like mushrooms. There were no
brownstone fronts. no clinging ivy, no
green turf of the old colleges at home
just plain, unpainted board and canvas
army buildings with plenty of boot
pltted mud about; little city in it
self.
Nearby was Pershing Field for ath-
letics where five baseball fields were
in use and there was opportunity for
track meets and other athletics. Eight
miles away at Allerey was the agricul-
| tural college with about 2,300 stu
dents
The colleges of this institution, the
first of its kind in history, were: Ag-
rlculture, arts, business, citizenship,
correspondence, education, engineer
ing, journalism, law, letters, medicine,
music and science. There were 53S
classes and the average enrolment in
each class was 38 men.
| The agricultural college headed the
| list for attendance. The business col
| lege was second with 1929 students,
engineering third with 846 and then
| followed letters with ITO, science 574,
rts, 267, education 78, journalism 121,
law 146, medicine 1874 and music 149.
Many of the soldiers studied French
and made excellent progress partly
because of the splendid opportunity to
practice the language with their
French friends. For the most part the
classes of the university were con-
Quoted in the barrack schoolrooms, but
a large aerodrome was converted into
combination lecture room and thea