Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1919-08-18

the subject. Most of them up to this
time had not been interested in it and
mad felt vaguely that compulsory
military training and service was
/ synonymous with the German system
and was not democratic. When
| France and Switzerland were brought
! to their attention as democracies, as
! efficient democracies and as countries
/ which had thoroughly developed
| system Of universal military training,
their eyes were opened and they saw
the matter In II new light. From this
! camp, directed in a large part by my
fathers and General Woods inspira-
ton and ideas, grew a nationwide
group of young men who felt the
/ seriousness Of the situation, young
men who realized we must take our
part and who wished, as one of my
! private soldiers put it to me. "At least
| to have a show for their white alley"
| when the war broke.
During the ensuing winter and sum-
mer in many parts of the country en-
thusiasts were working, and many
more camps were founded and carried
to a successful completion. Recognl-
tion of a mild sort was obtained fran
the national government Not recog-
milton which permitted men to so as
men should go in a democracy to
learn TO serve their country, as pupils
Of the country, at the country's eX-
pense, but at least as men doing some
thing which was not unrecogni2ed and
frowned on by their government
Toward the winter of 1917 father
talker ever Increasingly to all Of us
concerning his chance of being per-
mitted to take division or unit of
some sort to Europe. When war was
declared he took the mater up di-
reetly with the president. What hap
pened is now history. He took his dis
appointment as he took many other
disappointments in his life. Often
when he had worked with all that was
in him for something, when all that
could be done was done, he would say:
We have done all we. can; the result
is now on the knees of the gods"
Meanwhile he was constantly inter-
ested in and constantly talked with all
of us about what we were doing, Att
last, two months after we severed dip |
lomattc relations, training camps for
officers We're called into being with |
enormous waste and iIiefficiency, and |
we ambled slowly toward the training
VI an d. my anu It's commanding per
sonnet.
All of us except my brother Quen-
tin left for Pattshurg. Quentin on the
last day of the armistice had tele-
phoned from college to father to say
he would go into the air service,
where his real ability as a mechanician
stood him in good stead. OF the other
three, Kermit had had the least train
ing from a purely military standpoint,
having been in South America most
of the time when we had been work
ing on the 'Plattsburg movement"
His ability and experience, however,
in other ways were greater, as in his
trips in Africa and South
America he had handled bodies of
men in dangerous situations. Archie
had attended practically all the camps,
and was naturally a fine leader of men {
and one of great daring
At Plattsburg Archie and ! were
fortunate enough to be put in the
same company. During the major
part of the month we were there we
We're in charge of the company Our
duty was to instruct potential officers I
in the art of war which we ourselves
did not know. We spent hours wig
and semaphoring. Neither of
these methods of signaling did ! ever
see used in action.
Blood and Water Rust.
In our conference" periods the
door was opened for questions. The
conversation would be something like
his: what is light artillery" Light
is the lighter branch of the
THAT is all very WELL but