The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1919-06-14
EDUCATING THOUSANDS
OF SOLDIERS IN EUROPE
Gift of Uncle sam to Young Men
Who Remained in Service After
Wars End.

wal EUus
Beaune.- The possibility of making
the United States army a great edu-
cational medium for all America has
been demonstrated by the American
Expeditionary Force university here,
in the opinion Of leading educators in
that institution. Their experience in
two months Of its sessions has con-
WINGED these instructors that the great
experiment has pointed a way to uni
yersal education in the United States
The university soon must close for
its students are Going home 10 Ameri-
ca to be demobiIzed. (The closing
exercises were held May 800. Yet
what it has done and still is doing at
this writing viii perhaps serve as a
guide to the development of an army
educational system yet TO be worked
out in America.
More than $500 American soldiers
have since March 10 been obtaining a
higher education in this university as
gift from Uncle Sam. The institu-
tion was composed OF 10 colleges
with 5S4 instructors and offered S0S
courses of study, any Of which the
soldiers might elect to pursue. II was
unique in respect to the facts that its
entire student body was clad in khaki
that the students slept in army cots,
so or go in hut, with their rifles
slung beneath them. They rose for
the days studies at the call of the
bugle and marched to their school
rooms in companies.
Outside the school rooms army dis
cipline prevailed but in them the
army was forgotten and private
was as good as a captain.
The directors of these 13 colleges,
were distinguished educators in Amer
lea and the grade of instruction at
Beaune was regarded as equivalent to
university work in America. En-
4 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 il he had had its equiya-
LEM:
Col Ira l.. Reeves, a regular army
officer well known for his work as
president Of Norwich university at
Mortified, VT, was the directing
head Of the university. Three months
ago this university was little moro
than a project, Abandoned American
hospitals whore the wounded from
the Argonne drive received treatment
were seized Upon as a nucleus. and
other. buildings appeared like mnsh.
rooms, There were no brownstone
fronts, noclinging ivy, no green turf Of
! the old colleges at home lust plain,
Imprinted board. and canvas army
buildings With plenty or bootipitted
mud abouts a little city in Itself.
! Nearby was Pershing Field for ath
letics where FIVE baseball fields were
in nse and there was opportunity fol
track meets and other athletics
( Eight miles away at Allerey was the
agricultural college with about 230t
( students. aa l4l 1851 sAi p93
+ The colleges Of this institution, the
| first OF its kind in history, were.
4 Agriculture. arts, business citizen
ship, correspondence, education. enei
neerlng, journalism law, letters
medicine, music and science. There
were 5SS classea and the average en-
rollment in each class was 3S MEM
The agricultural college headed the
list for attendance. The business
1 college was second with 1899 stud
ents. engineering third with SAG and
then followed letters with no
science 574, arts 267, education rs
journalism 121, law lac. 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
conducted in the barrack school
rooms, but a large airdrome was con
yerted into combination lecture
room and theater