Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1919-08-19

culating to and fro. Endorsement after
Endorsement being added, until when
l saw 1t, January, 1919, after the war
was finished, there were some TWEEN
weight series Of remarks and no one
was any the wiser.
The Plattsburg Man Reports.
A story that always appealed to me
was told to me by one of my officers,
of the time when the troop train was
wing in the Jersey marshes waiting to
go on board ship. A very good Off
Ger, Arnold by name, had command
Of one of the companies of the TWEEN
ty-sixth infantry. A number of lieu
tenants were sent from the training
camps to Join the First division. The
military knowledge of the lieutenants
consisted in the main of a month at
Plattsburg at their own expense and
a month for which the government
paid. The lieutenants, after getting to
New York, had their uniforms pressed
and cleaned and their shoes beauti-
fully polished, feeling that at least
they would look the part. They went
out to join the troops, who were lying
in the cars, dirty and uncomfortable,
after travelling for four days. Arnold
blouse off, unshaven, with his feet on
the seat in front of him. One of the
nice young lieutenants came in to re-
port to him, looking as the lieutenant
himself told me afterward, like
fashionable clothes advertisement
and knowing about as much about
military matters as canary bird.
Arnold looked at him in a weary
way, shook his head sadly and re-
marked to the officer beside him,
I'VE have only ourselves to blame for
it, Indeed, we were to blame for
conditions, and such of us as were for
tunate enough to see service in Eu-
rope had the sins of our unprepared-
ness brought before us in the most
glazing lighN
Brave, But Unframed.
Just how much training and expert
ence were of value was everywhere
evident. In my opinion, all divisions
sent over by this country We're approx
imately equal in intelligence and cour-
age. There was, however, the greatest
difference between the veteran divi-
sions and those which had just ar
rived. Each division, after being CIV
en- the same amount of training and
fighting would show up much the
same, but put a division which had
been fighting for six months along
side of one that had just arrived and
in every detail you could see the off
ference. The men of the newly ar
rived division were as courageous as
the men of the old division. Their in
telligence was as good, but they did
not know the small things which come
with training and experience and
which, in a close battle, make the
difference between victory and de-
feat, the difference between needless
sacrifice and the sacrifice which
brings results.
A great friend of mine, Col. Fred
erick Palmer, put this to me very
C early. He was up observing the ac-
ton of our troops in the Argonne and
came on young lieutenant of a pla-
toon of infantry. The lieutenant was
fidgeting and highly nervous. When
Palmer came up he said, "Sir, there
is a machine gun on that hill. / don't
know whether / should attack 1t or
whether / should wait until the troops
on the right and left arrive and force
it out. l don't whether il is killing my
men to no purpose whatever to adj
vance. / don't know what to do. |
am not afraid. My men are not
afraid"
This man belonged to one OF the
new'y arrived divisions, Given the ex-
perience, he would have known ex-
actiy what to do. If he had been a
man of an older division and had seen
sufficient service he would have been
doing what was necessary when Col
onel Palmer arrived.
ITO Be Continued Tomorrow