The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1919-05-24
PEACE ARMY TO
Be ALL-AMERICAN
lIIiterates Will Be Drilled Men,
tally as Well as Phys
icaIIy.
CITIZENSHIP AS 4 reward
Major Ferris Development Battalion
at Camp Upton Furnishes Basis
tor New Activity-spIendld
Results Already Shown.

Camp Upton, L. 1.-The knowledge
gained during the war in connection
with the training and instruction of
1lliterate and non-English speakers is
to be turned to account in the recruit
Ing of peace-time army.
BY direction of the war department
there is being established here the
hrst recruit educational center" for
which so barracks and other build
lngs have been set aside, and it will
be conducted on the lines followed by
Maj. Ralph Hall Ferris when he made
such success of development bat
talon No. 6, which went out of being
when the armistice was signed.
Major Ferris is retiring as camp
morale officer to become commander
of the center, which is the outgrowth
OF his own plan.
Brigadier General Nicholson, camp
commander, received within a few
days the order to establish the center,
and recruiting has begun throughout
the eastern and northeastern depart
ments of the army.
Will Be Taught English.
An illiterate or non-English-speak-
ing recruit who enlists under the new
plan will be taught to speak English,
will receive thorough American train
Ing from officers born here, and will
in addition get citizenship papers
when his enlistment term of three
years has expired.
Under the draft act 249 per cent of
the men enlisted, or practically one
quarter of them, were unable to read
a newspaper or write letter home.
There were 1900 such men sent here
and they were put in Major Ferris
development battalion. His method
of training and educating them at
tracted attention in Washington. In
the notification sent to General Mich
olson by Maj. Gen. Henry Jervey, as
sistant chief of staff, he said: "Your
camp has been selected not only
because it is centrally located
but also because of the excel
lent results in connection with the
teaching Of English that have been
obtained in development battalion No.
6, Camp Upton"
On August 21, 1913 the Sixth devel-
opment unit was organized and all
rockies who were illiterate or did not
speak English, except a few who had
physical defects, were transferred to
it. The teachers selected were pri-
Yates or noncOmmissioned officers who
held university degrees or who were
teachers in civil life. Race was not
considered in the choosing of officers.
1t was soon proven that squads and
platoOns composed of different nation
alities received their military instruc-
ton as easily as if racial groups had
been organized for the purpose. Only
English was permitted to be spoken
and general gatherings of the men.
Instruction except in the elementary
classes was given in English.
Made Good Progress.
Within three months men who could
speak little or no English when they
entered the battalion became suffi-
GENTLY proficient in military English
to fulfill the ordinary functions of
soldiers both in organization and on
separate missions. In addition prac-
ttcally all of the recruits proved their
spirit Of Americanism by becoming
citizens.
The recruits upon being accepted
for the new center will be classified
according to their knowledge of Eng
lish and assigned to battalions accord
ingly. A school Of instruction of the
illiterate and Notwithstanding re-
cruits is being established. The
course Of instruction will be normally
four months, or six months in excep-
tional cases. The men will be classed
in groups of Is to 20 and will be grad
ed according to the progress shown.
A board of examiners will examine
the recruits for classification and pre-
pare suitable tests to determine the
rate of progress especially Of slow
learning men and the reasons for their
backwardness. When the recruits
have developed sufficiently for assign
ment Major Ferris will report them
to the adjutant general Of the army
for DISPOSITION.