The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1919-05-09
SHIPPING HOME 100000 men
MONTH IS SOME LARGE SIC JOB
Hilarious Happiness of ~Doushboys at Embarkation Ports in France
Is infectious Enough to Make a Stone Dog Wag
His TaI-Dihfcuties Of the Task inter-
estingy Described.

"uN'eu W q pace ABOARD, previously
selected, according to the nature of
his case. So much for the wounded
and sick.
How They Are Handled.
Then there Is the well soldier to be
considered. Soldiers on active service,
selected for rehabilitation, are arriv-
Ing at the embarkation ports in groups
which number from 1000 to 5000, and
at all hours of the day or night. 1t
rains almost every day along the At
lantic seaboard in France. 1t Is a cold,
disagreeable rain, which chills the
Don and makes mud ankle deep.
This means that warm accommoda.
lions and hot food must be always
ready.
lei they must await their turn to
sail. Some may remain in the concen-
tlation camp six weeks. 1t all de-
ponds upon the ocean transportation.
Ii they arrive in units-such as regl-
ments, battalions, etc.-they must be
kept together and sail together.
Not all soldiers come in regiments
or battalions, either. There Is the
problem of the casual" for instance.
This man Is a problem even to him
self. He started out in the army as
a member Of a certain unit. But In
the necessary shifting, reducing, in
creasing and separation of his and
other units or outfits, he became de-
tached.
Whether coming In a regiment or
alone, too, each man must be carefully
checked Upon entering and leaving and
also at the dock before boarding the
transport. This is no small job when
$4,000 or more men are handled each
month.
Going Through the "MilI."
Probably the only inkling that a well
soldier at the embarkation concentra-
ton camps In France has that his in
ternment is nearly up and that he will
soon be on his way home is the order
to report at the mill" The mill"
is a series of buildings, which trans
forms the feelings of a doughboy from
that Of a cootie, mud-pestered individ-
ual to that of a care-free, wealthy
boulevard promenader.
The individual doughboy receives
his order to report at the front en-
trance. He enters a huge room with
hundreds Of others, is assigned to a
place on n of the long benches which
face each other like the pews in the
large railroad station at home. A big
clothes rack on rollers faces him. He
Is given a Red Cross comfort bag for
the storage of his valuables, a check
with the number of his place on II
with a duplicate on his clothes, which
he is ordered to remove to the last
thread.
So many minutes are allowed him
for the disrobing process. There are
others waiting. So the doughboy
strips and takes his place in line at
the side of the room. The line moves
forward and he finds himself in a
st~eam-clouded room with tiny streams
Of hot water kissing from shower
sprays overhead.
A big sergeant shoves a wad of soft
soap into his hand as he passes and
shouts: Make 1t snappy. You've just
got 30 seconds" Sergeants are always
in a hurry and expect everyone else
to be. The doughboy jumps under one
of the sprays with a gasp, which turns
to a shout as he feels the hot water
bring a glow to his body. At the word
"all out" he steps to n side and is
handed a towel to dry himself.
Another line Is formed and quiet
creeps over the crowd. The next room
holds the doughboy's fate, and he
knows it. It's the medical inspection
room. It's the same old feeling he
had when he enlisted and came to be
examined. Doctors always were the
bane Of his existence. The door opens
and he steps through.
Medical Inspection.
An officer arises from beneath a sign
marked "chest," taps his lungs and lis
tens to his heart. He says nothing,
but sits down and marks some hero
glyphics on a card, which he passes to
the officer behind him. The doughboy
passes on, too. His eyes, ears and
throat are gone owe by this officer.
He passes on /; the'little white card al
ways preceding him. He tries to
glimpse the marks, but even If he does
set them. he doesn't know whether
they are favorable or not.
He passes to the last of the six ta-
bles and feels wors than he did after
the Argonne offensive. With the rest
he passes on into the next room, where
another sergeant with just as loud a
voice as the noncom In the bathroom
tells him again to snake II snappy'
and find his place.
The room resembles the first one In
size and equipment. Only the win
dows are on the opposite side of the
budding!
. The rack on which he placed his
selothes In the first room Of the "mill'
has been rolled, while he has been in
the shower, through a side door into
a delousing and fumigating room. and
inspected and put here. He grabs his
clean clothes from the rack with q
great grin. Even If his clothes have
hepn adiudQpd At for salvage and ro.