New-York tribune., 1919-05-21

1t was after many hundreds Of these let
ters had passed over the two desks in "The
Stars and Stripes" Office that the larger
aspect OF the situation began to loom up. 1t
was realized that many people at home were
IN grave danger Of receiving distorted idea
and an entirely biassed perspective of the
greatest war in America history. The stu
alton was presented to Brigader General D.
E. Nolan, chief of intelligence of the staff,
and it was theorized after due reflection that
many of these stories were actually believed
by the narrators because of the compara-
lively small general viewpoint of tens of
thousands of soldiers who knew or had little
opportunity to know much of anything that
transplred outside of their immediate regi-
mental or initial sectors. Obviously, there
appeared immediate cure for the evil but
a method of preventing its expansion was
agreed upon. In a conference which dis
cussed the problem it was suggested that al
most every profession in civil life had found
some corresponding niche in the A E. F. to
drop into; thus lawyers had gone in great
numbers to the judge advocates department,
mercantile men to the quartermaster's de-
partment chemists to chemical warfare, en-
glneers to engineer regiments, and down the
line wherever square peg fitted a square hole.
But one comparatively small profession had
had, it was observed, no niche to drop into,
and that profession was represented by hun
drcds of eX-newspaper men who had served
mainly in the combat units where scope of
general observation most limited Of all.
In days of action they knew what de-
veloping only in their own company and
generally their limit Of knowledge seldom
reached far out of the division area.
Writers Assembled
Following the conference at Chaumont,
small boxed" notice was printed on the front
page of "The Stars and Stripes" asking all
men in the A. E. F. who had been profess
sonal writers in civil life to send in their
names and addresses. Without knowing the
object of the registration, nearly $50
sponded-ex-writers for publications of all.
sorts and varieties, large and small.
They were brought to Pars-two hundred in
the first lot-and told the object of a special
train trip throughout the entire A. E. F. and
into Germany as guests of General Pershing
They notified that the tour of two weeks
was to be truth tour and not necessarily
a mere sightseeing trip. They were informed
that no "camounage" would cover any de-
partment of the entire American military
organization its past and present, and that
they might look into it's very vitals in the
interests of truth. 1t was emphasized that
poitics-army, personal prvate-had no
part in the show, and that all distinction of
rank would be abolished. Newspapers and
magazines of thirty-tive states repre-
sented the special train that pulled into
Coblenz to-day. Among the representatives
were majors, captains ieutenants, sergeant
majors, top sergeants, plain sergeants, cor
porals and prvates, first class and plain
buck" They were first shown Paris, eat
ing the same meals and seeing the same
things. Then they boarded the train to see
the A. T. F. in its functional unity.
How Truth Vas Taught
They saw Chateau Thierry, Vaux, Verdun,
Montfaucon, Varennes, Grandpre, Buzancy,
the Meuse, the Argonne and the battlefeds
from Sty NIihie to Sedan. They went to
G. H. @. for information on how battles were
planned and they jumped to the S. o. S. to
see how armies were fed and supplied. These
newspaper men of limited scope during act
ual fighting admitted after they had seen
the enormous supply organizations at Bor-
deaux, st. Nazaire, Brest, Gevres, Is-sur-til,
st. Pierre -des- Corps, Mehun and other square
miles of American industry where men were
still sweating and toiling that they had once
entertained a certain contempt for the men
who ''sat back in the S. O. S. on easy streets
Sinking duty" But when they learned
that these "shirkers" had been working from
twelve to fifteen hours each day, seven days
each week. for many months they changed
their minds One S. o. S. worker who hap
pened to be member of the truth" party
was shown a "plbox" on one of the hottest
battlefelds. He had served in the S. O. S.
medical department, piling boxes of medi-
cines destined for the front.
"Is that where they kept medical supplies
during the battle ?" he asked.
The combat writers were equally amazed
with their observations in the S. O. S. They
agreed that if the S. O. S. had not toiled long
tedious hours to send up the food, ammuni-
ton and supplies of every kind that battles
might not have been successfully fought. 1t
developed clearly to the truth" tourists that
the S. 0. S. view of the front and the fronts
view of the S. O. S. had been neither the
fault of one nor the other 1t was limited
viewpoint each man filing the niche assigned
and judging from results, doing it we'll.