The review. [volume] (High Point, N.C.) 1908-19??, 1919-09-04
WRITER'S WHO ARE
D9FF|NG UNIFORMS
SERVED TIER COUNTRY WELL
DURING THE WAR IN MANY
KINDS OF WORK..
SOME ARE NOTED NOVELISTS
Rupert Hughes, Arthur Somers Roche
and Kenneth L. Roberts Among
Those Who Rendered Good Service
MANY Newspaper Men in Army.
By EDWARD 3, CLARK.

| WaSnlngtOn.-Un orders or the
war department all the officers holding
temporary commissions in the United
States army will sever their connec-
ton with the service by September 80.
| Men who entered the service for the
wartime period fast are leaving. Thou
sands Of men who wore the bars, the
leaves Or the eagles on their shoulders
for a long enough time to help thrash
the enemy, are going back into civil
life, but there is a goodly number of
them left yet, for whom the knot still
is to be severed.
There was a large number of book,
magazine and newspaper writer's in
| the United States army. They did all
kinds of work for which their training
| fitted them. Some of them were in
the intelligence service, some Of them
in the war history division, and many
| more of them, who took camp training,
| were in cOmbatant units.
In one little group in the army in
telligence service, working side by
side day after day, until orders sent
them elsewhere, were several men
whose names are known to the public
as writer's. Rupert Hughes, the novel
list and playwright, was one of this
group. With him was Kenneth L.
Roberts, story writer, playwright and
voluminous contributor to Life"
Others in the group were Richard
A1drich, who has written standard
books on grand opera and is the music
critic of the New York Times; Arthur
Somers Roche, the novelist, son OF
James Jeffrey Roche, the poet, and
several other writer's of less proxni-
nence and less merit, among whom
put my name.
Novel Writer'S and Good Fellows.
Now it happened that the least OF
these was the ranking officer, so in
a way while he did not attempt to ex-
ercise authority, for it was not neces-
sary, he learned much of those with
whom he was associated. People
know Rupert Hughes through his
stories. They ought to know him
through personal acquaintance for he
is a man of the rarest charm.
1t was Hughes great disappoint-
ment in life that he could not go to
France to serve in combat unit. he
put in years of hard driving service in
the national guard and year or more
of grilling work as line officer on the
border. The fates decreed that he
should not go abroad. He took the
disappointment like a soldier and did
commanding service in that place in
which it was appointed him to work.
= Kenneth L. Roberts is a rare, roll
1i11-i oho NxTif
somewhere within him which kept him
true to his serious task through all the
hours of grinding labor. Roberts was
ordered to Siberia and there he saw
hard service. He has just left the
army to go back to the work of light
ening mems lives by giving them to
read of the treasures of his exuber-
ance.
Richard Aldrich at the age of fifty.
three volunteered in the service OF
his country, was accepted and stayed
put through the whole thing, and then
some, for he did not leave the service
until nine months after the German
had concluded he had enough. 1t is
accounted bromide to say that man
is a prince of good fellows, but this
Aldrich, and to the saying may be
added that the captain himself is no
bromide.
Newspaper Men in Service.
There were scores, hundreds in fact,
and maybe thousands, Of newspaper
men in the army of the United States.
Carl D. Ruth, Washington correspond
ent Of the Cleveland News, made ap-
plicatiOn for service early in the game
and was commissioned a captain in
the intelligence service. The Ruth
family did it's duty by its country.
Carl Ruth was hammering for admis-
sion to the service when the news
reached him that his brothers, both of
whom were in the marine corps, had
been wounded in the Belleau Wood
fight in France. This made Carl ham,
mer for admission more vigorously
than before, although he never had
spared his knuckles. He got in, but
memorable orders to stay put on one
job prevented his going to the place he
wanted to go-the front in France.
William Moore, for years on the
Chicago newspapers and later city edi-
tor of the New York Tribune, despite
the fact that he is lame, managed to
break into the army in what the au-
thorities supposed was to be a nom
combatant position. "Bill," as the
men know him, wears to-
day, however, a ribbon on his coat
which shows that he took part in
major engagement.
The list of newspaper men who saw
service could be extended indefinitely
and the names given are those only Of
the few with, whom the writer of this
was thrown into contact.
The National Press club of Wash
refon sent $50 men into the service.