Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-05-26

Washington, D. c., May 25.-Head
of the largest athletic program the
world has ever known, director of
the largest coaching staff ever gath
cred under one head, leader in CIV
ing wounded men in the conVales-
cent centers work which helped
them to regain normal life, Or.
Joseph Z. Raycroft, chairman OF the
Athletic Division, War Department
Commission on Training Camp Ac-
tivities, will complete two years In
this service while returning to the
United States from abroad. May 20,
1917. the commission ordered MIN
to "go ahead with the athletic pro-
gram he had outlined at the second
meeting of the organization headeo
by RAYMOND B. Fosdick. ON the
26th day of May. 1919, he was on
the George Washington, returnlns
from Europe after seeing the pro
gram for which he was responslple
carried to completion along the ols-
tant banks of the Rhine.
Between the dates. two years
apart, he gathered together a stan
of head coaches and instructors,
one hundred and eignt
men, and through these. by inten-
sive training courses withn tne
camps, taught other thousands 10
be instructors in games, hand 10
hand fighting and physical develop
ment. When the toll of the war be-
gan to drift back from France In
broken men,, these same forces were
mobilized in the convalescent CEN
ters and wounded men by the scores
were helped back to normal life by
the understanding of these men who.
have made the coordination or nina
and muscle a life study.
The first duty imposed upon the
Athletic Division was physlcal MT
ness of the men in the army. work
in the camps developed that the
Athletic Director and the boxing in
structor working together were the
men to work out the program in
hand to hand fighting and with the
bayonet instructor, many OF whom
were from the Allied armies, to CO.
ordinate the bayonet fighting. This
gave an unusual burden to the men
at the head of athletics in the camp
and only the presence in the camps,
as members of the National army,
of many men trained in athletics
and boxing made possible the effi-
cient completion of the program.
These men were former directors
of college and high school athletics,
gymnasium directors and college
athletes. The college athletes, men
who had learned the fundamental
lessons of body building in their
soorts, were the backbone of this
teaching staff. They were assigned
to the schools of the athletic direc-
tor. the boxing instructor, and the
hand to hand fighting instructor, by
the hundreds and in some of the
camps this corps of special teachers
numbered as high as a thousand
men.
To handle this number needed an
efficient organization. The Athletic
Council of the camp is a marvel OF
completeness. Before the first
thirty men were sent to the camps
as athletic directors, they were
called together. 1t was a new prob
lem for one man to take the leader
ship in the training of from 10000
to $4,000 men and these men, called
from the largest college positions in
the United States considered it long
and earnestly before they decided
upon the form of the business or
ganfzation or rather the promotion
organization to be the athletic head
of the camp. The council as defined
at these conferences met the need
SO thoroughly that it is in use in the
army at the present time, not only
in the United States but in the organ
izations of the A. E. F. in France.
In this council, the athletic director
and a staff officer are the head, the
positions sometimes being consoli-
dated as the athletic directors were
commissioned in the army. Each
regiment, or similar organization in
the camp or base is represented by
a man with power to speak for them,
usually the athletic officer of the
regiment, and under these each COM
pany or similar unit is represented
by one officer. This council is the
directing mind of camp or base,
and as 1t represents every man in
the camp 1t also has the power of
direction under the approval OF the
1Ar.a Har