Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1920-10-12

During the great war, you see, officers found
that altogether too many of their men il
litefateS Moreover, -One-third of the national
forces had to be given. mechanical training in
der:tO carry on the work Of the army Warfare
has become so complicated in this advanced age
that ability to fix a stalled mule is not enough.
A few wal0ps on the nose may repair the latter
but an auto engine requires more expert treat
ment ."'
SO the education and recreation branch of the
war plans division was instituted with a total of
$450O,0O0 to operate on In the next - months.
Its business will be to take the I'll" out of all
iliterate recruits and to give the rest of the
listed men training in any vocation they may
choose. In this way according to the theory, mil
tary efficiency will be increased and the soldier
will leave the army prepared to enter industry or
commerce farm as a responsible citizen.
Says Maj, Bernard Lenta of the general staff
corps:
Offensive vocational work will be done in the
winter months, while the summer Will be dedi-
Gated to drilling and maneuverng~ This school
work viii not encrOach on the military program
of the army for twill merely. use up. the time
which used to be given over to,'bunk fatigue I'M
der an eight-honr day"
There is indifferent attitude toward the enlisted
man under the new plan, according to Maj. Ed
niund R.. Andrews, who viii be in charge of the
educatoM and recreation work at Camp Grant a.
'and the civilian will also respect Rim. We want
D., to get the idea oft of the :ctvilians head that
soldier Is hard-b0iled bum =. -
And now let us take a look around the drab
wooden houses which were used as barracks dur
ing the mobilization. Camp. Grant as one of the
nine corps areas in our country will be the school
center for the states of Illinois, Wisconsin, and
Michigan -
In a classroom we find dozen or more boys
II off SlS - In in From iS
a civilian instructor. One Of the soldiers is read
ing aloud. 1t Is a vigorous narrative about ball
game with plenty of healthy slang and Babe
Ruth ending.
In another room of the same building we find
q platoon of men taking spelling lesson under
the guidance of Miss JEANNE Polk.
Another building. Here are Il collection Of gas
vehicles from motorcycles to caterpillar tractors
They are in various stages of dismemberment
Here and there we blue denimed soldier
tnkering with the intestnes of an engine.
Other soldiers are being taught business meth
obs On a model dairy farm Uncle Sam is train
ing agricuturists and so on, all through the camp
and the other camps like it.
The greatest Amercanimtlon work the normal
graduates will perform this winter will be taking
the illlterate soldier recruits of which there are
many. and teaching. them to speak, read and
write English.
Once at a great exposition in foreign land, an
American stood watching the troops of all nations
20 by on parade, so the story goes. foreigner
stood beside the American pointing out the sol.
diers of the various countries and their flags. He
said; "Those are the English troops and that is
the flag of the king; those are the German sol
diers and that is the flag of the kaiser those are
the Japanese troops, and that is the flag of the
mikado; those are the soldiers of Russia and that
&c fine flag of the ear" Presently, the Ameri.
can troops approached, flying the Stars and
Stripes. marching to the tune of the SarSpanged
Banner the American spoke for the first time and,
turning to his foreign friend, he said:
"And those are the American soldiers and that
is my flag; not the flag Of any king, not the flag
of any czar, not the flag Of any kaiser, but my
flag and the flag of every man, woman, and child
I'm my great country, the land of the free"
SO It is--and so we should make it