Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1921-07-26
ARMY MORALE IMPAIRED
BY ORDER FOR REDUCTION

| state OIL compete efficiency. Inc
| army has, let us say, 60 regiments.
Instead of retaining so regiments in
theory, and nowhere else, the line
| officers think it would have been
better to let 80 go and keep 30 reg
iments that could function right off
the bat if fighting starts
The bone is hard biting for a CT
william. The general officers discov
! cred during the war that our mental
| science plan of manoeuVres did not
work very well in practice. No gen
! eral before the war ever held diV1-
| sion manoeuyres, with men in the
| flesh. Instead, he Whitfield out a lot
| of chess men and colored them red
and green and spotted and named
| them organizations and chased them
around a map. A hard days chase
never wilted a collar in those good
| old days.
Manoeuvres Consideration
| Meanwhile the European armies
were holding manoeuvres on a grand
| scale, and when the fighting began,
| they found it had paid. So the, Of
ficers of the American army decided
| divisions-not to speak, of army
manOeuvres may be held in the fu-
| ture. In order to hold on to the di-
visions, the fundamental organiza
lions have been Neanderthaled. as
! has been related. The next division
|
! sight. The outlook is that the en-
| listed personnel of an entire division
! can hide under a covered bridge. A
| division should tot up something like
| 10000 men in war.
There is more to come. Through
out this large and lavish land there
are many handsome army posts
with brick houses, shade trees, open
plumbing, and drill grounds covered
with green grass. But not one of
these old-time posts is large enough
to, shelter division. Under the new
rule of economy the general staff
realizes that it will hardly be pos
sible to get carfare enough to bring
together. units scattered all over
Uncle Sans half acre for annual
manoeuvres. And the posts are SO
far apart the men cannot take it on
( the half sole. So the only thing to
do, if the very desirable division
manoeuvres are to be retained-and
it has been demonstrated that their
intention is almost imperative-is
to hold the divisions at the canton
ments built during the war.
course. for which the protecting
powers should be devoutly thanked.
I've just returned from visit to
Camp Meade. Except that it lacks
wire barriers and cabbage soup it
might pass as a peculiarly snooty
and unkempt concentration camp for
prisoners of war. That is almost too
complimentary. There were few con-
centration camps so rotten. A haze
of dust hangs over the place. The
by the heavy trucks. Sun-dried grass
| in punches exists in a sort of sus-
pended life in the deep white sand.
More Trying Conditions
The buildings were run up in a
hurry by the 10 per cent-plus peo-
| green wood tar
paper. They were all that could be
desired to meet a wartime emer-
gency. Now cracks are appearing
between the walls. their taxpayer
roofs gather the heat. the all per-
vading dust blows in every aper-
ture. Practically every two-story
building is a fire-trap, set and ready
be compared-to their own disadvan-
tage-to the shacks erected for for
eign-born 'quarrymen. In another
year of storm and sun most of
them will become utterly dilapidat-
ed. The officers and their families
the same conditions as the men.
No one would complain of this as
a wartime measure. But the Off
GERS think longingly of the pleasant
posts they might occupy if it were
not for the necessity of divisional
manoeuvres. The men look about
them, at the monotony of gray sand
and dusty trees and sad grass with
ering in the blazing sun and think
of the chance to get out of the
service and take the chance. No one
is protesting against the enforced
economics, for the need of economy
is recognized in the army. But it
is very deeply felt that some one
has blundered. The army is being
wrecked