The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-12-18
By Associnled Press

Washington. December 10.-The time was when, in popular fancy, no good soldier ever looked at his heels. That belief, fostered by countless jokesmiths, is due to be rudely shat tered when the doughboys of the present army offer their testimony, according to officials of the war department The good soldier of the present day is giving careful at tention to not only his shoes, heels and soles, but to every item of his cause of the wave of economy that has swept over the military arm of the service.
 In it's effort to live within the re- duced appropriations granted by the present Congress the army has been forced to apply economies all along the line, and the thrift habit is being impressed on the rank and file in manner calculated to leave an abiding impression.
 Some saving soul suggested that the item of shoes was one that might easily be subjected to a little pruning. The doughboys were scuf- fling out their sole leather at a rate that threatened to prove ruinous, he demonstrated, and it was suggested
 
 personally responsible for the statl of his footwear. The suggestion was adopted, and as translated to the rank and file 1t runs about as fol- lows:
 Must He Turned In
 Privates will see that their shoe soles are in good order--that they are turned in for replacement at the first sign of hole in the outer layer of leather. And they will inake this shoe inspection every day, on penalty of having to pay themselves for any replacements where the old shoe turned in to the quartermaster's 5 department is too greatly worn to permit of It's repair.
 In the matter of clothing, too. the war department is effecting savings wherever possible. When a private or "non-com" takes his best girl to the movies he is clad in his Sun day best, the suits he wears only at inspection and when on pass. Iu his other waking hours he is uni-' formed in khaki that has seen better days but Is still seryiceable for drills. and camp routine. Careful inspec- tions of salvaged clothing are made by the inspector general to the end that no uniform be scrapped while there is yet a minimum of service in it.
 Economies in clothing. however, are merely straws to show how the wind is blowing in the army, The effort to make Congress dollars go as far as possible is apparent all along the line, and even the rawest of recruits is aware that thrift is regarded as cardinal virtue in the arn,v That iS ip,praSSp6 op him n S soon as he enlists. for where it once was possible to join the eolors in one part of the country and be as- signed to duty with some remote organization, getting a splendid op portunity to "see America first" at the present expense of the war de- partment. things work out quite diff .erently now. Recruits are assigned to organization nearest the stations where they enlist. and the day of free sightseeing tours are over, war department officials assert.
 This transportation taboo is fast becoming all-inclusive. according to army officers. In times past, when regiment was transferred to 'another post the transfer was accom- plIshed by entraining the men and their impedimenta and setting them down in their new home. bag and baggage. Under the new scheme of things. the transfer of regiment n- wolves no such expenditure of time and money. Only the colors of the outfits to be transferred are sent 10 the new post. the men being assigned to some other organization nearby.
 An instance of this is to be found in the recent transfer of the 19tn infantry regiment from the Atlantic to the Pacific coast. The colors of the 18th were sent to San Francisco --and by boat instead of train, to save expense-the men of the old 18th were transferred to the 29th infantry regiment, nearby. and the new regiment on the Pacific coast was filled by members of the s2d in fantry. who had been on the Inactive list, at the Presidio. Even the col