Arizona republican., 1922-03-10

NtiGL WITHIN d 4udl llGi VI dii IOuE liAOlE
than 200 marines with trucks con-
tanning jacks, acetylene torches and
other devices were bucking their way
through the heavy snow to the scene
of the accident two miles away.
"Thank God for the Marines"
Their work on arrival fs too well
known all over the country to need
retelling. The ejaculation of one of
the survivors: THANK God for the
marines!" sums up public sentiment
in a sentence. After working for five
hours. cutting steel beams, lifting
concrete blocks and carrying out
crushed and nangled victims, the
marines We're relieved at 2 O'Clock
Sunday morning by an army detach-
ment from Fort Meyer, Virginia,
which had been summoned through
the usual military channels.
Work Of. a less sensational charac-
ter in the public behalf was done dur
ing the blizzard which visited Wash
ington during the last week in Janu-
airy. owing to snow and cold, rail-
road traffic was at a standstill,
tracks were blocked. switches in. the
Washington railroad Yards were
frozen and no trains had moved for
three days. Washingtons food sup
ply was running low and the city was
threatened with a shortage as rail-
road officials feared II would be many
days before traffic could be resumed.
Calls for labor were sent from Boston
to Richmond. but il was impossible
to secure enough men to make head
way.
In the emergency the railroad Of
ficials applied to the federal govern
ment which turned 10 the Marine
Corps. AS q result. the engineering
force at Quantico, 80 miles south OF
Washington, was sent to the Wash
ington railroad yards together with
nearly thousand marines. Blow
torches. portable furnaces. and heat
ing devices were set up and the
marines turned to with a will thaw-
ing switches and clearing the right
ofwas under expert supervision,
with the result that within "a hours
the task which had baffled the rail-
road authorities was accomplished
and traffic was resumed
Marines Halted Mail Thefts
Another sensational incident OF the
peace time service of the Marine
Corps is the work done by marines
guarding mails. During the week be-
fore the marines took over the task
lost by the government in two mail
robberies, occurring within a few
days of each other, in New York and
Chicago. During a little more than
a year prior nine million dollars
worth of cash and securities had been
stolen by mail robbers and large
quantities Of valuable documents lost
and destroyed. The post office auth
critics were contemplating organizing
a force of guards. but were staggered
by the difficulties of organization and
the prodlgious cost. In the emerg-
ency the late Assistant Postmaster
General Colonel Shaughnessy. sug-
gested that the marines be called on,
which plan appealed TO all as the So
luton of the difficulty.
So quickly and efficiently did the
corps respond to orders from the
President to supply postal guards
that in less than IL hours after
leaving New York, New Orleans San
marine guards armed with S. : cd off
shotgunS and pistols. It is an aston
ishing fast that when marines took
over this task attempts at robberies
stopped as If by magic. over the
whole time since the marines have
been guarding mails not one cent has
been lost by the post office depart
ment through a holdup.
Not the least interesting feature Of
tho new policy of the peace time SER
vice is the manner in which 1t has
worked out inside the corps. Marines |
now build houses for themselves. sur !
vey and direct their own camps, build |
athletic stadiums for their own l
Il 81 -
work in their own behalf. Engineers, |
architects, mechanics and specialists |
of all kinds have been developed /
among both officers and men so that /
almost any task no matter OF how /
technical nature can be accom- |
plished without calling for outside ,
aid. .,'
Cost Per Marine Is Cut
Not the least interesting Of the !
of the marines in the 1
line Of efficiency has been the work |
done by accounting experts and econ
omists. These have made an eco
nomic survey Of the corps with a I
view to establishing the most eco
nomical and efficient systems with
the result that costs have come down
in a surprising manner and efficiency
has been raised to even higher stan
dards.
The effect Of these economies is
best shown in the returns OF the
Marine Corps quartermasters de-
partment which show that. eXclu-
sive Of pay, the most of maintaining .
a marine in 1919 was S1127 for the |
year, and in 1920, $95S. Ii 1921 it /
had fallen to $694. while for the cur
rent year the Marine Corps estimates
that S459 per man will be sufficient
1t points with pride TO the fact that
the actnal expense for the mainte-
nance Of 2i,000 men for this year will
be only about nine and one half mil