Evening star., 1925-08-19
EXPERT WILL URGE
CAPITAL ARMORY
Army Inspector Praises Dis.
trict Guardsmen After
Visiting Camp.
BY WILLIAM j. WHEATLEY,
staff Correspondent of The Star

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va, August 10.
Need of an adequate armory for the
National Guard of the District OF CO.
lumbia will be stressed in a special re-
port which will be made to the Militia
Bureau of the War Department by
Capt Frank Lockhead, on duty in that
bureau, and who has been In camp for
two days making a thorough inspec-
ton of the 121st Regiment of Engi-
neers and 29th Military Police Com
pany.
This report, it is confidently expect
ed by Col. John w. Oehmann, COM
manding the 121st Engineers, will be
| the direct medium for influencing the
| War Department to throw its infiu-
ence behind the movement which will
| be made at the next session of Con-
gress to get fitting armory for such
a fine organization as Capt. Lockhead
| said he found in the field during the
course of his official investigation.
| Capt. Lockhead left for Washington
| today, and will stop en- route to in
spect the 260th Coast Artillery, Dis
| trict Guard, now in training at Fort
Monroe, Va.
The finest military unit he has in
| spected during the course of numerous
visits to scores of Summer camps of
| the citizen troops of the various
States. was the classification given the
121st Engineers by Capt Lockhead, in
discussing his inspection with The
Stars representative. OF course, he
said, they have faults, but they are
| so small as to be almost negligible
! He declared that he told Col. Oehmann
that he would have full reason to be
proud of the report which he will
make to the War Department.
Facilities Are Lacking.
The District Guard has been work
| ing under great difficulties in the
manner of training facilities, and par
| ticularly the lack of an armory, Capt.
Lockhead continued, but they showed
| by the work in the field which he
minutely observed that they have
displayed unusual initiative in making
use of the inadequate facilities by
sending into the field a group of
citizens who have almost overnight
| turned themselves into soldiers in an
organization that is working as
smoothly as though they had been out
| for months.
He said that he would stress this
point in reporting the utter inadequa-
cy of the armory facilities, which are
| becoming worse due to the sale of
Convention Hall in Washington, which
has been used as a drill hall. From
now on the engineering regiment of
| the District will have to drill in the
street, New York avenue between
Sixth and Fifth streets, being closed
off for one hour and a half each drill
night.
Col Oehmann laid before Capt.
Lockhead certain of the problems
faced by the engineers in their effort
to give full armory training, stressing
particularly the need of rooms in an
armory where the elaborate engineer
1 equipment could always be kept on
display.
!, He pointed out that they had no
place to store properly the expensive
| equipment which engineer regiments
must have. Capt. Lockhead said that
he realized the difficulties and would
do everything possible to assist the
121st Engineers to get an adequate
armory.
More tears were shed by the Dis
triet Engineers on the field here today
than the whole regiment has ever
weeped on the days of homesickness
or for other causes, when the entire
| regiment was sent through a tear
CONTINUED on Page 2. Column 6.)