davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1927-05-01

our numerous casualties. They were
inflicted chiefly by the close.range
fire Of enemy musketry. machine
guns and grenades.
Mr.. Petnz is quoted as giving the
strength Of Maj. Whittlesey's com
mand as some twelve 20 sixteen
hundred
There we're less than 700 in the
command when Ii started its advance
on the afternoon Of October 2. *
my memory serves me correctly Gu
the absence of official data. there
were 6i4 officers and men present
with the six companies and two ma
chine.gun platoons at that time. or
these about rs were killed or wounded
during the advance TO the position
where the command stood the siege.
These comments on the statements
credited TO Nix. PrinZ are offered in
no sense as ~ defense 81 the 77th
Division. That division needs no de
fense from me or from anyone else.
1t did it's fun duty at all times, and
made a record ,sf which any Orga-
niZation in any army might we'll be-
proud. Twice IL earned and received
the official commen dation of the com
manding general OF the First Ameri-
can Army Corps for its work during
this battle of the .9teuse-Argonne
1t Is important however, that the
American public, to whom Mr.. Prinz'
article Is addressed. should be cor.
rectly advised of the gallant service
Of their soldiers. AppreCuative as Mr..
PrinZ is Of the valor of Qar men, he
seems to have been noislEformed in
regard to the items l have mentioned
Evening star., 1927-05-01
Comment.

BY Capt William j. Cullen. ID. 3. c.
Who commanded the left flank cov1A'a1y,
,ne the, one nearest, the bridge referred 10 oy
Prlnz. uuCer Col. Whittlesey.
THE orders of the battalion required
that il be at Binarvllle road on
October .. 1918. at ; pm. and this
order was meticulously carried out
Nothing was said therein about re-
tirement. / never received a combat
order wherein that word was used.
Hence. the enemy machine guns that
Lieut.. Prinz described as having been
worked to our rear" did not con-
Germ this battalion. We We're not
going that way.
The battalion made no attempt ito
pull itself out of its dangerous posi-
ton The orders were TO take and
hold. This order was carried out.
AT the beginning of the attack. we
had communication with the 307th
Infantry on the right and with thu
French on the left The French adj
vanced positions on our left were
about four kilos away, leaving a con-
siderable gap. Our attack had ad-
vanced our line to the BinarvilIe road
about two kilos) We attempted 20
re-establish communication with tine
French on our left, but they had not
been as successful in their attack
Consequently, our patrols could not
get through and were captured, but
the patrols would have to pass the
vicinity of the bridge described by
Lieut.. PrinZ. and this accounts for the
prisoners he describes as captured.
There were not deserters from the
American line. Had the French at
tack at this point been as successful
as ours, communication would have
been Immediately re-established and
Lieut.. Prinz would have had an
opportunity Of further perfecting INs
English.
The terrain just northeast of Binar-
vile was indeed difficult to attack
through. However. fortuitous cir
cumstances made that the front Of
our battalion sector. The position it..
self was on the reverse slope Of a
hill, commanding the Binarvil!e road,
and, as Lieut.. Prinz points out, ef-
fective fire was delivered ct the enemy.
On the other hand. use of. his dan
gerous f1ammenwerfers was effectively
prevented and, further. they could
not reach us with artillery fire.
At the beginning of the attack on
October 2, 1913. Companies Fl and b
penetrated the enemy line of resist
ance, capturing two officers, % men
and 10 machine guns. No note or mes
sage was sent asking them to sur
render.
The battalion was where It was
ordered to be on the date and at the
time scheduled. and it's location duly
communicated to regimental and divi.
sion headquarters. 1t took the position
and held it. 1t was never. in any
sense "iOSt >"
Evening star., 1927-05-01
Story of Lost Battalion Is Answered by Americans

THE story of the Lost Battalion.
cut off and surrounded by the
enemy In the jungle.hke thicknesses
~ the Argonne Ferest. has been told
and retold never by the German
oascer who wrote the famous sur
render in. name -of humanity note
No other incident Of Americas par.
ticlpation I'm the World War carried 50
great a dramatic appeal as this OK.
simple of Yankee pluck. Interest III
tho event was renewed later. when
Col. Charles W. Whittlesey, the heroic
commander Of this battalion OF the
18th Division, n1ySteriously disap.
peared overheard fran a steamer.
The bulldog tenacity Of the Aneri-
cans is we'll remembered by Fritz
'rinz former lieutenant of the 10th
Reserve Division (Geruanl which tried
To force the capitulation Of White
sey's mep. Ry a chance meeting With
Col C. O. Sheriff.. former chief 0f
staff Of the 11th Division, in Cohlentz
after the Armistice. this German be-
came identified with the Lost Bat
TALON affair.
James E. Wharton. during the
a
determined 10 find Lieut.. Prinz He
realized the interest Americans would
have in the German version of an in
cident that gained such widespread
publicity. All he had to work upon
was the name. enormously recalled as
"Heinrich PrinZ," together with the
officers division.
AS a result Of the rehabilitation Of
the German Army after its defeat.
difficulty was encountered in locating
records of the various units that no
longer existed. After a two week
search in Berlin and several other
towns in Germany. Wharton found the
address of a Fritz Prinz who had
served with the same German division
the 10th Reserve.
A telegraphic query TO Cassel, city
eight hours from Berlin. in the gen
eral direction of Cologne, brought back
the laconic reply. Bin identische
Prinz-am same Prinz." and a quest
of many miles and days was thus
simply settled
Before the war, Prinz had worked
four years i'm Spokane. Wash. In
April 1914, he returned to Germany
for visit. was caught in the holo
caust of that Summer, ard served for
your years in the German Army. He
enlisted as a private, was promoted
to lieutenant and subsequently was
twice wounded He wears the Iron
Cross and two other medals awarded
for bravery.
At present Prinz is general manager
Of a mining concern in CasSel, and
lives quietly with his wife and three
children. in a small home on the out
skirts Of that town.
Evening star., 1927-05-01

Col. Wbittlesey was a hero to refuse
to heed it,
X \
THE former German lieutenant
then plunged into a narration of
the several days when his unit had
the Lost Battalion bottled up in the
ravine into which it so coura geously
had plunged. / set the story down
in the words, as closely as I can re-
call them, used by Prinz as he talked
with me over dinner at the Rath-
skeller in Cassel.
1T is simple to explain how the
Americans became surrounded. Our
front was thinly held by machine
guns. We had been sent into the
Argonne directly from two and a half
months of hard fighting, what we
called 'grosskampf,' near SCISSORS.
Our companies had shrunk to % to
80 men each.
THE impetus of the American
attack carried them through and some
distance beyond this scattered line of
ours. We were cut in two and had to
fight on both sides. We were scared
until we suddenly realized we would
have the Americans surrounded if
we could work our machine guns
Evening star., 1927-05-01

journeyman printers. pressmen and
bookbinders ranges from 81 10 s115
per hour; electrotypers and stereotyp-
ers, $i.10 per hour; machinists, S1,10
per hour, and photoengraver S120
per hour. Practitioners receive 81 per
hour until made regulars, then 9l.O5;
imrosers, makers-up and proofreaders
$l.l0 per hour; head compositors, $l.I5
per hour; monotype and linotype oper-
at0rs receive wages according to pro.
duction, ranging from S1.05 to sI15
per hour,
EMPLOYEES are entitled to 30 days
accrued leave of absence each year,
together with all legal holidays, with
full pay. and the Saturday half-holi
days during three Of the Summer
months, compensation for injuries re
ceived in line of duty and the @advan-
tases of one Of the most up-to-date
Evening star., 1927-05-01

tober ?, 1918, advanced to the posi-
tion which had been designated for
it and there maintained itself for five
days against repeated attacks. The
principal criticisms offered by Mr..
Prinz. as quoted to me, are about
as follows:
Mr.. Prinz says: ut was poor stra.
tegy on the part of the Americans
to allow themselves to be drawn into
so dangerous a position"
Now, Maj. Whittleseys command
was not drawn" into the position in
which it stood its siege. 1t went
there under orders which demanded
the exact advance made by it, 1t
may be added that the entire front
line of the 18th Division was ordered
and expected to make the same adj
vance as that made by the men of
the 30Sth Infantry.
/ recognized the possibility Of some
such development as the isolation OF
unit when / gave the order for the
attack, but the responsibility was ac-
cepted and the attack ordered The
important thing was that the line of
the division should advance, thus per-
forming our share in the general task
of the First American Army. AS it
happened, Whittlesey's brilliant ad-
vance served to thrust a spearhead
into the enemy's line. So that, when
the fanks were swung up alongside,
the enemy was forced back at all
points.
Mr.. Prinz is quoted as saying that
the majority" of our casualties
were caused by our own artillery fire.
That statement is entirely erro-
neous. The position Of Maj Whit
tlesey's command was known to us
with the utmost exactness. and our
artillery was entirely competent. No
casualties whatever were reported to
me as caused by the fire of our bat.
teries. On the contrary, Mai. Whit
tlesey and other members of his COM
mand reported that the fire of our
artillery. on at least one occasion,
aided materially in breaking up an
enemy attack which was forming and
about to be launched. Neither did
enemy artillery account for many of
Evening star., 1927-05-01

=
ammunition or help from
other American troops, was able to
holds its dangerous position for FIVE
DAYS"
That was the first reply Lieut..
ritz Prinz gave to my request: Tell
me the German side Of the Lost Bat
talon incident"
Yet that wasn't the limit Of praise
this German officer was willing to
give to the Americans who fought
against his division in the Argonne
Forest.
II doubt very much If our own sol
diers would have been capable of such
a feat" he continued, although, to
be sure, their power for such resist
ance had been weakened by four weary
years of war. You Americans. on the
other hand, were fresh and absolutely
nerveless."
at this juncture Prinz brought up
an interesting point, one which prob
ably had never been dreamed of by
any one on the American side. He
said.
The stubbornness Of the Lost Bat
talon eventually forced our with.
drawal, else the tables might have
been turned and we should have be-
come lost battalion By the fifth
day the troops on our right and left
had fallen back. which left us at the
apex Of triangle. Had we remained
in our position longer. we easily could
have been surrounded, just as the
Americans had been"
l then asked Prinz about the much
discussed note, the supposed reply to
which earned the Lost Battalion's s
commander the title of "Go-to-Hell
Whittlesey."
Yes" said Prinz. II am the off,
Ger who wrote that message asking
for the surrender of the battalion.
Evening star., 1927-05-01

back again in their rear. We did,
preventing the withdrawal of the
Americans or any reinforcements
reaching them. We concentrated 100
men, with machine guns, directly in
rear of the Lost Battalion
The Americans were fine fighters.
They executed their attack superbIy,
but, in that thick forest, they made a
serious blunder in neglecting 10 keep
close contact with the units on their
right and left. Then. too the confor-
nation of the ground in this vicinity
was such that the attacking force
was placed in a canyon or ravine. It
was poor strategy on the part of the
Americans to allow themselves to be
drawn into SO dangerous a position.
Il do not mean to blame any one,
for after four years of war / know
how impossible it often is to match an
actual advance with an advance
planned and plotted on map. Half
of war is made up by mistakes. I am
merely trying to account to the Amer
lean people who may be interested
in the fortunes of the Lost Battalion
how the incident happened and how
we, the Germans. reacted to it.
The first intimation | had of the
Evening star., 1927-05-01

type machines, proof reading, revis-
ing. job work. imposing, making up,
jacket writing and computing.
In addition to his work in the Office
the apprentice. If it be found essential
to his particular trade, is required 10
attend night school. Arrangements
have been made with the Washington
school authorities TO give each ap-
prentice instruction in the educational
subjects he especially needs. and IT is
a matter of pride to the office that in
three debates held by the Mckinley
Manual Training School the winning
teams were recruited largely from
Government Printing ONCE appren-
tices.
The physical as well as the mental
attainments OF the apprentices are
carefully supervised. Each applicant
must bs physically sound, Of good
Evening star., 1927-05-01
PHOTOGRAPHED AT

cafeterias in the country, including
the use Of the bowling alleys, shower
baths and rest rooms, which are oper-
ated in connection with the cafeteria.
4 v X
THE first apprenticeship school
in the Government Printing Office
was authorized by the act of January
y, 1895, which provided that "the
p4olic printer may employ such num-
ber of apprentices. not to exceed 25
at any one time, as In his judgment
viii he consistent with the economical
service of the office" A small mum.
ber OF apprentices were trained under
the authority Of this act, but the prac-
tice was finally allowed to lapse.
The subject of training apprentices
in the various trades of the Govern.
ment Printing Off1ce was taken up by
Evening star., 1927-05-01
BY JAMES K. MAYNARD.
Chief Referee (Retiredl. Government
Printing Office

tn \WENTY.THREE young men in
their early eos graduated last
month as Journeyman printers
A IN the Government Printing
Office after q four-year appren.
ticeship. served in learning the yari.
Gus operations of the printers art, and
have been assigned to duty in the diff.
ferent sections of the Office as journey.
men, with earning capacities ranging
from SECS to $3.50 per month.
The apprentices to the several
trades employed in the Office total 1913,
as follows: BoOkbinders, IL; printers,
III; stereotypers, 2; electro finishers.
5; machinists, 2: photo-engraverS. 8:
pressmen, 3, and electro moiders, 3.
These young men are the members of
families who came from the States Of
New York, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Ten
nessee, Massachusetts, California,
Ohio, North Carolina, Washington,
Iowa, Louisiana, Alabama. Indiana,
Michigan, New Hampshire, Oklahoma,
Wisconsin. Virginia, Maryland, Phil
ippine Islands and the District of
Columbia.
The last apprentice examination for
the Government Printing Office was
held in November, 1925, under the su-
pervision Of the United States Civil
Service Commission, and was con.
Quoted in tne same manner and in the
same cities as civil service examina-
tions are held for all other branches
OF the Government service.
In announcing the examination,
so that equal opportunity be given TO
all young men desiring to enter the
lists, the Civil Service Commission
sent announcements TO newspapers
and appropriate periodicals and organ
tzations. including 220 labor journals,
published as typographical, bookbind-
ing, preSswork and other publications.;
5S5 notices 10 public libraries, 725 to
Y. NJ. &. As, TO all members of inter
national associations Of machinists,
245 r1anual training schools, 105 10
Gals Lf photo-engravers unions, 400 To-
calls OF pressmen's unions, It's print
ing schools, 1853 locals Of stereotypers'
unions. as State supervisors of trade
and industrial education, $40 locals Of
typographical unions, and notices to
1900 local civil service boards, to be
posted in post Offices and given pub.
licity in the local press. Examina-
tions were announced to be held in
every State in the Union, Alaska, Ha-
wall, Porto Rico and the Canal Zone,
from applications received.
Applicants were eligible who had
reached their sixteenth but not their
nineteenth birthday on the date Of the
examination. The age limits did not
apply to persons entitled to prefer.
ence because Of military on naval Serv.
ice, except that such applicants must
not have reached the retirement age.
The examinations Here for the
trades OF printer. preSsman. book
binder. electrotyper. stereotyper, pho.
to-engraver and machinist. The rates
Of pay for the apprentices for the
trades named were for the first year
one-third of the rates Of the mechanics
of the trade TO which assigned, for the
Eecond and third years one-half the
rate, and for the fourth year two.
thirds Of the rate, The rate paid
Evening star., 1927-05-01

Public Printer George n. Carter in
1921, and the conclusion was reached
that the apprenticeship system ought
TO be established, and plan for ex-
amining and appointing apprentices
was submitted to the Civil Service
Commission. In 1922 adequate courses
were carefully prepared for the in
struction OF apprentices to qualify
them as printers, pressmen, bookbind-
ers, electrotypers, stereotypers and
machinists, each course to cover a
period OF four years Of intensive study
and work.
BY the act of February 90. 1928,
Congress approved the recommends
ton of the public printer and author
tied the training Of 200 young persons
for the skilled trades. the former re-
striction of rs apprentices bsing con-
sidered unfair TO the Government
Evening star., 1927-05-01
MAIN ENTRANCE PRINTING ESTABLISHMENT

Civil Service Commission have brought
the number up TO 1913. The subjects
for examination included spelling, pen
manship. copying. letter writing, train
ing and experience. Credit was given
for education above the eighth grade
ana Tor any previous training which
would tend to qualify for the position
sought.
X 4
THE apprentices. under the supervi-
sion Of Deputy Public Printer
John Greene. are being given q wider
range or experience than is usual in
commercial plants. the tendency in
the latter being to specialize, while in
the Government Printing Office the
printer apprentices. for instance, are
instructed in hand composition, cor.
recting. operating linotype and mono
Evening star., 1927-05-01

Printing Office, which. il it had been
private establishment, would have
been entitled under customary trade
rules to at least 200 apprentices.
In 1928 162 boys from various parts
of the United States took the appren-
tice examination. and Of that number
1lS qualified for appointment. includ-
ing 20 messenger boys in the office.
Later a second examination was held,
July II, 1923. and 104 boys entered
this competition. OF this number 81
qualified for apprenticeship either as
printers, pressmen.a bookbinders. cleo
trotypers. stereotypers. photo-engrav-
ers or machinists. From this list of
eligibles 58 additional appointments
were made, bringing the total number
in the Office at that time up to 80.
Since then appointments made through
competitive examinations held by the
Evening star., 1927-05-01

| health and have excellent eyesight, aS
determined by competent medical ex-
animation both at the time of his ap-
| plication and Immediately upon his
entry on duty. The medical officer
| also examines each apprentice at reg
| ular intervals. to insure that he is
| keeping physically fit throughout his
| course of training.
| In order to impress the apprentices
with the seriousness of their under
| taking, a formal indenture is signed
| by each boy and his parent or guar
dian and by the Public Printer. BY
the indenture the apprentice agrees
faithfully to complete four years at
the trade.
A careful record Is kept of the prog
resS of each apprentice, and a certifi-
cate of proficiency must be obtained
from his instructor for each six
month period before the boy Is en-
titled to promotion 10 the next grade.
The ratings for this certificate are
based upon punctuality. industry. in
telligence in work. effort, studtouSneSS
and general conduct.
A special schoolroom has been pro-
vided for the apprentices, suitably
equipped with cases of type, each boy
having his own frame" The appren-
tice room has also been provided with
press and a full complement of Job
type. The section is in the charge OF
competent instructors, under whom
the printer apprentices receive their
first training.
AS the boys progress they are de-
tailed in turn to the jobrOom, proof
room, pressroom. machine composing
rooms and the Planning division,
where they receive training as part of
the regular working forces under the
direction of the heads of the various
branches and the general supervision
of their permanent instructors.
The apprentices TO other trades.
such as bookbinding. presswork.
photo-engraving, electrotyping and
stereotyping, receive all their voca-
tional instruction in their respective
divisions. In addition. these boys also
have the same general instruction g.
the printer apprentices.
X =
A SIDE from the unexcelled oppor-
tunity to render a real service
to disabled war veterans who may de.
sire vocational training in the various
trades of the Government Printing
Office. is the bright prospect it opens
up to group Of Government employ
es for whom the future heretofore
had offered little or no encouragement.
This came about through the Civil
Service Commission authorizing the
public printer to promote messenger
boys to be apprentices on passing
a non-competitive examination. In
other words, through the fact that
the boys are already in the printing
ha eytxr
for appointment as apprentices. This
is especially helpful in that il makes
available for training a desirable lot
OF boys who already have had con.
siderable experience In various parts
OF the big shop and havela somewhat
definite idea Of the trade ,they desire
to follow.
Evening star., 1927-05-01
Whittlesey and the Germans.

just after the
OF the Battalion of of
companion
of careessly
Whittesey with
replied. 80 ~ ~ 'NeA
You that go to he'll when they made
explanation
Whttesey national nickname
IostR
with Fritz Prnz o it's publication
Evening star., 1927-05-01
Reply to Prinz' Story
BY ROBERT ALEXANDER.

Brigsder General. United States Army.
Formerly Major General. Commanding 11th
Division. A. E. f.
A THOUGH 1 have not had the
privilege OF reading in full the
interview with Lieut.. Prinz. formerly
an officer of the .76th Reserve Ger
man Division. / understand that. in
some particulars. he is misinformed
regarding the action of the troops of
the 7Tth Division. commanded by
Maj. Charles w. Whittlesey.
That command broke through the
enemy line on the afternoon of Oc-
Evening star., 1927-05-01

Fritz Pn Delivered T Message Found Col Sheriff. and Interviews eaa
and
Evening star., 1927-05-01
By JAMES b. WHARTON.

ut was truly remarkable how
- your so-called Lost Battalion.
hemmed in by our machine
4 guns and cut off from food,