Evening star., 1942-03-29
War Department
Exhibits Show Army's
Role in j, ), Growth
Artists, ModeIers at Work
In Unpretentious Red
Brick Building
BY JESSIE FAINT EVANS.

BY JESSIE FAINT EVANS.
Housed in an unpretentious, red
brick building in the grounds Of the
United States District Engineers,
overlooking the McMillen Reservoir
near the Soldiers Home, is a COM
paratively little-known service of the
War Department. 1t is called the
exhibit section, Bureau of Public
Relations.
It's effectiveness is matched only
by its efficiency, and the extraordi-
nary fact that aside from the modest
payroll expense of its staff, this
valuable public service costs the
United States Government not one
penny.
Organizations or individuals de-
string an Army display-from a dio-
rama shell showing a hillside battle
to the rs panels colorfully display
ing soldiers uniforms in the past
l65 years in our Nations history-are
supplied from this unique section of
the War Department.
Scenes Relived.
Colorful scenes that come alive
on painted glass. historically tell
their story vividly in wax, all of
them distinctly educational as well
as appealing to the eye, are other
features of this economical service.
In small but completely equipped
modern workshop, the War Depart
ment's supervisor of exhibits, its
sculptor, artist. cabinet makers and
modelers do their part But the
transportation, installation, mainte-
nance and insurance on the displays
set up here by this service are paid
by the recipient, not out Of Army
funds.
Evidently the public likes paying
the bill. too, for what it considers
value received. The only complaints
on this service to reach the Army
have been that there have not been
enough exhibits to supply the de-
mand
Issued only to responsible groups,
tllCN al Chbl CllICIN populdl az CA
positions. exhibitions, shows, fairs,
conventions and other civilian gath
erings. An increasing number of
requests is coming in from wom-
ems club groups.
100000 Displays.
In the Quartermaster General
Depot at New Cumberland. Pa, are
stored more than 100000 worth of
displays made in this District of
Columbia shop to be used over and
over again. From this Army storage
headquarters, plaster busts 91z feet
high of George Washington and
Abraham Lincoln journeyed to a
New York shop window this past
February for their birthday celebra-
tions.
The illuminated Keep En- Fly
ing" displays so effectively shown
all over the United States by the
Army Recruiting Service were made
in the trig and trim little workroom
where these exhibits are evolved.
Here, the Army exhibits for the
New York Worlds Fair and the
Golden Gate International Exposi-
ton at San Francisco were planned
and executed. Thousands Of Wis
itors to these exhibits are now
thankfully remembering the final
statement of the Army officer in
charge of the War Departments
colorful exhibit of United States
Army uniforms. who said, They
say that clothes make the man,
but American soldiers have always
carried their battlefields, no mat
ter how they were dressed"
Exposition Aided.
The Pan-American Exposition at
Tampa, Fla, is another exposition
for which the Army's exhibit Sec
ton prepared a popular display.
For this exposition the exhibits
section directed and co-ordinated
the activities Of the entire Federal
Governments participation. The
heroic 9-foot high figure of Her
nando De Soto designed, modelled
and produced for this exposition has
won praise from art critics in ad-
dition to proving a source of his
torical inspiration. 1t now rests in
the Tampa City Library
One of the most popular displays
arranged since the founding of this
section of the War Department in
1887 was presented at the 1941 In
ternational Livestock Exhibition at
Portland, Greg. Arrangements are
now being made for War Depart
ment participation in the 1912 ex-
position. This is the fifth consecu-
tive year the War Department has
taken part in this exposition.
Medical Dollhouse"
Extremely interesting as well as
valuable from a demonstration
standpoint is a model now being
constructed for the Army Medical
Center, familiarly known as Walter
Reed Hospital to lay Washing
tonians.
1t is not unlike large dollhouse
In appearance. Painstakingly mod
eled wax figures show the entire
procedure for medical examinations
in an Army diagnostic center There
are the doctors, the nurses, the
soldiers, with an X-ray machine for
determining whether those being
examined have tuberculosis or other
physical defects, whose presence
might not be otherwise detected.
This type of model exhibit will be
Of value in demonstrating similar
routineS elsewhere.