The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1943-03-18
CIVILIANS PUT THEIR ARMOR ON


would be needed to transport the
amount of goods that a freight train
could carry between Chicago and
San Francisco, and that, based on
recorded experience, the total oper
ating cost of the planes would be
$1,5OO,OOO against $4,000 for the
freight train. Other words the cost by
plane would be 35 times that by train.
To assist the members of the class
in obtaining a comprehensive under
standing of the subject of transporta
ton, maps, charts and diagrams were
used, in addition to an excellent text
book compiled by one Of the instruc-
tors to carry the reader step by step
from the executive order to the actual
operation.
The course for civilians was broad
in scope. 1t embraced various phases
Of the supply of an army at home and
abroad It got down to basic facts re-
garding the war and, by means Of
maps and overlays, gave the civilian
students, among other things, an OPP
portunity to build a cantonment for
a division and to work out the costs.
This was revealing exercise, for it
enabled the students to determine in
stances where it might be better to
construct new quarters for an army
than to buy readymade accommoda-
tions.
But the implications of the war
came strongly into the picture, too.
On the other hand, the studies were
generally problematical. They kept
the class busy into the night, But
that did not permit the members to
sleep late. Early rising became a hab-
it. The civilian students got up at 6 |
or $50 a. m. and walked to the officers
mess for breakfast. Exercises began
in the classroom at s, and continued, |
with a break for lunch, until 4:30 p.
m. At the Command and General Staff |.
School, 4:30 p. M, means precisely I
that. If you by any chance, should /
rustic a map at 1925 p. M, in an eff |
fort to fold it and make a speedy eX-
it, you may find the director of the
course walking up to the platform and
announcing that after 4:30 p. m. you
are entirely free to do whatever you
choose, but that 4;25 p. m. is the in
structors time, thank you. Needless
to say, there is no more rustIing of
maps after that, and the discipline
of the Army is observed, without Sc
verify.
Evenings were devoted to home
work. This generally occupied from
three to four hours. Saturdays found
the students employed at classroom
exercises up to the lunch hour, and at
lectures after that until $3.50 or 4;30
in the afternoon. Sundays were free.
But there was home work.
1t was possible for students in free
moments to gain some knowledge Of
the history of Fort Leavcnworth,
which, in the fifties. was a depot for
supplies to military posts all the way
to the Pacific Coast. A steamboat
brought supplies to Fort Leavenworth
and from there they were carried
across the plains in covered wagons.
Ok teams were used, each wagon team
Of ten yokes of oxen, and
being capable of carrying about 1000
pounds. Their movement across the
country was slow, averaging about 7
miles a day.
Situated on an 8,000-acre military
reservation, Fort LeavenWorth is
community group of red brick and
frame buildings. Its streets are shad-
ed by elms and naples. 1t has a gen
teel, serene appearance and but for
the presence of officers in uniform
one would have difficulty in realizing
that upon the men who graduate here
rovolves the responsibility of playing
a major part in protecting the
borders of the United States and pre-
serving its ideals.
Fort Lcavenworth's association
with defense goes back to the time
when the white settlers utilized it for
protection from the Indians.
A branch of the Santa Fe and Or
egon trails started near the railroad
station at the fort, and legend has it
that rutS which can still be traced
between the trees there mark the
place where the pioneers landed their
wagons and teams from river steam
boats and dragged them up the steep
grade. Here was history aplenty for
those who desired to dip into it. As a
rule, the civilian students found more
than enough to do in the multifarious
exercises which they had to perform,
and which made them after their
month of intensive study far more
to evaluatc the war and to
enlightcn their communities upon the
job we have to do.
-V--
knittprS Arc Kent RuCy