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1916

THE BOYS OF PLUM ISLAND

counters such an attack in the dark has to have his nerve as well as his wits with him.

"I am in the third squad," wrote this lad, "which is posted from 9 until 10 P M., and all persons must be challenged from 9:30 on. There is one thing that one must be careful about on guard duty-not to let any one get near enough to take away your gun; poke him in the ribs, if necessary. At nine I went in. My post was at one end of the camp, along Company X's tents. All went well until after 9:30. Suddenly I saw a figure approaching.

"Halt! Who is there?' "Officer of the day.'

"Advance, officer of the day, to be recog

nized.'

He approached, and when about ten feet off I said, Halt!'

"He kept on coming.

"Halt!'

Still he advanced, and I thought of my gun, so I lowered my muzzle and pointed it at his stomach, which by this time was about two inches away. Then he halted. It was the officer of the day, so I let him pass while I presented arms."

Lieutenant

Before the third week was up the boys had drill in extended order. Over that rolling, sandy country, through high grass and bushes, a company was sent as an advance guard to discover nine men concealed in the vegetation. They had to walk several miles with rifles in hand. They discovered seven of the nine; but, as one of the boys very truly remarked afterwards, the two left undiscovered were enough to blow up the camp. It is a good lesson to learn that seven does not equal nine; that something less than perfection may at times be fatally defective.

Meantime these boys had been having before them as models the regular soldiers of the post-and models they were in the matters which these boys were told to observe. Twelve hundred boys were learning something of the men of their own country's army, and what they learned gave them a respect they had never had before for those uniformed guards of the Nation's security.

The camp was thus in full swing when, just after the close of the third week, I had the privilege of visiting it for the second time and following the camp routine for two days. I decided to devote my observations to one company, which I shall call Company Z. It was situated with others on a low plateau from which one could look northward across

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When I arrived (about half-past eight in the morning), the boys had gone for drill, so I stopped at the headquarters of the Young Men's Christian Association to pay my respects to the men in charge. The service they were rendering to the camp was indispensable. Acting under the military direction that has full sway in that island fortress, and receiving the co-operation of the officers in command, these men of the Association, a few of them employed officers, the rest volunteers, had taken upon themselves duties that the parent of every boy at that camp should be glad to know were discharged by men of character. At each unit (for the camp was really composed of two camps or "units" separated by a mile and a half) a group of Association men kept in close contact with the boys, two volunteers being assigned to each company and messing with it. It was at the Young Men's Christian Association headquarters at each camp that the boys found their social center. It was there they had their voluntary religious meetings, there they gathered for "movies" in the evening, there they mostly wrote their letters, there one could find them eating ice-cream purchased at the post exchange or listening to phonograph records. It was the Association that published a camp periodical, the "Rangefinder," with original contribu tions from boys as well as officers. And when a boy failed to write home and appeals came in frantic telegrams from the worried parents as to his health, it was the Young Men's Christian Association secretary who hunted the boy up, escorted him to a table, and stood over him till he had done his duty. And it is worth noting that of the 1,173 boys who left the camp on August 10 about a thousand had signed the following: "I hereby declare that as long as I am at Camp Washington I will seek to create, maintain, and extend high standards of Christian character." The Association meetings were not the only services held there, for there were church. services for both Protestants and Roman Catholics, but the Association was the organic center of both religious and social activities, and it performed its function well.

As I finished my visit at the Association's

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After nearly an hour's work, the cadets of this company are putting the finishing touches to the preparation for the inspection of the camp. The cadet in the foreground is picking up some little scrap or straw. It is interesting to note the straightness of the line of tent pegs. This company stood first in three successive weekly inspections

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ANOTHER COMPANY STREET DURING INSPECTION

While the cadets stand at attention, the inspecting officer and the officers accompanying him examine the whole company street, every tent, and every cadet. No allowance is made for any defect, even to a pair of shoes slightly misplaced. The group of officers seen in the distance have gone up one side of the street and are starting down the other

CAMP INSPECTION AS HELD ONCE A WEEK

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Ordinarily the tents are as seen on the opposite page; but to let in the sunlight after days of rain and fog the order was given to " mushroom the tents." The operation in four stages is pictured here. First, four ropes holding the hood at the top are fastened taut, to hold the center pole up, and then all the guy ropes are removed from the pegs. Second, the sides of the tent are gathered to the middle. Third, the sides are rolled up and tied. Fourth, the work of mushrooming the tent is finished, and the cadets are at ease on their cots in the sun

headquarters, the cadets of Company Z,returned from the practice which their officers had put them through. They had been taught for the first time to roll their packs— each cadet having half of a shelter tent, with the necessary tent pegs and poles, a blanket, and a poncho rolled up and slung over his shoulder. After a short interval they were assembled and marched a mile or more to the parade ground, where they were put through their shelter-tent (or "dog-tent") practice. They were shown how to pitch their tents so that the lines would be straight, and how to fold their blankets inside. Each tent accommodates two men-the cadet in the rear rank combining his half with the half carried by the cadet in front of him. Then they marched back to mess; and a good dinner it was, of flounders and potatoes and peas and bread pudding, and so-called lemonade (water in which a little lemon juice and sugar had been mixed-very refreshing after the drill). Immediately after mess the company was marched to the mortar battery, where on the concrete floor they were "sized "—that is, rearranged in platoons according to height. Then came the period of instruction. Some went off with a non-commissioned officer of the regular army to study map-making, others to study. gas engines, etc., while the rest were sent to the range for rifle practice with small-caliber rifles—that is, rifles of the regular size and weight, but fitted with small (.22) caliber barrels. (Some, later, could go swimming under strict supervision and guarded by patrols in boats.)

After the strenuous morning it was pleasant to lie about in the tall grass and watch the shooting. Unfortunately, Uncle Sam is parsimonious, and the target practice suffered for shortness of supply in paper targets, as instruction in other branches has suffered for lack of equipment. By half-past four all were back in camp. As I walked back from the range, I noted the police details at work improving or maintaining the camp. Some of the cadets in these details were at work to expiate offenses, the rest assigned to the details in alphabetical order so that the number requisite for the work might be supplied.

At a quarter to five came sick call, the summons by the bugler for all those "sick, lame, or lazy" (as a regular put it) to be reported for the doctor's attention. Then at half-past five assembly sounded for mess, the cadets coming to attention before their tents and marching to the mess hall.

That evening it was the turn of this unit

to parade; so at six o'clock they were called to attention and marched again to the parade ground. The military ceremony of parade is impressive; but to see those boys-three weeks after their first military trainingseven hundred and fifty of them, responding in unison to the commands of the manual of arms, then coming to parade rest as the band played, the retreat was sounded on the bugle, the sunset gun fired, and the flag lowered, while the "Star-Spangled Banner" was played, then to see them pass in review before the reviewing officer, keeping their lines as straight as they could, was doubly impressive. That such approach to perfection was possible with three weeks' training surpassed belief. I am not quite used to believing it yet, though I saw it.

And on the way back to camp those boys, after a strenuous day and a tiring parade, shouted and sang and cheered; and each company vied with the other to reach camp first. And yet even on route step, and with all this outburst of youth and vigor, the squads were kept forty inches apart. There were things not to be forgotten even at times of relaxation. The straight way is the best way always.

At half-past nine lights were out. To one who has never lain in a cot in a military tent at night, with one's tent-mates ready for sleep, and heard through the darkness the bugle playing the solemn and quieting call of "taps," I recommend the experience. Those boys who at Plum Island had this experience nightly are to be envied.

Morning came quickly, and with it the first call, reveille, assembly, ten minutes of calisthenics (which on this cool morning consisted of a brisk run in column of squads for half a mile or more) to get the blood stirring, then mess, and the work of the day began. This day being Saturday, the first work was policing the companies' streets in preparation for inspection. Every shoe, every barrack bag, every cot, every rifle, every canteen, every cartridge belt, had to be in place in tent, every spot from the tent floor erased, every stick, scrap of paper, pebble, and straw had to be removed from the company street, and the cadets' shirts buttoned properly, hair cut, finger-nails cleaned-in fact, the whole street and its occupants had to be spotless and in perfect order. This day the only blemish on that company was a bit of chewing-gum paper negligently dropped by some cadet; and because of that one blemish the comment of one of the inspecting officers as he passed within my hearing was only "Fair."

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Two or three squads are here shown practicing the pitching of their shelter tents. This is the first attempt, as can be seen by the irregularity of the line and by the fact that the cadets in the foreground are waiting to get further instruction. Shelter tents are used in campaign marching

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The battalion has had shelter-tent practice; inspection has just taken place; and a few seconds before the picture was taken, when every cadet was standing at attention, the order was given, " Battalion strike tents," and already every tent is down and the cadets are beginning to roll the pack

SHELTER-TENT PRACTICE

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