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---imiqv ■■■ V VII|'V/I ntu I V-|UV«!bW5 5CTVICC.IlflUc ft. vncolion anti “Just rest.Col. Ballou Praises General Fitness of Negro Soldier to Lead and Command Men in U. S. ArmyBy CoL C. C♦ BcHou | x ; •CCommattdir.s Officer fCegTO Tracing C.mp,I ^ honor, but II* very life 355 a ncxtion.Fort Dus Moines)£0 much ha$ been wrfiitcn about the 1? Officer's training c?,mps, that one caii hardly hope to contribute any ovls'mal ideas on the subject. The straw has been pretty well threshed ever, furthermore the idea is simple and logical.If a college is going to do battte on the giidiror* in order to win or maintain such laurels a$ victory in that particular sort ot struggle affords. it wilt never dream of entrusting Us reputation for strength | ter, and vigor to Hie efforts of an 11 n-tiained team directed hy a cap Lain who never saw a game o£ football.Not One alumnus of that college would fail to voice his derision and1 Indignation at such folly.He will, on the contrary, shell out liberally in support of a fund to se* cure the very best trainers and most thoro training possible. 5n order to secure a chance -of victory for the team that is le uphold the honor of the beloved Altna Maler.Spells I)? featNo one thtnks of any other course A team load by a raw captain spell* defeat everybody knows it, no one questions it,And yeL for 140 years, the United States has failed to apply football sense ill the training and leadership of the team that It has sent forth to fiafeguax* k\0l only its principles amiStrange, isn’t it, when you stop to think of it? To analyze the causes that have led to’reposing our most vital interests in untrained Jiamla, and to enumerate the disastrous re* suits in loss of life and _limb and tiea*ure that this folly has entailed, would. he to analyze a democracy and to write the military history of our country; for the'fault Is Inherent in tlio former and the result ts apiead broadcast over the- p*ses of I he iat--Kfem arU's Statement TJiat the nation has thus fa? sur* vlvcd in spite of its failure lo exercise as much sense In preparing for war as a college does in preparing for athletic honors, doubtless inspired the wonderment that lay behind Bismark’s caustic remark that God looks after fools—and the United Stales.”But there are still millions of peo-pie who fancy It was superior fight Ing ability that won our independ once, who believe we were success Cul in a singte one of the campaigns undertaken In the war of 1812, who are not aware that the long drawn out Civil War owed lls expense in blood and Measure to the blunders of its untrained troops ami officers; and who have never dreamed of the cost of our volunteers in the wav with Spain as compared with, thesmafjl services performed by them.ttut the mothers, wives and Slaters have begun to do some thinking, ad have even a few men, and 1 have heanj many a one express her objection to entrusting the life of soil, husband or brother, to the leadership of men who have* never studied or been trained an the hi] sin css, What can untrained men 1T0 aj^inst th-* almost Uncanny super-efficiency of the Germansi:i tlie question thay a»k. For three yeara they have witnessed the’ spectacle of ,S.O00,000 or l(M)DD,000 Germans victoriously bearing the brunt of battle against the rest of the world, and it has become apparent that their ability lo do this is due to team work, In other words, to careful training. And so. Lo our own great surprise, we have at the eleventh .hour become almost intelligent. and have begun to i/eally train our teams for the great Frame jf war-Must He OfficersII was with great disgust that many of our people learned that the conscription act was not to be im-mediately followed hy .the draft and the draft be at once followed by the mobilisation of armies in training camps. They Tor got, or never knew, that before sold tors are trained, there must be officer who know how to train them. They further forgot thal In time of peace, they had failed lt;0make reasonable preparation for war, smJ, aa one consequence of this, hud no arms, equipment or trained officers for their army. For. these nes* Jccls they must now lose many precious months and pay double prices.I low could we provide the first contingent with officers worthy of the name? Sot entirely from the regular army, Tor Us expansion by at once filling up the increments that would normally liave' been spread over four years. ari'J Ihe *reat demand for geo* Tral and staff officers, left only too few available Tot their legitimate \\‘ork«Obviously, there were various sources available from which to draw men who had had some military training* but they were not sufficient* and if tliey were, the men so-called wo'-iltl still require much -instruction.16 Divisions.Hut wc had a vast reservoir of highly educated, intelligent, patriots younff men, splendid untrained material, men whofhad not been spoiled by lhat half-lilted military training that is worse than none at all. These were the men who could turn the trick If they once learned the game.In addition to 300.000 regulars and 4M00 national guards, there were to be raised 16 divisions approximately 500,000 ti-uups to lxs called the {Turn to page 13, column 2.)
Newspaper Details
Des Moines Daily News
Des Moines, Iowa, US
Sun, Aug 19, 1917
Page 10
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
USA 04 Apr 2020
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