50 THE WAR GARDEN VICTORIOUS 



afforded opportunity for putting "conscientious ob- 

 jectors" and alien enemies to work at some useful non- 

 combatant form of labor. Among the first 150 men 

 assigned to the war-garden work at Camp Dix were a 

 number of Germans and Austrians, two Turks, and 

 representatives of other nationalities. Drafted men of 

 this sort, having declared themselves unwilling to take 

 up arms against their own countrymen, were almost 

 without exception happy and contented in their work 

 as food producers. In some cases alien prisoners were 

 transported to army camps to till the gardens. The 

 first lot was sent from Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia, to 

 Camp Devens, Massachusetts, for this purpose. At the 

 camp, under guard, they cultivated a war garden of 

 ninety acres. There were one hundred of these pris- 

 oners, most of whom had been taken from interned 

 German vessels. 



As a result of the immediate success of the Camp Dix 

 project, plans were made for greatly extending this 

 form of war gardening in 1919. The work had proved 

 its worth as an adjunct to army life. A number of 

 military men who had not approved of the plan at its 

 inception were converted by the excellence of the re- 

 sults obtained and gave it their support. The ex- 

 perience gained in the first year, coupled with the 

 greater demand which it was known that there would 

 be for food, made it desirable that this scheme be 

 carried out on a broad scale. It was realized that it 

 would furnish much relief in supplying the army and 

 the nation with food. 



