THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



431 



manity that during the last decade has 

 made its way to American shores. In- 

 stead of the old English names of Cox 

 and Boggs and Padgett that predominate 

 in the Virginia brigades, the first sergeant 

 struggles with a list of polysyllabic letter 

 combinations usually ending in "vitch" 

 or "ski." The report goes that one first 

 sergeant of the Pennsylvania company 

 sneezed during his calling of the roll and 

 six men answered "Here !" This may be 

 soldier's hyperbole, but the fact remains 

 that in many instances the aid of an in- 

 terpreter is necessary in order to get 

 through the routine of daily work and 

 drill. 



But it is .just these handicaps that 

 bring out the spirit and ingenuity of the 

 officers training the troops. English or, 

 as some prefer to call our idiom, "good 

 American" is the only language permit- 

 ted, and with constant molding, with that 

 atmosphere of loyalty which always sur- 

 rounds a military camp, this heterogene- 

 ous element is gradually being absorbed 

 into the sinew of the new army. 



American history, patriotism, honor 

 for the flag are all part of the daily in- 

 struction of the recruit. Some of the 

 officers have ordered the playing of the 

 "Star Spangled Banner" on the company 

 gramophones to be a daily ceremony ; and 

 during this ceremony the men stand with 

 head uncovered at attention. 



DEVELOPING THAT SUBTLE SOMETHING — ■ 

 MORALE 



All this is by way of developing that 

 psychological asset, morale. It will be 

 news to the layman to hear that there is 

 now a corps of psychologists in the army 

 who are to make a study of the mental 

 and spiritual side of the organization. 

 Before the results of their investigations 

 are available our National Army must be 

 ready to do its share in France, so even 

 when he takes up the physical training of 

 his new recruit the officer begins the 

 training of his soul. 



This training is forwarded by subtle 

 steps, so that the recruit's average of 

 morale is advanced without his actually 

 being aware of what takes place. Before 

 he has been with his company two days 

 he boasts that he belongs to Company 



"A" with that tinge of pride which 

 speaks the germination of loyalty. I 

 heard a recruit of less than a week's 

 service whose O. D. shirt still held the 

 creases of the box, telling a soldier of 

 the 47th New York Militia that he was 

 number one of the front rank of the "E" 

 company of the 317 Infantry, with a pride 

 and condescension that left the usually 

 loquacious Brooklyn soldier speechless. 



There is nothing in the Drill Book or 

 Army Regulations that instructs the 

 young officer in the method of instilling 

 this most valuable spirit in his men, but 

 without exception officers work in a hun- 

 dred ways to develop it. It is the funda- 

 mental quality of success in war. 



THE WORK OF THE PROVOST MARSHAL'S 

 OFFICE 



To return to the initial stage of the 

 changing of the citizen into a soldier, the 

 highest praise is due General Crowder, 

 the father of the National Army. This 

 officer is without exception the hardest 

 working man in the Army of the United 

 States. His capacity for 18 and 20 hours 

 daily work has stood him in good stead 

 in solving the administrative and legal 

 technicalities involved in the operation of 

 the selective training law. His was the 

 work of creating an entire system to 

 meet the will of Congress and the Presi- 

 dent, in the matter of making our army. 



The smooth working of the whole con- 

 scription operation is the eloquent testi- 

 mony of how well General Crowder ac- 

 complished his task. Beyond his special 

 ability as a creator of armies — this officer 

 can claim to be one of the few masters 

 of pure English — his conscription procla- 

 mation will remain a classic example of 

 the correct and forceful use of the mother 

 tongue. 



When General Crowder put the ma- 

 chinery of the call to arms into opera- 

 tion, he opened the flood gates and 

 poured the best physical specimens of 

 our nation into the training camps. No 

 American could see these crowds assem- 

 ble without feeling the surge of a wave 

 of pride in his nation. Strong, upstand- 

 ing, clear-eyed, solid men they are, types 

 of the best the country produces. 



