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. 
