Newspapers / Trench and Camp (Charlotte, … / Oct. 2, 1918, edition 1 / Page 7
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' From out the melting pot of Amer- i _; -.lea's admixture of' races In being ' poltred a new- Americen:?a soldier j man who, wearing the khaki and | covered with the duet of the parade , g" ground, la stepping forth Into the | ranks?Ale upon Ale of him?to t , ) make the world kafe for Democracy, 1 ' - to tear the bloody hand of the Hun i gif"" from the throat of drlllsattou. . < BKl He la the "non-English-speaking i ' soldier" who. along with bis Amerl- i R can-born brothers, has been selected ' through the draft to drive the over- i L seas Barbarians back into their lair. < I And the wonder of It all is that i . but a scant three months ago It seemed that from this meltlnr not i could be poured ohly a conglomerate man of humanity, confused by a babel of tongues and disfigured by the all but shapeless mold into which It , had been poured. Yet now the mold is molding smoothly, symmetrically. Soldier after soldier is being turned ont fit ? to fight for Liberty under the Stars and Stripes, mindful of the traditions of his race and the land of his nativity and conscious of the principles tor which he is fighting. A Wonder Story And it has all been brought about by what Is known In army circles as "the Camp Gordon plan"?wherfby hangs a twentieth century story; a story to make the pulse quicken in these days wh^n every mite contributed toward the winning of this world-war is an occasion for rejoicing; a story to gladden and reassure the anxious hearts of the foreignborn within oar gates who have seen their sons taken by Uncle Sam and X who in agony of sool have Been wondering what he would do with them. * ? -" **.- nt a aaUInC fot diverse nationalities into a composite American type snch as the socalled "melting pot" tailed to pour forth in time of peace. , When the operations of the selective draft law began to turn its chosen men Into the big Army camps, hundreds and thtn thousands of foreign-born males who came within its scope were found in the long lines admitted. Italians, Poles, Russians, Russian - Jews, Lithuanians and Greeks marched side by side with the native-born "sons of America^ Armenians, Albanians, Syrians, Czechoslovaks, Jugo-SIavs, Scandinavians, Finns, and even Turks, answered this peremptory call to the colors. And not more than one in a hundred of them knew the English language well enough to understand the instructions ne'cessary to make them ilrstclass lighting men. So, naturally, in the imperative ' haste of getting an army to France at the earliest possible date, these I men or siaiwan iramu, ui uuuiue eye and sealed lips were pushed aside, separated from Che Englishspeaking draftees and placed together, a conglomerate mass, in a single section of each camp in what have since been designated as Development Battalions. And there, perforce, the/ were left to themselves for a while?not by choice of those in authority, but-simply because they presented a problem for which the answer could not be found on the spur of the moment. H They were not neglected; on the contrary, they were well-housed, wellfed, well taken care of. But they were not immediately subjected to the soldier-making process to which the American-born draftees were introduced. There were officers who could talk to some of them in their own tongues ?but the officers- were few,, the tongues many and the men themselves thousands upon thousands. What to do with them, how to train them, how even to make them underatand thft fftw simnlo rules that any tbody of men living together muet observe for the sake of mere cleanliness ~ and good health?these were only a few of the salient points of the great problem faced by t?e military. Here, let us say, was an Italian officer with some five hundred men under his command; he could make the Italians understand his orders, but the remainder of the five hundred were perhaps of as many as forty-one different nationalities! And there, again, was a Polish officer who could speak with the Poles and the Russians, but his instructions were worse than, "Greek" to the Italians, the ;.-8yrians and the rest of the men in bts command. And, remember, army officers who speak even one of these flrange European tongues were so few that they were absolutely lost In -the vast hordes nourtng into the TRENCH AI WTcamFGC leutful, alien, linn/ of them ml- w Mjr were trained soldiers who had ai lerred In the armies of their native c| muds, and, more to the point, they ti lad answered the call to the colore fi with enthusiasm because they saw la t a chance to light not only the bat- ? Jes of their adopted country, but 0| likewise opportunity to avenge some a if the wrongs perpetrated upon their j| >wn countrymen In the past by the ihholy Hon, the treacherous Ann- 0 trlan and the "unspeakable Turk." t] They had come Into camp ready to <, 3ght, not to lie around and grow dla- ? :oaU)ntqd and 1 ax7 aa part ot a Daaiy A Disciplined rabble. o In their main ranks were men who ci Did not want to fight; men who act- h naliy did not understand why they li had been pot Into a military camp; a men who were victims of pacifist and s German propaganda; men who re- ji fused to be naturalised, refused to t> don a uniform, refused to even pick c up a rifle and learn to drill. s< Presently, race began to quarrel and bicker with race; old scores from the pages of history were dug up and c reopened; and even within groups of 4 men of the same race, factions? v based upon ' politics or religion or upon some one of. many points ot . difference the American mfnd sim- . ply cannot grasp?factions began to , spring up and disrupt the scant harmony that did exist. The problem became imminently terrible. Every effort was being made to solve It, and results were being obtained here and there, but not on the big scale necessary. The few officers equipped to handle portions of the mass worked day and night to , bring some sort of order out of the s chaos. But sheer force of numbers neutralized their valiant efforts. Then came to the fore two of- * fleers with a plan which they believed would solve the problem, a plan so simple that now it seems it . should have been obyious; but then. indeed, a plan which possessed all tne elements at nivelty and uncertainty. This plan of theirs was to segregate according to their nationalities the forelgn-apeahlng soldiers who could not understand commands, army orders and regulations in English. Instead of Poles, Russians, Italians and a doten other races being jumbled, belter-skelter. Into one battalion, they advised, the Poles should be formed Into all-Poliab companies and battalions; and so, too, with the Italians, the Russians and the other races. Obstacles Numerous A simple plan? Indeed yes?looking backward! But not quite so simple as It seems, even now. Its advantages were many; tbe obstacles to its execution all but legion. For example, to officer an all-Italian company the officers heed be able to speak only Italian ana mngnsn. uui "Where were such officers, trained and capable, to be found? And, obviously, to find officers competent to command companies and battalions formed of every nationality present was an impossible task. So, there must be sopie officers who knew not only one language In addition to English, but many, many, dialects, and? more than all else?knew the characteristics and Idiosyncracles of the Jugo-Slavs, Czecho-Slovaks, Syrians, Armenians and other races. Where, again, could such men be found? They certainly were not in the old 0. S. Army. But the officers were not deterred by such obstacles. They decided to go ahead, with the proper authorisation, and let each day be sufficient onto itself. Camp Gordon, an infantry replace meal camp uoai auaum, i, a., n?o nc- j lected (or the experiment on a big i scale. There were some (our thou- j sand non-English-speaking soldiers i there who were all but running | around In circles. Indeed, many of ' them were openly indifferent, die couraged, discontented, rebellious, i Not understanding English, many of them were confined to kitchen and police duty, working with pick and ] shovel, and they were objects of rldl- i cule for the English-speaking soldier, i who derived keen pleasure in calling i them "Wops" and "Sheenles" and ] other terms of good-natured con- I tempt. But few of them had been I naturalized. Milny who truly hated the Central ] Powers were being held as enemy i aliens solely because, not being un- i derstood, they gave the impression of I being such. Others were out-and-out ; adherents of Bolshevik principles, i Many were discontented because of i their enforced isolation from spirft? ; nal and religious stimulus, believing that services at the Knights of Colum- i bus'huts were not Catholic because | they were not Polish or Italian. Still I l--!'-?-'_T_.... . MP CAMP )RDON PLAN ere physically unlit for active duty i id were clattering ap hospital fa- 1 lltles when they might have been i anaferred elsewhere or discharged ] om service. 1 Into such a problem one officer ( tiled in two-fisted fashion, wfth co- I peration from Washington. And he 1 jnceived the amazing idea of hand- 1 ng this "army neglected and ig- 1 ored" not en masse, but individally! He did it, too. One by one le men were called before him and ( aestioned. In several days he act- j ally talked separately to 976 men! nd spoke to them in either their , wn respective" languages ur w ? ambination of dialects?at all events e made them understand; and he, 1 tarn, understood them! Thou- ' inds of complaints were noted, clas- , [fled and either explained or adiisted. Each man was classified as 0 his nationality, loyalty, intellect, Itlzenship and fitness for military ervice. An Illustration A little pen-picture of what ocurre4. (in various diverse forms) uring this gigantic process of indiidual examination: The Lieutenant, tall, fair-haired, oyish, despite his close-cropped musache, slender, alert of eye and mien, 1 seated at a bench in one corner of , mew-hall. Hanged down the sides i the room are the men in line? ome of them plainly fearful of what lew ordeal they are to face, others ullenly belligerent, most of them tnpidly resigned to whatever may ome. It is the turn of a young Russian, et us shy, at the head of the line, to tep before the Lieutenant. He nakes no effort to salute in even imerfect fashion; he just stands and tares at his feet, at the floor, at the /alls?anywhere eicept intf the earching ateel-blae eyes of the ofIcer. ? "Your name?" says the Lieutenant. He gives it?sullenly. He has reused to drill, to put on a uniform, 0 sign his naturalization papers. He 9 a pacifist. "You do not believe in fighting? n force? You are not willing to be 1 soldier?" asks the Lieutenant. He does not Never?never should ihysical force be used. He cannot ear even the thoifght of killing a nan. "Ah! Never? You have a sister ?yes? And she is still in Russia? 'es? -Suppose, my peaceful friend, 'ou saw a German soldier rush upon ler to assault her?what would you lo? Would you use forced would ou try to kill him even if you died rourself in the attempt?" The Russian-^magniflcent of body, steady of eye?breathes hard ana, lespite his apparent effort to the contrary, hangs his head. No! He would not use force; he would not cill the German brute. "What?would?you?do?" Slowy, word by word, with an interval >etween each of them, in a voice cold is steel, the Lieutenant makes his nquiry. The man shifts his weight fi*om >ne foot to the other. He fumbles with his h^t, he tugs at his collar. Then he answers. H^?he would try & reason with the Hun beast! He would endeavor to persuade him that le was doing a foul deed! "80!" The Lieutenant has sprung to his feet, his eyes are ablaze with wrath and disgust, his arm is outitretched, accusing finger levelled in icorn at the miserable creature before him. "So! You would! Then rou are nothing but a coward! A towardly dog! You are afraid to ight! You are pretending all this lust because you are afraid to face 3erman bullets! Afraid to do your lan m avenging me wiuuga udiwu oldiers have done to your native land?to other men's sisters there! you dare not risk your own skin! Ton are not a man! Ton are just a toward! That is all that's the matter with yon!" The Russian now is transformed. Re,. too, is alive with wrath. His syes.also are ablaze with anger. "I ?m not* I am not a coward!" he ihouts. "I want to fight! I would till a man who treated my sister? but?but?!" And he breaks off, the tears streaming down his cheeks. "But what?my friend?" asks the Lieutenant quietly. 'Tell me. Tell ne where you got this idea of being i pacifist? Who has been preaching It to you? Tell me what is troubling you. I want to he your friend, to lelp you?but you must be a good loldler, you must obey my orders? you must be a man! Tell me!" And the man does. He really wants to fight. He was a soldier before he came to this country. He ^ rlM iVliat will become of them? He Lpftj ? jj\ ' lasn't heard from them. How will Jiey live?. Will they starve while le is at war? And he has heard cer- -.SM *in of his coirrades talk about this f~ jrA"^ Ihing called pacifism and conscien- ; ^ (I 1 S LIous objector?and they have told * V' it 0 Him that it will be the means of get- "V * :jSb> Ling him out of the army so he can /V return to his wife and child. ^^JSrV Allotment Explained S i Then the Lieutenant smiles?en- /T1 ^?La rouragingly, confidently?and takes . jJ ^ JAK V. him by the elbow. "Listen, my friend," he says. ^ ^.7^ "That is because you do not know. Haven't you heard yet that?" And VTfe agl quickly, but In detail, he explains U YlX how Uncle Sara will care for his wife A \m- 3 and child while he Is at war?now a r* r? part of his monthly pay will be de- Ij J3A *9 ducted and an equal amount added \ by the Government, and then the whole cent to the good wife. He tells him all about the allowance and allotment plan, and about Govern- ^ ment insurance and the various other ways by which the wife and child ^ will be helped along by civilian or- ^91 Result?another good soldier for Uncle Sam. satisfied, relieved of his A* worry, eager to serve. "Next!" cries the Lieutenant. . And so it goes. ^ *i tV-ap; The above is but one instance. They are legion, as are the issues in- jB Here a man is unruly because he /Ss? ^SsU .j doesn't want to drill and pretends to ^ be suffering with rheumatism. All right; then he stands at attention in Pj the .sen for two hours?and he is soon cured. If real, his complaint ^ is given careful treatment and he Is not asked to drill until fit to do so. O There another unwilling solely J ' because he does on understand why 7 ( >Jv 3|NJ " *. -V he is to be made a soldier?actually Vw? (ji j (J} does not know why w4 are at war. m i'g nn**? A,nioina it nil to him. how H a J 1 UC V4IIVOI .. . he was fairly selected in the draft. pH 19 k . how he will be well treated by Uncle lya? J Sam, how he now has an opportunity |/ /f t* to prove himself worthy of his an- H 19 5 cestors, to avenge the wrongs per- jj petrated upon them in the past, to fl play the part of an honored citizen ^ ,JVJ- -t*j *?? of the new land of his adoption And I Jg 51 the man goes out a better man than ' when he came in?and a willing sol- CO dier of the United States. q In general, most of the objections 2M&&0P Jr\ . to service are due to a lack of knowledge of the English language. Seventy-flve per cent of the men. though J in camps since last fall, had up to a short while ago, neither learned Kng- tm j|a w 1 lish nor the rudiments of being a sol- 03 dler. But their troubles and com- flVX plaints dissolve almost as the pro- ??j verblal morning mists once they have fP^ITTtBKl ^ an opportunity to talk with an officer I\ CO who can explain broad American prin- pj ciples and answer their questions. This classification at Camp Gordon resulted in the formation of three groups, as follows: [ Illip. 1. Development Battalion, composed of all physically fit men 2. Labor Battalion, comprising me sk really disloyal and enemy aliens. 3. Non-Combatant Service, com- rf~\) posed of the physically unfit for over- ( i 5$*1 seas service, but proficient in some \* ryiji p? Straightway the physically fit were > rfe assigned to what was known as the J Second Development Battalion and two companies were formed, one com- ;?0K posed of Slavs (the majority of them I Poles) and the other a company of pure-blooded Italians; and each company averaged, including men and officers, 258 in personnel. Three offleers were secured of Polish extrac- ESJj tion and one of Russian for the Slav company, and two officers of Italian ' > extraction for the Italian company. i*ScjB so that the men might be instructed in their native tongues. One officer of Greek extraction was al4o obtained to handle the Greeks. Enthusiasm Supplants Discontent The first week was devoted to lec- . turing on discipline and the Articles t of War and to preliminary militar) training. Straightway fifty per cent ^ rrjF. jLjf of the discontent disappeared and it J yTV 'sQjSnL real enthusiasm was evident. yW, And presently, too, another factor fT jg- *'v m became apparent, a most desirable factor. For example, said one of the soldiers in the Slav company to one of the soldiers from the Italian com pany:"vou Italians areu t iuai sui"?iw? diers. We are!" 'A The Italian's eyes narrowed to glm- (? let points. "Saprlstl! Is that so. I J\ Well yon Just watch us drill! You I .. Slavs can't even march!" And that started the bail rolling. jg9f Each company tried to outdrlll the iyfAtv^?%a\ , other. 3EEg5|9tl Result?both companies developed (aater than the average American j company of recruits would develop -l? normally.?and the infection spread
Trench and Camp (Charlotte, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Oct. 2, 1918, edition 1
7
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