Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, September 18, 1910, HALF-TONE, Image 24

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

    s
Where the Nebraska Soldiers Studied the Gentle Art of Modern War
J- V. t , ,.
Slii'OXIt NHUKAsKA NATIONAL. UUAKl A T I'll ;T K1LKY.
- 1 I
.iv
Tou tan't t 'm up.
You cn't gt em uv,
Yuu cn't t 'em up In th tnormnj.
You can't tat 'cm up.
You can t tt m "P.
You can't rt 'am up at all.
ly Ht of roug-hnwka.
Uiy act of ruuicliuai'ka.
Laay aet of rousuneWa.
Vou can't get am up at tha call.
rci
.'u:npany I uf Otnaha, alxty-nne men. Cap- and there until "rfcall" at 0:M v,rre Kiven a four hour rest out of evpry plx-liour iir:iirl hntisps offcrfd sliowpr baths to the men
lain J. A. WIIk; t'oiiiiwny K ot Schuyler, fooA, ilff drills either In company, oat- of duty. Cui.l.iiiia arc detailed as officeix any time durinK the day ur evenins. All
Company l'"of ' Aim's' fovtythree mJen'."cap- lRli"n or ''imenUI formations. of the day, first lleutcnaiilg a orric.r oC Kurbane and mops weif .juiikly and thnr-
tain Arthur" Klmberllim; Company M of After the men hnd returned to camp, until tha guard, ai.d second lleuienanlN an super- ouahl.v Ois'lioKcd of and Vttued over a mile
Albion, forty-five men, Captain L. H. ltavta. tha midday nieH, tliey had the time to them- nunmriea. The euard house, or "i egimiMit anny to the dumps and burning pits on the
Thu with a headquarters strengtn of selves. Some lndulail In base ball, some Jail," Is presided over by a servant, while bank of the Kaw river. K.pially an atten-
twenty officers and the Second regiment cleaned their equipment, while others rested a corporal attends to whatever comes up tlve to the hualth of the men was tha
band of Kearney, twenty-four pieoes, the In their tents or wrote letters to sweet- at each post, while he Is on duty. hospital coips. No matter how gliRht the
total strength of the regiment was H39 hearts up In "good old Nebraska." Afier- Retreat, or the sheathing if the colors lauwi w hiolt made a man answer "sluk call"
men. ". noon assembly usually sounded shortly af- for the night, sounded at about 6:4o. L,very he was given as much or even more atten-
In addition there ware threa separate or ter dinner. That meant a "hike to the hills" man in camp, no matter where he stood,
detached companies, the signal corps of to aid the officers in working out various nor what he was doing, stood at attention,
l. mi, .mi which consisted of thirty-six ar problems assigned them for solution, while the flags went down, and while the
ONTRARf to the spirit of the
soldier's adaptation f the
strains of reveille, nearly 1.300
Nebraska guardsmen arose at lnen ihe h.wpual corps of Lincoln, thirty- The officers do, with their men. much .the regimental band played "The Star-Spanglcd
h:X every morning during their
ten days' stay at the Fort
Riley (Kan.) army maneuvers.
For during those ten days every man
was to all intents and purposes a real
soldier engaged In real warfare. And, al
though It was considerably different from
eight men, and the machine gun company " master cness piaysr aues wr.n ....r..
of Beatrice, thirty-four men. This con- uls chessmen they anticipate moves by the Evening mens was next on the routine
tlon by the competent "soldier doctors"
tUau he would have been given at ills own
home. Ample illustration Is furnished in
the case of a Hastings boy a private in
Company 1 of the Second regiment.
The young man soon after his arrival al
stltuled the Nebraskans' entire strenstii ne"ny, they cover retreats and advances, list and was over by 8:40. The evenings the the camp of instruction was taken severely
and Included a grand total of l,2oo man. Hna Pro"ect tnemseives aa advantageously men had for their own use. Many stayed
The state force was with the exception PotB'ble. whether on the aggrosive or in camp, many went to the fort to view-
ill. He w us conveyed to the field hospital
at once, where bis case was diagnosed as
of the last day, under the command of """ us places or interest, while sun others took appendicitis. An operation was ueemed nrc-
WaJor K. H. Phelps o Llnooln, who wu These afternoon marcheB were the hard- the street car to Junction City, about seven essary by the physicians of the field hos
tile Tfocatlons followed by most of the man acting adjutant general of the guard in est duties that the Nebraskans were com- miles from the Nebraskans' camp. All were pita! and he wus In turn taken to the post
the other 3M days of the year, It was never
theless thoroughly enjoyed by practically
all of the Nebraskans. Especially to those
who had never before participated In large
maneuvers it will remain In memory for
many year to come. Approximately 10,000
soldiers were encamped on the Fort Riley
military reservation during the Nebraskans'
stay at the maneuvers. Of this number
about a third were national guardsmen,
two regiments of Infantry each from Kan
sas and Nebraska, In addition there wore
nlgnal corps, hospital corps and machine
gun companies from each of the two state.
The Kansas atate trpopa also had a bat- north of tneir camp rol)e Snermiin Heights.
some 2U0 feet above the company streets.
polled to perform at the maneuvers, largely usually bark in camp by 9:45, at which hospital. There he uas operated on by
on account of the excessive heat and the time the call to quarters was sounded. Taps, some of the most skilled suriri ons In I'ncle
Cornhuskers' Inexperience In climbing up with "lights out," sounded at W and the Yarn's army and there in a ward fully as
and down rocky hills. The officers of Cornhuskers were generally glad when that up-to-date In equipment and oomfort as In
bo.h regiments, as well as those of the time of day came.
various battalions and companies, were easy The sanitary conditions of the camp were
the absence of Brigadier General J. C.
liarugan.
To one not familiar with military life It
would be difficult to describe the many
advantages of the Fort Riley reservation
bu t n . .1 X" ., .Im
every kind of country is included In this "?.tl?t ""e them. Buffer!d " near,,y could be maglncd.
Immense reservation, six miles wide and
nino miles long, and its ravines, gullies,
hills and plains, its canyons, creeks and
livers make it particularly fitted .for the
purpose for which it la used.
any In the land he successfully withstood
the one thing that meant lite or death to
him. The entire operation, with all the
more than stiff Joints and sore feet. The The gradual decline of the ground on which care and nursing following, did not cost
men were marched back to camp about 5 the camp was located, made It pot-stole to the Company 1") man a slnsclo cent Uncle
o clock, just in lime for guard-mount at trench the camp, so that no water could
d.oi. i am consisted in establishing a new stand in one place any length of tlmi
Sm paid that bill, for when one of his
boys suffers there's nothing too good for
set of guards around the camp, the change Hydrants in every company street provided' him until he's well and strong again.
beinsr mada everv twAntv.fmir hnnn c, f h a , a n- , v. . . u . .
, " , ' " " ncent men are provided so that each gets cooking establishment.
IH'IUB P to, A tfl b 1MIGJ TI kfUVI AW 111
tery of field artillery In their strength. The
total strength of the Nebraskans was as
follows:
The First regiment of Infantry, under
command of Colonel George A. Kberly of
Btanton and composed of three battalions;
FIRST BATTALION.
The Nebraskans' health as a whole was
Regimental bath unusually good. Other than for a few houis
f
X gently sloping decline of perhaps 600
yards In width, led to the Kaw river on
the south. Kabt lay the smooth river bot
tom land where regimental and battalion
drills were held. West of the camp lay
Port Rilv with itH nvirag nf hiitfA tnnji
Major George Holderman, Commanding- auarter. -nd beautiful oarada grounds
Company A of York, forty-nine men. Cap- I""-" na oeautirui paraae grounds.
witnin less man hair a mile rrom the Ne
braskans' tents the first slate capltol
building of Kansus could be seen, a stone
structure which on July 3, 4, 6, t and 7,
lbio, was used to house the documents and
officials of the embryo Sunflower stats.
The regular army force at the maneu
vers consisted of .he Thirteenth Infantry,
Fourth Infantry, Seventh cavalry, Sixth
Field Artillery, several detached oompa-
Curious and Romantic Courtships
tain R- K. Olmstead; Company B of Stan
ton, forty-nine men. Captain G. fl. John
son: Company O of Beatrice, sixty-five
men. Captain C. L. Brewster.
SECOND BATTALION.
Major C. E. Fraser. Commanding Com
pany -O of Norfolk, fifty-three men. Cap
tain Chris Anderson; Company K of Blair,
forty-four men, Captain C. B. Gaydon;
Company II of Crete, forty-two men, Cap
tain R. K. Johnson.
THIRD BATTALION.
Major A. H. Hollingworth, Commanding
Company K of Wymore. forty-eltfht men.
t aptain J. v. Craig: company u or umaha, manifested by the "reas" toward th
iynXTtZr. '"U.-boy." from Kansas and Nebraska
Captain J. It. Weidenhamer. the subject of much favorable com-
Wlth the First regiment band of Ploom- ment, the former exhibiting before the
flld, corimslins; of twenty-Seven men. a national gui.rdarr.art uuily the best of feei-
reglmental officers' roster ot twenty-two 'ng. During the stay of the Nebraskans
men, the total strength of the First regi- there was not a single misunderstanding
ment was 518 men. between Uncle Sam's "professional" and
The Second regiment, under Colonel F. J. "amateur" soldiers.
Mack of Albion, consisted of twelve com- Camp life and the routine duties of the
rsnlrs and was divided aa the First Into soldier were exemplified every minute of
.'hree battalions: the time the Nebraska milltlumen were at
FIRST BATTALION. the encampment.
Major H. J. Paul, Commanding Com-
w
Ranarray Marriage and Separation. " Marie Bagg, a white woman. Morlkubo saw Roy. I liked him and he liked me.
HILE her mother was motoring gave his age as 33 years and his residence He wanted me to run away from home and
on the Rumso'n road, near as 69 Pineapple street, Brooklyn. HIh marry him and I told him I would.
Spring Lake. N. J., Miss Helen bride-to-be said she was 24 years old and , "I dressed up In some boy's ctoUics and
O'Brien of St. Louis, one of the lived at 611 West One Hundred and Fifty- out off my hair. I was sorry to do that
prettiest and .wealthiest sum- seonnd street, Manhattan. because my laMr was Ioiik and nice, and
mer girls a.nong the exclusive George Raymond Bagg, the girl's father, people said It was pretty. But. I would have
families In Spring Lake, eloped with the a retired real estate broker, said: done anything to get away. When we got
captain of the lifeguards, John Howland, "I heartily approve' of the marriage. 1 to Canal Dover that night I changed my
a brawny and handsome young man, and think Morlkubo is a fine fellow. My Dy c'othes for some girl clothes and then
mm
nles of engineers, hospital corps and signal tney were marrjd , Avon by lhe Rev daught(.r ,nd he wl e marrle(, g I felt better,
corps in all closs , to 6 000 men. The srit Thomas R. Taylor, a Baptist minister. tember 18. and will reside in ToUio. Japan. "y and I
mull r.ul.H I . . th. pan u ...... !. p. .4 . K . ....
were ir. Canton. He went
Now the girl has been spirited away. She met Morlkubo at a social function four awuy ttn1 le't me at a hotel, i did not have
Mer mother, Mrs. Kosle O Brlen, is fu- years ago. She is a graduate of the
rious, and H. D. Montgomery, a St. Louis Horace Mann school.
lawyer and gimrdlsn of the girl, is pre
paring steps to have the marriage an
nulled. On her eighteenth birthday recently, Mrs.
Howland is said to have inherited $700,000
from her father's estate, representing- a
part of her share of more than a million.
"Morlkubo is an Americanised Japanese."
uny money. All day I had nothing to eat
and when night came I went to the police
becaur.o I didn't have any place tu sleep.
Then they sent me to Akron to the Florence
Crittenden home. The matron there sent m
to Cleveland and gave me the address of
the Salvation Army place here, where I
went.
"Hoy Is working here now and Just as
pany A of Kearney, fifty-two men. Cap
tain H. N. Jones: Company B of Beaver
City, forty-nine tnen. Captain J. R. Cam
eron; Company C of Nehranka City, flfty
threa men. Captain C. K. McCormlck; Com
pany O of Ham In its. forty-four men. Cap
tain J. H. Rlffo.
!RCONT BATTALION.
Major Johnson Artlna Commander Cnm-
Followlng the 5:25 awakening and answer
to roll call a ten minutes "policing" was
conducted. This meant a thorough clean
ing up of each company street., "Morning,
mesa" came next and n followed by
Fled la Trousers to Lover.
What chance stands the feminine love of
finery when side by side with the love of a
lass for a lad? ask the matrons who know
Howland has not seen his wife, since he at the Girl's detention home In Pittsburg. oon us lie can """e some money he and
took her home on the afternoon of their It was a Mingo girl who would be wife who 1 ar" fc"ol"S! to get murrled. Somehow I don't
wedding. He ha been refused admittance told her stnrv tha oth.r .lav. She wore bov'a bellevo it really was uiy home.
to the O'Brien cottage and 4s angry. He clothing, appearing as pretty a little sou
Insists that his wife is being kept from brette as ever footlights saw, but she wore
htm against her will. them not because she liked them.
Howland, who la only 32 years old, has "I hate theso things," Nellie Atwood
been a lifeguard at Spring Lake for tev- pouted. For she's only 16. "But what else
"I remember away back when I was
about 3 years old. I had a pink dress, pink
stockings and pink shoes and I lived In a
great big house and there was a nurse and
lots of things to play with. That seems a
needed the services of doctors reported at
pany K of Holdresje, f.-rt y-fou- men. Cap- the hospital headquarters, from which, If
lain F. A. Anderson; Company F of Lin
coln, forty-nine men. Captain F. 1 Rol
shaw: Comnanv O of OmM, ftfrv-slt
men, Captain F.arl Bterrtcker; Company H
of Aurora, fort) -eight men, c aptain C H.
Johnson.
A THIRD BATTALION,
ajor O. M. Newman. CommmSIr;-
"slcU call." Then all those in each regi- , ..... a t . t... .-a .. . lonit while auo to me and I cannot reniem
ment who felt more or lers Indisposed aEd o.Brl.n-when she met him he was trav- I'd give up more than petricoata for him." ber " ' The next thing I remember is
eling for a Philadelphia business house- She Is being held at th detention home lne nollle lrom nicn i ran away ana tne
persuaded her mother to spend the summer h:ie the Juvenile court officers are await- difference is so strange I do not believe It
at Spring .Lake. lng word from her parents In Mingo, O. rtUy is my home at all.
she ran nway from home over a month ago matter what happens, I am not going
She WU Wed a Japanese. to Join Ili C. Dllllon, 13. back there. I like Rny and he likos me. I
The marriage license buroau of New "I Just couldn't stand it any longer at k-'ow I a.-. awfully young;, but ji;t the
York City granted a license to Zentaro horr.e," she said. "One day a circus esme to samo wo are po!n to be marled juet as
Morlkubo. a Japanese, to marry Eil-.nl town. I went to tne circus and tltore I soon as we can."
their condition demanded, they were con
voyed to tha "base" hospital In ambu
mncea. Asvombly for morning drill sounded at
C "0. The men were "hiked" to the drill
c;-ound, only a short distance from camp.
at a time there were very few men confined
to the hospital.
The day of the big sham battle will Ions:
live in the minds of tlius-p who participated
In It. It whs held the Wednesday following
the NelirHka troops arrhal at the tamp.
The situation can best be appreciated by
the oiilets to the Nebraska men, which
read as follows:
HEADQUARTERS CAMP OK
INSTRUCTION.
FORT RILEY, Kan., Aug. 23, 1910.
Combined Maneuver, No. 1, for August
:i, litio.
GENERAL SITUATION.
A "Blue" field army operating from
Marion. Kan., as a base, has reached
Marysvllle. Kan. The Rook Island and
Union Pacific railroads have been destroyed
by the "Red" forces and the "Lllues" are
supplied by wagons frmm their base.
A train conveying supplies and ammuni
tion and convoyed by a force of ail arms
has crossed the Republican river at the
Washington street bridge and is proceedlngl
toward the stockade.
A "Red" force is opposing the advance
of the "Blue" field army a.d Is attempting
to out Its lino of communications. A "Red"
detachment has passed around the left
flank of the Blue force and lias reached
Milford. There the Red commander learns
of the approach of the Blue convoy and
decides to intercept It and capture or de
stroy the trnln.
The "Blue" column consists of Third
squadron. Seventh regular cavalry; First
Battalion. Sixth regular field artillery;
First battery, Kansas guards; First and
Second Infantry. Kansas National guards;
First and Second Infantry. Nebraska Na
tional guards; detachments of signal and
hospital corps. IT. 8. A.; Signal and hos
pital corns of the Nebraska and Kansas
National guards; supply train of seventy
six wagons; ammunition column (consist
ing of caissons from the Sixth field artil
lery). This force Is assembled on the Republican
flats at 9 a. m.
At this point the commander learns of
the "Red" force at Milford and that the
post of Fort Rllev and the Pawnee flats
are Impassable. He decides to push on at
once for Ktockdale, which la held by a
"Blu" force. He selects his route of
march, makes appropriate disposition and
moves out at 1 a. m. By command of
BRIGADIER GENERAL WARD.
IRA A. HAYNES,
Adjutant General.
Oppoaed. to this "Blue" force and con
stituting the "Red" force were parts of the
Seventh cavalry and Sixth field artillery,
two companies of engineer, the entire
Fourth and Thirteenth regiments of In
fantry and detachments of hospital and
signal corps. This force was composed en
tirely of regulars and were the attacking)
army In this battle.
The defense was composed of an ad
vance guard, the main body, the convoy
escort and the rear -guard. All of the Ne
braskans, with the exception of the first
battalion of the First regiment, were In the
main body. That battalion wae In the con
voy escort proper.
The march to the line of battle was over
elx miles und was reached well before
o'clock. The advance began promptly and
In a battle that lasted but a few minutes
less than an hour the Blue army succeeded
In getting the supply train through with
safety
The wheeling nf (lie big artillery sections
into battle array, the charging of the cav
alrymen as they swung down a long hill
to prevent a flank inovmenl' by the at
tacking army, and the unusual sight of
wireless signal corps In action, were but a
few of the many tilings which were decid
edly impressive to most of the Nebraskans
that day. '
Each company of guardsmen assembled
at the maneuvers was given the services
of a non-conimissioned regular army offi
cer. These men acted in the capacity of
drill masters for the companies during
their entire slay. So well were the "regs"
liked by Uie different companies to which
they were usslgnrd that most of them were
pivscntcd with substantial remembrances -by
the' Nebraskans, before they broke'
camp. '
The tost ot sending the Nebraska Na
tional Guard to the Fort Riley maneuvers
was approximately 13&.000. The pay of tha
men was fully three-fifths of this amount
or t:i,000. The transportation was 110,000,
and the subsistence of the men while In
camp amounted to J4.0U0 In round numbers.
The men were on duty twelve days, one
day each way In traveling, and ten days
actual slay at the camp.
Since 1U02 the state militia has been more
properly called the National Guard, be
cause of the act which, that year, made It
mure under the supervision of the War
department at Washington. Thus, In tha
event of war being deolared, the National
Guard of all the slates must be called out
for service before volunteers can be called
for. The War department, also under the
19i)2 act, now makes dlsposlton annually
of about $5,(100,000, which It distributes t
the various states for the use of their
National Guard organisations. Nebraska's
share of this la $40,000 per annum, an
amount twice as large as the state legis
lature appropriates for its soldiers.
Undo Sam's paymasters distributes
among the Nebraska men the lust day they
were at the maneuvers $17,000, or all but
$4,000 required to pay the men for their
services while at Fort Riley. This re
maining amount Is all that the state la
required to pay toward the earnings of the
Nebraska men.
On of the most pleasant remembrances
of the Fort Riley camp, and one strongly
felt by all of the Nebraska men, was the
conduct of all officers toward the men
under them. From the acting adjutant o
the cornhusker troops down to the second
lieutenant of each company, there was not
a single officer but had the welfare of hit
men constantly on his mind. This was
forcibly shown when, following a day of
extreme heat, when scores of men were
prostrated during, a hard ''hike," Colonel
Mack of the Second NeDraska and Colonel
Eberly of the First both Insisted that their
regiments should be allowed a full day's
rest. Their wlh were compiled with,
and every Nebraska man that day, silently
or otherwise, swore allegiance to the col
onels who had thoughtfully consldeied
their condition before taking orders for s,
day's maneuvering.
The Nebraskans, most of them unused
to the strenuous life of army maneuvers,
were upon their return home almost
unanliiious In expressing themselves as well
ple.it.ed with their stay at the large na
tional military reservation. Every one of
the companies went away better drilled
and belter prepared for war than they
possibly could have been with simply ex
periences of a stile maneuver camp be
hind them, -Were the benefits to be meas
ured by but the lessons learned the day
uf the big sham-battle the stay would
have been worth while, but when iho
of nine days are added no one hat yet
been heard to say that It whs not worth
a great deal more than any instruction
ctmp In which Nebraska troops ever par
ticipated. EARL U. OADDIS.
lioldrege, Neb.
tssssssssssssssajssjsassjssMssMssss msnsiljlnutuiiioMi '. ifir jmiaoiwiaj J'weaans. M-.lsJllsJUss.im Lsjism-Sl.all'.lSaVlgSSJXijlStH wwissMsjgojsMssjsjsjjBjsjsje
- f ' .. .... . .. ..... . , ..:,-. . 'm .-. V : . ' . '." ' U,. , i . 'i. -i: . .' -.f. .: .,,. .:. -i ,., " V "'' - V.--'- ' J
' 1 - ...... ,
Istlini-M mi an m i m ileum 11 1 1 1 muin mammmmlmim i osiissioasostMOMissoiooii n m i in n mm almlammmmmmimlamm n m i lilirns ni m mmtmimmmimummmmmtmmmmmmmmmmxam
CXMP O' TUiii ISaUiilAJ-KA AND KANSAS NATIONAL UL'AUD AT I'uilT illLtV.
i
i
i
)
I
v: