The Reconnaissance (Camp Bowie, Tex.), Vol. 1, No. 20, Ed. 1 Saturday, January 12, 1918 Page: 1 of 8
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Sanctioned, Indorsed and Appreciated by Government Officials as a Worthy Army Newspaper
THE RECONNAISSANCE
Pays No Individual Profits—Every Cent for the Collective Benefit of all Soldiers
After you have read this copy of The
Reconnaissance put a two cent stamp
here and let It be mailed to some soldier
In France. No address Is needed. Drop
It In the mall box.
“Nach Berlin: 2
der Kaiser”
The purpose of this
little
paper Is to
purchase a print shop
to
take
to the
trenches, that the soldiers
may
publish
a paper of their own
after the
din of
battle has died away.
First Edition Printed at Camp Blair, Aqg. 15,
1917; the Last at Potsdam
i/
Published Weekly
VOL. I
CAMP BOWIE, SATURDAY, JANUARY 12, 1918
FIVE CENTS PER COPY NO. 20
TRAINING CAMP IS NOW
IN FULL SWING; INTENSIVE
437 Non-Commissioned Officers From
All Branches of Service Are
Enrolled.
Course Will Require Three Months of
Continuous Work; “Cadets” Will
Get Commission at End?
“We have 437 men and not a chance
for a goldbrick in the lot,” was the
way one man characterized the line-
up of the new training school for non-
commissioned officers which opened
last Saturday morning. The men at-
tending the school were selected from
the several organizations now in train-
ing at Camp Bowie, and every man
selected had previously made good as
a sergeant or a corporal before his
commander recommended him.
The course of training as outlined
by Major Owsley and his corps of offi-
cers is much more intense than that
which is being given in the regular
units. The day begins at 6 o’clock in
the morning and every cadet stays
“hard at it” until tatoo at 9:30 o’clock
in the evening. Two hours has been
tacked onto the regular day, recall,
sounding at 5 o’clock in the afternoon
instead of 4 o’clock as it does in all
units now in training in Camp Bowie.
Two and one-half hours is devoted to
study and lecture courses in the even-
ing, beginning at 7 o’clock.
The non-coms lost their official
designation when they entered the
school. They are no longer “sergeant”
or “corporal,” but are plain prep-
schoolish “cadet.” Every cadet is
credited with being able to tackle and
cope with hard tasks, as Major Ows-
ley expressed it: “You men are cadets,
and no cadet should have to be told
anything the second time.”
The men wear red, white and blue
(Continued on page 5.)
BOOZE AND KHAKI
WON’T MIX At ALL’
“If a Man Brings Booze Into the 133rd
Field Artillery He Simply Hadn’t
Ought!”
The man who enters the 133rd Field
Artillery with booze in his possession
is worse off than the fly who walked
into the parlor of the spider. Officers
declare that booze and khaki don’t
blend at all and they have elected
themselves to enforce the regulation
against permitting the two to become
associated even as distant acquaint-
ances.
If an automobile presumes to cast
its light in dark corners or glide into
dark corners with light out; if it stops
in a place that is not exactly a park-
ing square, or tries to get by with any
“monkey business” of any kind, the
owner thereof may have to stand a
“friss” while a guard stands hard by
to see that he stays in place, halt!”
If booze is found in a car, the owner
gets about the worst that could hap-
pen to him. With the vigilance that
is now maintained, any man either in
the army or out of it who even enter-
tains thought of “lickering up” might
be expected to have delirium tremens
when he has not seen a drop in weeks.
Innocent victims sometimes fall
under the ban of suspicion. A few
nights ago a lonesome figure stalked
by the picket line pike at the hour of
3 a. m. As he walked and maintained
a silence that was punctuated only by
(Continued on page 5.)
ARMY CHEFS HELP TO
CONSERVE FOOD SUPPLY
Men in Camp Bowie May be Observing
Regular Schedule But so Far as
is Known no one Suffers in
the Least.
Men in Camp Bowie in all branches
of the service are being fed in a man-
ner that is declared by old army men
to be as good, or better than ever
before. With this order of things army
chefs are doing their bit toward con-
serving the food supply of the nation.
Small portions are dealt out and men
are permitted to go back as often as
they desire. Meats, milk and sugar
are served in a “Hooverized” manner,
but without stinting the men who are
served.
The daily diet is varied and now the
breakfast which was at one time prin-
cipally a “bacon affair” is one of the
best meals of the day, different vari-
ties being offered regularly. Follow-
ing is a copy of an order prepared by
army officials and made effective at
some of the army camps:
“In order to promote food conserva-
tion and avoid waste, the following
recommendations from the officer in
charge of the cooks’ school are pub-
lished for the information and guid-
ance of all concerned:
Plan to Save Sugar.
“In order to reduce the consumption
of sugar, syrup issue can be used for
making all sweet sauces, plum pud-
ding, ginger cakes, and all plain cakes
can be made by using 50 per cent
syrup and 50 per cent sugar, and about
the only difference is the color and it
is just as wholesome and palatable as
if no syrup has been used.
“The use of sugar in corn bread, hot
cakes and baked beans should be dis-
continued and syrup used instead.
Coffee should be sweetened before
serving, as there is a great waste
where sugar is put on the table. By
making the coffee according to the
army cooks manual, a company of 250
men will consume twenty-five gallons
water, eight pounds of coffee at the
first making and seven pounds at the
(Continued on page 7.)
THE 133RD ARTILLERY TO
BE MOTORIZED VERY SOON
Horses and Wagons Will Be Disposed
of in the Main; Motor Trucks
Substituted.
Plans of Organization Are Well Under
Way and Motors Are, Expected
at a Very Early Date.
The 133rd Field Artillery will soon
resume its motorized complexion so
long looked forward to, if plans as
now under way materialize. Practic-
ally all horses and wagons in the regi-
ment will be disposed of and motor
truqks substituted. Men who formerly
rode horses will ride motorcycles.
The exact date that will mark the
complete motorization has not been
announced but it is expected to be
within the next few days. As soon as 1
the motors arrive, active work\ in
motor training will begin. Men already
have been sent to special motor school
with a view of training other men of
the regiment.
(Continued on page 7.)
TELEPHONE COMPANY
PLACES SUB-STATION
AT LIBERTY CORNER
Two Operators Work Switchboards
During Day and Night—Five
Instruments Available.
The Southwestern Telephone Com-
pany has placed a sub-station in the
Liberty Store, at the main entrance
to Camp Bowie. The station is equip-
ped with a switchboard, conducted dur-
ing the day and night hours by two
operators. Three closed booths are
located in an addition to the store
building and two telephones are avail-
able in other parts of the store.
Manager Seeligson of the Liberty
Store is to be congratulated on his
enterprise in making arrangements
with the telephone company for this
camp necessity. The sub-station was
placed at the store, Mr. Seeligson says,
for the benefit of his patrons. Long
distance messages- may be received
at the new station now, eliminating
the trouble hitherto entailed in mak-
ing a trip to Fort Worth in order to
get to a telephone.
FRIENDS OF THIS
PAPER SHOW APPROVAL
Letters Received From Various
Sources Show That the Recon-
naissance is Serving Purpose.
The Reconnaissance continues to
get letters showing that the readers
of the paper are pleased with the pro-
gress being made, and are enthusias-
tic over the prospect of having the
paper come to them when the 36th
division gets “over there.” One letter
to the editor declared that “the paper
is a welcome visitor at our home and
is read by every member.” Another
writes “the Life Edition was the great-
est thing we have seen,” and a young
lady at Wortham, Texas, who says a
soldier handed her a copy of the paper
from the train window Christmas, de-
clares that the paper “is so good that
I want to read it every week.”
The letter produced below is from
Miss Rosa Wolf, of Dallas. It is self
explanatory.
The letter follows:
“Dallas, Texas, January 3, 1918.
Lieut. John T. Williams,
Headquarters Company, 133rd F. A.,
Camp Bowie,
Fort Worth, Texas.
Dear Lieut. Williams:
“Having derived so much pleasure
from the perusal of “The Reconnais-
sance,” subscribed for through you,
and in order not to miss a single copy
if I can possibly help it, especially
when you are all “over there,’ I am
enclosing herewith $1.00 to have my
subscription extended for another six
months when my present subscription
will have expired, and will appreciate
your kindness in the matter. ‘The
Reconnaissance’ is indeed a very
clever paper and reflects much credit
on the publishers. The “Life” num-
ber was certainly great. I am wonder-
ing if I might get an extra copy of it
to send to my brother who is stationed
at Camp Greene, Charlotte, North
Carolina, as I am sure he would en-
joy it.
“I trust you will not think me pre-
sumptious in bothering you with this,
but I wanted also to congratulate you
on your justly merited promotion, not
having had an opportunity of doing so
(Continued on page 8.)
HARRY LAUDER WAS HEARD
BY LARGE NUMBER DF SOLDIERS
PUTTING THE PEP IN
THE NATIONAL GUARD
Captain Houghton of U. S. Army is
Conducting School for Officers
and Non-coms.
Captain Houghton, in his school, as
it has been termed by one member
“for select gentlemen,” is doing what
might be termed putting the pep in the
National Guard.
The course requires two weeks for
completion and consists of smart drill,
new setting up exercises, smart cour-
tesy, reporting, saluting, the use of
the swagger stick and the like. The
school is being attended by officers
and non-commissioned officers from
every organization in the regiment
When the course shall have been com-
pleted, the men taking the work .will
be returned to their respected organ-
izations as instructors.
The work is very rigid, and at the
end of the two weeks every man at-
tending it is expected to be able to,
and have the self confidence, drill his
own organization and do whatever else
may come in the line of soldiering.
There are about thirty officers and
three times as many non-coms in the
school. They are divided into platoons
and at the close competitive drills in
all forms will be held.
Some of Captain Houghton’s axioms
are:
Draw in your stomach, arch your
chest and hold the shoulders well
back.
Never sit on the ground when rest
is given. By so doing you contract cold
and kindred diseases.
Never fold your arms in front of
your body—to do so causes flat chest
and sloppy appearance—fold them be-
hind your back and thus your chest is
rounded.
Never stand on one foot—distribute
the weight equally on both feet when
resting. This will help to avoid one
hip or one shoulder being higher than
the other.
Always put on your coat when you
fall out for a rest—it protects you
from taking cold.
(Continued on page 8.)
THE 1330 ARTILLERY WILL
BILLET IN FI ELD FOR WEEK
Men Will Cook Own Meals and in
Every Way Live as They Would
in the Fields of Northern
France.
Mail Will be Brought Out Daily to
Camp, Which Will be Twenty-five
Miles From Camp Bowie.
Plans are now under way to take
the 133rd Field Artillery into the
“battlefield,” and let it live as it would
in Northern France for a period of one
week. The plan provides for men do-
ing their own cooking with mess kits,
sleeping in pup tents and caring for
their own clothes. In fact as far as
is possible the battle front will be
duplicated in every respect.
It is the intention of commanding
officers to develop the ability of the
men to care for themselves when on
“their own.” The only touch with
civilization will be the mail call which
will be sounded once each day, just
(Continued on page 8.)
Famous Scotch Comedian Had a Mes-
sage for People Designed to Create
Greater Co-operation.
He Tells of His Son's Death in Service
in France and Urges Home Folks
to Make War Sacrifices.
Many soldiers of Camp Bowie heard
Harry Lauder, the famous Scotch
Comedian in his last appearance in
Texas, early in the week. He enter-
tained with the usual Lauder song and
story fun carnival, but his entertain-
ment was not without its war com-
plexion. He has given a son to help
blot out German autocracy, and the
message he left in Texas is calculated
to go a long way toward arousing the
people who stay behind, to give every
ounce of support possible to help the
soldiers who go, to win* the war.
In one instance he declared that
tobacco is the greatest single force
behind the gun and urged people to
continue sending smoking material to
soldiers. His address to civilians
should serve as an inspiration to every
soldier in Camp Bowie.
His message in part was as follows:
“Let us not be war weary, but give
our soldiers all the faith and hope
and aid we possibly can. We must do
our very best. Don’t say, ‘If I can.’
(Continued on page 3.)
WAR STAMP SALE TO
E1START NEXT MONDAY
Texas is Waging War Against Pijus-
sianism Through Purchase of
War Thrift Stamps.
The home drive for the sale of War
Savings Stamps and Thrift Stamps
will begin Monday morning, accord-
ing to announcement made at Austin
to the effect that Govenor Hobby has
designated the week of January 14 to
19, inclusive, as “thrift week.” Every
Texan is expected to buy the “little
liberty bonds” and the Texas allot-
ment of $75,090,000 probably will be
overbought when final tabulations are
made.
On page six of this issue of the
Reconnaissance will be found a page
advertisement, subscribed to by pa-
triotic bankers and business men of
Fort Worth, concerning the War Sav-
ings Stamps. The donors of the space
have shown their “metal” in urging
everyone to buy Thrift Stamps.
The Tarrant County War Savings
Stamp Committee, headed by W. H.
Tolbert, expects to wage a campaign
throughout the county within the next
week. Agents will sell the stamps in
every city in the county. At Camp
Bowie, the Liberty Store is the first
firm to align itself with democracy’s
bargain in the sale of the stamps.
According to available information
there is no specific date for the close
of the thrift stamp sale. It is hoped,
however, that citizens and soldiers will
not delay in purchasing their stamps
early. The government is back of
every thrift card and every patriotic
citizen is back of the government.
Thrift and War Savings Stamps are
sound investments.
While nothing has been done to in-
dicate that a sales campaign will be
carried on among the soldier popula-
tion at Camp Bowie it is expected that
many soldiers will voluntarily pur-
chase stamps.
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Henson, Will S. The Reconnaissance (Camp Bowie, Tex.), Vol. 1, No. 20, Ed. 1 Saturday, January 12, 1918, newspaper, January 12, 1918; Fort Worth, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth846933/m1/1/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Tarrant County Archives.