Soldan High School - Scrip Yearbook (St Louis, MO)

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-4, 6 -' Q ,fif C fri- if ae -- ' fi Y H f 72.5 '-i ' '--- -- L hr X f- K , E 7 K fl ' -4. '- ,., - 1 4- , is - y-41' S ' ?'?e :E gr' ' ', ,,. 55,,.i3.: -- A. -SRX The Soldan Battalion Q N these days cf national danger, 1'5 it makes us proud to know that 'H Soldan has again come to the Lg? 5 front. This time it is no vic- Q . tory of the athletic field, or the the debating rostrum, or some record of scholarship. Instead. it is a rec- ord of patriotism. Two hundred and sev- enty boys have expressed their desire to help their country and themselves by band- ing together as The Soldan Battalion and having army oliicers detailed by the Government to drill them. Other high schools in the city have formed companies, but Soldan has as many recruits as all the rest of the St. Louis high schools com- S bined. It was an awkward squad indeed that lined up for the first drill in March. The i-fi ,erm-.m lm 4.1325 5,,g,,,,,,MCg,,u,,,,, ranks resembled a row of Mutts and jeFfs, Mutts predominating. That has changed. The battalion is now arranged according to height and has learned the Schools of the Squad and Soldier under the supervision of Major Stoddard and Sergeant McGowan. The battalion has now been divided into groups and is being drilled by those who have had some previous military training. The army officers now go from group to group. Thus more is learned in a shorter time. The expert squad have been meeting Saturday mornings, in addition to the drills on school days, so as to better fit themselves for positions as officers. When first given charge of squads of rookies these experts got so fiustered that they gave commands that even General Wood had never thought of. The officers detailed intend to divide the battalion into three, or possibly four, companies. This division will probably be made before this article is printed. The commissioned oiiicers for the companies will be those who have shown themselves most adept at learning and who have had the most experience. For those who do not know the difference between commissioned officers and non-commissioned ofli- cers, or non-coms , an explanation is in order. The commissioned oiii- cers have commissions given to them by the War Department, while the non-coms are given warrants signed by the officer in charge. Those 55

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KLIN C w A TTENTION!

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, .-L,-421-' r - Q' ' .sc-fy-Q -, ,,.,x,,',. , 1 .- '-K- who receive commissions are the captains and first and second lieuten- ants. The battalion will be clothed in the regular army khaki uniform for which each cadet will pay seven dollars and thirty cents. The Gov- ernment has agreed to furnish the battalion with the standard Spring- field rifles, but bored out to .22 instead of .30. It also agreed to furnish us with cartridge belts and bayonets, but this trouble with Germany has arisen since that promise and so we are still waiting for our equipment. Part of the program planned for is target practice and by the time our rifles arrive, the Board of Education will have provided a shooting range for us. They will also fit up an armory for our rifles. Last Sep- tember there was a plan on foot to have a camp at Nevada, Mo., this summer for the cadets, but nothing as yet has been definitely decided upon. One of the principal arguments for military training is that it straightens one's shoulders and makes for erectness of carriage and firmness of step. We now ask you to look at the pictures of us that Clarence Welsh took. The First one was taken soon after we com- menced drilling. Look at our positions. A manufacturer of a certain hook and eye has for his slogan, See that Hump? Now turn your at- tention to the second photograph, taken a little later. You can't See that Hump now, for squared shoulders and a straightened backbone have taken its place. The hands, feet and arms are now in their proper positions. You can easily determine whether a boy belongs to the bat- talion or not. just watch him as he goes down the corridor. If he has his body erect and resting equally on the hips, shoulders square and falling equally, chest lifted and arched, arms and hands hanging natur- ally, head erect and squarely to the front , as the Infantry Drill Regu- lations require, you may be sure that he is a member. But, if he shuffles along with his back humped over and his head hanging down, you may be equally certain that he is not a member. One may scoff at the tin soldiers as much as he pleases, but he must admit that the tin soldier is more erect than the scoffer. It has been suggested that the girls organize a Red Cross unit and c. WILIN 56