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I ^ “Bon Voyage” 2nd NEW YORK Welcome 2nd TENNESSEE! VOL. l.->NO. 5 Published in the Field by the New York Division What They Say About Us. That corking newspaper p u b lished by New York Gurdsmen at the B o rder.” ..N. Y. Sun. HIDALGO COUNTY, TEXAS, SEPTEMBER 20. 1916, NEW YORK DIVISION CARRIES CROSSING OF THE RIO GRANDE AND CAPTORES REVNOSA Not Really, But in a Field Exercise-What was at the Bottom of the Row T h e real situatio n which called for th e hurried m o v em ent of a au b s tantial p a r t of th e N ew Y o rk Division from Me Allen early th is m o rning can best be explained by quoting th e Division Com m a n d e rs m em o randum on this subject. “ The R io G rande R iver scj)arates frien d ly countries, Bhie, N o rth— Green, South. Green is harassed by hostile Red forces. The Blue G o v ernm ent is co-operating w ith th e Green G o v ern m e n t in th e d e f e a t of th e Red forces. On th e m o rning of 17 Sept. 191(5, Rey- nosa w a s held by a Squadron of Green •cavalry. N e a r e s t Green supporting troops a detachm e n t of all arm s at M o n terey and Saltilo— a p p roxim a te ^strength 1500. “ A blue D ivision is a t E d inburg w ith detachm e n ts a t nearby points. “ Red forces of all arm s occupy most ■of th e S tate of T a m a u lipas, an d t h r e a t e n M o n terey .\ The w a r correspondent of The R a t tle r is in possession of inform a tion con- e e r n i n g th e plans of th e B r igadier Gen- •eral assigned to cap ture th e river cross ing^, b n t th e censor forbids th e publi c a t i o n of an y details a t th is tim e. They w ill, how ever, be reserved fo r th e next num b e r. I t is know n in a general w ay, Iiowcver, th a t the G reen com m ander a t Royoosa w ith -nis sm a lt ffjrce of cft'val- ry, has fallen back on M o n terey before th e R e d advance com ing from the d i rection of M a tam o ros and points south and hence the ao t u n t y of the Blue reinforced brigade of th e N e w Y o rk D ivision, which is co-operating w ith the Green forces ia the defeat of the Reds. M a n y in terestin g points w ill arise in th e solution of th is problem . How will th e Blue in f a n tr y be disposed in its attem p t to cross the riv e r f W h ere will th e secondary attack be m ade? How will th e crossings be defended? The cavalry are w o n d e ring about th e depth of the fickle Rio G rande on the day of th e exercise. W ill th e y bo sent across first or w ill th e y be w ithdraw n to a flank ? The artillerym e n are pondering over th e i r m any problem s. W ill th e a r t i l lery battalion be k e p t together. Will it bom b ard Reynosa. W ill th e ir team work w ith the in f a n tr y be such as to render effective aid w ithout inflicting unintentional in jury. A n d th e versatile engineers— w h a t is to be th e ir part? A re th e y to m a k e a flying ferry, are th e y to fight as in f a n tr y , or are they to cu t w a y s through th e th icket f o r the placing of the artillery ? The ever e f ficient signal battalio n which is the talk of th e B o rder will do i t s p a r t like a m achine. W ire com m u n ications will be established betw e e n all fighting units and th e Com m anding General, while radio service w ill keep Arm y H e a d q u a r ters advised o f » th e progress of the actio/i.' The Ainbular.se company* will establish its dressing station and its station fo r the slightly wounded. The entire exercise will bo controlled by th e D ii’iaion Commander, assisted by a corps of control officers, who will be identified by w h ite h a t bands. PERSHING’S WITHDRAWAL CONSIDERED BY COIOdlSSION (Special to The R a ttler.) N e w London, Conn., Sept. 19.— A l though M a jor G eneral T a s k e r H . Bliss, upon his appearance before the A m e ri can and M e x ican Com m issioners last w e e k , strongly advised again s t th e w ith draw a l of Gen. P e r s h in g ’s arm y from M exico a t th e present tiine, th e r e is ev e r y reason to believe t h a t th e A m eri can Com m issioners w ill soon cede the point upon which C a r r a n z a ’s represen ta t i v e s insist. I t is plainly evident t h a t no other course of action will be con.id- •ered by th e M e x icans ou the Commission A g reem e n ts as to the ordering out of M exico of the pun itive expedition and a plan of ad e q u a te B o rder p a tr o l will undoubtedly be reached before the end o f th is week. A m b a ssador D e signate A rrendondo, although ho had little to say to new s p a p e r represen tatives th a t gathered around him a t the close of t o d a y ’s de liberation s , ad m itted th a t he and his com i^atriots on the Commission hold no sym p a thy fo r any plans th a t would postpone th e w ithdraw a l of P e r s h in g ’s forces. He s tated em p h a tically t h a t the C a rranza troops are in a position to cope w ith th e situatio n “ and neith e r need nor wish the assistance of A m eri can forces. The proposed plan of a n e u tr a l zone along the B o rder in which the oper ations of both M e x ican an d Am erican troops ag a inst b a n d its on each side of th e in tern a tio n a l line, has n o t y e t been abandoned b y the Commission although • som e m ilitary experts have expressed th e i r doubts as to its effectiveness. Ac cording to all indications tonight, how ever, th is m ethod of Border p a tr o l will n o t form p a r t of th e final reeeommen- -dations of th e CommisBion. The Anieri- •can Commission, although anxious th a t G e n e ral C a rranza assum e th e bulk of th e patrol burden, w ill not stan d on tech n icalities b u t w ill use every effort ‘to agree upon some definite, w o rkable plan a t th e earliest possible date. U p o n the results of th e conferences Ot th e In tern a tio n a l Commission de pends th e early dem o b ilization of the m ilitia. T h e re is little doubt b u t th a t th e G o v e rnm e n t is aw a iting th e report •of th e com m issioners before deciding ou th e disposition of th e N a tional Guard. SPECIAL BOARD TAKES UP POST PLANS S tatistics recently shown in th e W all S t r e e t Jou r n a l show a sudden rise m th e burro m a r k t. A host of young nephew s in the north have suddenly •come to th e fro n t a dem and f o r burros. I t w ill not be long before every feed te n t haa a t least one vest pocket mule tie d to i ts apron string. J u s t how these th in g s w ill be brought home is a ques tio n N o self re.specting p o r ter will allow a burro to be quartered in his c a r and the horses feel th e sam e way .about it. I t m ay be necessary to run u special burro tram . A ra t t li n g good R a ttler, tins! A board of officers appointed by General Funston to prepare plans for the general supply depot and term inal facilities, to be established a t F o r t Sam H o u ston by expenditure of $750,000 m ade available for t h a t purpose in the arm y appropriation bill, held its first m e e ting last week to discuss th e big im p rovem e n t w ith which it has been commissioned. G eneral F u n s to n ’s ae tion in settin g th e board to w o rk is the first step tow a rd giving the post w a re houses and term inals which will consti tu te by fa r the most complete establish m e n t of i ts kind in the country. The board delegated w ith responsi b ility fo r the im p rovem e n ts consists of th e chief of staff and the heads of various supply corps of the Southern D e p a rtm e n t. As th e scheme contem plates w arehouses for all of the supply branches, these officers all have an in terest in the w o rk. I t is intended th a t th is board shall rem ain in general charge un til the im p rovem e n ts have been com p leted. I t m ay ta k e three years. The board is so form ed th a t if there are changes in the personnel of staff officers before th e work is finished; of ficer^ who succeed the present heads of departm e n ts will also tak e th e ir places on th e board. As now constituted the board has the follow ing members: Colonel M alvern-H ill Barnum , chief of staff; Colonel H a r r y L. Rogers, chief q u a rterm a s ter; Colonel W a lter D. Mc- Caw, chief surgeon; Colonel W illiam C. L a n k fitt, departm e n t engineer; L t. Colonel C. C. W illiam s, chief ordnance officer, and L ieutenant Colonel E d g a r Russell, chief signal officer. Caj)tain H u g h A. Drum , aide to General Funston has been appointed recorder of the board. I BOYS AND GIRLS WORK FOR SOLDIERS I Active Service Literary Dis- I tribution Committee Ac- I complishins Much SECOND INFANTHY IS ORDEOED HOME I CORNELIUS VANDERBIIT.JR.,CHAIR’IH This newspaper is in receipt of a very interesting communication from Newport R. I., containing a description of the work of the Adtive Service L it erary Distribution Committee, whose purpose is to supply reading m a tter to troops along the Border. The Committee i.s headed by Cornelius V anderbilt, Jr., son of M ajor Vander bilt of the Division Staff, and is made up entirely of boys and girls averaging about 17 years of age. The Committee IS surprisingly well organized and has several branches along the Sound and the New England Coast. Headquarters have been opened at the corner of Prospect Hill Street and Bellevue Avenue, Newport, with four branch depots a t advantageous points in other sections of the city. Help has been engaged to sort and wrap all l i t erature received and to forward it to New York City, where it*is shipped to the different m ilitary units in Texas. During the four weeks the committee has been a t work upwards of 20,000 pounds of literature, or approxim ately 2<l,n00 qiagazines. books and To Leave for Mobilization Camp Today-Second Ten nessee Coming regiment has proved EfflCIENCY Orders have been received from the W ar Departm ent sending the 2nd In zation camp September 20th and th e r the raib — ■< • - - • • h V»1_* • J ^ c f| avaUable. Their The ai .quartered in the camp f r i f ^ portable elec- equip. approximately 1,000 lb?., and furnishes 100 25 w a tt lamps. Tb& plant was presented to Col. Andrew** by the General Electric Company be- • the regiment left home ‘ fore Brigadier-General William S. McNair, Commanding New York Artillery Brigade, McAllen, Texas BITS OF (JOSSIP H e a d q u a rtei’s Division is to have a new' dining hall and kitchen. Chef D o b ard is preparing to dress up in a new w h ite uniform in honor of the latter. The new “ baby b l u e \ bands of the M. P ’s are some noise! The Division H o s p ital a t McAllen is grow ing into quiet a village. I t 's a larger city now th a n Ebenezer. L ieut. M olyneux, Division Aid brought home some gam e Monday. M a jor J. Scott B u tton would rather be chief of police in th e M agic Valley th a n a p r iv a te citizen a t home. Septem b er is supposed to be th e h o t test m o n th in the Valley. E v e rything goes by contraries in this section since th e troops arrived. “ M y son w a s rejected, M r Pyke, because his teeth d id n ’t f i t ]>roper. The doctor said ’c m ight ’a v e ’ era knocked down bis th r o a t and be choked ■' ’e got one of them cannon balls in RESULT OF THE NAVY-PLAnSBURGH Enjoy Uncle Sam’s Training Cruise THEN 22 WOULD SERVE IN WAR Some of us have seen in the movies pii tures of the rookies aboard the U. S. S. M aine, labeled “ Splendid W ork of These P a tr io tic A m e ricans\ steam ing aw a y on board th e ir tw e n ty thousand ton home to enjoythe breeze along the coast thus to avoid the heat aud noise of a summer in town. How m any others, shall we say, “ e q u a lly p a tr iotic A m e ricans\ envied them th e ir trip ; their cool w h ite uni form s; their protection from the ele ments and th e ir com fortable tem p o rary quarters, we do not know, but from the torrid plains of Texas, we feel sure th a t th e thought of a yachting trip apjiealed to many. The results of the cruise are in terest ing; on its conclusion 22 out of the 300 have signified th e ir willingness to volunteer in case of w a r!!! Yes, indeed! Ju s t think of it! Three hundred auiateur sailons went to sea ou the battleship Maine for the train in g cruise August 15 and a t its conclusion ju s t tw enty-tw o of them signed papers signifying willingness to for volunteer in case of war. The 278 had only oue reason their refusal. I t was “ because\. All of the rookies enjoyed the ci‘ui-e> th e liandling of the guns and the ship s routine, but the great m a jority of them, Commander M ontgom ery M. Taylor said, seemed to prefer to determ ine for them selves the tim e when their services m ight be needed by their country. his f a c e . \ —Punch. STILL SELLING ICE CREAM. The Palace of Sweets, Mission, has not stayed idle ju s t because the tioops moved aw ay from town. Mr. E lliott B. Roberts, the enterprising proprie to r who coined the slogan, Get the Palace of Sweets H a b i t \ , has been taH- in e orders all week from McAllen and P h a r r. The Palace of Sweets makes excellent cream and is glad to supply all comers with bulk shipments. DEATH ROBS THE DIVISION OF TWO GOOD SOLDIERS. D u ring the past week there have been two deaths in the Division. P r i vate Frod-E . Bishop of the 1st Ambu lance Company- while visiting a rela tive in the 1st. Field A rtillery on the 13th inst. accidentally shot himself in the head w ith a .45 calibre autom atic pistol. He was immediately taken to the Camp H o spital where he died after arrival. P riv a te Bishop was a native of Johnstown, N. Y. He was 23 years old, m arried and leaves a wife and two children. The 1st. Ambulance Co. es corted his body to the R. R. station with fittin g m ilitary ceremonies. The second death was t h a t of P rivate Joseph Cohen, of the 12th. Infantry . P rivate Cohen was a well known light w eight boxer and a few nights before his death participated in an exhibition bout a t the 1st. Field A rtillery camp. He complained of illness on the 12th inst., ou the 15th inst. he became worse aud was taken to the Camp Hospital, where he died the following day. He suffered from an acute intestinal ob struction, which was due to local peri tonitis of long standiug. P r iv a te Cohen was accorded a m ili tary funeral by the members of his company and m any friends. CAVALRY HORSE SHOW. The 1st. Cavalry will conduct a horse show Saturday, October 7, at their new camp site. This event promises to be a big affa ir for all horse lovers and nianv prize winners will compete. The d if ferent cla.ses are open to the entire New Y o rk Division, also to any of the regular arm y in this vicinity. Prizes have been offered by M ajor Vander- built aud other officers. Also “ The R a t t l e r \ has offered a prize for the class for enlisted men, horse oquipnicnt and aiipearance to count. The list of events will include the following classes: O fficers’ chargers, light and heavy, for officers of the regular army and N a tional Guard. A class for en listed men, horse only to count, and an other class for enlisted men in which horse, equipm ent and appearance wall score. A light and heavy class of jum p ers for officers and enlisted men. A class of polo ponies. A relay pony express, a rescue race, and a driving contest for mule team s, mules, equip m ent and handling to count., will be added features. Captain K ing of Troop D, Captain Backhouse of Troop C and Captain H e w lett of Troop E have charge of the arrangem euts. E n try blanks may be procured a t an' early date. General 0 Ryan as indicated in a let ter received by Col. Andrews, relating 0 tbo r« e n t hike of the r-rglmenl Getji. 0 R ian »avs: j Jar or im litia troops, and shipments w ilrf standard of .•'em d fertr ^ vnur continue daily. m eat as indicated by ' the p r a S Recently a “ Fund D a y \ was held a t For ten days with Newport by the young people compris ing the active part of the committee a t which the sum of $1,030.31 was col lected. The collecting of the_ funds was con ducted by classes and* suitable prizes awarded to those hiaking the largest collections. Following are the winners, amounts collected by each: , Division 1. For girls under 15. Winner: Miss Fifi Widener, amount $134.00. Division 2. For girls over 15. W inner: Miss M arion Tiffany, 18, amount $1.37.66. Division 3. For boys. W inner: Frederick R. Haynes, 14, amount $74.74. There were twelve contestants in Di vision 1, nineteen in Division 2 and six teen in Division 3. In addition to Fund Day, a Tatching Day coUection netted $336.00, while the sum of $410 has been received through private contributions. The money is being used for express and freight charges, magazines, newspapers, adver tisem ents and circulars regarding lit erature and necessary plant expenses. The officers and members of the com m ittee and i ts branches are as fol’^ws: Chairman, Cornelius Vanderbilt, ur. Vice-Chairman, Grace Vanderbilt. Secretary, H a rry Tailer; Treasurer, Gordon Lippert. Among the Newport members taking an active part in the work are: Alix Dolan, Carolotta Havemeyer, Helen Moran, Suzanna Pierson, Jane Sanford, .\niia Stillman, M arion Tiffany, K a ther ine U rguhart, Fifi W idener and Dorothy W illard; Phelps C’lauson, William De Rham Amos French aud Girault Thach. Branch Committees are located as follows; N o rtheast Harbor, Maine, Chairman: Beatrice Byrne; Lenox, Jfeiss, Chairman: Alexander Morgan; Larehmont, N. Y., Chairman: Paul W il lard; Glen Cove, L. I., Chairman: Ju li ana Ferguson; (jedarhurst, L. I., Chair man: Elsie Saltus, Lake Forest, III., Chairman: C a rrette Foley; Harbor Point, Mich., Chairman: Jackson John son, J r . The A. S. L. D. C., .3 entitled to the greatest praise, not only by reason of the practical character of its dona tions but also for the sturdy patriotism indicated in the work of its leading spirits. your regiment was on the march with complete packs over bad roads and trails, with w ater to be had only at the designated points of bivouac. On the last day the regiment marched se v e n te^ miles and apparentelv with little effort. Orders were zealou^y earned out, your men were well cared for, there was no stragglinb, vour train came in fit to resume the march, and your men to engage in combat, while a t all times, the condition of the arms was a model demonstartion of the man ner in which rifles should be eared for in the field. It was noticable that is every character of activitv vour of ficers and men gave to the'ir work the best th a t was in them. Yours is a fine regiment—the whole 1700 of them, and a tower of strength to the' New York Division. Please enn Please con vey this expression of commendation to your command.\ Another letter commending the work of the regiment has beeu I'eceived at Division H adquarters from A. J. Rob inson, Trainm aster. V. S. Armv, in charge of Pack Train No. 19, the let-^ ter follows: “ Pursuant to orders I have reported to Brigade Commander 1st Brigade, Sep tem ber 2nd, and was assigned to 2nd Infantry. A fter making thorough in spection of their transportation, I find it in very good condition generally, considering th a t they have just finish ed a 10 days march. I find many bruised shouiders from large collars. The Quartermaster has taken steps to remedy this fault by ordering small collars to be shipped by express. This regiment made their entire trip with seventeen wagons, this shortage due to the fact that five of their four lino teams had not been equipped with har ness. I consider this a record considering the teams were driven by men unacus- tomed to this kind of work. The Com mand, which is an exceptionally large one, was caused absolutely no inion- ^ venience, nor .did it a t any time have * to wait for supplies ■ which the train was supposed to carry. I have nothing to say but praise for the Quartermaster, Captain Fred A. Ihicssen and his assistants. He has been generously assisted by Col. James M. Andrews, who is very much inter ested in his transportation.\ ARMY GEOMETRY. A second lieutenant is oue who has position, but no magnitude. An obtuse officer is one more stupid tha,n a commanding officer, but less so than two sta f f officers. A trench is th a t which has length, breadth aud stickness. An observer and a pilot who are in the same Hue 'm eet iu the same plane. . . I f things are double the price of the same thing obtainable .elsewhere, it is a W ar Departm ent contract. A survey report lies equally on any ^°A * soldier equal to a doughboy is I equal to anything.—M athematician. COLONEL THURSTON IMPROVING The following telegram received at Division Headquarters will be read with joy by Colonel Thurston’s legion of m ilitary friends on the Border: New York, N. Y. Sept. 28, 1916— Col. H. S. Sternherger. Headquarters N. Y. Divn., M e.\llen, Texas. Col Thurs to n ’s condition good; leaves for sea shore in a day or two. Captain J. W. Farrell. The smaller dailies and country week lies are having the battle of their lives now for existence. I t is going to be a survival of the fittest. P rint paper has gone soaring, and the end is not yet. Fortunafelv The R a ttler is at present well supplied and for a time, at least, the price of print paper will be the least of our troubles. • 4 'lYil yiV^^Vl'l
