and supplies, and American sentinels down
every street.

These are the men of the First Division, scattered along behind the
French lines, being drilled as rapidly as possible to take their place
in the trenches for the relief of the hard-pressed French. The nucleus
is made up of the men of the old army, who have seen service in Cuba,
Porto Rico, the Philippines, Texas, or along the Mexican border. And
with them are young boys of nineteen, twenty, or twenty-one, with clear
faces, fresh from their homes, chiefly from the Middle West--from
Illinois to Texas.

The first thing that strikes us as we look at these men is their superb
kit and outfit. From the broad cowboy hat, the neat uniform close
fitting at the waist, down to their American shoes; from the saddles,
bits, and bridles to the nose bags of the horses; from the guns,
motors, and trucks down to the last shoe lace, the equipment is
incomparably the best and most expensive of all that we have seen at
the front. The boys themselves are live, clean, strong, and
intelligent fellows, probably the best raw material of any of the
fighting forces in Europe. The officers tell us that the American
troops are natural marksmen and there are no better riflemen in the war
zone. The frequency of the sharpshooters' medals, among both the
officers and the men, shows that many of them already excel in musketry.

The second impression that strikes us is the crudeness of the new men,
and the lack of finish in their drill, as compared with the veteran
troops of Britain and France. The progress they have made, however, in
the past few weeks under their experienced American officers of the
regular army has been truly remarkable.

The next impression we receive is the enormous moral danger to which
these men are exposed in this far-away foreign land. During the whole
war it is the Overseas Forces, the men farthest from home influences,
who have no hope of leave or furlough, who are far removed from all
good women and the steadying influence of their own reputations, that
have fared the worst in the war. The Americans not only share this
danger with the Colonials and other Overseas Forces, but they have an
additional danger in their high pay. Here are enlisted men who tell us
that they are paid from $35 to $90 a month, from the lowest private to
the best paid sergeants. When you remember that the Russian private is
allowed only one cent a day, that the Belgian soldier rece