THE MILITARY BUREAU OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA

LEON J. RICHARDSON

Even before President Wilson's message of April 2, 1917, the Regents had passed a resolution placing the resources of the University of California at the disposal of the national government in the event of war. As one means of carrying out their action, they established a Military Bureau, whose personnel at present is: Director, L. J. Richardson; Manager, Homer Havermale; Assistant Managers, A. C. Alvarez, W. W. Cort, F. S. Foote, Jr., T. H. Goodspeed, A. M. Kidd, G. R. MacMinn, C. Paschall, C. Price, J. Reith, R. F. Scholz, L. C. Uren, O. M. Washburn, and A. C. White. Its first business, under date of April 12, 1917, was to ask all men of the University body— faculty, alumni, and undergraduates to fill out a personnel index card. The request included the following statement:

ORGANIZATION FOR NATIONAL SERVICE

To Faculties, Alumni, and Students of the University of California: The President and the Regents have placed the University of California in the present crisis at the service of the state and federal governments. Accordingly, the University is taking account of its resources in both information and materials. Moreover, it is putting on record what each member of the University-faculties, administrative staff, alumni, students, and former students-has

done, is doing, or in the event of need could do for the general defense.

To assist in this work you are asked kindly to fill out the enclosed card, and to return it at once. The University would like also to include in this census the families of its officers, alumni, and students, and upon request cards will be sent for the registration of these persons. All information set down upon your card will be regarded as confidential. The signing of the card in no wise commits you to enter the government service unless you desire to do so.

The responses numbered 3070, and nearly all of them offered services in some form or other.

The functions of the Military Bureau, which have already undergone considerable change and expansion, may be set forth as follows:

A. Military, naval, Red Cross and other governmental agencies may secure through this office trained men and women for particular places in the national service. Candidates are accepted whether trained at the University or elsewhere. About one hundred and fifty calls, most of them from official sources, have been received to date, among which the following are characteristic specimens:

1. A cable censor to serve in San Francisco, with the rank of ensign.

2. May 9, 1917, a call came to supply for service in France an ambulance unit consisting of a first sergeant, second sergeant, corporal, two orderlies, two clerks, twenty-four drivers, three mechanics, and two cooks. Men were selected and enlisted for these positions and are now in the United States Army Ambulance Service under command of Lieutenant Colonel Percy Jones. The University of California unit is headed by Lieutenant John F. Edwards, and is officially designated as Section 86 of Battalion 21, U. S. A. Ambulance Service. The needs of the men are being looked out for at home by the Friends of Section 86, an organization of parents and friends, who are sending to France clothing, reading matter and other things needed by the men.

3. An Army field clerk, Statistical Section.

4. May 29, 1917, this office was requested to compile a list of representative men and women who might help organize the food conservation work in California.

5. A call for a construction superintendent for service in France, with the rank of lieutenant or captain.

6. A call for six draughtsmen for over-seas work.

7. September 7, 1917, a call to secure a supervisor for class instruction given at the San Francisco Presidio under the auspices of the National War Work Council of the Young Men's Christian Association; also other calls for Young Men's Christian Association workers in France.

8. A call for an assistant secretary for the Committee of Council of National Defense.

9. June 4, 1917, a call to secure two field directors in the supply service, Department of Military Relief.

10. June 8, 1917, a call for instrument men in the United States Reclamation Service.

11. June 9, 1917, a call for an alumnus in each of the following cities: Los Angeles, Portland, Salt Lake City, and San Francisco. The men selected are to be on committees whose functions are: (a) “To investigate the ability, reputation and association of any one desired for special work by the national government in order to make sure of fitness and loyalty; (b) to assist in discovering for the national government men in various occupations who could be induced to leave their work in special cases where their ability is particularly desired by the government; (c) to arrange with local firms and organizations to release certain of their trained help when the need by the government is very great indeed and probably could not be satisfied in any other way.'

12. June 11, 1917, a call from the Ordnance Department for assistant inspectors of leather, assistant inspectors of leather equipment, assistant inspectors of textiles, assistant inspectors of cloth equipment, and assistant inspectors of small hardware.

13. August 4, 1917, a call for men to serve in the United States Naval Reserve Flying Corps.

14. A call to secure men to serve as aerial observers in the Aviation Section, Signal Officers' Reserve Corps.

15. October 19, 1917, a call to secure six mechanical engineers to act as machine-gun instructors and specialists in aviation schools. 16. A call to secure men for service in the Balloon Division, Aviation Section, Signal Officers' Reserve Corps.

17. October 5, 1917, a call to secure three or four assistants in the War Trade Intelligence Division of the Export Administrative Bureau.

18. October 5, 1917, a call to secure men for special commercial work abroad for the national government: Class I, men of large

experience between 30 and 45 years of age, $3000; Class II, men of less experience between 25 and 40 years of age, $2000.

19. A call for women to serve as nurses in France; a similar call for telephone operators.

B. The function of the office thus far considered is to help the government find suitable workers. There is, however, another function, namely, to help men and women secure places in the national service. Persons who have decided to offer their services to the army, navy or other branches of the national government usually find here both information and direction. The office in this phase of its work is somewhat like an employment agency. Its files already contain the names of many persons, other than those mentioned above, who have expressed themselves as willing or anxious to serve the country in the present emergency, each of these candidates having filled out a prescribed questionnaire setting forth his training as well as his professional or business experience. The office in turn undertakes to watch the government calls with reference to applications and, wherever consistent with the country's interests, to help candidates to find places in the service. The office has assisted in this way something over 500 persons, a large percentage of whom have secured places. The nominations in most cases were made directly to army or navy officials in response to their specific requests. Some nominations were made through the Intercollegiate Intelligence Bureau, a volunteer adjunct of the War Department, with offices at Washington, D. C.

C. This office also addresses itself to a miscellaneous group of duties. It endeavors upon request to furnish available information concerning enlisted men, postal and telegraphic regulations affecting men in the service, wartime insurance, and other matters that have been made the subjects of official bulletins or announcements. It also cooperates to such extent as is possible with committees and organizations engaged in war work, such as training, pub

licity, relief or reconstruction activities. The work along these lines may be illustrated by the following cases:

1. March 19, 1917, the War Department through the Board of Engineer Troops announced that it was about to enlarge and revise the official Engineer Training Manual. In this connection the University of California was asked to make suggestions and to supply certain data. The business was handled by a special committee consisting of Professor M. W. Haskell, Professor L. Hutchinson, Professor C. G. Hyde, Professor E. P. Lewis, Major J. T. Nance, Professor P. H. Probert, Professor L. J. Richardson, and Professor B. M. Woods, secretary. The results of the work were transmitted to Washington, D. C., April 10, 1917.

2. A call to help in carrying out the conscription law. Our main service here has been in supplying information of a personal character requested by certain exemption boards.

3. A call to put on record each University of California student or alumnus taken by the draft, together with a statement concerning his special training and experience. This is being done with a view to detailing men, as need shall arise, to special governmental or industrial service.

4. September 25, 1917, a call from the United States Public Service Reserve, Department of Labor, Washington, D. C., for the names and addresses of all engineers among the alumni of the University of California. Eight hundred names and addresses were sent October 11, 1917.

5. June 11, 1917, a call to gather information and statistical matter covering the Western Department of the United States with reference to the preparation of a National Service Handbook. This book (246 pp.) was published in August, 1917, by the Committee on Public Information, Mr. George Creel, chairman.

6. A call to assist the Professor of Military Science at the University of California in handling applications for the Third Series of Officers' Training Camps.

7. A call from Colonel E. E. Persons, U. S. Army Ambulance Service, to assist in the enlistment of eight Honolulu applicants for that branch of the service.

8. A call to assist in organizing at the University of California a course for the preparation of chief storekeepers.

9. A call to compile a University of California Honor Roll.

We shall at once describe and discharge a duty of this office if we ask readers of this article to assist in spreading