THE NERVES OF THE SOLDIER

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LII, Issue 104, 6 May 1918, Page 4

THE NERVES OF THE SOLDIER

A NEW MILITARY ARM. TO 'ENSURE "FIRST-CLASS NERVES," It is to ensure that every man in the United States army has "first-class nerves" that a new military arm is being developed in its War Office organisation. It will cull out the men who are not built to (withstand the nerve stresses of battle. Itwill v throw about the picked men, when first they' go to the front, such safeguards as shall minimise nervous troubles. And finally, to those who do "reak mentally, if will give the trained care and treatment that will restore them rapidly to health. Four army cantonments are already supplied with experts, who are putting into practice the first of these articles, and evdntu'ally every gathering place for enlisted and draft-. «d menT iir"America will have its "neurological' corps." The first item on the programme of such a body is a wholesole combing for the men of low mentality. This is accomplished "by an intelligence" test', which can be given to a hundred men at a time. The rejects are turned over to the psychiatrist for expert attention. Those who are inot malingerers are either actual imbeciles or of such low intelligence that they may only be recommended for certain kinds of simple manual labour under close supervision. Then it is necessary to weed' out the kind of man who is brought repeatedly ibefore his company commander for disciplinary faultsj or, who, during illness or at some other time, will reveal constitutional nervous -weakness. These are the men who -will fall out or run amuck on the firing-line. v [t lias been a task of some mont!»s to build up a theory, and then carry.it over into actual practice, and the neuropsychopathic unit at 'Camp Lee, Virghrfs, is the first of its kind.. Here the equipment is fairly complete, nvl activities are in full swing; a mechanism of procedure has been . developed, that has run 18,000 men through the mill in two weeks, and' thai . puts the mental examination on a squarely! practical basis, and the system followed is described by Annis Salisbury ■in the Scientific American." '."',;'/ : ,'/■•'..*,.•* '■ Picture a large room, with 75 or 100 khakT-dad soldiers squatting on the floor. Turkish fashion, with writings boards and printed 'blanks on their, knees. The examiner stands ■in"" front' with jstop-watchjn hand. W 'V .. ; ';;?'' >■ "Attention !" ho sings out. a mark in the largest square of this" row of squares. Go !" ; . : ];';,*■■ This is one of the simplest exercises; which can be done by every recr'uit who is competent to understand and carry out directions. Similar exercises in this faculty follow, each more difficult, until the last may something like this:— ■ "Cross out the letter just before C, and draw a circle around the ■ third letter "before the second. K. Go!"

MEMORY TESTS

The next test is for memory span. The examiner reads, aloud a set of three figures, with the men at attention, pencils nfted from paper. Then' they are. given a, few seconds to write down the set. The nuvrfbers increase in lengthy until the last one contains'l2 digits. Many have given * up trying .by this time, and only the memory wizards jJ'efc the last set correctly. .. ■ 'y * The test which stumps the greatfir-t number o'f recruits is that of completing a numerical series. . Thus, given the series l '3l, 2o*, 30, 27; what number,, should follow 27 to preserve the law of' formation indicated Vby the. part of "tho series given "" This' law tells us to sub-"' stvact 3,. and add 2, alternately; so the next term is 29. There is a little trick about this that" puzzles the average l'ecruit. For before one can apply the law of formation, one must discover what it is. and this requires power to sensfer relations in abstract.

J The man who can do this will carry j the same : power oyer into realities.' ~.H, 5 • I will be able to transfer the basic principles! of trench-digging, from . the environment in which he has been tainjliC | them, and'apply them ,to any kind of landscape that presents- itself. ■ !.. ■ ',;"■' Other tests follow. "The tests are not .finely discriminatory," states the chief -'psychological examiner at Camp Loe, "for we are not trying to sort out the < aviator type from the artillery man or the signal corps officer--frorn the trench-digger. We, are mere-.' ly card-indexing the men according to their mental furnishings. This./culls out in speedy fashion.* the men of low attainment, and'it is valuable*/)? ■ it, basis for promotions or in the assignment of men to special duties requiring more than average intelligence, or mental quickness. , The fact thatZJS ■ per l cent, of, our judgments, based on the lest'ratings, coincide with those of the officer* who knew the men from ev«ryI day experience,. find that in a specinc j instance; 15 men chosen for:.promotion | by their regimental officers, on the basis I of daily- achievement were the 'men-who I made the highest grades in the irttel-' j ligence test, show how nearly we : have ] hit tjhe mark in making 'this' .'Miiug » : practical procedure."