NEW TRAINING CAMPS.

Taranaki Daily News, 26 April 1917, Page 4

NEW TRAINING CAMPS.

APPROACHING COMPLETION. (From, Our Own Correspondent.) Wellington, April 23. The preparation of the new wintw camp at Tauherenikau is proceeding actively. The camp, as already announced, is to be divided into four distinct parts, in order that the recruit* from each military ditsrlct may be segregated during the first indnth of their training. The separation will foe conn plt'tci The experience of previous win* tcrs lias shown that the recruits bring! tyto the camps such complaints as measles, influenza, and diphtheria, which have a tendency to spread rapidly and assume the form of epidemics at a period when the men are unseasoned and unaccustomed to military conditions. The medical authorities hope thin year to nip epidemics in the bud. Tho fact thut the recruits are to Bpend their first month ifi tents instead of huts does not mean that the huts a»a unhealthy, Tho huts, as thoy aro con< strnctcd now, have gjven satisfaction, But it would bo impossible to provide i\ hut camp suited to the new scheme in the time that is availably and the tenia, have an advantage, mo-cover, in the fact that they iwill conuin only eight men each, Thf discovery of a case ol sickness will involve tho isolation of eight men only, whereas each compartment of a hut contains 30 men. Tin tents will be fully waturpro'lof, and they will all have wooden floors. Metalled roads are now being constructed to giv« access to the tents, and the ground thai has been chosen is thoroughly wsH drained. Each division of the new camp will have its own slryinj room, so' that tin troops may bo able to dry their clothes and lioats in met weather. Writing and reading rooms, canteens, cook-houses, ami sanitary quarters will all toe distinct for each division of tho camp. At the end of a month the recruits vriH .be accustomed to camp conditions and the open-air life, and they will then proceed with their training under the usual conditions. This arrangement will not involve any loss of time, since the first month of tho training period is devoted) normally to squad drill and other exew cites conducted by small groups of men.