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Show TWELVE THOUSAND VOLUNTEERS VOLUN-TEERS SOUGHT TO COMPOSE ENGINEER DIVISION. Nine New Regiments of Trained Railway Rail-way Workers to be Sent to the Front as Soon as Organization Organiza-tion Can be Effected. Washington. Nino new reu'itni'nt:'. of unity engineers, to he composed exclusively ex-clusively of highly-trained railway men, "Will he the first American troops sent, to France. They will go "at the enrli-csl enrli-csl possible moment," the war ilepnrr-jiient ilepnrr-jiient announced May 7, for work on communication lines, but speculation as lo the exact time when or to what points they will ho sent is forbidden because of the submarine menace. The new forces will he volunteers, raised at the nine great railway centers cen-ters of the country. Each regiment, will be commanded by an engineer colonel of the regular army, aided by an adjutant. All other officers will be railway engineers or officials. The expedition will have a total strength of between 11,0)0 and 12,000 men, each regiment being composed of two battalions of tht vr companies each. Every branch of railway workers necessary neces-sary to the building or operation of lines will be represented and the war department expects a response to the .call that will insure a force already trained to the minute, an army of exports ex-ports in railway operations. Recruiting will lie directly under the colonel of each regiment. Recruiting machinery of the regular service or 1he national guard will he placed at their service and it is hoped the enrollment en-rollment of the troops will take little lime. The recruiting points will he New York, Chicago, St. Louis, Boston, Pittsburg, Detroit, Atlanta, San Francisco Fran-cisco and Philadelphia. Officials believe the great railroad brotherhoods will co-operate, throwing the strength of the unions behind tltt recruiting efforts. The railway companies com-panies already are so organized under ihe council of national defense that their co-operation is assured. The en gineers and officials of the lines who offer themselves will he selected in such manner as not to cripple the operating oper-ating forces' of any company. |