Q. How are our soldiers identified?

A.-A "Statistical Division" with a foreign branch in Paris takes care of this. Every man in the Army, whether officer or private, is indexed by name, and the records filed in alphabetical order for immediate reference, should the names appear either in Army orders or casualty lists. With the description of each soldier is given the name of his next of kin with emergency address.

Each soldier wears about his neck and underneath his clothing a small tag giving his name and company. The foreign branch of the Statistical Division has the fighting forces listed by regiments, as well as alphabetically. Whenever the names of soldiers figure in official dispatches, duplicate sets of records kept at Washington will afford quick refer

ence.

grees Fahrenheit. It will not corrode, and is not affected by salt water. On each ship and at each naval station a hospitalcorps officer has charge of the preparation of the tags.

Q.-How are finger-prints taken?

A. The finger-print is taken in ink on the metal. The name and dates are then written on the tag, which is sprinkled with powdered asphaltum and held over an alcohol lamp until the asphaltum melts into the ink. The tag is then placed for an hour in a nitric-acid bath, which etches the finger-print and inscription on the metal.

Q. What is the chance of mistakes?

A. There is not one chance in 65,000,000, the finger-print experts estimate, of a mistake in identification, as there are

fied?

A.-Every officer and enlisted man in the United States Navy wears a metal identification tag which bears the wearer's name, the date of his birth and enlistment, and, in the case of an officer, his rank and date of appointment. On the other side is etched the finger print of his right index finger. This is a part of what naval officers regard as the best system of identification known, superior to that in use in European armies and navies.

Q. What is the identification tag?

A. The identification tag consists of an oval plate of monel metal 1.25 by 1.50 inches, perforated at one end and suspended from the neck by a monel wire encased in a cotton sleeve. A copy of each finger print on paper is supplied to the Bureau of Navigation, Navy Department, where it is filed in the identification section, this particular work being in charge of J. H. Taylor, finger-print expert, who devised the tag adopted.

Q. What is monel metal?

A.-Monel is the alloy used for battleship propellers. It was chosen in preference to brass or any other metal because it is unaffected by heat, not melting until it has reached a temperature of 2,480 de

one chance in 1,000,000 of the fingers of any two persons having the same characteristics.

Q. Are our soldiers not numbered, also?

A. The War Department has decided to assign a number to each enlisted man in the armies of the U. S. These numbers (beginning at No. I and continuing without limit and without alphabetical prefix or affix) will be stamped on the metal identification tags now worn by the soldiers.

Q. How does France tag her soldiers?

A.-France uses a German-silver identification tag for each soldier. It was intended to be worn on a string about the neck and hidden under the shirt, but the majority of "poilus" prefer to wear the tag on a chain about the wrist. In 1915 it was decided to provide two tags, so that for identification purpose, one was to be removed by the authorities and the other was to remain on the body for future identification.

Q.-Are the British tagged?

A. The British Tommy, at the beginning of the war, wore a circular aluminum tag hanging on a string about his neck,

containing his draft number, initials, name, regiment and religion. Owing to the scarcity of aluminum, it was decided in November, 1916, to adopt a new system. It consists of two tags, one octagonal and red, the other round and green, and suspended from the first. In case of death, the green tag is removed and the red one left for future identification.

The Belgians, in 1915, adopted the French model, fastened to the wrist by a chain bracelet.

Q. What is the Italian system?

A.-The Italian identification tag (adopted in 1915) consists of an ornate book-like locket, containing a folded paper record suspended on a string around the neck. This record gives the wearer's full name, military class, recruiting district, names of parents, residence of immediate family, regiment, vaccination records and wounds.

The Serbian soldier, in the beginning of the war, used an identification tag which was simply a metal plate sewed on the inside of his tunic. This method has now been replaced by the French identification tag.

Q.-Were Russian soldiers tagged?

A. With the exception of those Russians who fought in France, no identification tags were provided for the Russian soldiers. Hundreds of thousands of fallen Russians, therefore, never have been identified, and untold misery and countless legal tangles have ensued because Russia failed to provide these inexpensive tags.

Q. When did Germany first tag soldiers?

A.—In 1870, in the Franco-Prussian War. Germany entered the present war with the same tag that it had used then. This tag contained the numbers of the army corps, the regiment, the company and the draft. It was worn on a string around the neck. Sometimes a leather pouch protected it.

Q.-Do the Germans still use the same tag?

A.-No. In June, 1915, a more complete tag of larger dimensions and oval in shape was adopted. It carried the names, residence, dates of birth, mobilization data, and a number of numerals and letters.

In November, 1916, still another model was adopted by the German Army. It was even larger than the preceding one, and made in a split form. The two halves, one the duplicate of the other, are separated by a serrated line, which makes it easy to detach one half of the identification tag, while the other half remains on the body of the fallen soldier.

The Turks use a round tag of metal carrying the name, first name, and regimental number of the soldier, while the Austrians use a locket similar to that of the Italians. This is worn on a string which the soldier wears around his neck.

Q.-How are the Chinese soldiers drafted and tagged?

A. They are first put through a thorough physical examination by the British or French surgeon-an event in the Chinaman's life, who, probably, has never seen a European physician before.

As all Chinese look alike to the European officers who are to control him later, they simply must have a ready and sure means of identification. A steel bracelet with his number engraved upon it is marked with other data about the soldier in the official records. This bracelet is riveted about the owner's wrist, and none other than a blacksmith can remove it.

His queue is next shaved off by a barber (for the sum of eight cents), and the celestial is treated to the surprise of his life. He gets a bath, and a brand-new suit of soldier clothes. He is ready then to go aboard the transport with all his belongings in a huge bundle on his back.