THE 8EMI.WEEKLV TRIOUNE. NORTH PLATTE. NEBRASKA.
GERMANS SHOOT
DOWN 6 BALLOONS
Twelve Observers in One Day
Trust to Parachutes in
Leaps for Life.
PERIL IK BURNING GAS BAGS
Flames Likely to Overtake the De
cendlna .Observers Many Nar
row Escapes From Death One
Relates Experiences.
Behind tho British Lines In France.
Leaps for life, from burning observn
tlon balloons when attacked hy Ger
man airplanes were described by ob
servers of the British Itoynl Flying
corps to nn Associated Press corre
spondent when lie visited one of their !
enmps behind the lines n few dnys ago.
A bnlloon nscent nt the front Is nev
er n light undertaking, nnd on ono day'
recently when the correspondent vis
ited a station In n fntrly Innctlve pnrt
of the line six bnlloons containing 12
men were shot down by Gerinnn air
plnnos, nil within sight of one nnotlicr.
One of the-12 officers who were com
pelled to rench terrn flrnm by the para
chute route told the story of his trip.
"We were perched nt 8,500 feet." bo
snld, "nnd had been up only lmlf nn
hour when n column of smoke two
miles southwnrd nttrncted onr" notice.
"There goes No. 10," snld my observer.
"Two white flecks floating onrthwiird
told us thnt the two passengers of the
bnlloon hnd got clear In time. Just
then two similar specks nppcarcd sud
denly from under, another bnlloon
wnrnlng us thnt the Bocho was out for
n wholesale killing this time. Six
moro whlto specks now appeared, and,
'slnco it was evident thnt the entlro
line wns being attacked, I gave the
order to haul down.
Sudden Attack by Airplane.
"At 1,000 feet, I ordered tho winch
stopped. No moro bnlloons had been nt
tacked, and although ours was now
tho only ono up, I could seo British
fighting planes nscendlng from tho air
dromes behind us to chnso nway tho
enemy. So I depldcd to venture up
ngnln. Wo ascended to 3,000 feet this
time, nnd soon were nt work again.
"Then suddenly something happen
ed. It happened swiftly as In n dream.
"Wo didn't oven seo tho German Albn
tross approaching, but our ground olll
cer and his scouts gnvo us tho nlarm
Just a second or two before tho hawk
was on ub. I heard my ohsorvor, nt
tho telephone, sny suddenly, 'What's
that? Stand by I Good Heavens l'
Then ho turned calmly to mo nnd snld
with a smllo, 'Sorry, old man, wo must
got out nt onco.' Ho helped mo over
tho slilo first.
"I dropped nnd heard a 'wurnph' ns
tho parachute left Its ensc. This was
tho last nensntlon I nttcmptcd to unn
!yzo ns I fell like n stono for H00 feet.
I snw tho balloon shoot violently up
wnrd, and then my vlow wns blotted
out by a lnrgo whlto umbrella which
suddenly, appeared above my head, and
I realized thnt tho parachute hud open
ed. I didn't look down, ns I felt my
body swaying easily In the breeze. Tho
roar nbovb told mo thnt the Albatross
POILUS HURRYING
A French potrnlcote on a narrow
to tho front lines In the Somme sector.
GIVE BOMBS TO TOTS
Soldier Tells of Inhuman Acts
Practiced by Boches.
Deadly Missiles Disguised as Toys and
Set to Explode at Certain
Time.
Chicago. Tho thrilling story of his
experiences ngn(nBt tho Huns In
Franco was told by Scrgt. Christopher
Jones of tho Royal British Field Ar
tillery, In tho psychopathic court hero.
Threo times ho was wounded nnd
five times ho went through the hor
rors of being gassed "over there."
No has been doing duty at the Brit
ish recruiting ofllco hero since his
dlschnrgo In 1017. lie still curries n
pteco of shrapnel In his skull, re
ceived pt tho Battle of Ypres, when
for live days he lay In n sholl hole,
without food or drink, until a hospital
dog rescued him.
Jones was In tho fighting at Albert
-when that city was uttucltcd ami tho
Vathedrnl destroyed.
"Thnt wos wliero the Boches guv
had done Its work and the bplloon wi.s
nflre. Yon cannot, of course, .maneuver
n parachute, nnd there Is always the
possibility of the burning balloon over
taking you nnd burning your only
means of escape.
"But before I reached the ground I
snw fnrJn front tho Albntross crash
ing to earth minus n wing. She had
been lilt by a cluster of antiaircraft
shells.
"The next thing T know was that I
wa. lying In the middle of a plowed
field, while n short dlstnnco off I snw
my observer coming ncross toward
me."
Narrow Escape From Death.
All 12 of tho officers of the wrecked
balloons escaped safely on this occa
sion. They are not nlwnys so fortu
nate. At this snmo station a few days
before nn officer was shot nnd killed
when dropping in his parachute. Ills
balloon hnd been set nflre by a Ger
man airplane, and, ns usual, bo and
bis companion took to their para
chutes. They hnd hardly got Clear of
tho balloon when tho attacking air-
WORK OF censor:
FULL OF THRILLS
Women of England Find in It a
Most Attractive and Lucra
tive Professon.
HELP DRAW NET ON SPIES
8ystem Is Perfect; One Marvels How
German 8ecret Agent Can Slip
Through, but Slip Through
Ho Does.
London. Tho latest nnd, to a wom
an, tho most nttructlvo profession Is
that of postal censor. To the well
educated woman In her service, tlio
postal censorship offers opportunities
for ndvnncemcnt not to bo found else
where. The pay ranges from $7.25 a
week while learning, rising by Incre
ments of $1 to $15 a week, tho maxi
mum for an examiner, with additional
war bonus. Thcro toro at least flfty
women earning moro than $1,000 u
year, supervising thirty or forty exam
iners each. They havo nil risen from
tho ranks.
Now they hold tho proud tltlo of D.
A. 0. (Deputy Assistant Censor), to
which they hnvo been clovated not so
much for their languages ns for tlielr
general capacity. Ono girl of nine
teen, engaged two years ago, ns a
typist at $5 n week, rose to $15 with
in six months. Another, beginning nt
$10, drew $20 within eight weeks.
Yet tho plnlnt of the deputy chief
censor Ik that "wo cannot get enough
of tho right kind of women to be cen
sors." Tho latter Is tho executive
head of that vast machine, created
mainly for restrictive measures, which
yet feeds with vnlunblo information
not merely tho wnr office, of which It
TO THE FRONT
gaugo railway carrying u loud of Poilus
bombs to tho children, bombs pnlntcd
like toys and set to explode In a few
minutes," said Jones. "The poor kids,
they never had a chance. Yes, I saw
somo of these explosions. And I saw
old women given tho bayonet.
"Wo charged them, but our officers
wouldn't let us kilt them. We had
to take them prisoners when they hol
lered 'Knmerad.'
"When I was cupturcd the Bdches
threw mo Into n 40-foot pit with a lot
of other prisoners. They told mo I
could get out If 1 worked In tho mu
nition factories. I told them to go to
h , uud stayed In tho pit.
"One night two of us overpowered
a guard, climbed upon tho ropo which
they used to lot water down to us, and
escaped. Wo went through woods and
swam rivers until we got to tho sen.
Wo got ori a fishing boat and woke up
on tho coust of France."
Loan Sharks Busy In Arrny.
Camp ShurUInn, Montgomery, Ala.
In un order from the war department
officers nro warned to keep u sharp
lookout for loan sharks, many of whom
j havo been rcpurted openttlna tu .Na-
I'lllMV SMMIpl'l llotrll ,it 1 1,,', ii. i.. III,.
ililiie gun III mil p'l'V. One of the nlll-c.-rK
wax killed, and, r.lthough the oth
or escaped, his parachute was torn In
n bullet
Tho balloon commnnder told the
story of uti officer who had gone up
alone and whoso bnlloon wns shelled
when flying nt -1.000 feet. On these oc
casions It Is dangerous to haul down,
for the position of the winch Is thereby
given away to tho enemy gunners. At
Inst, after n cloud of shrapnel smoko
had appeared almost under tliCbaskct
nnd no response enme down the tele
phone wire to Inquiries ns to whether
everything was alf right, the ground
officer gave the order to hnul down.
Ten minutes Inter tho car touched tho
ground, nnd the observer wns found
lying nt the. bottom of the basket, un
conscious but unhurt. It wns n bad
case of shell shock, from which he
officer was several months In recov
ering. A few days ngo. at n nearby station,
n balloon suddenly caught tire, for no
nppnrcnt reason. The two observer
tried to escape In their parachutes, but
the blazing balloon overtook them, nnd
they were. killed. Theories ns to the
cause of tho disaster were numerous,
but the one most genernlly accepted
wns thnt the balloon had been fired b
nn electric spnrk from n thunder cloud-
now forms nn Integral pnrt, but the ad
miralty, the foreign office with Its off
shoots, the propngundn department,
contraband committee, nnd on which
tho whole of our blockade activities
nro based.
Is there enough of tho right kind of
women anywhere? -The right kind of
woman has many avenues open to her.
Some oll'er service In France adven
ture, romance, tho making of history,
the glamor of the uniform nnd n
chance of honor and glory. But the
woman censor, cntch spies though she
may, gets but little limelight.
Heroines In Bureau.
There ure women In tho censorship
today with three or more years service
who nro not lenst among tho heroines
of war. They work In secret and In
silence, behind closed doors, nnd their
successes nro hidden. They will not
even tell their friends where they
work, let ulono what they do. Al
though tho women examiners of mulls
number somo 2,000, against some 500
male examiners, there hns been little
mention of tho women. Tho recent:
decision of the authorities to remove
some of tho secrecy which shrouds tho
woman censor will lend tho right wom
en to apply for tho work, though nat
urally there will bo no disclosure which
can possibly bo of use to the enemy,
nnd tho discipline hnblt of calling ev
erything confidential will continue.
Th'o necessary qualifications nre not
merely languages, and what they do Is
not just to reud other people's dull let
ters, ns seems the general Impression;
It Is much more Interesting than thnt
There nro women there who know no
tonguo but their own; they have been
chosen for their judgment and theli
unquestionable discretion besides their
cducntlou nnd general knowledge. One
would emphasize the valuo of judg
ment nnd the opportunities for exer
cising It; It Is n question of weighing
up fncts and coming to wise and rea
sonable decisions tho whole time. Ta
women with n happy blend of Imngl
natldn and common sense tho work I?
absorbing, nt times thrilling.
It Is an experience and an educa
tion, a privilege to bo pnrt of this won
derful mechanism, even ns tho hum
blest cog In Its wheel of progress; tc
observe the details of Its construction
and to watch It expand week by week
Censor Tightens Net.
For as tho war widens tho censoi
throws his net still further overseas
tightening It until ono marvels how the
German secret service ugent can silt
through Its manifold meshes. Slip
through them he does, and that Is whj
the country needs her daughters to
help to outwit him.
In tho women's nrmy or nnyy the
average pay of. officers Is $025 to $875,
with free quarters. They must leave
their homes, and to tho woman who Is
settled in London this Is n difficulty.
But If tho London dw6llcr has not the
robust health that enables her all du
to stand on her feet, though she can dc
n good day's work "on her head," If hei
family falters at tho thought of France
let her como forward to tho censorship
nnd stny In England. Here, as nn or
dlnnry censor or examiner of malls,
she will havo responsibility, with scopt
for Individuality nud tho great chance
of bringing n spy to book by her keen
ness In drawing closo tho net.
tlonal Guard and National nrmy
camps. Tho order states that many ol
tho money lenders hnvo been tuklns
$50, $75 nnd $100 Liberty bonds, fre
quently charging us much as 10 poi
cunt Interest on short tlmo loans.
THE RED J5ACRAMENT
By Amelia Josephine Burr of
Wtl i .
th(
viuHjirucs.
A comrade's blood had stnlned theli
ration rwl
Tho very wluo of llfo wns in theli
bread
And yet on that grim sacrament they
icu
And roso up strengthened to fulfill
tusk
Tho dead man left undone.
O God. wa nslr
the
Thnt we by sorrow may bo doubly
Rtronp
- - n
To light thy wnr against Imperial
Until the dragon or ourselves
s be
uenu.
Our home, our blrtbylace, our
tlvu tuud. Southoy.
a a
ROAD
BUILDING
TO MAINTAIN GRAVEL ROADS
Never Htrd and Smooth Enough
Prevent Immediate Rutting by
Wheels of Wagons.
to
.Gravel roads nre never hnrd nnd
smooth enough when opened to travel
to prevent almost Immedlnte rutting by
the wheels of heavily londcd wagons.
In fact, a gravel which contains enough
clay to pack Immediately under the
roller or In n few dnys under travel
will always prove to give a muddy
road when the frost Is going oat In the
spring nnd during prolonged wet spells
at other seasons of tho year. If such
gravels are found on n road they can
be greatly Improved by covering the
surface with a thin Inyer of sandy
gravel, applied when the road Is soft
and allowed to mix under travel, the
road being kept smooth by the frequent
use of the road drag.
On any gravel road, dragging with
n suitable road drag should begin after
the first good ruin following the com
pletion of the road and be continued
after each subsequent rain until the
Weil-Kept Gravel Road.
roud surface becomes so hard and
smooth that heavily loaded wagons
make no Impression on the surface.
But dragging must bo frequent the
first fall until winter sets In nnd the
following spring until the middle of
May or the first of June. After thnt
the dragging will not bo very effective,
unless the rains nro of long enough
duration to soften the surface sllgljtly.
and muy therefore bo less frequent.
But dragging will be found very effec
tive nnd efficient In tho Into fall nnd
In the spring when tho frost Is coming
out and before the gravel Is fully set
tled. MUST MAINTAIN GOOD ROADS
Too Much Money Spent for Construc
tion and Too Little for Proper
Maintenance. '
In mnny n county In the South tho
condition of tho roads Is tho sumo ns
those which the editor of the Clinton
Democrat describes as existing In his
county. He says :
"Wo can't survive the Impression
that he have wasted n lot of money;
that wo have built a lot of roads that
havo gone back to their former condi
tion, from neglect; thnt wo have bur
dened our posterity with a debt that
has proved to bo n rather bad Invest
ment. "Wo have burdened our children
with the bonds 'that will be mighty
hard to pay, and we will have to an
swer for o great deal, If for their $150,
000 wo leave them a legacy of mud
holes, a heritage of sand and water.
Ono of the main defects In our present
program, wo think, Is tho fact that we
are spending all of our money on con
struction nnd nre not tnklng proper
thought for tho malntcnnnce of the
roads." The Progressive Farmer.
TO MAINTAIN CONCRETE ROAD
Observe Same Rules of Drainage as
Apply .for Earth Roads New
Surface for Concrete.
Tho maintenance of concreto roads
consists of observing the rules of
drainage ns for earth ronds, and In
filling with tnr any cracks thnt may
develop. Nothing can be done for tho
surface when It begins to deteriorate
and break down. It will servo as n
base for somo of the higher types of
bituminous surface, nnfl nfter the con
crete hns served Its usefulness It
should be resurfaced with a bitumin
ous wenrlng surfneo.
Every State After Funds.
Kvery state In the Union accepted,
the terms of the federal road act nnd,
npplled for the funds thus made avail,
able.
Prevent Foundering Horse.
Never water or grain n horse thnt Is
much heated to do this Is likely ta
"founder" und so ruin him.
Favor Wlde-Tlred Trucks.
Wlde-tlred trucks for farm hauling
nro gnlnlng In favor among those who
have put them In use.
5-
Capital City Full of Uniforms Without Glitter
ITjT ASIIINGTON. Wnshlngton, In n few central respects, must In these dny
.. remind n Civil wnr veteran of tho1 time when the capital swarmed wlth
the soldiers of tire Union. There were certainly never more generals and
ndmlrals on the streets In 1801-05 than.
sort of custodianship at a club or a.
public Institution. Not a sword at a man's side not n gun on a man's
)shouldciI Gold Ince conspicuous by Its absence frdm soldiers,- though
to bo sure, the admirals are still permitted to wear It. All tho people bustling:
madly nbdut like a lot of bank messengers or parcel boys, Intent upon noth
ing but business. Instead of soldiers bivouacked on vacant lots, ns in the
Civil war. Wnshlngtoh is full of great barrnckllke. temporary buildings,
mostly, made of some kind of stucco, though some nre of wood, within which
hundreds of women ure writing In a whirling fnshlou on typewriters. Mixed)
;up with these women arc men In these drab suits, either superintending or
Interfering with their operations. This war, so far as the casual visitor
at Washington enn observe. Is being fought by n woman with a typewriter.
All the spnee thnt was occupied during the Civil war by the war depart
I'ment nud nil Its officers, clerks nnd servants would senrcely suffice today for
one of the numerous bureaus of the department which were entirely undis
covered In 1805. And consider that In 1801-05 the typewriter did not exist,
nnd thnt every letter, order, memorandum, reoord nnd reference was wrltteD
by hand I
Patron of Sand Art Reminds of Other Pictures-
THERE Is one woman In this town for whom Michael Angelo HveU In vain.
Ton couldn't call It a personal grudge, seeing she hnd never heard tell
of him until another woman hnppened to sny things about his art and nt
that, all she did wns to claim that no
(painter ever made better pictures thnn
the ones she saw on the bench at At
lantic City.
There are times when argument Is
so much Inngunge gone to wnstc, nnd,
this seemed to be one of the times, be
'sldes: The woman who lind. backed An
gelo knew that the putron of sand nrt
was vlslonlng with memory-eyes, some
dabber under- tho board walk, who was
doiiiL- fat angels and things to tho fall
of nickels, while she leaned over the
railing with a companion wlio had kept loving step with her womanhood until,
they came to a cemetery gate. Then she began to recall past pictures.
Here's one: A blue sea billowing Into a beach, with two soldiers drawing
straight lines on the sand to let tho waves know how far they may roll In.
Ills Itoynl Foolishness. Inside the lines, sits In his throne chnlr to see that
the sea obeys bis orders, and while he does It the breakers crash In and In
nnd In; over the lines, up to the throne chn)r as If nny Canute that ever
lived can hope to own a world that belongs to the people thereof
Here's n better one: A pork In Syracuse, with Archimedes on a bench,
drawing mathematical circles In the sand- You can see that the Roman
invader rushing toward him is about to cut him down, and that Archimedes'
knows It. But there are more' Important things to be considered.
"Don't spoil the circle I"
You can hear his warning cry ns his blood soaks Into tho sand, but yora
know thnt Archimedes did not die, because ho Is living now. And will keep
on living so long ns there Is an earth uud men on It, with stars above and1
watti beneath, and
This Is the best one of all:
Another place of "Sand with a white-robed Figure stooping to write 81
sentence
Changes Wrought in Washington by the War
PENNSYLVANIA avenue used to be a stately thoroughfare on which yon
could promenade nonchalantly from the capltol to the White House, view
ing nt leisure the mnsslve government buildings, the souvenirs in the curio
shops, tho marble statuary and the
i.
dreamily along in your open barouche on n Sunday afternoon with an occa
sional nod to a passing cabinet officer or congressman ; now It Is n North seu,
whore on n splendid spring Sabbath Is mobilized a fleet of allied "Joy wag
ons" that strive constantly for the sane privilege of pursuing the even tenor
of their way unmolested.
If the city of Washington Is ever threatened by nn unexpected Invasion,
as was Paris In the eurly days of the war, the secretary of war has only to
commnndeer the motorcars In the District of Columbia ns Galllcnl mobilized
the tnxlcabs of Paris, nnd ho can rush up troops enough from Camp Meade
nnd Camp Meigs nnd marines from Quantlco, Va., to save the day.
What She Thought About the Early Spring Hat
SHE looked as If she hud stepped out of a fashion sheet Into tho car. Being
n sunshiny dfty with chill streaks In It, she had combined a fur coat thnt
rippled down to boot tops of gray kid with a but of glazed gray straw guarded
In front by 11 steel quill cut In the
shnpe of a sword. But yon enn't nlways
tell what sort of Impression you are
going to make on the everyday humnn
mind. Two passengers good-hen'rted.
double-chinned daughters of the people
seated across, considering Madam
Fashion Sheet from the viewpoint of
wearers of tabby black velvet hats
bought Inst fall to wear until warm
springtime nnd maybe after. The one
who wns pony-skinned whispered ad
miring astonishment, but the other.
conted in n weave that began somewhere In New England as Persian lamb,
voiced criticism with n loudness that showed for excellent lungs.
"Well, sir, before I'd weur a light straw hat on a cold day like this, with
a fur cout like that. I'd stay home. Don't look worried over It, uelther."
"Well, It's the fashion an' you gottn follow fashion If you got tho
spons everybody does. I think Ifs kinder stylish, myself. Must be cold to
tho head, though." .
"I should sny so. You don't hnfter wear straw hats before Easter just
because the stores put 'em In the wlnd'rs. A woman with nil them clothes
oughtn sure have some scraps homo to mnko herself a warm hat for weather
like this. Before I'd come out In n summer but like that on a day like this
I'd cut off a piece of my coat and make me a turb'n you can get any ahuptt
you want for ten cents."
"My gracious, woman, you wouldn't ruin n dandy coat like that, would
you? That cont cost money and look at Daisy Blunkbrs. She hud mi 11
white straw hat at the movies the other night."
"She's nothln' to go by the poor coot only gettln' live a week .nnd
wearln' yell'r shoes almost up to her knee J'lntsl Thnt woman looks as if
she mude good money but nil I gottn sny Is she don't show senso to 11111M1."
But she Hid haw more to pt. only enough Ir uiwys enough.
there are today, writes "Nomad" In the
Boston Transcript. Uniforms are ns
nutnerous on Connecticut avenue ns
civilian suits. Tho atmosphere of the
place Is military. Hut the Civil war
veteran, suddenly dropped down in
Wnshlngton now. would not know the
clty for n war city nevertheless. This
drab dress, this Intensely neutral cloth,
would not represent soldiering to him
at all. It would seem to betoken somo
creeping trolleys. It still has the same
old shooting galleries, and the "rooms
for 50 cents," and the hnnd-pnlnted
Martha Washington chlnn plates nnd
the miniature Washington 'monu
ments, with thermometers attached, In.
the shop windows, but Pennsylvania
today is an Applan way along which
surges constantly a continual stream
of elbowing, energetic, endless humnn
Ity and vehicles. Potomac park useit
to be a nlace where.vou could ride
rouvf
com
fOLLOw;
FHHfOdJ
YOU
MOW