THE 8EMI WEEKLY TRIBUNE, NORTH PLATTE, NEBRASKA.
Worst Figlitin
wast
cut
I
ft
fWOTON
of War in 1913
British Successes of 1917 Pale
in Comparison to Latest
Battles.
BIG EVENTS OF FOURTH YEAR;
t.
Battles of Cambral, Third Battle of
Ypres, Battle of Menln Road, of
Broodeelnde and Passchendaele
Loom Up Importantly.
London. The heroic battles of the
British army during the Inst hnlf of
1017, Including the battles of Cam
brnl, the third hnttle of Ypres, the but
tle of Menln rond, of IlroodHelnde nnd
of Passchendnclc, would loom up Im
portantly In nny survey of the past
yenr's fighting on the western front but
for one reiiHon: They do not com
purc In nny sense with the fighting
slnco Mnrch 21, 1018.
The spring of 1017 saw the begin
ning of the allied offensive against
Oermnny, but the third miscarried al
most from the start, and, after It was
seen that there was nothing more to
be expected from Itussla, the "great
offensive" of the nlllcs found Itself
diverted Into n number of smaller bat
tles, where occasionally some 200.000
men were employed on either side.
Rome 32,000 prisoners were taken by
the British In eight of these thrusts
against the German line between
August 1, 1017, and tho close of the
year, an'l Important positions were
won, hut the successes were only tac
tical. The third battle of Ypres began
July 31, 1017, and continued until Au
gust 10, again brenklng out August
10, the Ttrltlsh crossed the Yser
canal, taking nine villages and 0,122
prisoners When the battle was re
newed, August 10, Langcmarck wns
taken besides 2,114 more prisoners.
Meanwhile, tho Canadians on the Lens
sector attacked and enptured Hill No.
70, took 1)00 prisoners and maintained I
their positions against five counter
attacks. This was on August lfi.
Smash Foe at Verdun
Tho French pn August 20, attacking !
i nn 11-mtlo front nt Vnr.lnn. .... i
on
turcd about two-thlrds of tho ground !
which the crown nrlnee's nrn.v l.n.i I
won In months of slaughter. ' wnnt to tn,k n,)0Ht lt'"
Tho chief nction In September, 1017, i IIe W"B JHt 11 normal boy, and
was In tho. battle of Menln road, ho related his experiences and lin
whlch began September 20, the object I'resslons without poso or boastful
being to loosen tho German grip on i ncHH-
the const. Following an eight hours' ! "When we look over that part of
bombardment tho Hrltlsh ndvimceil the line wo were told It was a quiet
on an elght-mllo front from nolle-
beUo to Langcmarck, capturing n
hnlf-dozen lmportnnt positions and
taking 3,2-13 prisoners.
During October, 1017, when disaster
ivertook tho Italians, both the French)
nnd tho Hrltlsh scored noteworthy
successps. On October 4 a great strug
gle began on a front of eight miles
on tho Pnsschcndnelo ridge, called
tho battle of Hroodsclnde, perhaps :
tho most Important during tho year '
an tho Hrltlsh front. The Germans
had planned an attack for (1 n. m.,
but the Hrltlsh launched their oITen-1
Blvo an hour earlier, shattered three
enemy divisions, broke up four others
snd took 4,440 prisoners, while Cairn-1
Model of a big American gun that is being turned out lu lurgu numbers
for uso In Franco. It already Is cnmoullaged.
Excel Enemy in Air
British Air Force Headquarters lu
France. There have been many signs
receutly of extreme uneasiness by the
German high command regarding the
Increasing ascendancy of the allied air
men on the western front. This has
been especially evident slnco the Ainer
(can ulrmen have begun to appear In
force and have proved themselves of
tho snuio mottle as tho French and
Hrltlslu tlyers.
Perhaps the most striking evidence
of German otllclnl anxiety regarding
tho allied superiority In' tho air Is to be
found in the olllclal German wireless
news, lu an effort to counteract the
depressing effect of the real facts of
the situation, the German wireless ed
itor make the wildest statements, bor
dering almost mi humor.
Thus a recent copy of the German
wireless rport says: "Superior moth
od of (lying and grenter skill have se
cured for the German nlr force suc
dlans took 2,000 prisoners. The
French, on October, 23, attacked
northeast of Solssons on a slx-mlle
front on the Alsne, from Vauxlllon to
La Hoyere, piercing the enemy's line
four miles and taking 11.000 prison
ers. On October 0 the British took
Poelcappelle and 2,028 prisoners and
made some slight gains with heavy
attacks In the Ypres sector October
22. 20 ii nd 30.
On November 0 the Canadians won
their great victory, capturing Pass
chendaele Hldge, for which the llrltlsh
had been battling for months. The
Canadians held the ridge until the re
cent hammer blows. November also
nw the British success, which was
partially diminished by n surprise
counter-stroke, at Cambral. The Third
Hrltlsh army, under Sir Julian Ityng,
on November 20 launched Its drive
without artillery preparation on an
elght-mlle front, smashing the Hlnden
burg line, almost reaching the, out
skirts of the Important railway center
of Cambral and taking 8,000 prisoners
the first day.
Huns Regain Ground.
The battle continued ten iTa.vs pris
oners being Ineirnscd to 11.W1, while
138 guns were taken. The deepest
advance was seven miles. Hut on
November 30 the Germans delivered n
tremendous attack against Hyng'a
Marine Tells of
His First Fight
Paris. He was a United states Ma
rlne. lie balled from Chicago, and
I Judged his age to be twenty-two or
twenty-three. I did not learn his
name, but 'during the short hour wo
spent together he poured out to me
his personal Impressions of the fight
ing, In which he had taken a share,
at Chateau Thierry.
He nnlvely apologized when ho
1 w American, saying:
"Of course, when I've been In and out
of tho nchm a few times I expect
t will all grow stale, and I slum t
sector," he said, "but It didn't remain
long quiet. We learned afterwurds
that at first tho Germans thought we
wero Hrltlsh, our uniforms being some
what alike, but when thoy discovered
that we were Yanks they began to get
curious about us. Thoy were sure
satisfied pretty quick."
Had Empty Feeling.
What were your own personal feel'
ln,gs the first tlmo you went over the
top?" I asked.
"Well," slowly, "I suppose I wus
frightened. I hiu! a sickening, empty
feeling somewhere Inside mo. Just
before wo were to start our captain
said : 'Now, boys, there's no need to
feel bad nbout It. These men over the
cesses on a scale such as wero never
known before."
"If Germany Is really pleased with
her air record for tho last few
months," remarked a British squadron
leader to the correspondent, "thero Is
no reason for us to complain. Wo ask
nothing better than that Germany
should go on having tho same kind of
success In future months."
He took as an example tho report for
May. which lay open on his desk.
"This report," ho explained, "deals
with the Hrltlsh air fighting alone, and
has no reference to the fine nlr Work
of the French, Italians and Amerlcnns.
During the mouth tho Hrltlsh brought
down 308 German machines In aerial
combat, anil twenty by Hro from tho
ground, while 100 more wero driven
down out of control nnd probably de
stroyed. During the same period 128
Hrltlsh machines failed to return to
their airdromes,"
'
PREFERS SINGLE BLISS
TO BEING HUN'S 'FRAN'
Kllenshurg. Wash Mrs. Mn
hel .Schlumann seeks a divorce
here because, she says, she would
lather be single than the wife
of a German. She complains
that her husband, when they
were married In 101f, told her he
was a naturalized American, hut
since that lie Insists on ealllng
her "frail."
army, aiming to cut It off from the rest
of the Hrltlsh forces. The Germans
succeeded In recovering about halfvof
the cround Hyng's army had won. i
During the past year the Hrltlsh
have made considerable progress In
Mesopotamia and Palestine, capturing
Jerusalem December 1),- 1IH7, while the
allied armies from the Adriatic to tho
Kgean have prevented the Germanic
allies from gaining control of the Med
iterranean. So far the Hrltlsh have won more
than a third of Palestine from the
Turks; In Mesopotamia the Hrltlsh
have advanced about 100 miles up the
Tigris and Euphrates since capturing
Hngdad. and have made some prog
ress toward the north of lilt, capturing
more than 15,000 prisoners.
During January. February nnd the
first half of March only small actions
occurred on the western front, the
Hrltlsh preparing for the German drive
which was Inunched with unprecedent
ed fury March 21.
other side are feeling Just as bad, In
fact a mighty sight worse,' I remem
ber his words distinctly, because
they were the last he said, except to
give the command to start. Wo had
to advance through a field of green
wheat, soppy with dew, so that we
got wet through and could hardly keep
our feet on the slippery ground. Our
captain and lieutenant were killed
right at the start, and also tho first
sergeant.
"We had only the gunner sergeant
left, and all around the men wero full
ing, and the air was tilled with the
nolso from bursting shells, cries of
dying men, the groans of the wounded,
the singing of bullets, nnd the clatter
of the machine guns.
"I've never been what you'd call a
praying chap, but I prayed hard theti,
and many times since."
After moment I said: "Yes, nnd
then?"
"Well, we saw pretty soon that If
we didn't hurry up nnd get to tho
wood there wouldn't bo any of us left
to tnko It so we Just hiked like as If
well, as If It was nn express train
that we Just had to catch or bust.
And when wo got there It didn't tnko
us long to clear the Hoche out. Ho
would go on firing until we were right
on top of him with tho bnyonct nnd
then he'd yell out 'Kamerud.'
"Even In tho midst of the fight I
couldn't help laughing out nt the mnn
nlongslde of me. Ho lmd seen his
chum fall and came on Just wild, and
when he was going for one German tho
Hoche yelled: 'Kamerud, Pvo a wlfo
and ten children In Berlin," nnd thq
marine said: 'If you went back to
Herlln thero'd be ten more children
to h with you,' and rammed him
with his bayonet."
"What happened after you cleared
out tho Hun?" I asked.
"Hy that time wo wero reduced to
about half our company, and were 'or
dered to dig ourselves In. You should
hnvo seen me dig!
t "Men were falling all around ami
two bullets went through my rack
as I crouched as near the ground as
possible digging like h . So I took
my lmuu iiu ami put it on tho parapet
to tho side of mo, and the Germans
i kept on popping at It. While I was
digging every time I looked up to
j throw the dirt out I could see a (lower
moving to and fro In the wind Just
In front of me, and then once I glanced
j up Just In time to seo that (lower
mppeu on as ii ny an Invisible hand
and He on the gound. Somehowffhnt
madu me realize almos,- more than any
thing how near death was."
SMOKES IN POWDER PLANT
Nenro Is Held to Grand Jury
Charge of Violating Sabot
age Act.
on
Newark, N. .T.-John J. Mason, n
negro employed by tho Dn Pont Pow
der works at Purlin, N. .1., was locked
up to await action by the federal
grand Jury on the charge of vlolotlnc
the sabotage act.
Mason's offense consisted of nKnt.
lug a match and smoking a cigarette
In the ether room of tho powder plant
Tho complnlnt against him nlleges ho
took the risk of Interfering with war
work by furthering the chances of n
explosion.
No mention was mado of what
might hnvo happened to Muson.
Kaiser's Face on Egg.
Connellsvllle, Pa. An egg bearlnc
on the shell a striking likeness of the
knlser wns laid by a hen here. The
face Is at one end of tho egg nnd
shows plainly Uio helmet, the long
i and poluted chin of tho Gorroun
ruler. .. .
ROAD
BUILDING
MAINTENANCE IS A PROBLEM
Under Constant Flow of Heavy Traffic
Main Trunk Lines Have Been
Badly Broken Up.
Following the extension of the uso
of motortrucks for overlnnd travel In
the endeavor to relieve the railroads
of the burden of strenuous wartime
tradlc, under which they have been
laboring, It Is but nnturnl that tho
question of highway malntennnco
should como up for attention at this
tlmo.
It Is now conceded that much has
been done through the use of motor
propelled vehicles over tho through
connected hlghwnyfl of the country
for the purposes mentioned above.
Literally thousands of heavy motor
trucks are now upon the road, mate
rially speeding up the delivery of war
time necessities. Tho Lincoln high
way, particularly In the Kustcrn states,
has proved Its high value over nnd
over iigaln ; other trunk highways havo
also been called upon to carry an ex
ceptional burden of this freight tradlc.
This movement lias all been car
ried on with the nbsolute approval of,
tho federal government, and more,
through Uio activities of the hlghwuy
transport committee of the council of
national defense, n further extenslou
of this use of our public hlghwnys is
being urged.
Under this constant (low of traffic
thcLlncoln highway, and certain other
roads in the Bust, are rapidly break
ing down. "the roud surface rnnidlv ills-
Integrating under the nrossure of the
driving wheels of the massive trucks.
Up to tho time when truck trains wero
started over the roads, the Lincoln
highway In Its entirety across tho
state of Pennsylvnnln, was n veritable
nouievard; Its surface1 was, In tho
main, macadam: the road was tho
pride of tho state of Pennsylvania;
large sums were expended in Its care
ful maintenance expended by the
Patrolman Patching State Road.
tute, and the highway well served Its
purpose in carrying local and tourist
traffic in relatively Jlght vehicles. Simi
lar conditions applied along the Lin
coln hlghwny In New Jersey.
The argument Is advocated at this
tlmo that, despite the Inclination of
Jocal authorities to do everything
within their power In a patriotic en
deavor to further wartime Interests,
it is scarcely fair to expect tho county
nnd state authorities to maintain
such main traveled routes as tho
Lincoln hlghwny, in their pre-wnr con
dition, under tho heavy tralllc of con
stantly moving government vehicles.
Government nld Is solicited to keep
tho roads at their best.
So persistent havo become com
plaints to congress that the highways
of tho country hnvo been badly dam
aged by motortruck traffic that some
members, especially thoso serving on
committees dealing with tho nntlon's
financial affairs, are making a thor
ough study to detonnlno how tho situ
ation can best bo met. As a result It
is expected that congress will soon re
ceive requests to mako appropriations
running Into the millions. Tho house
committee on ways and means has al
ready given 6,01110 consideration con
cerning aid to be given tho states
In road Improvement. It Is but reason
able to expect that the federal govern
ment will tnko such seps as are nec
essary for an equitable apportionment
of tho burden of expense of maintain
ing such Important routes of travel ns
tho Lincoln highway.
Good Ronds Will Help.
Good roads will help win the war
don't neglect them. ,
Curtail Road Work.
Itond work requiring the use of oils,
tar and nsphaltlc products Is to bo
curtailed or cut out on request of Uio
federal fuel administration.
Increase Convicts' Pay.
Kentucky will pay Its convicts who
work on tho roads $1.50 a day Instead
of $1 as a result of experiments during
1010 nnd 1017.
Life of Rural Community.
Tho very life of tho rural commun
ity depends upon good roads.
Hfe. JIB, 48m
nmimf in inrif-rr nnn r-
HHsHsiBis
Here's Laundry Hint Gleaned From the Marines
WASHINGTON. Information nlways comes In handy, especially when yotr
hook It while fishing for something else. As the American und Frenchi
flags were raised nt the celebration of Bastille day every man on the Ellipse
took off his hat except the marines on
guard.,
A patriotic young lady, who Is go
ing to heaven "when she dies, pro
vided she takes as good care of her
soul as of her glassy pink linger nails,
objected to tho omission, but ns no
one paid the least attention to her,
that was all there was to that ex
cept :
A woman who happened to be
standing next a uniformed youngster
on camp leave Inquired Into the matter
and learned that no marine may take off his hat when he Is wearing his belt
Being a sociable chap, glad of the chance to tnlk to so obviously a nlco
woman, he told of soldier life generally, until he came at last to tho inside
Information that: "Every marine Is his own chink."
this explains for you why It is that some uniforms look so much niftier
than others, from a laundry point of view.
Also, it may account for a wise government's changing army blue for a.,
color that won't show dirt. You have to know the renson of a thing to have
proper respect for Its value.
A marine has to wash a uniform every day and he hns four, unless lt
may be more or less, for a listener gets the wires crossed now nnd then and
ho uses a brush Instead of a washboard, which saves wear and tear on thw
garments, to say nothing of his knuckles and immortal soul.
So now you know what to do when tubbing time comes to help you win
the wnr, and also which Is really more Important the lady of the glassy-
pink nails will find from this lmportnnt
on their hnts.
Woman Is Going to Insist on Tucks and Frills:
MpASHION hnsn't worn cotton since
cienc sniu it to n mere everyday customer who had dared to mention
pettlconts. With the Information went a couple of shrugs that told eaclt
other that of course some women would.
person she saw when she got outside
was a broom-handle sister who Insisted upon wearing her tucks nnd frills to
the very beach of the River of Styx. And after that, at comforting intervals,,
came:
A tremendously stout womnn who didn't give a hang for straight fronts
but wore her contour ns unconcernedly ns If Bhe were the first edition de
Mllo, diked off In spotty black lawn.
A middle-aged woman with the sort of Roman chin that will insist upon. .
what lt wants until kingdom come, nnd one of the things tho woman appar
ently wanted Just then to the extent of possessing in all Its glory was a whiter
skirt showing laco Inserts under blue flowered mull.
There were others, but these will serve, bo the customer's worry lines:
went out of business, und as woman must express herself or die she paused
before a plaster lady In a store window a passe plaster lady, chipped a.
trifle and clothed in a shopworn suit marked down.
"Wax ladies may do as they blamed please, but you and I and the rest
of us runs of the mill nre going to stick to our coatles, even after the war
when knickers como in fashion."
And anybody who supposes that plaster lady failed to smile response is
simply not acquainted with plaster ladles.
Proof That Kind Act Is Not Always Appreciated
AN AUTOMOBILE stood in front of si theater. It was nn Imposing car of
brown leather, burnished brass and allied flags, and as its owner came out
of the theater movie and was getting aboard, two girl children asked with.
the wheedling confidence some call
It Imprudence that goes with inno
cence and shedding teeth:
"Say, mister, give us a ride. Jinny,
ain't never been in a nautymoblle."
The man paid no attention and
whizzed away.
They were only tads of the street,
but lt would have been worth while,
perhaps, to give two stepchildren of
fortune a memory thnt might have
lasted them lifetime.
And perhaps, again, have got the
host arrested for kidnaping you never can tell. It seems the right thing
always to do a kindly action offhand, but consider the case of one friendly
man who lives up Capitol hill way:
Being a stranger here for responsible war work, he naturally gets a bit
lonely for oldtlme friends and associations, but being also a wholesome and
buoyantly healthful person, soul and body, takes all the pleasures that come
hls way and always does his best to pass them on. The other nfternoon his;
car was at the curb, and, as lt was Inconvenient just then for the friend in.
the house to go riding, he humored tho children next door who hud been,
begging him for pennies, cones nnd the like, by tnklng two of them for a.
ride. When he returned after a short spin lt was supposed that was all
tlfere was to It, but, dear me, no! The mother objected to a strange man'.
taking her children In his car.
So, you see, you never can tell.
Possibly Wartime Conditions Brought This; About
HE WAS the happiest man In Washington. That's a pretty broad statement
but he said It himself, and he ought to know. "You see, It Is this way," he
was heard to say : "For ninny months I hnd been entlng around, here and
there and everywhere. And some
COFFEE
IS
HOT
r .
Ask me not why this Is true. There
is no valid reason why the eetvud cup of coffee should not he as hot as tho
first, or why the second cup should bo 'dark' Instead of 'llftt,' Nor have I
ever been able to find a real excuse for your secoud glass of Ice tea coming:
to you. lukewarm, with an Invisible piece of Ice In it.
"I threatened, besought nnd bewailed, nnd all were of no avail. I must
go through life, I thought, accepting u lukewarm second cup of coffee and a.
tepltl second glass of ice tea.
"But now all that Is changed. My second cup of coffee is steaming audi
my second glars of ico tea looks like an Iceberg afloat on an amber sen
Oh, boy I"
document Just why the mnrines kept
the wnr.' Everything is silk.", The-
continue to sUck to cotton, "with un
othcr shrug to finish the inference
wlth tho proper shading of scorn.
Official Information is a handy
thing to own, but lt hns its drawbacks.
It put worry lines between the eyes of
the customer ns she left the shop,,
wondering what Is going to happen,
with sklrties on tho blink. But she
might have saved horself the wear
and tear of her emotions, for the first
GIVE US A
thing ulways bothered me. Maybe
you have experienced lt. In winter
and summer it Is always the same
only the medium Is changed.
"Talk United States? Surel What
I'm complaining nbout Is that In war
time Washington In winter, say
you cun't ever get your second cup of
coffee as hot as the first, or with as
much cream in It. And lu summer
the second sluss of Ice tea Is warnn
