.THE SUNDAY OREGOXIAX, PORTLAND, MAItCII 3, 191S.
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The. Extraordinary
Range of Devices
for Deceiving the
Eneipy, as Shown
in Some Examples
from Both Sides
of the Western
Battle.Eront
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J32t-Djr7es. Are 2D?s2eorJ9&'A Gray on-
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BT RENE BACHE.
TTTEOUT nw. and crtlnlr th
W n",t Plcturju. dvlopmBt
or th present tonfltct. l th
mptoyment of optical lllualons for war
parpoMS, Th Idea baa assumed a mill
tary Importance ao rat that to Uit
lam-am of battle mar hanv upon It.
Too word "camouflage" comoa from
ta theater, harlns; ortrtnally referred
to ataa aXleota deeJcaad to on way or
another to deceive the ere.
Thus It Is hardly eurprlalna; that pro
feaalonal arena pain tern, alnca the war
veean. ehould have found extensive em
florraent In the practice of this peculiar
art as applied to mllltaray problems.
To fool the Huns they have erected
sxraena bearing painted aectlona of
counterfeit landscape: and. In like man
Her. for the deception of enemy avl
tors, they have spread horizontally
large areis ef canvas (concealing sup
ply depots or other things worth hid
ing) Which, from the viewpoint of an
enemy flying machine, gave the effect
f village roof topa. trees, ate.
A elxeam -crossing near an Important
town was shelled every day by the Her
mans with each persistence that the
1'reach engineer could hardly make It
aafe for even a few hours travel at
night. But the "camouflsura solved
the problem. A new bridge was built
J yards further dowa and covered
with canvas on which a section of Imi
tation rtver was painted. The old bridge
was patched from time to time to serve
as a decoy for ahellflre. and meanwhile
traffic went on uninterrupted beneath
the canvaa roof.
Nats ef wide mesh, somewhat resem
bling seine nets, are aroven of green
cord, with strips of green cloth a foot
Ion strung to the meehea. The strips,
fluttering In the breeae. give to the eye
of an airplane observer far aloft ex
actly the effect of a field of waving
graaa. Unlike the painted canvas
exreena. these nets are. as It were,
alive; the Illusion they offer Is con
vincingly like reality. They are used to
bide sausage balloona (ci the ground),
ammunition dumps, etc
Fellage Hun as.
" Bhfel'ts of green foliage are employed
la the Summer time to protect roads
froxB hostX observation. la this way
many an Important transport link Is
ept from the enemy's knowledge for
week, while frame of munition car
riers and ambulances pass along; In an
sndless stream. undlstarbed.
Trenches used for carrying food and
ammunition to the firing line are ob
literated (as viewed from the akvl bv
roofing them with planka covered with
sod. Holes In ths ground are covered
by batchrs overspread with earth to
hid machine-gun nests. The Oermans
recently have adopted the Ingenious ex
pedient of filling the bouses of vtl
lages with earth taken from subter
ranean workings, so that formidable
defenses might find concealment h
neath a normal and peaceful-looking
external aspect..
"Dead horses. made of papier mache
and sometimes lined with steel plates.
are utilised tor xb concealment of
sharpshootlng riflemen. Similarly.
counterfeit rock, or a shell-blasted tree
trunk built of Iron, may hide two or
three snipers. Collapsible frames cov
ered with black cloth and which from
a distance look like armored cars when
aei up. are uaea to draw the enemy a
Ore and cause him to waste prcolous
ammunition.
An empty nogshead mounted on a
tl peart looks much like a big mortar
from the point of view of an aviator
half a mile up In the air. and his report
of Ita position may cause the enemy
batteries to throw away a whole lot
of perfectly good shells In trying to
put the harmless barrel out of bual
". "Quaker" guna are nothing nsw
this sort of camouflage was frequently
employed during ths American Civil
War, but with Inferior method.
DtagaJalas Big fiaaa. 1
The big guns on the fighting fronts
are painted with great daubs of pri
mary colore red. blue, green, yellow,
etc. Likewise ths British tanks. Even
ths gunners are now wearing hooded
suits of overclotha similarly daubed:
for, obviously. It would b of little use
thus to hide the guns If msn could be
plainly seen moving about them.
The theory, of course, la easy to
understand. The primary colors, prop
erly mingled, make no color. Daylight
la of ao color, though mads an as one
can aee by passing a aunbsara through
a prism of all the colore of the rain-
1 bow. If paints are used with scientific
correctness for the purpose, they outrht
to render the guns and gunnera abed
luteiy invisible from a distance.
Thla art, however, la very new. In
future days, when It has been devel
oped, ws may have Invisible guns. In
visible airplanes, and possibly (through
auapiauon or a color-schema to unl.
forma) invisible fighting men. The
khaki our soldiers wear Is meant to
blend with ths hus of the earth. The
r rencn "nonxon-blue" matches the sky.
The German "mist-gray" Is another at
tempt at Invlalblllty. But none of these
olvea ths problem satisfactorily.
So much depends upon the back
ground you eee. and the backgrounds
vary. The sky Is not always blue: the
ground la not always dirt-color. Thus
In some of the fighting, in the forests
Of Roumanla, the Bulgarians ara aald
to hare worn green uniforms, and to
have painted their faces green. For
night attaoka, when anow covered ths
ground, ths Huns hit upon ths idea of
wearing white garments resembling
nightgowns and nightcaps.
In the development of the art of
camouflage one thing already discov
ered Is the value of ahadows. Thus, for
concealments aaks. ammunition dumps
and other affairs worth hiding are com
monly placed at the borders of woods
preferably at the northern edge. Inas
much as there ths trees will throw a
broad ehadow through moat of h.
"' .,,"n ,na "my aviator's cam
era will not discern what f i..i. .u-
shadow; and on sunless dava the flvino-
scouts rarely take photographs, be
cause ths pictures are much less clear.
Celeratlea ef Airplanes.
Airplanes are painted silvery white
beneath, ao as to be Inconspicuous from
the ground, and gray on top. to render
them less visible to other flying ma
chines that may happen to be over
bead. A newsr device Is to paint them
on top with various colors Intermingled,
while German battle-planes of recent
pattern are brilliantly decked out In
blue, green, red and yellow, for the
purpose of confusing the eyes of anti
aircraft gunners.
Up to now the warpaint of fighting
ships has been alate-gray. which was
supposed to harmonise with the sea.
but hencfclorla XUiough. the problem 1
has not been worked out satisfactorily
yet) they will be "camouflaged" in
schemes of colors. In the American
Navy this Idea Is being tried out on de
stroyers; and not long ago one of Un
cle Sam's submarines, while taking part
In maneuvers, actually got lost from
the fleet because (being adorned in
this way) the othsr ships lost sight
of it.
The United States Government now.
requires that all of Its merchant ships
shall be similarly treated. Information
for the purpose being furnished to
owners and shipmasters by the bureau
of war risk Insurance. They are at
liberty to choose their own painting
scheme from several "recipes" supplied.
O? these the simplest consists in paint
ing the vessel In such a way as to elim
inate high lights and shadows. The
under part of the "overhang" Is made
white, and the superstructure dark, the
result being a blend with sea and sky.
Other schemes consist in arrange
ments of the primary colors In various
patterns, the effect sought being a
blend that will produce visually the im
pression of gray. But this gray has to
the eye much more "deadness" than
gray paint. It is misty. Optically
speaking, the same principle applies as
In the case of the cebra, whose black
and white stripes, vivid enough when
seen close at hand, are meant by na
ture as a protective coloration In
other words, to make the animal less
visible. Seen from a distance on Its
native desert, the stripes blend into a
gray that is much less conspicuous
than a mules "all-over gray.
One of these arrangements la of wavy
stripes, green, blue and white. Stripes
of curvilinear and scroll forms, It is
found, have a confusing effect to the
eye,' the outlines of a hull thus adorned
being? lost to view at any considerable
distance. Incidentally they make dif
ficult the focussing of a telescope or
binoculars upon the ship, rendering It
harder to see the craft distinctly.
Invisibility for 6 hi pa.
Some of these schemes, curiously
enough, seem to split up the ship's hull
and superstructure Into several parts,
visually, with an appearance as if sea
and sky showed beneath. The whole
puxzle is very difficult to analyze, but
when It has been thoroughly worked
out, and Its elements reduced to a sci
entific - basis, it may be possible to
make a vessel actually Invisible at a
distance of a mile. Meanwhile, and for 1
present purposes, the object sought la
to render ships less easy to see.
The sea is blue. The cea Is green.
The sea is mottled gray. Its color de
pends upon that of the sky, which it
reflects. Take a bucketful of water
from the ocean and It has no color. In
reality the sea has no color of its own.
How, then, shall It be successfully Imi
tated? One expert, who has made long study
of the subject, declares that the color
effect of the sea Is a mixture of violet
and green. If, therefore, a ship be
painted with these two colors In a suit
able pattern (stripes wavy or In
scrolls), it will be made relatively In
visible, because at a distance the light
rays will mingle and so affect the optlo
nerve as to produce a color impression
like that of the sea.
Thus does the sailor, as well as the
fighting man on land, put on the cap
of invisibility. But the cleverest of re
cent dodges in this line Is one recently
adopted by the Germans, who silver-
plate toe periscopes of their newest
submarines, thus rendering them al
most viewless. Inasmuch ss they re
flect the color of the sea itself.
LEGAL SIDELIGHTS FOR
LAWYERS AND LAYMEN
By Reynelle G. E. Cormiah, of Portland Bar.
GERMAN IN NAME ONLY. Of all
sad afflictions of tongue or pen,
the saddest Is to have a heart all
American and a name as German
sounding as that of Bill Hohensollern
himself. Do you- blame such an un
fortunate person for wanting to change
his name? The courts, however, In
some recent instances at least, have
proved bard-hearted enough to refuse
their permission for the requested
changes.
In one case, a recent one in New Tork
City, the ground of denial was the fact
that the applicant, with great good
taste, bad selected the honorable cog
nomen of Wilson as his desired new
name. And in another New York case.
in which an application by a man
named Eckstein was denied. Justice
Goff ruled In part as follows: "It Is in
conceivable' that a man who is render
ing the exemplary service in the Am
bulance Corps at the front in France
which this applicant Is said to be ren
dering should be the subject of any un
pleasant or disagreeable consequences
because c.f the name he bears."
It seems that the right to have the
court authorize a change of name is
not an absolute one. but rests In the
discretion of the court. In New York
the rule would seem to require that the
applicant show that the change Is actu
ally necessary, as in the case of Snooks
Petition, t Hilt. E66. In this case the
business partner, or rather the pros
pective business partner of Snooks, de
manded that he change hia uneuphoni
ous name, but the court refused to
grant the petition.
It has been said that the right to
change one's name Is a common-law j
right, and that the statutes which per
mit a change of name and regulate the
method of doing so are to be construed
as being in aid of the common-law
right. When, however, we consider the
confusion that might arise In tracing
lamuy lines and relationships, and of
the possibility of German sympathizers
masking themselves behind good old
American cognomens, we will be ex
cused for Indulging; In the hope that all
of the jurisdictions will follow the lead
of New York and hold that a German
whose loyalty Is doubtful has no right
to a change of name, that one whose
patriotism is real can prove It best by
deeds, not name, and having proved It
by deeds will not need to prove It fur
ther by name, and that in any case an
application for a change of - name
should be most carefully scrutinized.
In sympathy with the real American
who Is unfortunate enough to have in
herited a German-sounding name, we
might refer to the English case of Sla
zenger vs. Gibbs, 33 T. L. R., in which
it was held that It was actual defama
tion to assert falsely that a person la
a German.
Her Son's Best Friend It's a wise
man who knows who his best friend
really is. And In some oases at least
It is a fortunate person who can prove
his friendship. Take the case of Farly
vs. Arnold, 89 S. E. 900, for example, in
which the court was asked to deter
mine who the best friend of a certain
mother's son really was.
presents consider my uncle and aunt
my best friends, and do hereby and
herewith bequeath and give," etc., nam
ing the aunt and uncle and designating
the property which his mother had
willed to him.
The son, however, died before he was
21. so that his realty could not pass
under the will. The uncle and aunt
thereupon attempted to take the prop
erty under the provision In the mother's
will, on the ground that they were the
designated "best friends tf the son.
The court, however, held the mother's
devise bad for lndefinitenees and re
fused to consider that the appointment
of two best friends where one "best
friend had been provided for was a
sufficient performance for the require'
menta of the devise.
28 YEARS' PAY DEMANDED
Atache of Catholic Institution Brings
Salt to Recover $42,525.
LOS ANGELES. Feb. 14-The life
story of David Lachance, from his point
of view, is told in his suit aaglnst the
Mercy Home and six sisters, on trial
before Judge Valentine, to recover J42,
625 for services performed at the institution.'
Uls alleged services cover a period
of 28 years, from June 15, 1889. to
March 25, 1917. He claims that he
arose at 3 o'clock to make the furnace
fires, worked at the laundry machine,
attended the baking oven, made the
bread, worked In the yards and the
garden, cut the grass, built fences and
did general laborer's work.
The defendants in their answer set
u pthat he came to the home and asked
for shelter, promising to work about
It appeared from the evidence that the place. An agreement was signed
one Malinda P. Arnold had left her I r wnica no wa w im aupponeu our
property to her son, with a further
provision that if he died without chil
dren, then the property was "to go to
whoever has been his best friend."
The son, who died without issue, left
will which, provided: "I do by these
lng life and have the use of a private
room, all depending on his good beha
vior.
The sisters took him In and cared for
him. He would not work in the after
noons without extra compensation. He
was allowed $2 a month as tobacoo
money and from odd jobs outside he
did he received money which evidently
he spent for liquor. The answer al
leges that he became intoxicated.
One night, while Intoxicated, he be
came angry, it is said, snatched up a
knift and ran at one of the sisters,
threatening to kill her, and the cook.
He was arrested on several occasions
and the sisters put nup the money to
get him released.
He attempted to stab Patrick Dolan,
it was alleged. For using abusive and
insultins language to a nurse, he was
arrested.
. The crowning Indignity was when he
came to the Institution one night with
two tramps and took them to his room.
CASE STUMPS POLICEMEN
Liquor Delivered to Back-Door Shelf
in Dry Zone.
SANTA MONICA, Feb. 15. A question
that Solomon in all his glory never had
to decide is now puzzling the brain of
Chief F. Wfl Ferguson, of the Santa
Monica police department. Is the de
livery of liquor tt the Venice back
door of a house whose front door is In
Santa Monica a delivery of liquor In
the latter city? is the problem that
stumps the chief.
The houses that face on the south
side of Marine street are bisected by
the line that marqs the city limits of
Santa Monica and Venice. Recently
dealers have been delivering certain
cases and packages at the back doors
of these houses, that If delivered at the
front doors in "bone dry" Santa Monica,
would subject the deliveryraen to ar
rest.
'This matter stumps me," said the
chief today. "We cannot arrest them
for delivering liquor in Venice and It is
hardly a violation of the ordinance
against delivering liquor to homes In
Santa Monica to move it from one part
of the home to another."