ROAD ’
BUILDING
sky and we could hear tin* fragment*
slapping the ground above us on ou
right and left. Then a Frit* woult
traverse hack ami forth with Ills "type
writer" or machine gun. The hulleP
made n sharp cracking noise overhead
The hoy In front of me named I'ren
tlce crumpled up without a word. A
piece of shell had gone through lit-
shrapnel-proof helmet. I felt sick and
weak.
In about thirty minutes we reached
the front line. It was dark as pitch. Necessity Emphaalied In Olvlng Qraat-
est Conaideration to AH
Every now and then u German star
Locai Condltlona.
shell
would
pierce
the
blackness
out
C o p yrigh t »17. by A rth u r O u j Kmp * j
In front with Us silvery light. I was
hy thè Uniteli Hmte» Dopart-
trembling all over, and felt very lonely (Prepar*«] ui*nt
«t Aarltulture >
| making wide circles In the air, while and afraid. All orders were given In
Theory I n sittiply the riga pn*t thut
little puffs of white -moke were burst whispers. The company we relieved
poi ti ts thè way Iti rond building,
ing all around It. These puffs appeared filed past us and disappeared Into the
t bile Judgmcnt I n the vehlcle Oli w Ilici»
like tiny balls of cotton while ufter blackness of the communication trench
i he Journey I n depeiideut, nny» a pub-
each burst could be heard a dull leading to the rear. As they passed us.
“plop.” The sergeant of my platoon they whispered, "The best o' luck llcatloii oti “ The Desigli o f Public
Itoada" hy thè lì tilt ed State* depart-
Informed us that It was a German air mutes.“
Synopsis.— Fired by the sinking of the Lusitania, with the loss of
ment of agrlculture.
plane
and
I
wondered
how
he
could
tell
I
sat
on
the
fire
step
of
the
trench
An*'ricnn lives, Arthur Guy Empey. an American 11 vl mk In Jersey City,
The publlcutlun eniphaalxea thè
from such a distance because *'ie plane with the rest of the men. In each
goes to England and enlists ns a private In the Ilritish army. After a
neceNslty of glvlng ihe greuteat con
seemed
like
a
little
black
speck
In
the
traverse
two
of
the
older
men
had
been
short experience ns a recruiting officer in London, he Is sent to train
sky.
I expressed iuy doubt ns to put on guard with their heads sticking sideratimi to all locai factora In road
ing quarters in France, where he first hears the sound of big guus
whether It was English. French or Ger over the top, and with their eyes try constructlon. In order to furnlah thè
and makes the acquaintance of "cooties.“
man. With u h*ok of contempt he fur ing to pierce the hi nek ness In “No klud of ronda Ihat a community wnuta
ther Informed us that the allied nntl- Man's Land."
In this trench there and to furnlNh lliein wlth the leuat
alrcraft
shells
when
exploding
emitted
were
only
twit
dugouts.
and these were poNHible <Irii in oli Uie pulillc treusury,
C H APT E R II.— Continued.
.Vow, Just Imagine my hard luck. Out
white smoke whlb the German shells used by Lewis and Vickers muehlne (Ile persoli w ho dcslgns tiieiu must he
— 3—
j of five religions I was unlucky enough
gave forth black smoke, and. us he ex gunners, so it was the fire step for tliomughly fiimillnr wlth locai condì-
The greatest shock a recruit gets to pick the only one where church
pressed It, “It must be an Alletuand be ours. Pretty soon It started to rain. tlons unii must poxNCNN thè Judgmcnt
when he arrives at his battalion in parade was compulsory!
cause our pom-poms are shelling, and W o put on our “.narks," hut they were necessary to welgh the Importante of
France Is to see the men engaging in a
The next morning was Sunday.
I I "know” ou r ’ ba'tt cries are am ‘o f f ' t hei r not much protection. The rain trlekled all conslderatloiiN.
The pulillcatlon
“cootie hunt. \\ ith an air of con- i was sitting in the billet writing home
bally nnppcrs and nre certainly not down our backs, and It was not long iiiakea no attempi to state definite nnd
tempt and disgust ho avoids the com- ; to my sister telling her of my wonder-
strafelug our own planes, and another before we were wet and cold. How I cxnct rules for dcrigning road a to
pnnv of the older men, until a couple /„] exploits while under f lr ^ -a ll re-
piece of advice— don’t chuck your passed that night I will never know, sult every loculity hut takes up sep
of days later. In a torment of Itching. tTU|,s (lo thls The sergeant major put
weight about until you’ve been up the but without any unusual occurrence, ara tely the Import ant feti ture* of (he
he also has to resort to a shirt hunt. his head In the door of the billet and
line nnd learnt something."
dawn arrived.
prohlein wlth a view to showlng the
or spend many a sleepless night of ! shouted; “C. of E. outside for church
I immediately quit “chucking my
The word “stand down” was passed varlatloiiN In currcnt prnctlee and the
misery. During these hunts there nre ; parade 1”
along the Hue. and ttie sentries got | Influonce of nome special condltlona
weight about” from that time on.
lots of pertinent remarks handled back
I kept on writing. Turning to me. In
Just before reaching reserve hllleta down off the tire atop. Pretty soon the | wlth regimi to elicli feti ture.
and forth among the explorers, such
,
,
,
,
. • « « » *
....
1 ,- 1 , ..r,
.
n..i
ft lou<‘ yolce, he asked, “Empey, aren t we were marching along, laughing, and rum Issue came along, and It wns a
lu order to Nclect thè lype o f mir
ns, “Say, Bill, III swap you two little vou f 0f p »•>
1 J
singing one of Tommy - trench ditties: Godsend. It wanned our chilled bodies rare best iidiipted to III« l i c c i | of n
ones for a big one,” or. “I’ve got 3
,.v
„
b l a c k one
o n e here
h e r e that
t h a t l looks
o o k s l like
ik e K
aiser
.I U w t r, < . 1 1 p.
black
Kaiser
I want to ko home, I want to go home, and put new life Into us. Then from j pariIculiir roud, It I n necessary to con-
In an angry tone, he commanded. I don’t want to go to the trenchee no the communication trenches came ' rider tlrst, thè class of trafile to
Bill.”
more
One sunny day In the front-line "Don't you ‘yep’ me. Sny, * ’ es, ser Where enuangea and whlx-i-hanga are ga dixies or Iron pots, filled with steam ! wlilch the road wlll he subjeeted. nnd
ing ten. which had two wooden stakes I second. lo compare lite erillnilted ulti
geant
major.’
”
trench. I saw three officers sitting out
lore.
“I did so. Somewhat mollified, he Take me over the sea. Where the Aile- through their handles, and were cur mili e cosi of thr diltVreiit Mirifico
side of their dugout ( “cooties" nre no
ried hy two men. I filled my canteen | types wlilch would he cnpnlile of sut-
mand can't get nt me.
respecters of rank : I have even noticed ordered, “Outside for church parade.”
Oh. my, I don't want to die.
nnd drank the hot tea without taking
a suspicious uneasiness about a certain 1 I looked up and answered, “I am I want to go home—"
I Isfiictorlly cu ring for thut pnrtlculnr
,
It
from my lips. It was not long bo-
well-known general), one of them was not going to church this morning.”
chi ss of trillile. The numher of coiii I n
when overhead came a swish" through | fore I wns asleep In the mud on tha
a major, two of them were exploring
lie said, “Oh, yes, you a r e !'
|
for wlilch uecurnte trillile nnd riti*
the air, rapidly followed hy three oth- ! fire step.
their shirts, paying no attention to the
I answ ered, “Oh, no, I’m n ot!’’— But ers. Then about two hundred yards to | My ambition had been attained I I clcncy reco ri ls bave been kopr la »nifi
occasional shells which passed over I went.
our left In a large field, four columns vvns In n front-line trench on the west- to be liiNutfielcnt to wurrant definite
head. The major was writing n letter;
W e lined up outside with rifles and of black earth nnd -moke rose Into the ; orn front, and oh. how I wished I were conclusions u n tn the hest type for
every now and then he would lay aside
| nny p«rtiPti!ar c I iinn o f trafile, hut Ilio
bayonets, 120 rounds of ammunition. ! air. and the ground trembled from the t,n,.k In Jersey City,
his writing-pad. search his shirt for a
| following suiti ma ry I n mild to contali)
wearing our tin hats, nnd the march |
few minutes, get an inspiration, and
nhout ns definite Informatimi mi thls
to church began. After marching about \
then resume writing. At last he fin
polnt ns enn he drawn from ivullnble
five kilos, we turned off the road into i
Empey take* hi* first turn on
ished his letter nnd gave It to his “run
I record*.
an open field. At one end of this field I
the firing step of the trench
ner.” I was curious to see whether he
( a ) Eurth ronds, wlicn
properly
the chaplain was standing In a limber,
while the machine gun bullet*
was writing to an insect firm, so when
nialntnlncd. are satlsfuctory In dry
We formed a semicircle around him.
whiz over hi* head.
He soon
the runner passed me I engaged him
I weuther for a tight volume of all
Overhead there wns a black speck cir
learn* why Tommy ha* adopted
In conversation nnd got a glimpse at
klnds of hlghwny trillile.
cling round and round in the sky. This !
the motto, “ If you’re going to
the address on the envelope. It was
(b ) Sitnd-clay ronda are the sanie
was a German Eokker. The chaplain
get it, you’ll get it, *o never
addressed to Miss Alice Somebody, in
j iin eurth ronda, except thut the sur-
had a book in his left hnnd— left eye j
worry.”
Don’t mi** the next
London. The “runner” informed me
fiiclng iiiuterlnl bus beoti Nolcctod curc-
on the book— right eye ou the airplane.
installment.
that Miss Somebody was the major’s
| fully wlth n vlew to Inerenslnjf the
We Tommies were lucky, we had no
sweetheart and that he wrote to her
! stubillty of thè Ntirfitce In bolli wet
books, so had both eyes on the air-
(TO UK CONTINUED»
every day. Just Imagine it, writing a
j plane.
and dry wenther. They are sntlsfne-
love letter during a “cootie” hunt; but
; tory for ii moderate trafile of horae-
After
church
parade
we
were i
such is the creed of the trenches.
■ Irawn vehlclcs and a tight trafile of
marched hack to our billets, and played !
football all afternoon.
■ automobile*. They soldmii lire satin-
C H APT E R III.
Possibility Ever Open to Mankind a* factory for even n llght trafile of
the Periods Dividing Life Are
I Go to Church.
licavy truck* utilc-s the roadtied ma
C H A PT E R IV.
Successively Crossed.
Upon enlistment we had Identity
terial |s very statile.
disks Issued to ns. These were small
(e ) Gru voi ronda, when well bulli,
"Into the Trench."
disks of red filler worn around the neck
The poetry of all growing life con are aatlsfactory for n heavy truffic of
The
next
morning
the
draft
was
in-
■
by means of a string. Most of the Tom
sists in carrying an oldness Into a new
mies also used a little metal disk which spected by our general, and we were \
ness, n past Into a future, always. So
assigned to different companies. The
they wore around the left wrist hy
only can our days possibly he hound
means o f a chain. They had previous boys in the brigade had nicknamed ;
“each to each hy natural piety."
I
ly figured It out that If their heads this general Old Pepper, and he cer- i
would not for the world think that 20
were blown off. the disk on (he left ! »nln'y eai-noG the sobriquet. I was as-
years hence I should have ceased to see
wriSt would Identify them. If they lost s' gne? to n
with another
the tilings which I see now, and love
their left arm The disk around the neck American named Stewart.
them still. It would make life weari
For the next ten days we “rested,”
would serve the purpose, but if their
some beyond expression If I thought
head nnd left arm were blown off. no repairing roads for the Frenehles, drill
that 20 years lienee I should see them
one would care who they were, so it ing, and digging bombing trenches.
Just as I see them now, and love them
One morning we were Informed that
did not matter. On one side o f the
with no deeper love because of other
disk was inscribed your rank, name, we were going up the line, and our
visions
of their lovahleness. And so
A Bomb Proof.
number nnd battalion, w hile on the march began.
there comes lids deep and simple rule
It
other was stamped your religion.
- took us three days to reach re- , r e p o rt-th « explosion of four German of any man as lie crosscittlie line divid
C. o f E.. meaning Church o f Eng- serve billets— each day s march bring- flve.n,neX or
(boxes.”
A sharp
ing one period of ills life from another,
land : It. C.. Roman Catholic; W.. Wes- Ing the sound o f the guns nearer «m l | whlstle blasf. ilnI.1<.d|BtHy followed by
the same rule which lie may use also as
levant P „ Presbyterian; but if you nearer. At night, way off In the dis- , wo short ones, rang out from the head lie passes through any critical occur
happened to he an atheist they left It anceJ ve co« ld *ee
«ashes, which of mir coIlmin Th,„ wflH t(> tIlk„ np
rence of Ills life. Make It a lime In
blank, and just handed you n pick and lighted up the sky with a red glare.
«artillery form ation.’’ W e divided Into
which you shall realize your faith, nnd
shovel. On my disk was stamped C. of
Against the horizon we could see Hmnll squads and went Into the fields
also in which you shall expect of your
E. This Is how I got it : Th e lleuten- numerous observation halloons or “sau- on , h„ rIght
,,.ft o f the roilf, nnf,
faith new and greater things. Take i
nnt who enlisted ine asked my religion, sages” ns they are called.
crouched on the ground.
No other
what you believe and nre, and hold it in
I was not sure o f the religion o f the
On the afternoon o f the third day’s stiell.s follow ed tills salvo. It was our
your hand with n new firmness as you
British army, so I answered, “Oh, any march I witnessed my first nirplane flrst baptism hy shell fire. From the
go forw ard; lint bsik on It with con-
old thing." and he promptly put down being shelled. A thrill ran through me waj8t Ilp j was all enthusiasm, but from
tjnunl and confident expectation to see
C. o f E.
‘ and I gazed In awe. The airplane wns | th<>n, down everything was missing. V
it open Into something greater and Brick or Concrete Road* Are Econom
thought I should die with fright.
truer.— Phillips Brooks.
ical If There Is Considerable Heavy
After awhile, we reformed into col
Traffic.
umns of fours, and proceeded on our
Rehabilitation of Holy Land.
horse-drawn vehicles, a light traffic
way.
Immediate plans for tfi> rehabilita of automobiles, and a light traffic of
About five that night, we reached the
tion of the Holy Land, to lit It for the heavy trucks.
ruined village of H------ , and I got my
home of the Jews of the world, are
(<l) Water-bound mneaduin roads
first sight of the nwful destruction
now under consideration by the officers arc adapted to the same general char
caused by German Kultur.
of the New York Zionist organization. acter of traffic as gravel roads.
Marching down the main street we
A medical unit will lie dispatched to
(<•) Surface-treated macadam ronds
came to the heart of the village, and
the stricken land, loans will lie made
are adapted i qiecliilly for a heavy
took up quarters in shellproof cellars
to the colonists to rebuild nnd relit
(shellproof until hit by a shell). Shells
traffic of automobiles. They also are
their farms and vineyards, nnd Irriga
were constantly whistling over the vil tion and sanitation problems must lie satisfactory for n llght traffic of
lage nnd bursting in our rear, search
vehicles
and
heavy
solved. The
fund now being horse-drawn
ing for our nrtlllery.
In all cases they require con
raised will lie used for Immediate pur trucks.
These cellars were cold, damp and poses, and It Is believed the recon stant maintenance.
smelly, nnd overrun with large rats— struction work will Involve an expen
(f ) Bituminous roads arc suitable
big black fellows. Most of the Tom diture of approximately $100,000,1100. for a heavy traffic of both automobiles
mies slept with their overcoats over
and horse-drawn vehicles nnd n mod
their faces. I did not. In tin; middle
erate traffic of h«nvy trucks.
Advance by Retrogression.
of the night I woke up In terror. The
(g ) Concrete ronds are adapted to
The rookie was being taken to the
cold, clnrnrriy feet of n rat had passed guardhouse.
the same general class of traffic as
over my face. I Immediately smoth
“Quick promotion," he muttered to bituminous ronds, and generally nre
ered myself in rny overcoat, but could himself. “I am nlready fn charge of capable of withstanding the traffic of
not sleep for the rest of that night.
a squad of men.”— Boston Evening somewhat heavier vehicles without In
Next evening, we took Over our sec Transcript.
jury.
tor of the line. In single file we wend
(h ) Brick roads arc adapted to the
ed our way through a zigzag com
Women Will Tell.
same general class of traffic ns con
munication trench, six Inches deep
Mrs. Bacon— I see English hanking crete roads. Either brick or concrete
with mud.
This trench wns called Institutions employ over &4,0(J0 wom
roads, however, may he econmnlcni
"Whisky street." On our way up to en.
for only modern tn traffic where othef
the front line an occasional flare of
Mr. Bacon— Of course. Where would I'und-ltuilding materials are scarce.
Diagram Showing Typical Front-Line and Communication Trenche*.
bursting shrapnel would light up the you expect to find tellers?
TOP
99
By An American A r th u r Guy Empey
Soldier Who Went Machine Gunner, Serving in France
FACTORS IN ROAD BUILDING
EMPEY GETS INTO THE FRONT LINE TRENCH— AND
WISHES HE WERE BACK IN JERSEY CITY.
j
w&m ■
NEW AND GREATER THINGS