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About The Forest Grove express. (Forest Grove, Or.) 1916-1918 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 19, 1918)
66 OVER THE TOP By An American Soldier W ho Went Arthur Guy Empey Machine Gunner, Serving in France Ooprrlgfct 191T, by Arthur O ur Ea*P*y WAR IS CRUMBLING THE WALL OF CASTE THAT HAS STOOD SO LONG IN BRITISH ARMY. Synopsis.— Fired by the sinking of the Lusitania, with the loss of American lives, Arthur Guy Empey, an American living lu Jersey City, goes to England and enlists as a private In the British army. After a short experience as a recruiting officer In London, he Is sent to train ing quarters In France, where he first hears the sound of bl«t guns and makes the acquaintance of “ cooties.” After a brief pertou >f training Empey’s company Is sent into the front-line trenches, where he takes bis first turu on the fire step while the bullets whiz overheud. Empey learns, as comrade falls, that deuth lurks always In the trenches. Chaplain distinguishes himself by rescuing wounded men under hot fire. With pick and shovel Empey has ■experience as a trench digger in No Man’s Land. Exciting experience on listening post detail. Ex- cltiug work on observation post duty. Back In rest billets Empey writes and stages a successful play. CHAPTER XIX—Continued. — 15— The game is honest and quite en joyable. Sometimes you have fourteen numbers on your card covered and you are waiting for the fifteenth to be called. In an Imploring voice you call out, “Come on, Watkins, chum. I’m sweating on ’Kelly’s Eye.’ " Watkins generally replies, “ Well, keep out of a draft, you’ll catch cold." Another game Is “ Pontoon,” played with cards; It Is the same as our “Black Jack.” or “Twenty-one.” A card game called “ Brag” Is also popular. Using a casino deck, the dealer deals each player three cards. It is similar to our poker, except for the fact that you only use three cards and cannot draw. The deck is never shuffled until a mnn shows three of a kind or a “prile” as It Is called. The value of the hands are, high card, a pair, a run, a flush or three of a kind or “prile.” The limit is generally a penny, so it is hard to win a fortune. The next In popularity is a card game called “ Nap.” It Is well named. Every time I played It I went to sleep. Whist and solo whist are played by the highbrows of the company. When the gamblers tire of all other games they try “ Banker and Broker.” i spent a week trying to teach some of the Tommies how to play poker, but because I won thirty-five francs they declared that they didn't “ fawncy” the game. Tommy plays few card games; the general run never heard of poker, eu chre, seven up, or pinochle. They have a game similar to pinochle called “ Royal Bezique,” but few know how to play It. Generally there are two decks of cards in a section, and in a short time they are so dog-eared and greasy, you can hardly tell the ace of spades from the ace of hearts. The owners of these decks sometimes condescend to lend them after much coaxing. So you see, Mr. Atkins has his fun mixed In with his hardships and, con trary to popular belief, the rank and file of the British army In the trenches is one big happy family. Now in Vir ginia, at school, I was fed on old Mc- Guffy’s primary reader, which gave me an opinion of an Englishman about equal to a ’76 Minute Man’s backed up 99 by a Sinn Felner’s. But I found Tom my to be the best of mates and a gen- tlemun through nnd through. He never thinks of knocking his officers. If one makes a costly mistake and Tommy pays with bis blood, there Is no gen eral condemnation o f the officer. He Is Just pitied. It is exactly the same as it was with the Light Brigade at Balaclava, to say nothing of Gallipoli, Neuve Chapelle and Loos. Personally I remember a little Incident where twenty of us were sent on a trench raid, only two of us returning, but I will tell this story later on. I said it was a big happy fnmlly, and so it Is, but as In all happy families, there are servants, so In the British army there are also servants, officers’ servants, or “O. S.” as they are termed. In the American army the common nnme for them is “ dog robbers.” From a controversy In the English papers, Winston Churchill made the state ment, as far as I can remember, that the officers’ servants In the British forces totaled nearly two hundred thousand. He claimed that this re moved two hundred thousand excep tionally good and well-trained fighters from the actual firing line, claiming that the officers, when selecting a man for servant’s duty, generally picked the man who had been out the longest and knew the ropes. But from my observation I find that a large percentage of the servants do go ovtr the top, but behind the lines they very seldom engage in t'lgglng parties, fatigues, parades or drills. This work Is as necessary as actually engaging In an attack, therefore I think it would be safe to say that the all round work of the two hundred 'thou sand is about equal to fifty thousand men who are on straight military du ties. In numerous Instances, officers' servants hold the rank of lance-corpo rals and they assume the same duties and authority of a butler, the one stripe giving him precedence over the other servants. There are lots of amusing stories told of “ O. S.” One day one of our majors went Into the servants’ billet and commenced “ blinding” at them, saying that his horse had no straw and that he per sonally knew that straw had been Is sued for this purpose. He called the lance-corporal to account. The cor poral answered, “ Hllme me, sir, the straw was Issued, but there wasu’t enough left over from the servants’ beds; in fact, we had to use some of the ’ay to ’elp out, sir.” It Is needless to say that the serv ants dispensed with their soft beds thut particular night. Nevertheless It Is not the fault of the individual officer, It Is Just the sur vival of a quaint old English custom. You know an Englishman cannot be changed In a day. But the average English officer Is a good sport. He will sit on a fire step and listen respectfully to Private Jones' theory of the way the wsr should be conducted.. . This war is gradually crumbling the once lusur- mountable wall of custe. You would be convinced of this If you could see King George go among his men on an Inspecting tour under fire, or puuse before a little wooden cross In some shell-tossed field with tears In his eyes as he reads the In scription. And a little later perhaps bend over a wounded mnn on a stretch er, patting him on the hend. More than once In a hospital I have seen a titled Red t’ross nurse fetching and carrying tor a wounded soldier, perhaps the one who in civil life de livered the coal at her bnck door. To day she does not shrink from lighting his fug or even washing his grimy body. Tommy admires Albert of Belgium be. Empey, questioning s German cause he Is not a pusher of men; he prisoner, finds he’s from New leads them. With him It's not a case York. The Interesting Interview of “ take that trench,” It is “come on Is related In the next Install and we will take It.” ment. It Is amusing to notice the different characteristics of the Irish, Scotch nnd English soldiers. The Irish and Scotch (T O B E C O N T I N U E D ) are very Impetuous, especially when It comes to bayonet fighting, while the RED MAN’S GOOD QUALITIES Englishman, though a trifle slower, thoroughly does his b it; he Is more Aa ■ Race, and Individually, the methodical and has the grip of u bull American Indian Has Proved dog on a captured position. He Is Capable of Many Thing«. slower to think ; that Is the reason why It Is very worth while to give the he pever knows when he Is licked. Indian a square deal. He has proved Twenty minutes before going over the top the English Tommy will sit on himself cnpnhle of greut things. Two the fire step and thoroughly examine presidents of Peru have been Indians. 'he mechanism of his rifle to see that It One of Mexico’s greatest presidents Is in working order and will fire prop war an Indian, nnd Bolivia has had erly. After this examination he Is sat at .east one great Indian president One expects them to excel In warfare. isfied nnd ready to meet the Boches. But the Irishman or Scotchman sits The Arnucnnlnn Lantare was the great on the fire step, his rifle with bayonet est military chieftain South America has produced except San- Mnrtln, and fixed between his knees, the butt of we hnve had Gen. John A. Logan and which perhaps Is sinking Into the mud Gen. Ell 8. Pnrker. Numbers of our —the bolt couldn’t be opened with a senators nnd congressmen have been team o f horses it Is so rusty—but he proud of their Indlnn blood, and spits on his sleeve and slowly polishes Thomas C. Moffett, wNb knows the red his bayonet; when this Is done he also man well, says that “ In the profession is ready to argue with Fritz. al world today, on farms among It Is not necessary to mention the lenders In business affairs. the colonials (the Canadians, Australians , Indian, educated anil Christianized. Is and New Zealanders), the whole world | taking his place; clever Indlnn law knows what they have done for Eng yers are looking out for the Interests land. of their tribes; capable Indlnn physi The Australian and New Zealander cians nre ministering to the needs of is termed the “ Anzac,” taking the their own people; earnest Indian name from the first letters of their of preachers and teachers are spreading ficial designation. Australian and New nmong the reservations the seed of Zealand army corps. the gospel message; aggressive Indian Tommy divides the German army agricultural experts nre teaching the into three classes according to their younger generation how to Improve lighting abilities. They runk as fol land and crops; the new Indlun Is lows: Prussians, Bavarians and Sax helping the forward movement activ ons. ities o f his country.” When up against a Prussian regi The white man’s diseases nnd ment it Is a case o f keep your napper vices hnve burdened the Indian, but below the parapet and duck. A bang- Ills schools, medicine, Christian mor- bang all the time nnd a war Is on The I als nnd faith enn, If he so wills It, lift Bavarians are little better, but the | that burden nnd make his red brother Saxons are fairly good sports and are l once ngnln a free mnn.—Kvengellne willing occasionally to behave us gen j Cole, In World’s Outlook. British Geological Photos. A committee of the British Associa tion for the Advancement of Science hns been engaged for ninny years In forming.a nntlonnl collection of photo graphs Illustrating the geology o f the British Isles. Accorfllng to the last report the collection now Includes up ward of 5,600 pictures. More than a thousnnd of th«-se were taken In Yorkshire. A collection of the same character hns been made hy the geolo- glenl survey of Great Britain, which hns recently published a list of Its Scottish pictures. Both the B. A. com mittee nnd the geological survey offer prints and lantern slides for snle. The Tunbridge Wells Natural History so ciety offers prizes for photographs of scenery Illustrating geological features. —Scientific American. Meeting a Gas and Infantry Attack. ttemen and take It easy, but you cup not trust any of them overlong. At one polut of the line the tranche* were about thirty-two yards apart. This sounds horrible, but In fuct It wua easy, because neither side could shell the enemy’s front-line trench for fear shells would drop into their owu. This eliminated artillery fire. In these trenches when up against the Prussians and Bavarians, Tommy had a hot time o f It. but when the Sax ons “ took over” It wua a picnic; they would yell across that they were Sax ons and would not fire. Both sides would sit on the parapet and carry on u conversation. This g« nerally consist ed of Tommy telling them how much Its loved the kaiser, while the Saxons Informed Tommy thut Klug George was a particular friend of theirs and hoped thut he was doing nicely. Wheu the Saxons were to be relieved by Prussians or Bavarians, they would yell this Information across No Man’s Laud and Tommy would Immediately tumble luto his trench and keep his heud down. If ntx English regiment was to be re lieved by the wild Irish. Tommy would tell the Suxoiis, and Immediately a vol ley of “ Donner und Blltzens” could be heard nnd It was Fritz’s turn to get a crick In his buck from stooping, and the people lu Berlin would close their windows. Usually when an Irishman takes over a trench. Just before “ stand down” In the morning, he sticks his rifle over the top, ulmed In the direction o f Ber lin, and eugnges In what Is known as the “ uiad minute.” ' This cousists of firing fifteen shots In a minute. He Is not aiming at uuythlng lu particular —Just sends over each shot with a prayer, hoping that one of his strays will get some iKHir unsuspecting Frit» In the nupper hundreds of yurds be hind the lines. It generally d oes; that’s the reason the Boches hute the man from Erin’s Isle. The KaxonN, though better than the Prussians and Bavarians, have a nasty trnlt of treachery in their makeup. American colleges and engineering schools and nre now employed by their own government In Important public works. Incidentally they have been the means of Introducing American ma chinery, scientific apparatus and other manufactures Into their country. Among the students who left the Unit ed States In August were four holders o f king’s scholarships, and these young men will h«- educated at the expense o f the Siamese government. Theory May Yet Be Proved. According to «me theory, primitive mnn came to America by a land bridge from the tnblelands of Asia, In search of new hunting grounds. “ It Is m t to be Inferred,” says Professor Wlssler, “ that the new world native Is a dTect descendant of the present Asiatic .ton- gollnn, for the differentiation Is evi Siamese Study In United States. dently remote.” Is It not possible we About fifteen students from Slam shall find that It was the American hnve registered at American educa type that diverged Into strains that tional Institutions this year to qualify passed to Asia?—Chicago Examiner. In the professions of law, medicine nnd civil engineering. Several such stu Irf-trlbutton Is not always dealt out dents have In the past graduated from to every man according to his deed* RIEfflC KÄB5 WAR DEVELOPING OUR ROADS One of Most Important Benefits will Be Distribution of Farm Products by Motors. “ One of the most Important benefits o f the war to America Is going to be tho development of transportation of farm products to markets by means of motor trueks,’’ remarked It. <*. Watts o f St. Louis, highway engineer, while In Washington the other day. ” !f any one bad told us five years ago that mo tor vehicles would be utilized fl>r mov ing produeta and machinery ns they have been used In the last twelve mouths, he would have been thought crazy, yet Charles Schwab, the new head o f the fleet corporation, Is giv ing n practical demonstration of bow to do things by transferring u large part o f Ills office equipment to Phila delphia by motor trucks. The high ways of the country have been taken over by the people for hauling gomia which could not be hauled during tho period o f congestion by the railroads. In the whole history of trans|Mirtatlon the highway has been the patient drudge, but suddenly the motor truck has come to the front nnd supplied for the roads what the steam engines sup ply for tho railways, nnd this lias brought about tnnny~ncw conditions, which will develop Into many other new and marvelous results. “To my mind, the most Important will lie the distribution o f farm prod- uets by means o f motor vehicles. We know that the farmers linve always re lied ti)M>n the railroads for the move ment o f their products long distances. Loading Egg« Into Motor Trucks. For the short haul, o f course, they util ized the wagon and In later years the automobile. But for hauling any greut quantity of products they relied en tirely on the railroads. The employ ment of the motor truck has demon strate«! Its practicality, and hereafter when things become normal we shall sc«* thousands o f great motor vehicles hauling farm products to market. It Is going to result, mor«v>vcr, In »■ won derful Improvement of the mi.ds all through this country.” INCREASED VALUE OF FARMS Motorcar Open« Every Acre of Ground and Bring« It Nearer Center of Population. The rallrond opened up a few roads, but the motorcar opens every acre «if ground and brings It nearer the centers o f population. The products—the ) motorcar increased thos<> values still i tn«ir«- hy tnnrkt-flng them quicker, ; Wldl«> the telephone put th«> farm In communication with the r-ity tin* motor- j car does that and more— It puls the farmer nnd his fam.ly in physlcnl ami mental communication with the mar kets and the noclnl Ilf«* o f the city. SOLUTION OF ROAD PROBLEM Hard-Surfaced Highway la Best Wher ever Traffic Will Warrant Nec essary Expense. Ronds must be built to suit the en vironment—both physical nnd finan cial. Earth roads arc the only on«‘S j some communities can afford, while other sections may raquire gravel or broken stone surfaces. But wherever ♦he traffic will warrant the expense, an economically «leslgned and carefully constructed hard-surfaced highway Is tht* only satisfactory solution of the road problem.