Evening Republican, Volume 20, Number 135, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 June 1916 — Page 3

SNIPER’S BULLET GRAVEST PERIL TO THE SOLDIER

Concealed Marksmen Deal Death With Consistency, Rarely Missing Victim. DISGUISE BAFFLES ENEMY Remarkable Ingenuity Displayed In Methods of Concealment Adopted— A Second’s Pause in an Exposed Bection of the Line Spells Death to the Soldier. London. —While the charge, the bursting of shells and the hand-to-hand combats make up to a great extent the picture of war, one of the gravest dangers which the soldiers face In the field is the bullet of the sniper. They are the clever marksmen who select some position where they are almost invisible to tbeir opponents and send a welldirected bullet at each target which is exposed for a fraction of a minute. Remarkable as examples of the ingenuity of these snipers are some of the stories of their methods of disguise which are related by the soldiers who return from the trenches. A number of such stories were recently compiled by an English newspaper and give an insight into this method of warfare —an art which has been raised so high that a moment’s forgetfulness, a second’s pause in ari exposed section of the line spells deaffe to the soldier. “A Tommy, recently returned home, tells an extraordinary story of the ingenuity and death of a German sniper," says the newspaper. “This particular sniper was encountered on Hill Seventy. When dawn broke the soldier was chilled to the bone and weakened with loss of blood, as he had been wounded the night before. Unable to move, he lay flat on his back and tried to get some sleep. The rest and the warmth of the sun revived the soldier and he raised up his head. Another wounded soldier started to walk back to the trenches. A moment later he pitched forward, shot through the temple by a sniper.

Grass Arouses Suspicion. “Five minutes later another man moved. He started to get to his feet, but seemed startled by something and lay down again quickly. The other wounded man followed his example. A moment later he saw the grass, about twenty yards away, move in a peculiar manner. Instead of moving sideways as it would from a body passing through it, the grass itself appeared to be coming forward. “For a minute the movement of the grass stopped and then it began again, this time coming toward the wounded soldier. Suspicion was now aroused to such an extent that the soldier finally took aim at the moving tuft of grass and three volleys in rapid succession. Crawling over to the spot where the mound of grass had suddenly stopped twitching, he found a dead German sniper. Real Bods of grass had been bound by cords to a waterproof sheet, which had been strapped to the sniper’s back, making a perfect, disguise for him." Continuing its anecdotes of the snipers, the newspaper quotes from a long letter written by a soldier, in which Ive explains the dangers presented to the men by the snipers. “Along one stretch of front,” he says, “we were much puzzled by the angle at which the sniper’s bullets were coming over. Qn the left was a line of leafless pollai§ willows, but we could see that there was nobody behind the trunks. “Several of our officers tried to find a solution, but all to -no purpose. At last Captain X , who happened to be familiar with the ways of old willows, took charge and ordered three men to fire a few shots attach willow. The sniping ceased. Two of the willows were hollow and the Germans had crept inside the trees and were firing through cracks in the stem with automatic revolvers. For two days there was no more sniping, but on the third the fire was resumed as briskly as before and with just as deadly an effect. Fire was opened again on the willows, but this time there was no result. . - ,

Steel Plate in Hollow Tree. "Captain X- — was Just as suspicious as ever, and he instructed the nearest battery to make short work of the willows. This was done, and the third to go revealed the enemy’s cunning. Inside the willow we found not only a German but a steel plate which flitted outside him and inside the willow, making a proof against rifle bullets. “While that was a clever trick it was'little better than the work done with the old door. At one spot where our trenches were not more than 100 yards apart an old door was lying. The top glass panels of it were broken, the wood beneath them was broken and over the woodwork a gaudy paper had been pasted. Its only ufie was as a test for our sights, which we got by hitting the door knob or breaking off a splinter of glass. ■ "One day, however, we were surprised to find thgt when a bullet struck the glass it left a white streak and brought no tinkle. Hitting the woodwork had the same effect; It brought a while smear, but no splinters. We knew something was wrong and that

night decided to investigate. We discovered that the old door had been removed and a steel shield put in its place. It was painted to look like the wood, paper and broken glass, with a hole near the knob for the sniper’s rifle. “We fixed a surprise for the artist. He evidently thought he was going to have things his own way. The next day when he began his work we were ready for him. Our trick certainly was a match for his. We did our act, for we sent both the artist and his picture flying back into the German trenches, and the picture was the more intact of the two. A well-placed bomb accounted for him. "We caught another sniper in a curious manner a few months ago. Our regiment was stationed about eight hundred yards from the German trench and, like all others, we suffered much for want of water. Half a mile in the rear ran a small stream and the men used to steal out at night for water. These men were constantly being sniped. Teeth Gives Him Away. “A number of our men had been killed or wounded in this manner and it # was agreed that the sniping came from somewhere behind our lines. A close day’s search revealed nothing. The C. O. was getting savage and his attitude obviously demanded that he must do something special for the benefit of the undiscovered sniper. “Early one morning the command came that we were to make a great circle and beat inward, not leaving a bit of ground uncovered. Nothing came of it —that is to say, nothing except a shapeless old French farmer whom we found driving his riding plow for potatoes. When we questioned him he flew into a rage because we were trampling his beloved ground and demanded that we clear off at once as there was no ‘espion’ around. “We had to do so. In making his

ARMORED CARS IN THRILLING DASH

Rescue Men of the Wrecked Ship Tara in Desert Prison Camp. FEAT STANDS AS A CLASSIC Duke of Westminster Heads Train of Motors in Dash of Over 100 Miles Throbbing Fleet Causes Sensation in the Desert. By W. T. MASSEY. Suez, Egypt.—l have just heard the details of the armored car fleet’s dash to the rescue of the men of the wrecked ship Tara. It will stand as a classic in motoring annals. When General Lurfcin reoccupied Solium in western Egypt he found that the Arabs had burned the camp. Ten armored cars came upon a remarkable road which, starting In the desert, runs to Tobrunk, 90 mlies away in Tripoli. Over it the motors had a speed of 35 miles an hour. At Aziza, the cars suddenly came upon the Arabs and dashed into a Turkish mountain gun and two machine guns, killing every gunner by Maxim fire. Then, without a halt, they charged in line over the bowlders, stiff scrub, sandy patches. The charge continued for seven miles. Three field guns, nine machine guns, hundreds of rifles, spare parts, dynamite, traveling workshops and a quarter of a million rounds of rifle ammunition were captured. Some of the camels, hit by machinegun fire, blew to pieces as if struck by a high explosive, or burst into flames. It was found that the Arabs had loaded them with bombs and petrol. The duke of Westminster was informed that a letter had been picked up from Capt. Gwatkin Williams to Nuri Day, complaining that the Tara prisoners were starving and 11l and suggesting that medical comforts should be procured at Solium. The letter mentioned Blr Hakim as the place of the prisoners’ detention. Every prisoner and refugee was in-

QUEEN INSPECTS GUARD

Queen Wilhelmina of Holland inspecting a frontier guard. The qdeen has been very active of late, going about the country inspecting and reviewing various divisions of the army. Recently the queen paid a visit to the Belgian frontier and made an inspection of the garrisons there.

THE EVENING REPUBLICAN, RENSSELAER, IND.

report to our chief the subaltern remarked reflectively as he told of how the fanner gnashed his teeth at us. ‘Jolly fine teeth, and clean, too.’ “ ‘What?’ snapped the irate C. O. ‘Mr. x , you will take a couple of men and go to the old farmer. Engage him in conversation while your men pin him from behind suddenly. I don’t want to lose men capturing a dangerous sniper with clean teeth.' “This was a sharp blow at. the- subaltern, but it was precisely as our chief suggested. The old farmer fought like a tiger, and the three men were rolling over and over on the ground before he could be safely tied. He was a powerful young man and a search revealed a belt of cartridges and two automatic pistols of German make. Later in the day we found a 'little dugout in a ditch with a rifle hidden away in a screen of bushwood. There is only one end for men of this kind and he got it. Everybody’s Doing It. “Don’t think that the sniping is confined to one side. We have some men who are very clever, particularly the Canadian chaps. One such is a fullblooded Indian in the Canadian infantry, who is a marvel with his rifle. He has a telescopic sight attached to his rifle and goes about as he likes. He is a most silent man, talking to. few persons. He wanders about the trenches and waits for a chance to pick off a German. “One German sniper recently was giving a lot of trouble. Officers with glasses tried in vain to locate him. The Indian cajne along and without saying a word to anyone fired at a big tree. Down dropped the sniper. The Indian saw with his naked eye what the officers with their glasses failed to discover. He puts a little nick in the stock of his rifle every time he is sure he has killed a German. I saw him add two more nicks to the thirty-eight already on his stock.”

terrogated, hut none knew Bir Hakim except a man who said he had fed a flock there 30 years ago. Subsequently another man, who had been the prisoners’ guard, was discovered, and the duke asked permission to attempt a rescue. Every man in the batteries sat up all night and next day tuning up the machines. The batteries were re-enforced by light cars carrying the guns and all the motor ambulances within traveling range of Solium were brought in. There were gathered at the old Turkish fort on the ridge above Solium nine armored Rolls-Royce cars, five touring cars with guns, light cars —forty-two motors altogether. At three o’clock in the morning the column moved out of the fort. When the column got 80 miles on the Tobrunk road the cars turned on the desert due south. After 15 miles rough-and-tumble over desperately rough ground the party began to feel uncertain of success. The two Arab guides were arguing as to whether they were on the right track; the man who had not seen Bir Hakim since his boyhood thought they were wrong. The other Arab would not say much. The desert was now very stony. A hundred miles went by and then 105. Still there was not the faintest sign of the Tara prisoners’ camp. Between 110 and 115 miles nobody spoke, and the silence suggested fears of failure. A mile farther on the Arab became animated on seeing a sort of small mountain. A halt was called at two o’clock and the duke sent forward the armored cars to attack. They raced up to within 200 yards of the mound. The prisoners were standing silhouetted against the skyline, dumb with amazement at the appearance of the strange throbbing fleet. At last one threw oft the sack covering him and faintly cheered, and the erowd staggered forward in the rolling gait of starved men and swarmed round the cars, crying: “Are we free?" They could not be persuaded to leave the cars and slightly hindered the British advance to tackle the guards, all of whom were subsequently killed. The remainder of the column started a tremendous race to the spot. They ran abroad, caring not for obstacles or punctures, and the air was filled with the cheers of the crews and the noise the exhausts. The prisoners’ condition was desperate. A heap of white shells showed that snails had been their staple diet Occasionally they had had goat flesh, but the amount served out was reI duced-tQ the size of a skinned mouse, 1 one prisoner said. Parties had gone out daily to find edible roots. -

U. S. ADS FOR ARGENTINA

American to Erect Large Signs in • Buenos Ayres—Largest Display Field in World. Buenos Ayres.—An American advertising man has begun the erection in this city of what is said to be one of the largest display field in the world and most certainly the largest in South America. The field is a mile long, extending from the railroad terminal stations to Palermo and paralleling the tracks of the three big lines—the Central Argentine, the Pacific and the Central Cordoba. Along the mile field will be erected huge signs on Bteel, cut In the design of the article advertised. None will be less than 160 square feet nor more than 500 square feet. Owing to their size and to guard against destruction they wiU be built with heavy steal supporters, set in concrete.

WORLD’S LARGEST TRACK SCALE

The weight of locomotives and cars is a matter or practical importance in railroading. Actual measuring of weights on scales possesses advantages which cannot be replaced by computing weights. To accomplish this actual weighing, the largest track scale in the world has recently been installed at West Albany by the New York Central railroad. The scale is 100 feet long with a weighing rail 90 feet long. There are six sections, each with a capacity of 275,000 pounds, so that the six section* will carry a load of 825 tons. This great capacity makes possible the weighing of locomotives with heavy concentrated weights in comparatively short distances and the longest steel coaches on the same scale. An interesting detail is that the main lever knife edges are 21 inches long and each inch of the knife edge will support 7,000 pounds.

SHOW TIME’S ADVANCE

INTERESTING COLLECTIONS OF PHOTOS OF OLD LOCOMOTIVES. Pictured History of the Development of the “Iron Horse” a Fad Which Many Collectors Have Taken Up. Collecting photographs of old locomotives may seem a bit prosaic to some people. Nevertheless there are a lot of people in this country who follow this fhd with all the interest and enthusiasm of the most ardent numismatist or philatelist. In fact, a comparison of stamps and coins with original photogaphs of the earliest American locomotives leaves, in their opinion, the advantage all on the side of the locomotive for points of interest. They treasure their collections as much as any boy does his stamp album. In comparison with those who collect coins or stamps the number of collectors of old locomotive pictures is small, naturally. Yet there are in the country several thousands of these collections. It is not a new collecting fad by any means. Some of the collectors have been at it twenty-five years or more. Very few railroad men are numbered among the collectorsL Among the owners of the largest collections of this kind are a banker, an insurance man, a lumberman, a botanist and a clergyman. Most of them worked-up an enthusiasm for the locomotive back in their boyhood days. This led them to compile a pictured history of its development. They have kept track of almost every screw and bolt that has been added since the days of the old De Witt Clinton. The size and type of cylinders, connecting rods, smokestacks and tenders mean as much to them as do the marks on stamps and coins to those who collect such things. This collecting fad has its rules and its prices just like the others. Pictures are traded and high prices are paid for originals. The original photographs of the early locomotives —taken of course years after they had been running, because photography was not known in their early days—command high prices. It is not unusual for a collector to pay $25 for the privilege of copying one of these originals. Those who have gone into the fad extensively keep in close touch with one another and know at all times the state of the market and the proper value to be placed ’on pictures which they desire to add to their collections. One of the largest collections of this kind belongs to John W. Merrill, an insurance man in Boston. It comprises over 3,000 pictures and has taken him fifteen years to get together. Mr. Merrill keeps the pictures in a safe which he had made for the purpose and has given instructions to the local fire department that if his house ever bums the safe is to be saved even at the expense of the house.

Eternal Vigilance Necessary.

All the major railroads have giventheir employees lectures on the principles of safety, have filled the service periodicals with instructions, and have utilized the motion-picture to present memorable object-lessons in the results of carelessness. Yet every new accident demonstrates that, for employees and passengers alike, eternal vigilance is the price of safety. A few months ago, for example, a collision at Rockledge, Tenn., resulted in the killing of 12 men and the serious injury to 35; It was due to the failure of a power-operated signal, put out of order through the energizing df a magnet by a foreign current.

"Safety First" Working Well.

The Railway Age Gazette thinks it possible that the reduced number of fatalities may be due, in some part, to the reduced traffic of last year as compared with previous years. Such a possibility seems hardly to be borne out by the figures, since these disclose a larger mortality and casualty list In earlier years when traffic was less than in 1915. We prefer crediting the Improvement to the desire of railroad managers to respond to the public beds and of efficiency, which can condemand for installation of all new appliances and all improvement of road-, tribute toward the ends of “safety first.” ' *

KNOTTY POINT FOR LAWYERS

Peculiar Damage Claim Resisted by Company Sued by Victim of Altogether Unusual Accident. The Docket reports this case: If a railroad train should leave the track and crash through the fence of your front yard, startling you from your sleep, so that in your hasty attempt to leave your bed your head becomes entangled in the bed rods and you are Injured, can you recover damages? Such is the question in Louisville and Nashville Railroad company vs. Chambers, 178 Southwestern Reporter, 1101. The opinion states that “in the instant case there was no apparent or seeming peril rendering reasonably and apparently necessary a choice of means of extrication therefrom and action upon that choice; nor is it made to appear that appellee made any such choice or acted thereupon. True, there came in the night time a loud crash at the front of his residence and a scream from his wife; but the noise of that crash and that scream were all that could possibly have come to the appellee’s senses. He saw no seeming peril; he is not here insisting that he sought to avert any seemingly impending danger and was thereby injured ; he only knows that Tie awoke in the night to find his neck entwined in the cool embrace of the rods at the head of his bed. How or when he got in that position he does not pretend to know. For aught the record shows he may have been nestling in that snug caress for some time before the crash of the car or the scream of his wife aroused him to the stern realities of his peculiar situation; or he may have been awakened by the crash, and while in a semi-conscious condition have become so entangled; or he may have been awakened by the scream of his wife and got in that position before reaching full consciousness.”

STEAM AUTO FOR RAILROAD

Car With Baggage Compartment Will Travel a Mile a Minute—Economically Operated. A steam automobile railroad car, using kerosene as fuel, capable of making a mile a minute and carrying 44 passengers, is being built in Newton, according to a Boston correspondent of the New York Sun. The members of this concern manufacture a steam automobile that bears their name. For a long time they have been working upon a plan of adapting the steam automobile engine to railroad and street railway purposes, they have now reached a point where the first car, t which may be described as the steam automobile enlarged and applied to rail conditions, will be on the rails In the course of a month or two. One member of the firm estimates that with the present cost of kerosene the operation of the car will be about one cent a mile. It has a baggage compartment and a compartment for the engineer, weighs about 35,000 pounds and will cost about SIO,OOO. The body is of steel and Is equipped with air brakes, electric lighting system and standard equipment. Designs have been made for a smaller car td? carry 26 passengers, and adapted more for service similar to that of trolley cars.

FREIGHT CAR’S RECORD LOAD

Enormous Generator, Weighing 160,000 Pounds, Transported From Brooklyn by Special Route.

The largest combination of weight and size ever handled on one freight car by an American railroad started on a journey “to Joplin, Mo., from the yards at Greenville, N. J. Thiß record-breaking load consisted of; the generator for an 8,000-kilowatt turbine, purchased by Henry L. Doherty & Co. from the Brooklyn Edison company. The generator is in one piece, weighs 160,000 pounds, and as measured by the railroad from the surface of the rails to the top of the machine stands 15 feet 7% inches in height. . ~ Because of this extreme height the railroad was forced to lay out a special itinerary of detouring so that no tunnels or other possible clearance* obstacles would be encountered on the run from New York to St. Louis. It was thought SL i/juis would be reached in.about six weeks, and then another journey must be taken t a Joplin, i -

HOME TOWN HELPS

MANAGER SYSTEM IS LIKED Has Been Given a Year’s Trial In Tuoson, Arix., and Seemingly la There to Stay. Tucson, at the close of a year under the city manager system, is pleased with it and will continue it, though it is free to abandon it, since the system exists by a sort of understanding and not by charter. The old council system prevailed in Tucson, but it was decided before the election to give the manager system a trial for at least a year. It did not seem that under such an arrangement the system could have a fair trial. If the council should at any time divide to engage in politics, the system would go by the board. But, fortunately, the mayor and the council have earnestly assisted in making it a success. They selected a good man for manager and delegated all the power possible to him. There has been no interference with bis appointing power. No pressure has been exerted upon him in favor of any applicant for a job. There has been no taint of politics In the city government, which has been the best Tucson has ever had. More has been accomplished in the last year than in any previous year. What has happened in Tucson has happened everywhere the city manager system has been given a fair trial. Phoenix’s experience of a year and a .half with it has been entirely satisfactory. In the beginning there was a little Jarring of the machinery, but for several months it has run smoothly and the result has been profitable in money and good government Even more is promised for the next year. If it should ever fall down or fall here or elsewhere, it will not be the fault of the system, but the fault of the people in failing to elect the right kind of commissioners, and the peo'ple will never commit such a fault if they remain alert to detect the first sign of political canker. —Arizona Republican.

STYLES IN FLOWER BEDS

Excellent Idea Sometimes to Get Away From the Conventional Designs 8o Often Seen. Do not be afraid to get away from the conventional when making flower beds. Have beds different from those of the neighbors and different from last season’s beds. Geraniums, coleus and the other old bedding 1 favorites are good, but It is tiresome to see them everywhere. Verbenas are not bedding novelties, but might be used more generally; also petunias, abutilons, cupheas, fuchsias, balsams and ivy leaved geraniums. A mixed foliage bed of tropical appearance can be made by the use of the following plants in such combinations as may be desired: Aspidistras, ficus In variety, crotons in variety, dracaenas, pandanus, pepperomia, palms in variety, sansevieria, echevsrias, ferns, grevilla robusta, white leaved cineraria and centaurea, pyrethrum, goldenfeather, farfugium, maurandias lobelias, lantanas, cupheas. The last .three named will supply a little color in red, white and blue flowers to lighten up the color of the various foliage plants. The taller plants scattered about the bed will supply shade for the smaller shadeloving plants and the ferns, which should be tucked in naturally to fill up space. The variety of colors in the foliage of dracaenas, pandanus, crotons, cineraria, centaurea and pyrethrum will contrast well, if the planting is arranged with care, and the whole will make an unusual and beautiful bed.

Support of Vines.

In furnishing support for vines that clamber over the walls of the house, do not use strips of cloth, as so many do. The cloth is good for a season only. After the vines have become large and heavy their weight will be sufficient to tear the cloth loose from the tacks that held it in place, especially after a heavy rain or in strong winds, and down will come the plant. It will be found impossible to put it back hr place in anything like a satisfactory manner. For supporting large, stiff vines make use of screwhooks, which are easily inserted in wooden walls. Turn the hooks in until there is just enough room between their points and the wall to admit of slipping the vine in. , - Some vines are not adapted to this treatment. Those can be supported by using strips of leather Instead of cloth. The leather should he soaked in oil for 24 hours before using, to make it pliable and water-resisting. Do not use small tacks, as these do not have sufficient hold on the wood to make them dependable. Use nails at least an inch long, with good-sized heads. i

In a Clean Neighborhood.

The Chicago health department** bulletin says truly that houses in a clean, well-kept community will sell for more money, .will sent more readily and to a better class of tenants than will the same kind of houses in a dirty, negleeted neighborhood. Thus, “it pays in dollars and cent* to keep dean.” , '