Evening Republican, Volume 20, Number 285, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 28 November 1916 — MANY CHANGES SEEN AT FRONT [ARTICLE]

MANY CHANGES SEEN AT FRONT

Some Mighty Hand Seems to Have Evolved Order Out of Chaos. FRENCH MOVE EVER ONWARD t Marvels' Accomplished In France by Industry and Inventive Genius Pressed by Necessity*—Mighty Construction of Artillery.

London. Ellis Ashmead-Bartlett, who recently lectured in ihe United States, has Just returned to the western front after an übsence of many months, and finds many changes there, he writes to London newspapers. He says. In part: “When you enter the zone of war on -the western fronT YgrTtiT first time after a long period spent In other fields of strife, you reulize at once the vast chunge that has come over everything. You see the difference in the attitude of the French soldier In his surroundings and equipment, and, above all, in the appearance and spirits of the civilian population. “Turning to the machine of war itself, some mighty hand seems suddenly to have evolved order out of chuos, and collected all the conflicting elements that make up the ordinary of a nation into one vast, homogeneous force directed toward the attainment of a single end. “This terrible light blue wave is now moving in one direction from which nothing will eyer divert it. Rolls Every Onward. “The current never stops rolling onward. It may be checked from time to time, its progress tsnofteir slow, and the rocks are difficult to submerge, but ever the blue waves sweep remorselessly on. There Is only the back current. of the transport trains, carrying food to the men and millions of shells to the guns. The wounded alone turn their backs to the giant conflict. “What an organization has been built up in the short space of two years to keep these vast armies supplied ! What marvels have been accomplished by industry and inventive genius pressed by necessity, financed without thought of cost, and utilizing the markets of the neutral world ! Hundreds of miles of fresh railways have been laid (jlown; new roads have been cut and surfaced ; old railways have been rebuilt, and countless bridges restored. Hundreds of thousands of motor lorries pour in incessant streams toward the advanced depots to meet the requirements of this insatiable maw of war. “Petrol is the true king of this war. Without the motor lorry all these marvels would have been impossible. Petrol reigns supreme on the battered earth below, as he reigns supreme amid the clouds above. His two instruments are the car and the aeroplane. Both have helped to revolutionize the science of war. “What are the paramount impressions made on the mind as you approach the battlefield of the Somme, and come within hearing~3Tstance of the thunder of the guns? Two were made on mine. The one, the spectacle of an entire nation bent on the fulfillment at any sacrifice of a single fixed determination; the other, the limitless resources of the world placed at the disposal of that nation.' Unlimited everything; that describes the scene the best. t Guns, Guns Everywhere. “First and foremost, take the guns. Never before has there been brought together such a concentration of artillery'of all calibers. There are guns everywhere. I am writing for the moment of those behind the lines, which have not yet been brought up, ns there is no room for them on an already crowded battlefield. They lie in the field in droves like cattle; you see them ’ like huge, many-colored snakes on the railway lines, or moving to the front on motor lorries. Some are returning for rest and repair; •thers are being pushed forward to take their place. Many are yet lying idle, with their huge mouths gaping hungrily toward the Rhine and the Meuse. , “And the meals for these monsters. The fodder for these monsters fills acres of fields, and comes from every corner of the earth. Yet they cannot be carried too quickly to the front. This monstrous Armageddon consumes millions a week. “Behind the battlefield the scene is rather that of the migration of an entire people to a new home than that of any army in the field. The amount of work entailed by an offensive on the present scale passes man’s comprehension. Every man and woman and many children of France are now working toward the common end. In the munition fartorles are the women and the indispensable of the men. In the supply area, whlchfextends 20 or 30 kilometers behind the battlefield, are the territorials. Many of them are old, but they work like youngsters on a holiday. They are making and repairing the roads, helping with the transport, and guarding the convoys, depots, culverts, railways, and bridges. Beyond them you have the youth and middle-aged of France, who actually do the fighting and who make good and turn to practical effect the work of the women, of the old men, and those of the young ones tvho are indispensable.” —•