Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 148, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 2 July 1918 — Page 2

Unsung Heroes of Battle Lines

Darina American Linemen, Fresh from Civil Life, Maintain Communications Under Fire '*• *

y " "*—Tf HE two great means of conimu|C" nivation on the modern battlefield, the means by which gen- - oral headquarters keeps in x touch with every sector of the line and by which the perfect co-ordination of all branches & >. k of tlle servlce is P° ssible are I tbe air Plane and electricity. '1 'he romantic appeal of the )/ aviation service, the stirring stories of high adventure that have come out of the war have made the work of the birdmen, ‘ iur"J superseders of cavalry as ly the eyes of the commander, fa-

miliar to the people at home. On the ground charging infantrymen and roaring cannon cap-

ture the imagination. But the heroic labors of men who keep open the telegraph and telephone lines tyhich make co-operation ’of Infantry anil artillery possible are almost unknown outside the service, save, for instance, when one reads of a medal bestowed on a line repairman for magnificent disregard of danger. For their losses and their honors are alike great. They go over the top with the froops, “smoking their pipes, coolly stringing line* behind the advancing first line so that the gu'i crews may be kept informed of the advance or told to concentrate their fire on a particularly obnoxious machine gun, says a writer in the New York Sun magazine section. They

clamber out of dugouts into the slush and the freezing wind of a winter night to feel their way along a broken wire, sometimes over the shell-pit-ted open ground behind the trenches until they find the break, then sitting in ice water under fire they repair it as carefully and skillfully as if they were at work in the shop at home. It often takes three or four men to repair one of these breaks; the first men sent out may never come back. Repaired at all costs the wire must be, and danger does not excuse a slipshod bit of work. For the signal system of the army is what the nervous system is to the human body. Without it the modern army covering 100 miles of front cannot see, feel or move. The army commander wishing to move a portion of his line 50 miles away or to change the rapidity of his artillery fire or to receive information of enemy movements is as helpless without the slender threads of copper as he would be if he wished to move his right arm and found the nerves paralyzed. “There are still people of intelligence who think that the transmission of military thought is summed up in the use of the notebook, the orderly and his horse," writes Brig. Gen. George I’. Scriven. “But these are passing, and the trained soldier and the educated volunteer understand the vital importance of information. “Hence the necessity for a signal corps or its equivalent, for without its aid modern armies can no more be controlled than can great railway systems ; the commander in the field remains blind and deaf to. the events occurring around him. incapable of maintaining touch-with conditions and out of reach of his superiors or those under his authority upon whom he depends for the execution of his plans. The brain lacks the power to control because the nerves are lacking. “Time is the main factor in war; to arrive first with the greatest number of men and with the clearest understanding of the situation is to succeed. The last, and often the first, of these condi- , tions depends upon the lines of information of the army.” And these lines in turn depend Upon the obscure but daring work of the repairman, the grimy, fcuicky, hard-fisted mechanic who crawls on his belly through shell fire calculated to appall the stoutest heart and connects the break between the commander and the point he wishes to reach. Somehow the lines are kept open all the time or are broken for only short intervals, and the conitant tending of them has made possible in France 1 system of wire communication that is a marvel of efficiency. Ipdeed so perfect is it that London and Paris are in direct connection with general headquarters on the British front, which in turn is In touch with every division and brigade staff on, the line. A wire equid beiput straight through so that Lloyd George if he wished could hear the bursting of high explosives and shrapnel on the Amiens front. This tremendous use of the telephone and telegraph in warfare is partly the result of the impetus. arising from the American application of electrical communication on a large scale in the Spanish war. The signal corps as it now exists is a comparatively recent evolution. In the American army the idea first arose In the mind of a young army surgeon, Albert James Myer. The office of signal officer of the army was created in June, 1860, the first of its kind, and Myer was appointed. He was at once jsent with an expedition against Navpjo Indians in New Mexico, aqd his crude apparatus at once demon«t rated its worth. When the Civil war began he was ordered East and opened a school for signalers, and in that was the definite beginning of the present signal corps. Wires wer<, carried on horse or muleback then, the instruments were imperfect and telegraphic communication was a rare and precious thing. The service took on tremendous importance In. the Spanish war end followed the troops through Cuba •»4 ‘b“ Philippines, and in China, was the only

means'of communication for a week between leking and the rest of the world. But the tasks that confronted our signal men in these wars were play compared to the work that is being done every day on the western front. Our signal men there have an area to cover about the size of Pennsylvania and they have gone at it with a vigor and efficiency that spell volumes for the superiority of Americans in this particular line of work. The hardy linemen who have strung lines and repaired breaks on the Western plains or battled with great Hoods and storms in the. Rocky mountaids have taken to this new work with a zest which is inspiring. On the foundation of the French system they are building a signal sjstem that will be a model of its kind. Up to within four miles of the front construction is not different from what it is here at home. The wires are strung on poles and most of the poles have been planted by the French. But when une gets inside the shell-torn section that stretches at least four miles from the front wires have to be protected by being buried from six to eight feet deep, so that only a direct hit by a large shell will disturb them. Within half a mile of the front not even this protection is sufficient, as the shells churn and rechurn the ground. Therefore all .wires in this zone are duplicated and are strung along both sides of the trenches. Sometimes a trench wall is covered with wires. In the battalion headquarters signal office, where the hundreds of wires from the trenches and observation posts center and where the receivers hum with the constant tremors of a world under fire, plain Bill Smith lounges in a corner rolling a cigarette and occupied in his own particular thoughts. It is a dugout, this headquarters, and the air is vile, but Bill got used to that long ago. “The wire to A battery is down,” Smith's superior officer says, turning to him. “AU right, sir,” is the answer. And Bill climbs out of the dugout, repair kit over his arm and tin hat on his head. In the trench he finds the wire that is broken and begins to follow it along. It is hot work in the'trench, shells are dropping thickly, but Smith doesn’t mind—much. He follows the wire down a communication trench and then after a long time out into the open, where he has to crawl along looking for the hole that will mark the place where the line has been broken. He gets nearly there when a shell lands near him and Bill Smith, his face toward the break, goes west. After a time, back in the dugout, another repairman is sent out and perltaps lie Is luckier than Bill and finds the break. Then he has to sit down in the shell crater, the smash of bursting shells so close that sometimes he ’is half buried in dirt, calmly making the connection that will enable the observation officer up front to get in touch with his battery again. If he gets back to the dugout he will be sent out again and yet again if the bombardment is heavy, and often for days and nights at a time these men are under fire, snatching a nap now and then in the dugout between breaks. But they keep the lines open. In an attack the signal men go over the top with the infantry, generally with the second wave, in charge of the observing officer. They make for a point where they can establish an observation post, and as they pass on and through the enemy’s barrage they unroll their line and one of them carries a field telephone, through which they somehow manage In the din of battle to make themse.ves heard. ' That telephone is like a battle flag, and many a man goes down with it, only to have it picked up and carried forward by another of these noncombatant troops. Their business is only to serve, not to and they do It with a cool daring which is not surpassed in any branch of the service. They are in the forefront of every advance and in the retreat are sometimes the last to leave the

THE RENSSELAER DAILY REPUBLICAN, RENSSELAER, IND.

front line, where they stick to the end of thell wires under terrific shell fire until ordered to re join their commands if they can get through alive “An experience of this kind happened to me s short time ago iq a lonely chateau of the YpresMenin road,” an English officer wrote home. “Th« chateau was the eenter of a perfect hell of German shrapnel for nearly a week, until it became almost untenable and was abandoned by the headquarters’ staff. “The general gave instructions that a telegraphist was to remain behind to transmit important messages from the brigades, and I was left in charge of the instruments in this shell-swept chateau for a day and a night. “On the second day the Germans broke through our trenches and the wires were cut by the shell fire. I was given orders to evacuate the building and smash up my instruments. These I saved by burying in a shellproof trench, and then I had tc escape between our own fire and that of the enemy’s across a field under a terrible tornado of shrapnel. “On the early morning of the same day one of pur cable detachments was cut up and another captured by the Germans, only to be retaken by our sappers and drivers after a desperate and glorious fight.” The linemen also have regular patrols, stretches of line which have to be constantly examined not only for breaks but also to make sure that they have not been tapped by enemy spies in such a way that every bit of information sent over them finds Its way to the Germans. In the Aisne once, where the hill country offered good cover to spies, the wires were constantly being tapped. One day a lineman passing along the road noticed a lot of cable lying at one side. He started to coil it up and found that a piece of wire had been tied to the main line. When he traced it he found that it ran to a haystack. He went on, tapped the line and sent in word to headquarters and an armed escort found a spy hidden in the hay with several days’ supply of food. They are autocrats in their way, these wire repairmen, and no one is permitted to interfere with the swift execution of their work. Word coming over the line that the wire to a battery was repaired is often the sweetest sound in the world to an observation officer up front, even if it comes in a rough brogue which French weather has not improved. So when anybody'else breaks in on the line and interferes with the repairman he gets roiled, especially if he has been sitting for several hours in a shell holo with an icy rain dripping down his back. An English officer told of what happened to a general who broke in once. * “A general came in the hut and told me T rang up the telei one just pow and said, “Give me the brigade, please,” but some one with a loud voice replied deliberately and distinctly: “Get off the blinking line.” I got off remarking that as soon as convenient I should like to speak. I apologized and explained that the line had been down and was being repaired. He went off with a merry twinkle in his eye.” As the ntimber oh men in the American army abroad grows with the weeks, the number of linemen, those who make possible all that the artillery and infantry together accomplish, will steadily increase until they are a small army in themselves. And probably it will not be long before announcement will be made that some plain Bill Smith, wire repairman, has been given a medal for bravery under fire, which attracted attention even among the hundreds of brave acts which these men perform every day. X

WORDS OF WISE MEN

The love principle is stronger than the force principle.—Dr. A. A. Hodge. True personal liberty can never interfere with the duties, rights and interests of others. There are a lot of people who never put oft till tomorrow what they can get anybody else to do today. Modern thought is so vague, and its expression so inadequate, that terseness, clearness and accuracy of thought and expression will always command attention. Music helps soldiers to march. It is possible to travel through life to the tune of praise. The habit of counting out mercies is as easy to form as the habit of grumbling. The duty of man, as man, is thought. Pity and love may aid and cheer him, but, as sovereign worker in this world, his duty is governance, guidance—in a word, thought.—Peter Bayne. Let us realize that the real aristocracy of this wofld is an aristocracy of service, and let us do what we can by word and by example to hasten the days when an aristocracy that scorns to serve will be universally despised. Let us recognize that only those who labor, in the sense of performing some useful service, are possessed of real worth.

TEN USES FOR SALT

Lemon juice and salt will clean copper and brass. Salt in w’ater will take insects from vegetables. Tiles will look bright and clean if scrubbed with salt. Salt dissolved in a little ammonia will remove grease spots. To brighten carpets, wring a cloth out of salt water and rub the carpets well. A smoky or dull fire can be made clear by throwing a handful of salt over it. Ink stains that are freshly made can be removed from carpets by successive applications of dry salt. Nearly every kind of basket work, mattings or china can be cleaned by washing with salt and water. Handfuls of salt will clean saucepans and take away the unpleasant smell of onions if they have been cooked in them. Before adding vinegar to mint for sauce always add a pinch of salt. This prevents the mint from going brown and greatly improves the flavor.

POINTED PARAGRAPHS

Kisses between women are mere for mality. A small boy’s definition of meantime is school time. Gold that is handled by a dentist is always at a premium. A girl loses her self-possession when she puts on a wedding ring. Nothing troubles the average mar less than the troubles of his neighbors Men with the least character, are continually trying to have it vindicated. He who dives to the bottom of pleasure brings up more gravel than pearls. Tenderness is all right in its way, but, it is seldom weighed out by the butcher. When anything happens to a small boy it occurs a few minutes before the school bell rings. Happy is the man who is married tc a woman who did not take her cooking lessons at the piano. —Chicago Daily News.

JUST THOUGHTS

Each selfish act is a brick in the wall of a self-made prison. The fires of true love warm a man’s heart; the counterfeit merely scorches his fingers. Do you make life comfortable or uncomfortable for others? Think it over until tomorrow.

STRAY PLANTS

Uncle Sam’s bayonet points not a carnal hatred, but a generous warning. If life is a burden, it Is perhaps because you’ve crawled to the under side of it. If you don’t follow the old flag you may lose out, for ft never goes backward. When a man thinks of spiritual peace he usually finds the devil willing to dictate terms.

WITH THE SAGES

'Hie nMw of a thing well done tfl to have done It. —Emerson. The best education in the world Is that got by struggling to get a living. —Wendell Phillips. In beginning th.e world, if you don’t wish to get chafed at turn, fold up your pride carefully, and put it under lock and key, and only let It out to air on grand occasions. It is a garment all stiff brocade outside, and all grating sackcloth on the side next to the skin. Even kings do not wear the dalmatic except at a coronation.— Bulwer. - Ask yourself as to every act you commit, within the circle of family or country: If what I now do were done by and for all men, would it be beneficial 1 or injurious to humanity? And if your conscience tells you it would be injurious, desist; desist even though it seem that an immediate advantage to your country or family would be the result.- —Earl Grey. It is startling when we realize for the first time that besides our personal lives>we all have our share in the general life; You cannot do anything by yourself. Your life, whether you rebel under the reflection or not,, is inextricably interwoven with the lives of everyone else, and what you are affects not only your own personality, but the personality of every group you come in contact with. Agnes Edwards. 9

DO YOU KNOW THAT

The Japanese eat more fish than any other people in the world. The highest elevation at which wheat is found is in the Andes, 11,000 feet above sea level. • Paraffin wax is being used as a covering or stiffening for the bandages for soldiers’ wounds. Dogs in Milan, Italy, are on rations, and their owners have to producetickets for biscuits. There are no railways in Persia. In traveling facilities that country is a century behind the age. In the schools of the islands there are 11,000 native teachers and 500 American instructors. 1 Sugar cane, after the juice has been crushed from it, has been found suitable for manufacturing into paper. An imperial clogs office is Germany’s very latest war department. It will deal exclusively with the acquisition and distribution of wood suitable for use as soles for boots and shoes.

TAKEN FROM EXCHANGES

Bolivia has built a road for automobiles that crosses the Andes mountains 17,000 feet above sea level. Since the war the number of Jews in Palestine has been reduced twothirds by hunger, sickness and distress. The richest ■woman in Japan is said to be Mme. Hone Suzuki, sole head of a shipping company that has made more than $100,000,000 since the war. Experiments with powdered peat for fuel have been so successful in Sweden that a plant for its production on a large scale has been established. Experts in'the employ of the government of Brazil believe that country can utilize its own coal by using gas producers in connection with stationary engines and briquetting it for locomotives. Between 1906 and 1916 the membership of city branches of the Young Women’s Christian association increased from 103,353 to 292,191; col- ■ lege branches, from 41,688 to 61,569; county branches, from none to 7,215; total, from 145,041 to 360,865.

BRIEFS FROM BILLVILLE

We’ve had blizzards to burn, but no fire to burn ’em. It ain’t lonesome in the wilderness when you start a sawmill to keep you company. The profiteer flies high, because the devil is a friend that won’t set fire to his wings. As cold as they say this old world is we don’t find ’em willing to swap it for the fireworks. » Some of the all-knowing ones have actually quit running the war and have gone to work to make a living till the war ends.

FROM THE PENCIL’S POINT

It’s a sure sign that you’re la love If you shave twice. Money is just worth the amount of happiness it brings. Ah, time Is excessively cruel to women. There is only one thing worse than two chins, and that Is three. Women have no self-control. The moment their passions are engaged they become perfectly unscrupulous.