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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Brussels Post, 1915-5-20, Page 7The Great War Reviewed p Shows Teutonic CALM in Desperate Caose of Winter Campaign Straits Against Russian Foe, Expert Deeiares, The opening move of Germany in the oast was the first drive to War- saw, tivhi0h developed at the precise moment the lines of battle were developing in Flawders. Original 1y obeoured by the Antwerp and Ypres • operations, it suddenly fill- ed the press of the world with re- ports of the imminent fall of the Polish Capital, Petrograd wee si- lent while Berlin was in full tide Of victorious statement. Yet,. looking backward after many months, a seems plainthatthe first German offensive .in Poland was less considerable than was at first supposed and .a direct effort to aa- sist Austria rather than to conquer Poland. In early October Austrian for- tunes had sunk -to the very lowest level. Conquering armies were sweeping the ruins of one Austrian host in upon Cracow, of another up the slopes of .the Oarpathians, The mission of Austria had been to keep Russia in play until Germany had disposed •of France, and now, at the critical moment in 'the Flan- ders campaign, Germany trust Dither abandon the ;battle along the Yser and about Ypres or by some strategic combination use small re- serves to posbpone Austrian de- atruction, Germany chose the latter expe- dient, and gathering up an army she flung it straight upon Warsaw, through Central Poland. It was a venture such as Lee made when he sent Early to Washington in 1864 in Elie hope of drawing Grant away - from Richmond. German corn - mend was seeking to save Austria, not her own territories. Like Early's raid, that of the Germans almost succeeded. Late in October the guns of the Kaiser were send- ing shells into the suburbs of War- saw. But as Grant was able to put a corps of veterans into Wash- ington while Early was still before Fort Stevens, the Grand Duke Nicholas in his burn pushed Siber can troops through Warsaw at the critical moment, struck at the Ger- man flank and turned it. Imme- diately the, German invasion was turned book a retreat to the front- ier was inevitable. Warsaw, like Washington, just half a, century be- fore, was saved. Russian •Advauce Stopped. But Germany had attained her purpose. As a consequence of the invasion of Poland, Russian ad- vance in Galicia stopped. Russian armies flowed back to the Sang Przemsyl was relieved, Jaroslav re- occupied, an advance to Lemberg in sight, For the moment Austria. was saved; there 'remained to Ger- many time to finish her fight in Flanders, to 'win, if she could, in the west, befere a new crisis in the east should demanda new di- version of her forces. Instead of victory, however, there came defeat. Germany fail- ed at the Yser, and about Ypres the golden moment for obtainin•g.a decision in the west had passed. Weather, reinforcements of the Allies, the growing strength of their fortifications, the enormous and sterile German sacrifices, all combined to convince the German high command that if a decision were to be had against any enemy that enemy was Russia. Such blows as she had struck France and Britain insured .that they would be unable to take the -offensive effect- ually for months to acme. There was left time ,to "deal with Rus- sia," to "put the Slav out," as the genial Barnhardi would phrase it. - By the time the battle's of Flan- ders had terminated, .however, the situation had again changed inthe east. '.New Austrian disasters had sent ;the armies of Hapsburg rush- ing back in disorder upon Cracow and on the Carpathians. Russian advance guards were in sight of the suburbs oaf Cracow, Cossack parties were beginning to flow down the Hungarian side of the, Dukla Pass into the Hungarian plain. Austrian corps were being recalled from Belgrade, newly oc- cupied by them, and Austrian dis- aster at Valievo was in sight. On the German frontier the eibu- ation was even more threatening. A huge Russian army was moving upon Ozenstochowa ,and Kali•sc, patrols had for the first time touch- ed German sail in. the Province of Posen wee(' of the Warbha, another Russian army' was •moving soubh- ` west upon Cracow, become the gate to Germany, not the outwork of Austria. Finally., a strong Rus- sian army was again in East Prus- sia, flowing, west toward the Mazu- rian Lakes, spreading ruin and ter- ror in its luzithway. Not alone Ea,peburg but Hohenzollern inter- ests now demanded an offensive in the east, Victory Sought oh Vistula. By December 1 Germany was committed to her eastern cam- paign. Sale bad definitely failed to gat .a decision in 'rho west; she was = seeking ieleqng the Visbula what mho hail alleged at the Mame and the Yser, Eastward from France and Flanders corps, rafter corps uif her veteran troops were owning, giv- ing way to reserves; the campaign of the west had ended. In the military history of the future it is far from unlikely that Von Hiindenburg's oalnpaign in 'P0 - land will be estimated the finest, from the purely professional side, in the great war. Confused as is blhe record atilt, the world aloes know that act the battle' of Lodz the Russian armywas almost destroy- ed; that by using his strategic railways, by making full use of his troops, superior in morale, in training, in equipment, the great ;German oommander almost suc- ceeded in enveloping the Russian Polish army, Two faoboes served to blook the second Garman bid for a decision, the weather and the great numerical superioriby of Russian reserves. By all the sea- sonal calculations Polish ' roads should have been frozen solid ; they were a river of mud. Winter, which in Napoleon's invasion had begun prematurely, now held nif with equal perversity. From the closing sides of the German net the Russians slipped safely. At Lodz their losses were enormous; but when the battle was over, when they had withdrawn, they stood behind Bzura as solidly as the Bel- gians 'behind the Yser. In the eastern campaign the bat- tle of Lodz was wholly eomparaible with that of the Marne in the west. At the Marne the Germans lost and retreated, at Lodz they won a local success and advanced a few more miles, but these two conflicts were the decisive engagements of the war to May 1; in both Germany failed in the battle which was to dispose of a nation. By January 1 she was .at a standstill in Poland as in Northern France, the great prize had escaped her, only the in- cidental advantage had been. brought home. She had set out to destroy an army first in, the west, then in the east, she had won some kilometres or vents of terrtiory, captured some hundreds of thous- ands of French and Russians, de- monstrated the superiority of her organization in both fields, but the war was beginning, not ending. Greater Prize Lost. The close of the winter eampaigo in the east shows Germany the gainer in a number of great bat- tles, holding many square miles of Russian territory, so far inexpugn- able, on her new front from the Baltic to the Nide. Measured by local advantage the prize is fairly hers, het the greater reward has slipped through her hands. Rus- sia has nob been crushed, decisive- ly beaten back to the Vistula; War- amw holds out. But, above all,, Russian attack is now at the sum- mit of the Carpathians, German ef- fort concentrated in. meeting Rus- sian offensive. In sum, the end of the winter campaign saw German fortunes in the east not Less desperate than they had 'been in the opening weeks, of winter. She had won provinces and lost time, now she must deal, with all three of her opponents, for the first time prepared as she', had been in August. Hope of a derision against one had vanished. Only her own slues were weaker than in August; France, Russia, even England, were ready now. Not only read,v, but in the Car- pathians and in France' and Bel- gium pressing more and more heavily regainst German resist- once, German defence. Germany had 'been granted her oppo•nbunity, her chance for a decision. Spring saw the Allies reaching out to grasp their chance, saw the whole problem of the great war changing with the season. ,What I Know. I know that this day will never some again. Therefore I will make it the best day in which 1 have ever lived. I know that happiness is a thing within, and that it is always in the world and very near to me. T know I have but to search for it, and that ars soon as I begin to hunt it out I have it. Also, I know that as soon as I ge.t Happiness and be- gin to give it away 1t conies back doubled—.and more—to ate. I know this. I know that work is a stimulus, and that it keeps the world alive and moving. I know that the peo- ple who work with leve in their hearts and interest in ,their brains are the rend doers and benefactor• of mankind. 1 know that I can bel a doer and a benefactor. I know that life is exactly what 1 stake it. I know that ether people and outer forces can influence mt life and work only as I follow Be I know that I ani young, if I live youth; I know that I am happy if 1 live happiness; I know that I am worth while if 1 attempt and ac- eomplistu worth-walile things. I know that the greatest 'thing I can over do la to (10 my best at all' times, and under every Oilmen • stance. Glasgow is the second 1ad'gest city in the United Kingdom,. • Ifere's to rho fan Kalyorw when you shall Self.Loading dlo Ano •earn into that living death that onto Thereale notte glory, but. aminal gloom for thee. Vol. then the gourd of life hen held but Poisoned wino; As ashes of regret' 33e crusted on your hos, Deride the leper of the world you stand outcast— Beside utcast -Besi<le the Turk. Xou leave the, imprint. of destruction where you pass; The tinhorn children of Your brutish Shall rise to cures thee in the days 10 come. Since when loves God a thief—the ,slayer of a Child, Tlutt you should bliv4on on your belted liana In blatant blasptomy "Gott mit tine"? Alone the. Turks with thee. But broken .fragments of that bauble Fame are thine; The graves aro many and the land . w dead; Drape o'er the doors the sombre colons of Your Prussian flag, Where lie in death the old and young Whore weep ,within the =others; of their eons And thou.- "War Lord,' cannot return ono life; Not kin cif God, you, but of the Turk. The land Is dead! The mills turn slowly, for the corn is less; The sails dap idly, for the way is closed; The waters lap lean, hungered hulks; The quays aro sombre with the tool6 of war; Vali/ o ms channel shattered the God ola f Might, With foot on neck you mounted "ober Mies?' The human awlneb g•etones • you labelled swine—"swinehund: Their souls, are they, too, with the swine — swlnehund"T And you expect the lips that wail in an- guish for their dead To frame a glad acclaim when you in splendor pate— Yon, and your friend, the Turk. Small greatness this, to bring a people to their knees, 'Bo bow the heads of men to walk In shame, To putrify their fame—to thrust them be* in lust, Andnourish to their hearts the crime of Clain: Unmask the strident ory of culture as a lie, Loose within the garden of the world your viper breed, Unleash that pariah, the,Tuxk. The net draws closer and your glaes is, run; Muth hushed the clamor of your pirate song; Unfathered, from despair, your ory, "Wo clogged the fount of •pity with their blood, We strand Thy gates of mercy, Lord, But in our hour of need make Pence, I do not know the Turk." W. A. Fraser in Toronto Daily News. The Airman. Among bile heroes of the present war will be those who go forth to battle in the air. Death by sword, bullet and bayonet has become com- monplace. In this department of warfare France leads, and her winged craft are already speeding to repel the foe, equipped with con- centrated destructiveness. Men fight according to temperament, and few are cowards. But to as- cend to the upper air levels in cold blood, every faculty in tense play, and to swoop into oblivion with a last •side -long glance at the good blue sky and the sweet green earth —that calls for something new in the way of courage. France and Britain have sure faith that their sons are equipped with this sour• age. Stone Boat "Labor costs money, and loading stories on even a low plank stone boat is certainly ofben the hardest kind of labor. But Mr. W. J, 'Ste- veneom suggests an idea for elimi- nating a lot of this kind of work by constructing the boat in such a manner as to enable it to practical- ly load ibi elf, His plan fa to use as a etone boat two broad and strong hardwood planks. These lie so that they may open out like a pair of *heals (ere illustration), tel be placed' one un each side of at large stone, from which the earth has been loosened aognewl)vat. The forward ends of the planks are eon- nected by the draw chain, and when the draught is ,applied to this, it causes the planks to close togs. bher under the load. To facilitate this, the inner edges of the planks Diegram of a simple self -loading stone boat. Diagram of a Simple Self -loading Stone Boat. side by side, forming the bottom of the boat. Birt in order to make these take on their own load, they are simply attached to each ocher at the rear end by a hinged joint, should be slightly ,bevelled. It is certainly not very hard to eon- sltruet such a stone boat, and very easy to load stone upon it."—The Canadian Countryman. I{IDNAPPGR KILLED. Macedonian Bandit Who Held Mis- sionary for Ransom, Is Killed. The Sofia (Bulgaria) correspond- ent of Reuter's Telegram Company states that Yanne Sandausky, the Macedonian brigand leader who gained notoriety in 1901 through the kidnapping and holding for a large ransom of Miss Ellen M. Stone, an American missionary, has been slain. Sanclausky was killed in the dis- riot between the mountain or Perun and the town of Nevremkop by some person whose name is not known, Miss Stone and Mrs. Tsilka, the wife of an Albanian preacher, were captured and carried off by brig- ands on September 3, 1901, while they were on their way with a com- pany of friends from Bansko to Djumaa. There were more than thirty-five brigands in the attacking party. Except Mrs. Tsilka, the friends of Miss Stone were allowed to proceed on their way. Later 'a demand was made for $112,500 ran- som for the release of the two wo- men. The kidnapping of Miss Stone be- came a matter of international im- portance, and her release vas work- ed for by the government at Wash- ington with energy. Me. Spencer Eddy, First Secretary of the United States Legation at Constantinople, who had charge of the negotiations to secure her release, deolared-on February 23, 1902, that the capture of Miss Stone was a political mat- ter and that all .the people of Mace- donia were in sympathy with it, for they believed that it was a step to- ward freeing Macedonia from Turk- ish rule. Negotiations for Miss Stone's re- lease without the payment of a ransom were futile. She and MTs. Tsilka were finally, on February 23. 1902, released after the brigand had received $65,000 ransom money. There are five thousand miles of. navigable waterways in Holland. The Enelny-Sltbmarines' Raiding -Lair and8 Petrol Store on the British Coast. The secret of the German submarines' British lurking place is on a no longer. Tho mystery has been soared, and it is now oiifviotts ]low Cormalt agnbmarinles have manegeed t keep on the 1prow± week in and week out off the Irish eoe5,t, new torperdoing lner'calaerienen off Lama's End, now theme vcesells off the Clyde anti Belfast Lough, This photograph was found among the 'effects of the 'sprain of an enemy submarine which was rain 1' r - ed a on the rammed and anuli by tare S.S. `!illi Goose. '.CIteee effects avers wat.h p t Brltbanyycoaxst, Wo have reason to believe that it was this photograph wllic'b revealed to the Adnvmalty tate hiding piece to which the German under -water craft repsired from time to time to replenish their supplies of petrol 'fr'om submerged cans. The 003010 is in the Scilly Idles; it is inadvisable to give the precise locality, eMHINGHPOWOra faciMPoSgserTfa FOLLOWING MGM !NTS AND NONE onas PHOSPHATE MARS. ONATP.59501595 STARCH. CONTAINS NO A LU IVa FIREPROOFING THE CHILD ACCIDENTS OCCUR BOTH TO RICH AND THE POOR. Solution of Ammonium Phosphate Is Used for This Purpose and Can Be Made Quickly. In the coarse of 111s duties a coroner's physician was struck by the number of deaths among chil- dren oaused by their clothes catch- ing fire while they were frolicking around bonfires or playing with matches. In one period of sixteen days tweeter -one ehildren were burned in this way, So be sought for a means of preventing accidents of this character, and thinks he has found it. He describes his plan es follows: "There is a sure, easy and effi- cient method of fireproofing the clothing of children which every one should know. Many Tragedies Can Be Averted by fireproofing the children's play suits, es well as ,lace curtains and such other articles of an inflamma- ble nature as may easily come into contact with fire and so cause seri- ous accidents. "A solution of ammonium phos- phate is used foe this purpose, and oan he made quickly and easily. Dissolve one pound of ammonium phosphate in one gallon of cold wa- ter, and a elear solution is formed in which the fabric to be fireproofed should be soaked for five minutes. The garment can then be taken out and allowed to dry, after which it may be worn with perfect safety, as it is absolutely fireproof. fBbs solution produces no more harm to the material than would the same quantity of ordinary wa- ter. It will keep indefinitely, is non-poisonous, and can be Used for Several Suits. "Ammonium phosphate is a com- mon white crystalline powder, not patented in any way, and sells for about 25 cents a pound at any drug store. "Any_article fireproofed by this method will remain non-infiaartma- ble until washed or drenched with rain, The use of this solution is a safety measure whish should be em- ployed for pageants, carnivals and receptions where flimsy draperies play an important part in the seheme of decoration. "Hardly a day passes without some child being burned while play- ing near bonftrets or with matches. The records show that the acci- dents occur both to the children of the rich as well as tate offspring of the poor. "Victims of the open grate have been plentiful in. the past, and doubtless will continue unless the proper safeguard is adopted. The fender is a preventive, but unfor- tunately many homes are not pro- vided with these, and even if one's hearth is protected with a fender the child may perhaps visit the home of a neighbor where such Safeguard Is Not Provided, and that visit may prove the fatal on•5.' 1 An amount of his plan for pro- tecting children from fire has been printed in the "Child," of London, England. He has also prepared a photoplay showing the danger and the r'enuedy. a "We cannot be too careful of children, and parents who cannot watch their Children constantly can avert a possible tragedy by fire- proofing their youngster's' play suits. Keep children away from fires and matches by all means, but as the records prove that all children cannot be kept away, the protection of the clothing of those who may elude parental vigilance is an added precaution that will save many lives." Most Famous Victories. British sailors have on their ani form a perpetual reminder of the Nave's glorious past, though not every one who wears thein. knows that the three rows of white tape round th.e edgitrg of the blue toi- ler arced the block ,silk,nv5rl lrnyttod in front are oinks with t\el; circ, The white tapes commemorate Nel- son's most fans'sns viotorie,s —('o- perullegri, the Nile, and Trafalgar —=and the scarf is a token of pri'pe- t11a1 111. urning for the gs9esst atheir- ea, adopted spontaneously by the seamen thentuaelves, ARE MORE FATAL NU WAR TERRIBLE TOLL 0P DEATH( ON AMI11IICA.N (RAILROADS. In `J'en seats 50,025 Invaders of Rights of Way Have Been 1{iJfod. Statistics compiled by the New York, New awven and Hartford. Railroad Company show the heavy loss of life sash year through tree pass on the tracks of the different railroad systems M this 'country and how greatly the yearly deaths exceed those abroad. The fatali- ties in a single year, in 1913, wore 5,558, From 1901 to 1910 the per- sons killed in tate United States ehrouglh brespieseing on the railroad tracks numbered 50,025, while the injured totalled 53,427, some of these being maimed for life. The circular issued by the New Haven says that it is not iso unwell affected by the genus hobo as some other roads in this country are, yet in the last three years 442 persoolls have been killed and 394 injured while trespassing on the coenpatny's property. In the majority of cases the persons killed or injured were not tramps but persons who were using the railroad's right of way as a public highway, generally t0 snake a short out, or young boye or men seeking to steal rides en freight trains. In 1912 152 parsons falling under the class of trespassers on the New Haven right of way were Trilled and 108 injured; in 1913 172 were killed and 160 injured, and in 1914 119 were killed and 126 injured. Dur- ing these 5'aars the New $even and other roads of the country have been making efforts, to end the tree- ' passing evil and avert the less of life, but seemingly without sueeess. The heaviest loss of life is taken in the summer, the mortality rising from the spring months with the temperature. For example, in the month of January of this year on the New Haven's line four tree - passers were killed, in February eight, in March fifteen, a gain of almost 100 per cent. in a month. These figures form striking con- trasts wlhen compared with the Iosses of Iife through trespass on railroad property in other coun- tries. In Great Britain between 1901 and 1910 only 4,344 pereonis were killed and 1,215 inju'r'ed. Great Britain, however, takes strong legal means To Prevent a Loss of Life through trespass on her railroads' rights of way, as is shown by the New Haven's :statement, which says: 'If you walk along a railroad in England, believing you can there- by see the country better oro t home more quickly, you are arrest- ed and taken before a local magis- trat, who fines you $10. In Canada you can be fired up to $50 and im- prisoned for two months, and there, too, the law is strictly enforced. In France unless you have a permit you cannot walk the tracks without great danger of being fined and oven jailed. In Germany the pen- alties range up to $25. "Only thirteen of the States have thus far followed tine example of these European countries in having laws forbidding such use of railroad property. "In one town in Connecticut where the New Haven's tracks were persistently crossed at a number of points as a short cut, the railroad erected a standard wire fens in addition to putting up warning signs. This fence was tarn down as fast as it was put up. Finally, unable for this reason to keep the fence in repair so that it might serve lbs purpose, the railroad ate templed to erect ocher barriers. They were removed in a similar manner, the last .one being torus down the vary next day after it was put up. "What makes the problem an es- pecially serious one for New Eng- land is the very large contribution which industrial workers make an- nually to this death tall. Probably no other railroad in proportion to its length has so many industries located close to the railroad tracks as the Ncw Haven. In many eaves the employees of these establish- ments elect to use the right of way as a highway to and from their signtonnes in disregard to all warning s. itis OLl Marc. "Horses l'' said the Yankee. "Guess you can't talk to me about horses, I had 4n odd mare, Mazy - pop, who once licked our best ex- press by a couple of miles on a thirty -mile run to Chicago." "That's nothing," said the Cana, dian. "1 was out on ratty foam one day, about fifty utiles from the house, when a frightful storm came up, I turned the pony's head for home, and, do you know, he raced the storm so close for the last ten miles that I didn't feel a drop, while my old dog, only ten yeard5 behind, had to swinnp the whole distance." Members of the Allied Countries have carried off Nobel prizes on twenty-two ceca8•ions ; nrembel'e of the countries opposed to them have carried off Nobel prize§ on tweets occasions,