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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Brussels Post, 1915-9-23, Page 3) 1 4N FIVE THOUSAND MILES OF KH A l A UNIFORM AT THE FRONT LASTS A.BOjJT A MONTII, Difficult Taek of Clothing Britain's Vast New Great Armied. On the .outbreak of war a statistic clan at the War Office estimated that ^five thousand miles of khaki would be required to provide the now British armies with uniforms and overcoats, and this estimate was probably, roughly epeaking, correct, says Lon- don AnsWers. By the middle of August every available mill in the North of Eng- land was . turning out.. the khaki lengths as fast as the machines' could do the work. A story was told to the writer of two manufacturers who set out on a race to see who would first produce one hundred miles of khaki, the loser to subscribe five hundred pounds to the National Relief Fund. For many days and nights the mills of the two manufacturers vibrated to the dull whirring of machines, for the work proceeded without an instant's stop. One night the two manufactur- ers niet at their club at eleven -p.m. They had each instructed. their man- ager to telephone to the club directly the hundredth mile of khaki came off the machines, which it was anticipat- ed would be done some time before midnight. Lost Through a Breakdown. - So far, thetwo mills had been rac- Ing almost neck and neck, and it was difficult to say which would turn out the complete hundred miles of khaki first. At about a quarter to twelve the telephone -bell of the club rang, and the waiter informed one of the manufacturers that he : was wanted. He rushed to the 'phone, and his friend and competitor went with him. After a few minutes the manufactur- er rang off, and then, turning to his friend, said: "A piston -shaft snapped whgi, they had done all but six yards: of the hundred miles." Almost immediately afterwards the telephone -bell rang again, and the, other manufacturer received the news that• the hundred miles of khaki had been run off the machines. The loser at once satdown at the writing -table and drew a cheque for five hundred pounds for the Relief Fund, , and the winner -did ,the.same,.. for besaidthat, hut for theaccident at his friends factory,he would' have lost. Made in Stock Sizes. And while the mills were producing khaki -lengths as fast as machines could make them, the Army Clothing Department were busy making ar- rangements for converting the khaki intouniformsand coats for the men at the Front, and for the uniformless armies training in different parts of the country at home. It was a titanic undertaking, this, of clothing millions of men, and whatever criticism may be levelled at the Army Clothing Fac- tory, the broad fact remains that it accomplished, in face of unparalleled difficulties, the immense task set it with almost incredible rapidity. The uniforms are made in different sizes, according to the standard measurements for each military unit, and a certain number are made in ex- cess of ,these measurements, to- meet. the needs of such cases as exceptional- ly tall guardsmen, etc. In a couple of, months a quarter of a million -of khaki uniforms had been turned out of the Army factory, as against a normal output of about twenty thousand of ordinary uniforms in peace time. But this, of course, sufficed but to meet a frac- tion of the immediate requirements. Eighty per cent. of the uniforms turned out of the Army Clothing Fan - tory in the early months of•the war had to be sent to our Army in France. Lasting 'a Month Only. The average life of a uniform at the Front is not much more than a month. In the trenches it is usually shortens A soldier, after he has taken a couple of spells in the trenches of, say, three days at a time, with an interval of two days between., frequently finds his uni- form in rags, held together mainly by cakes of spud and pins. The next spell he gets in the trenches, he gets a new uniform, and the old one is burnt. Over four million uniforms have been sent to the Front since the out- break of war, A regular delivery of uniforms is now made to the troops in Fiance, but in the early days of the tear it was impossible to guarantee a regular supply. A story is told of a company of a certain regiment who, on coming out of the trenches, went to indulge in the highly -prized luxury of a good wash- down. They were informed by a quarter -master that new uniforms had arrived for them from the base, and that their old ones' would be burnt, p The men gladly got rid of their rag> gel, mud-eakecl uniforms, which were o gathered up and' taken off to be burnt by the quartermaster's patrol; but, unluckily, the uniforms that had ar-e rived had been taken possession of by another company a few hours bre- b viously, and no more were available for a couple of days, During that t time, ••aa unhicky,company in question t had to live in their overcoats and - shirts, and stranger garments fiche toned out of blankets. - It was, of course, some months be- fore uniforms were available for the troops at home, except in quite small ques Talltoantitiwritor heard of one irritable regimental quartermaster who was constantly worrying the clothing .fao- tory for uniforms for his regiment. "You might, at least, send us ..our share of any uniforms that are avail- able, «he wrote; "whereupon the reply came back; "All right; as matters stand at present, your share is one button, which is enclosed .herewith," And when one considers that at that time there were probably not mors titana few thousand uniforms to divide among the armies at lnonte, the button was probably not much un- der the share that could be fairly -al - "lotted to one regiment. Boots by the Million.: , But uniforms are not," of course, the only articles of a soldier's outfit: There are such things as overcoats, putties, socks, shirts, and boots, and all these articles, after the outbreak of war, were wanted by the millions. Something like five million pairs of boots were provided from the various boot factories in the incredibly short space of time.of four months. The armies at the Front, of course, have the first call on the available supply. The quality of the Army boots is about what would cost you 27s. 6d. per pair retail, and they last a soldier in the trenches about a month.• The indifference of Tommy, by the way, to the manner in which he is clothed makes it sometimes _rather difficult for the authorities to provide him with a proper kit. Every soldier who. is*ordered from home to the. Front is entitled to an entirely nevi rig -out from head to foot. A couple of days before a soldier is ordered from home to the Front he is instructed to attend at the quarter- master -sergeant's office to receive a new kit, but he frequently neglects to attend to this instruction and goes on active service in a kit he may have had for months. The new kit may be sent after him, but, in any case, it is generally some time before it reaches him, and it may be appro- priated by someone else. T. A, Must Have His Joke. One company of a certain regiment received the kits they ought to have taken with them, when leaving home, two months after they had arrived in Flanders. By this time the company were in rags. And so,: unhappily, were the new kits. What happened was that the new kits had been appro- priated by another company of the same regiment, badly in want of a hew rig -out themselves. After - the garments had been worn for.some time the company got a fresh rig -out, and, for a joke, repacked the old things,. and sent them to the base for the company they were originally in- tended for. One most important article of the soldier's active -service outfit is his identification -plate, upon . which is stamped his name, number, and the company to which he belongs. It is from these plates that the lists of killed and missing have often to be compiled, and hence mistakes acca- sionally arise. An Irish soldier once lost his iden- tification plate, and was reported as missing. As a matter of fact, he was wounded, and invalided home. In the hospital at home he read, to his sur- prise, in a daily paper his name among the missing. "Begorra," he said, "and I'm miss- ing, am I? And it's small wonder I am with a German bullet..nside me that they can't find. But when they do, it isn't me that'll' be missing, but the bulletl't: - MAKING WINTER GARMENTS. German Textile Factories Are Work- ing Day and Night. All the textile' factories along the Rhine,' and also those around Prague, Budapest and Vienna, are said to be working day and night turning out winter garments for the armies. Large orders have been placed with Swiss manufacturers of heating ap- pliances fax the German army. A Ber- lin automobile manufacturer is said to have discovered a system of curtain for motor cars which not only protects from the rain but also from the cold, and permits a ready change of the color to accord with the foliage of the country . The winter campaign seems to be looked forward to 'without much ap- prehension in Germany, as the mea- sures taken to economize food sup- plies have been so effective that no lack of provisions is feared.' re Aus- tria, however, according to reliable reports, 'the situation will be more serious, as the same precautions were not taken and their application is not so easy as in Germany. Weeding Out Graft The French Government, which has been running clown and prosecuting vigorously oases of corruptionein the urchase of army. supplies, has caused the arrest of two technical agents, ne in the Marino and the other in the Vat. Department. These' agents were, detailed to inspect shells manufacture d at the works of Saut-Du-Tarn. M.. Leblond, Director of Works, also has eon arrested. He was accused of I aving paid monthly subsidies to the ochnical agents, in return for which he agents are said to,havc been, less rigid in their inspection, . tUh ts,}��14�:: "Good -Bye, Good Luck to You." • THERE, isn't much- we 'aven't shared since 'Kruger cut and run, The same old work, the same old skoff, the same old dustand sun; The same old chance that laid us out, or winked an' let us through; !the mune old Lite, the same old Death. Good-bye good it,ek to you, _ - — Kipling, DANGER OF DISEASE. Zion. Mr. Burrell Expects Need of Vigilance After War. In his annual report of the work of the Department of Agriculture, Hon. Martin Burrell calls attention. to the fact that the quarantine service of his department will probably be called on to exercise much greater vigilance when the soldiers begin to come back after the war, and a new tide of Euro- pean immigration sets in. "History tells us," says Mr. Burrell, "that war is ever accompanied and followed by pestilence. The present war, with its carnage quite unprecedented in the history of the world, and its enormous aggregations of troops, is already proving the truth of this, in spite of the advances of modern sanitary science. Cholera, plague and typhus fever are reported to be spreading steadily. There is for this country the immediate danger of disease being brought by invalided or other soldiers returning from the war zone. There is also to be apprehended the danger from the return of our forces at large when the war is over and demobiliza- tion takes place, and from the large immigration that will follow after the war." Mr. Burrell points out that during the past year Canada was saved by watchfulness at ports of entry from the inroads of any epidemic disease from abroad. At the various quaran- tine stations 253,608 persons were in- spected, and a total of 543 persons were quarantined. Asiatic cholera is reported in extraordinary violent form among the troops in southern Austria and northern Hungary, while typhus fever is stated to be raging in Serbia and Austria. The deaths from it amongst the soldiers, says Mr. Bur- rell, are already said to exceed 50,- 000. Reference is'made in the report to the fact that there are in the Leper Lazaretto, at Tracadie, N.B•, sixteen patients -seven male and nine female. This is the smallest number in years. Amelioration of symptoms and suffer- ing's is claimed to be following the system of treatment now being carried out at the Lazaretto, and two former inmates discharged in 1912 still re- main "cured." -----•1' It's the easiest thing in the world to convince the average man that he is smart. THE WOMEN OF PARIS. Smile Despite War's Horrors, Says Rudyard Kipling. The Paris Temps publishes two pri- vate letters written from Paris by Rudyard Kipling.` In his first letter the author says: "For the first time I see and really' understand the face of Paris. One knew its soul, but the outward aspect was always masked, I . was much struck' by a certain look in women's eyes, a look not of dreams, but of realization, as if 'they already were regarding treater distances. What courageous vivacity and determination they possess to smile despite every- thing. I bow before a manifestation of courage whose touch is so light, One strange thing I heard, a laugh which methitiks never sounded since the revolution. It was the guttural laugh of a woman of -the people tell- ing a story about Germans killed, The laugh came after mentioning the nuber. "mWhat a wondrous day in honor of the dead France and England will cele- brate together every year to come. I foresee special ships laden with pil- grims to attend the ceremony. Noth- ing is more interesting"to me than to see our soldiers in France and the real solidarity between them. I hope soon we will extend our front. They speak of doing it by detachments. I was greatly struck by the healthy appear- ance of the French soldiers, but the new vision of Paris will remain in my soul until death. I fancied my admir- ation for France couldn't grow. I was wrong and begin only just to under- stand what she is." - In the second letter Kipling says: "I just have time to thank you and try to write something of my impres- sions. It was a revelation, ha ex- perience surpassing all words I can say, and of which I am extremely proud. Yet I maintain that a year ago France herself did not know what she was" Twelve Brothers Killed. Josef Ploetzer, a Tyrolean (Austria) farmer, has lost twelve sons since the beginning of the war. Five of the brothers were killed in Galicia and seven on the Italian front. The old- est one was forty and the youngest 18 years old. Aspen -leaves were once considered a great remedy for ague. To " The Day." Some clay fresh green will creep along the Belgian lanes, And wayside flowers will open to the May, And on the grave of my dear son grass grow again But not to -day. Some day the birds will build again round Lille, And on the Dunes will little children play. Some day kind Time will stay the aching of my heart, But not to -day. Some day the widows of Louvain will cease to weep, And from the ashes of those ruins grey Will rise a city fashioned by the whole world's love, But not to -day. Some day the soldiers will come back from France And Canada be decked with banners gay, And I may see then' marching comrades of my boy, But not to -day. Buton that Golden Someday which the future holds, When trumpets blow and angels line the way, My boy shall come to meet me down the glittering ranks And he will say: Welcome, brave mother, heart, The Day at last has dawned, The parting and the pain have passed away, And I shall see,'my ears shall hear, my heart again grow young Upon that day. —FCAMPBELL, Belfast. Beres a Fr a Treat for ur Caary Brock's Bird Seed and a Cabe of Brock's Bird Treat '• Give Dick this special treat. The attached coupon ;mailed to us will bring a generous sam le—e week's supply—of Brock's Bird Seed and a cake of lirock's famous Bird Treat -FREE. Brock's contains nothing but clean, fully ripened seeds and grain, rightly proportioned. Also every package contains a cake of Brook's Bird Treat—a splendid tonic and a dainty dessert for your pet If you prize your bird, and went its plumage to be bright—its song clear and sweet—ask for 13rock's Bird Seed. Sand for this free sample and Dick will sing his thanks. - NWM1ot n d, S lr, 1D Francis St.. Toronto, Ont. Plenay forward frac parkas. of ljruck'r Bird Sited, with cake of Brock's Bird Treat. Name In ddddree. THE REBUILDING OF EUROPE AREA LARGER THAN BRITAIN LIES IN RUINS. What Germany Will Have to Face in the Way of Builders' Bills. The great tear is not over yet. In {deed, according to one of our greatest authorities, it has only just begun No one can ever venture to prophesy what the damage will be before it is finished, says London Answers. Up to date an area larger than the whole of the British Isles lies in ruins. Four-fifths of Belgium, ten depart- ments of France, three-quarters of Poland, nearly the whole of Galicia, a slice of East Prussia, part of the Bal - ,tic provinces of Russia, as well as a rapidly -growing portion of the Tren- tino and South -Western Austria, are practically destroyed. Besides these, the Serbian capital and three hundred square miles behind it are laid waste, while the'Gallipoli Peninsula has not a town or village intact. Some months ago a well-known Bel- gian lawyer set himself to estimate the actual losses inflicted on his coun- try by the brutal and unprovoked in- roads of the German hordes. His name is Monsieur Henri Masson, and we give some of his figures • in round numbers. Running Into Many Millions. Liege and Louvain have, he says, suffered to the extent of seven mil- lions each, Namur five millions, Din- ant three millions.- At Charleroi not only the town but all the fine factor- ies in the neighborhood were destroy- ed. He puts the damage there at over twenty millions. Antwerp has suffered to a similar extent, while the damage to rural dis- 1 tricts amounts to fifty-six millions. • Railways and other State property, have been destroyed to a value of nearly fifty millions. The total of the damage to this one little country is . probably two hundred and twenty-five' millions. Later, a paper was read before the Royal Statistical Society in London by Mr. Cramond on "The Cost of the War." In this he estimated the de- struction of property by the Germans in France at one hundred and sixty millions. In round numbers he gave the dam- - age done to property in Galicia by the fighting at one hundred millions, but this figure must by this tilde be quite doubled. Germany confesses to a loss of fifty. millions by the Russian invasion of East Prussia, and she herself has done double that amount of harm in Russian Poland. Making an Early Start. As for the damage done in Russia herself, in Serbia, and in the Trentino, we have no figures, Put it as low as fifty millions—an absurdly small esti- mate—and we find that at the present moment nearly eight hundred million pounds' worth of property has been wasted and destroyed. France, with characteristic pluck, has already set to work to repair. damages, and the Northern Railway alone has contracted with a British firm for a hundred steel bridges, for tolling stock, rails, sleepers, etc. But the fact is that all the steel works in the world will not be able to cope with the railway reconstruc- tion alone; while, as for the rebuild- ing of houses, every mason and car- penter in Europe will find his hands ' full. Then take the roads. Thousands of miles of highways have been absolute- ly destroyed by the haulage over them of huge guns and great trolleys carrying stores. There is no ques- tion of remetalling. They will have to be remade. An Aid to Peace. This country has, so far, happily, escaped being an actual area of war. With the exception of comparatively trivial damage done by raiding cruis- ers and Zeppelins, our homes and fac- tories are intact. This is very good for us, for immediately after ,peace is declared we shall he swamped with orders for all sorts of material for making good war's damage. The United States also and Canada will find their hands full. All this will make for future peace. Men all over the world will be so busy with the reconstruction of houses, roads, railways, and the like that they will not have time for casting cannon and shells. And, as Germany will no longer remain as a threat to the. world's peace, it is not impossible to hope that this is the last of the great wars. GRAND DUKE'S VOICE. Deep, Clear Tones Seem to Thrill Czar's Soldiers. "The Grand Duke's voice is one of the striking things in his personality," says Rt. Rev. Herbert Bury, Anglican Bishop of Northern Europe, in de- scribing a recent interview which he had with the Commander -in -Chief of the Russian armies. "His voice is not only very deep, strong, and clear, but it has a peculiar sound and satisfying effect upon the ear," explains the Bishop, "and it seems to me that his soldiers listened' as though they loved just to hear him speak. "The Grand Duke is a tall man, standing far above everyone else, and he has a very serious, almost sad, expression. "There are three qualities which I have observed him to possess. He is a man of quick decision in emergen- cies; he has the faculty of gathering round him the best and strongest men in the country; and he has the mod- esty and humility which is the mark of real greatness. He has no desire for popularity or applause; he does not care who gets the credit so long as the thing is done." EXPLAINS WAR TO CHINESE. Former Head of Pekin University Gives British Side of Case. Britishers in China, whose interests have been seriously affected by the publicity campaign of their German adversaries there,, are endeavoring to counteract the effect. The Rev. W. E. Soothill, formerly the head of the Tai Yuan Fu University, has written a paper in the Chinese language (in which he has a reputation as•a schol- ar) explaining the war from the Brit- ish point of view. In the document, which is being cir- culated throughout China, he says that hitherto Germany has possessed a distinct advantage there, because of the Chinese name for that country -- "Ta Te Kuo," or Great Virtue Nation. The name conveys the idea to the or- dinary man, the writer states, that Germany is distinguished above all, other nations for its Te (virtue). The names applying to England and Franco are respectively Ta Ying Kuo (Great Brave Nation) and Ta Fa Kuo (Great Law Nation); and it inter- esting to note that applying to Amer', is Ta Mer iCuo (Great Beautiful Nation). • To tell the difference between dia- monds or crystals and glass or paste touch thorn with your tongue. Dia- monds and crystals feel very tmrch the colder. , From the Middle West BETWEEN ONTARIO , AND Ilii. TISK COLUMBIA. Itenis From Provinces Where Many Ontario Boys and Girls Are Living. pM000selice Jaw magistrate foris .not likely atitomesuppor, t n The new police alarm system of Calgary will cost the city $4,477 a year. Regina citizens luwe paid $55,000 to the Patriotic Fund in less than, a year: Regina asks a license fee for ped dling of $75 a year, and there are protests. The provincial morality officer at Winnipeg says Sunday baseball must be stopped. Winnipeg Boy Scouts gathered handkerchiefs to send to the soldiers at the front: Moose Jaw will not allow any more tag days on the streets without a proper license. One of the recruits for the cycle corps at Calgary was 57 years old, and another 16. The C.P.R. irrigation district at Taber, Alta., is likely to be consider- ably enlarged. Edmonton cannot afford to run night schools this year, according to ... the school board. Licensing of 140 gum vending ma. chines brought $1,750 to the civic revenues of Calgary. The bulk of Alberta's wheat crop this year is to be routed to Europe via the Panama Canal. There is a shortage of printing pressmen at Calgary, due to heavy enlistments for the war. Prince Albert has contributed a thousand volunteers to the Canadian contingents for the front. Calgary people got a scare one night on sighting a brilliant comet; they took it for a Zeppelin. For being pro -German, George Gra- zier was dismissed from Moose Jaw civic employment bureau. Otto Emil Muschik, a German, was fined $186 at Regina for practising medicine without a license. Hugo Rossbacz, naturalized German farmer, near Saskatoon,. is charged with using seditious language. A case against Wm. Struthers at Saskatoon of drinking intoxicants on a train in Saskatchewan was dis • missed. Thefor ro r% p p e of the Imperial He - tel, Tisdale, Sask., got two months and $100 fine for having liquor on his premises. Private Jim Dunn, of Calgary, sent a shorthand note home from Mes- chede, Germany, saying "The grub here is rotten." Wm. H. Roper, of Colonsay, Sask., has gone to jail for two months for selling liquor contrary to Saskatche- wan's new law. A bunch of railway dining car wait- ers enlisted in the 50th Battalion at. Calgary because the company put an Austrian chef over them. There were 167 rural telephone companies organized in Saskatchewan last year, making an increase of 4,743 phones in operation. The Dominion Lands agent at Prince Albert has been instructed to pct the homesteads of Hollanders who may be called home for military servirotece. TEA FOR BRITISH ARMY. Enormous Quantities Consumed by Troops at Home and in Field. Twenty million pounds of tea, about one-fourth of the bonded warehouse stock in the United Kingdom, is stor- ed in the port of London's Cutler Street warehouse, awaiting the or- ders of the War Office. It is intend- ed for the supply of the British forces. The bulk of it has come from India and Ceylon. About twice a week orders are re- ceived for the dispatch of certain specified quantities, according to an approved sample supplied by the War Office. Fifty thousand pounds is about the usual size of the order. As soon as the order is received the warehouse officials analyze the sam- ples and prepare instructions as to the particular classes and quantities which must be blended to produce the required bulk. Chests are opened by the hundred and their contents are heaped together until the observer sees before him a veritable' mountain of tea. While men known as feeders continue to add to the head, other em- ployees with wooden shovels are -set to work blending the tea. Fifteen or twenty men are engaged in the work, which requires considerable skill. The thoroughness with -which the blending is dorso is ascertained by expert "tasters." The tea is put Up in stout tins, gen- orally containing 15 pounds each, and two of these tins are put into a wood- en ease. Cruelty to Servants. While Jane, the • new maid, was taking her first lesson in arranging the dinner table, someone in the base- ment kitchen put something upon the dumb -waiter below. "What's that noise?" 'asked ,T ne, quickly. "Why, that's the dumb.waiter," re- sponded the mistress. "Well," said Jane, "he's a-scratehin' to get out."