HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Herald, 1915-01-15, Page 544.1444,44
CYCLE RIDERS 111 TOE 9NAR
.':RA('.i.'1 .vb.IIY LI)'E ON -Toni.
111.1 CII1 TES.
ll Clue as,=s Are Represented Among'
the Army Motet eyele -Dees
Retell Riders.
Omnipresent duet and ecittal1y
ubiquitous cheerfulness . murk the
young men .who ,are motorcycle des
patch riders for the British'forms,
according to Olt Valentine Williams,
who describes the work of 'these
daring young fellows. Mr. Wil -
Baena hada talk with a score or so
of the riders, who were fresh .from
the front, at a tiny French town
which maintains the usual censored
anonymity. He say's
"I am not concerned here partic-
ularly i=itib the performance :of the
motorcyclists' corps. Every .general
staff Jeflieer with whorn I have spo-
ken is enthusiastic about the work
it is doing, and as a. :corps it cer-
tainly has not its equal •n any of
the armies in the field. For the
moment I am thinking only of the
spirit of those youngsters who gath-
ered around me in the circle of light
thrown by their powerful lamps,
resting on their travel -stained ma-
chines, eager, impulsive, high-spi-
rited boys, laughing at the layer of
petrol -scented dust with which hair
and face and Bands were covered,
making light of the miles behind
thera gas of the miles to .come,
though a cold night and a frosty
dawn lay betweep them and their
ultimate .destination.
•
Carry Few Carrri'orte.
"Most of them had .a rifle slung
across their backs; some had none,
but a revolver was,+strapped to the
leather belt encircling their dusty
overalls. On the carrier behind
them they mostly -carried a be-
grimed •s.aak with their possessions—
a brush .and comb, ,a toothbrush,
sleeping things, and shaving tackle,
with perhaps a few maps. Looking
at them, so dusty, so darty, and so
cheerful, I ,could not help thinking
of them as many of thein were in
Landon, the immaculate motor-
cyclists of the suburbs with the lady
of his affections instead of a grimy
pack on the carrier behind.
"All classes are represented
among the army motor rcyclists.
Most of them are undergraduates or
Public Sohooi boys, many have
come from the Officers' Training
Corps, many are clerks or shop as-
sistants. All the varied accents of
class and county are heard in their.
speech, froth the studied correctness
of Oxford to the homely burr of the
West. But the most eomplete demo-
cracy exists ,among these knights of
the road, ,Clique! and olasses seem
to have vanished when ,the blue and
white a.rmmand of the Signalling
Corps of the Royal Engineers.
Machine Comes First.
"It would eventually materalize
into a perfectly cool and extremely
nheerful youth, who was quite will-
ing to talk about the war and his
experiences and who -seeamed only
to remember as an afterthought that
he had come sixty miles by Toad,
had had practically nothing to eat
or drink all day, that he was both
tired and thirsty, and had forty -odd
miles to go before daybreak.
"His first thought is his ma.ohine,
which he honors with .a comprehen-
sive glance, travelling from the
monkey mascot in front to the 'back
tire; then, learning that there is ar,
newcomer frosh front England pre-
sent, he wants to coxae into the oir-•
tie and bear the news, accepting a
ntgarette .with a quiet bashfulness
that is perfectly charming.
No Sheers Limit.
"The life is nonetoo easy. The
motorcyclist has mostly to shift for
himaself; he moves too feast and too
often to be provided for by ti1'ie ma-
chinery the army arranges for find-
Ing quarters., ten arrival at head-
quarters witha despatch, after he
has presented it and been dismissed
until wanted again, he sets out to
find (a) somewhere to wash, (b)
something to eat, (o) somewhere to
Bleep, and (d) where the petrol is
kept,
r: 'No speed limit; thrills all
round, an open-air life, and lots of.
variety,' is the way in which one of
the motor 'cyclists summed up his
'life at the front. They are the .gal-
1opers of modern war, though they
must slick to the roads (some of
these daredevils tried to use their
machines across olden eott,utry with
dire results). .All along ,the etlaight
-white roads leading to the zone of
fopertaione you may meet thein
hirrin • in eleuds of draft.
�' y
b
Giron Gerinitrty i1 )tttj es.
it
t isa>kster
" .A' the. -Arab , d ti --+whether at
i1,)t d b 'his Ibtinghe e
e ata e. y 1., 1 or 1)�
jet oldie, an. the Meets of b3er'litt
efeltrie: re.
...,...,A;,... r.
A Target Such as Our i eiti sh Asir at When They Make .a Raid Upon a German Zeppelin Shed.
The British Con•sul••General. for Belgiurn, ,Sir Oecil Hertsilet, .fipeakiatg of his experiences at Antwerp, said that i othin he could think of. was more nsty .ratskirn than ge tfi e
Zeppelin raid. A •great, airship, na.any feet longer than Canterbury Cathedral, came .sailing over ,Antwerp at dead of night, and dropped. its bombs tvithoat a niomerit#
warning: Fortunately, tk'c grewt size of the Zeppelins is not all in the enemy's favor. It necessitates the construction of huge sheds capable of "decking" themrpt eve
base from which they operate, and these sheds, ale well as the ruirshi:ps themselves, offer an enormous target bo the bombs of our adventurous airmen, eah as thosre who .se
daringly raided the Zeppelin headquarters at Cuxhaven and Prredrrckshafen, and those who previously attacked the Zeppelin sheds at Dusseldorf. Other ayse t e es
Zeppelins for the purposes, of long aerial voyages„such would be necessary for an attack on London, were pointed out in a recent a.r;ti�a1e describing the ezpsrienoe�e of a'xr
airman 'who went for a.:trip in one as a passenger. Every time the engines back -fired the ,airship jumped with a fearful jar and the wind -currents made rt pitch about in 1
directions. He was expecting it to break all the time and was not sorry to descend to earth. His apprehensionis were not allayed, afterwards, by seeing a me haa,nac go insi .
the outer skin and sweep up quantities •of bolts and mets w:hidh the strain on the framework had.eaused to work loose and fall out. Tth,e framework of a Zeppelin is composed
of an' immense .number of light shard/aura girders.—(By courtesy of the -Scientific American).
� R
IN GAMBLER'S ROLE
alaTim
HE • HAS DECEIVED PEOPLE
OF .GE11111ANY.
'Preaching .of "God' 'With Us" Has
Prepared Nation For
I'letory.
The London Times has republish-
ed a striking forecast of the Kea -
erns career, written in the year
1891 by the famous Portuguese au-
thor, Eca de Queiroz. Some ex-
traats of that -forecast follow :
"In him we have among us in
this philosophical century a man,
a mortal, who, more than any
other expert, prophet, or saint,
lays claim and appears to be the
ally and intimate friend of God:
The world has never seen, since the
days of Moses on Sinai, such in-
timacy, suds an alliance between
the creature and the Creator. The
reign of William II. seems to be,
as it were an unexpected resurrec-
tion of the Mosaism of the Penta:
teuch. He is the favorite of God,
he holds conferences with God in
the burning bush of his Berlin
Schloss, and at the instigation of
God he is.leading his people to -the
joys of Canaan. Truly he is
Moses II. Like Moses, too, he
nearer tires of proclaiming (daily
and loudly so that none may ignore
the fact and through ignorance eon-
travene it) his spiritual and tem-
poral relationship to God, which
makes him infallible and -therefore
irresistible.
Nothing Impossible.
"He bas -but to expedite a tele-
gram,' to sound a bugle. If the de-
sire seize him to transform in his
potent hands a whole social organ-
ization, he has ,but to announce the
fact. To him nothing is impossible'
for .he commands two million sol-
diers and a people who seek liberty
only in the regions of philosophy,
ethics -and exegesis, and who when
jects. Not long ago, indeed, he
gave this promise to his faithful re-
tainers- of Brandeburg: 'I will
lead you,' he said, 'to splendid and
glorious destinies !' What destin- A1 O'1'11k11t Olay 1.1111. PROID UC -
res 1 Battles, .of course; in which
the German Eagles shall triumph. ' TIONS OF 1i1uTPP.
or by allied ;,armies on the plains
of Europe --Germany will at once
eanolude that his much vaunted al
liance with God was the trick of
a
wily despot.
"`Then will there not .be atone
enough ,from Lorraine to Pomerani
to stone this counterfeit Moses. Will
liam II. is in very truth casting
against Fate those terrible 'iron
dice' to which the. now forgotten
Bismarck once alluded. If he win
he may have within. and withouttue
frontiers altars such as were raised
to Augustus : should he lose, exile,
the traditional exile in England
awaits him—a, degraded exile, the
exile with which. he so sternly
threatens those who deny . his in-
fallihrility."
Til[ 'RETCH HOWITZER GUI
s
a
THOUGHTS FOR THE 1)AY
The greatest possible good can be
done by -the extension of a helping
hand at the right moment, --Roose-
velt.
A bad beginning may be retrieved
and, a .gogd beginning achieved -To
beginning, no ending. -'Christina
Rossetti.
Church-goje,g, the keeping cif the
S•a;bbatli, are not religion, but re-
ligion hardly lives without them."
F. W. Robertson.
The heart of moral force is con-
seience—a faint, unextingnishable
flame—whose light we call duty and
its heat love.—Axnie'l.
To avoid an occasion for our vir-
tues is a worse degree of failure
than to push forward pluckily and
make a fall.—R.14. Stevenson.
Kind looks, kind words, kind
acts and warm handshakes—these
are a secondary means of grace
when men .are in trouble and fight-
ing their unseen battles.—Dr. John
Hall.
If a man does not keep pace with
his companions perhaps it is be -
their Emperor orders them to march cause he hears a different drum -
silently obey. And, ,further, to ,mer. Let him march to the music
is which he hears, however measured.
or far away.—Thoreau.
are re fighting a tough enerny,
we are fighting an enemy that can-
not submit to any terms we can as-
cept----to .any terms we can pru-
dently accept—without smashing
defeat. -Mr. Lloyd George.
A gifted. gentle, patient, valiant
human -soul, which buffets itis way
throegh the billows of time, and
sill not drown, though often in -clan-
him nothing is impossible, for it
his firm belief that God is on his
side inspiring him and sanctioning
his power.
Partnership With .%]ntigbty.
"In every assembly, every ban-
quet where William II holds forth
(and of all contemporary Dings
William II. ie the moat verbose), he
always introduces in the guise, as
it were, of a law, the; sacerdotal as -
section that God is with him, as sit ger, cannot be drowned, but aon-
the days of'braliani, in seise to quern, an•d leaves a track of rads -
help and serve him in ever,vtrhing once behind it. --Carlyle.
with the powerof that formidable' e'---•
arm' which can disperse, like parts A HERO O1? FON'l'ENOT.
cies of importunate dust, the stars
and suns of eitlte•rsol sirace. The She Livid to be One .hundred and
certainty, the habit of this alliance. Tight Years Old.
grew so much upon him that he ever
refers to God in .terms of greater On a tombstone in the Parish
equality—de he might allude to Church of St. Nicholas, Brighton,
France or Austria or to Humbert England, appears the .uollowiri sin -
of Italy. Formerly ho spoke of g'ular inscription "In memory of
Him as the Master who is in :Eleay. 'Phoebe . Vessel, who was born at
en, the Almighty who orders all Stepney in the year 1713. She„ serte
things; latterly, however, while ed for many years a.s a private sol,,
haranguing with 'fio1'ving :e candier inthe 5th Regiment of Foot in
ague hie vassals of the Mark of different parts of Europe, and in
�55 b • e e .a5:fou ht under the m-
l3r:ancicnbui' he, speaks of God the year 17?. ,g t co
m-
familia/71y as "My old �Il Here rand of the Duke of Cumberland t
we have William anti God s,s a new
limited liability company ,adni,inis-
tering'he universe.
"It may indeed happen that, ons
dtvy I.,t':1rolie will awako to the roar
of clashing ¢trinie , only because .in
he" qi l of this psreat dilettante the
fuelling . ' . : �'
o know
t }viii •'r
is
004 diad, Was at onger~ 'than reads,
Weighs Only 13.11 Pounds and
Throws Shell Weighing
200 Pounds.
As the war progresses we become
more and more aware of the comi-
pleteness of the German fighting
trrachine, says the New York Her-
ald."
If the morale of the German
treops were only equal to the excel-
lence of their artillery, equipment a
different tale of their progress on
the Continent could be told.
A late instalment of "Eye -Wit-
ness' " graphic account of the war
contains an allusion to the "minen-
varfer," or trench howitzer which
the Germans are using. "In this
quarter," he writes, referring to
the sanguinary confiiet now in 'Pro-
gress on the Lys, "we experienced
for the first Minae in the northern
theatre of war the action of the
'minenwurfer.'
This trench howitzer is another of
the prodiiotions of Krupp. It is
a
various ;little weapon, but, though
small, it is undoubtedly a factor
serious, to'reckon with in trench
fighting.
Weighs 130 Pounds.
The howitzer itself is only three
feet or so long, and weighs 130
pounds. Its mounting is a small
affair of about 100 pounds, but it
as• attached to a heavy bed ,or plat,
form of 930 pounds dead weight.
This complete mass of a little over
half a ton is provided with wheels
and a, couple of handles, and can
readily he transported by two men.
Its sma11 size and mobility per-
mit of it- being moved about in the
trenches. When in position the
howitzer, with its bed, is removed
from the travelling h•ewels, and. the
weapon can then be fired from the
ground. It is a decided novelty in
munitions of war.
- The calibre of the howitzer is less
than three inches, but tb.e shell
•thrown is a ;sphere over s foot in
diameter, weighing, with its charge
of high explosive, close. upon 200
pounds.
To enable the little howitzer to
accommodate such a huge shell, an
adapter has to be used.
When the howitzer is fired the
adapter and shell are forced out to-
gether. The twra a.re soon sep.ar-
arted, ihowever, the air, forcing its
way between them, eausirg the
adapter to fall apart, and to allow
he iehell to travel on zts way alone.
'Il he velocity given to the shell as
it
leaves the bore .of the 'howitzer is
only 2,30 feet per second. The low-
est elevation employed is 40 de-
grees, and, at this angle the shell
travels a distance of bbO cards, the
maximum range obtainable. The
accuracy of fire ie said to be very
good.
htell Weighs 200 Pounds.
Although this range its so small,
the Shell takes no less than 10 eec-
ends in its flight. and reaches a
height• of 410 feet in the air. It is
difficult •to feelings imagine the s of
€ A
those:.in the trenches ngainsst which
he howitzer is opeTatiug, as they
e,e the 1atrllii• h>}Il 1' bid „
towerd them, 'J)he proje.ctilc con-
sista .of but a thin steel envelope,
the',greeter part of its 200 pounds'
weight consisting of hig eaipleslve..
g'
Four pounds of dynamite 'or gun-
cotton aro considered; sufficient to
demolish breastworks, of two to
three Poet thickness, eonipos of
earth iKm ecJe
veen pl�kl
s '
railway, sleeper's. In i® hat y
at the battle of Foritenoy, where~
she received a bayonet wound in
her atm. Per Ioi-g life, which tont-
merced in the Miens of Queen Anne,
extended to the reign of George r' ,
by whose lnunilicsn{?e elm • reesive:d
comfort and etxP
su ort hi herr litter
yc a She died. at Brighton,
where she losig resided, December.
cls, aotifay9el,
of pity for hie nutb 12th, 1824 al,,sd 10: 'vtai•s."
dafficul!t to e,stimats the destrttetive
powers of such a mass of high ex-
plosive "falling into the trenohes. •
The effectof ordinary shrapnel
shell is obtained by the bullets and
splinters of the envelope when the
shell bursts. With the "minenwur-
fer" shell the effect is almost en-
tirely explosive. The wails of the
shell are too thin to be ,capable of
doing much ,ela+mage, and it is not in
this direction that the effect is ex-
pected.
When the trenches are less than
500 or 600 yards apart a shorter
range own he obtained by elevating
the howitzer to a greater angle than
45 degrees. At 60 degrees, for in-
instanoe, the range would be 470
yards. The shell would then reach
a height of 620 feet un the air, and
would take 12'/? seconds to complete
the trajectory.
The highestangle at which the
"rale/en-warier" can operate is 80
degrees. At this elevation the
range would he only 190 yards.
Nearly a quarter of a minute would
elapse between the moment of dis-
charge and the instant of the shell
falling into the opposing trenches,
a maximum height of 800 feet being
attained in its journey. One has c
but to remember that a crack run-
ner an cover 100 yards in approxi-
mately 10 seconds to appreciate the
slowness with which the shell com-
pletes the distance. between the
trenches ' when 'fired at thishigl
elevation.
"Eye—witness"' narrative does
not tell us what are the actual capa-
bilities of this little 'howitzer as a
destructive agent. This we have
yet to learn: • But we are aware that
trench -to -trends fighting with rifles.
and hand grenades has now an add-
ed terror in the form of thisnew
and curious kind of small ordnance.
de -
REGIMENTAL RECORDS.
The Present War Will Increase the
Reeords of British Troops.
By the time the war is over most
British regiments will have added
immeasurably to their fighting re-
cords. The policy of keeping se-
eret the names of the corps that
figured prominently in battle has
been wisely discarded by ;Sir John
French, and his latest dispatch will
thrill many people with pride and
gratification at the stirring deeds
of their city or county regiments,
Londoners are justly proud of the
special mention made by the Field
Marshal of the exploits of the Mid-
dlesex and 'West Kentts--two regi-
ments which have their recruiting
ground in the metropolitan area—
and the industrial north, the mid-
lands and the west eeountry will feel
equally delighted at the fine work
a•econrp'lished by the Lancashire Fu-
siliers, the li:oval Lanea.sters, the
Worcesters, the Northarnptons and
the ,Somersetshire Light Infantry
and Dorsets respectively. Ireland
is represented in the despatches by
the Royal Irish Rifles,' and the
North of the Tweed by the Scots
Fusiliers. Local patriotism, which
has been fostered by country cricket
and football, will receive a decided
stirnuius by the news of the heroic
work which is being done ,by indi-
vidual regiments. This in turn
should do Much- to stimulate r
i t >• promoting a friendly
crtttt r ;., by 4 13
rivalry 'between t;he different coun-
ties. It is widely hoped that; for ,the
fiibure the censorship, in`so far as
it.applied; to suppressing the ,names
of regimen te azid .individuals Yvhisrli
distitagni•sh themselves . will he re-
laxed. It' is ineoneeitable that the
publication •of names can prove' nape
fitl +to ,the energy; in cases Where
cue publication is nide 'w <1 s af-
fstn ',the actual ate of the evertPe-
WHAT RED -GROSS MEANS.
Lloyd -George Telils What .He '
et jto front.
Mr. Lloyd -Georges cortin
an incident whtiia its urltte
the .front:
"1 reoently visited one
battlefields of `'rateoe. I saw
lage being gelled ley the'Gs
guns. A prisoner of %wstr was
heing'brougiht into ;the 'Fr,en•sh i ke
He ways in it knot/bp-car maderguegt
He was wotrittdeel and ti:,rakedeill ` e
in pain. A Peench general a°
whom I had gone Writhe front r
up to the wounded Prue isn
told hire that be need: not wa
he would be taken .straight to
hospital and .looked atter .as 1t 1
were "one of ottr owe/ MOD."
Prussian replied, "We +treat you.
wounded in exactly the salute w .
It was a curious ri.vairy Line
those condition for you could hot.
the whizmle cif the German $hail a a
the shuddering crack with whit:
they exploded., dealing out deal
and destruction in the Frene
trenohes clod& by. 'We were ri
sight of a powerful Fret/eh batten
which was preparing be send ts:
deadly weapxons into the Prussia
ranks a little further on. I •rr
yelled that this ezc+la:banise litre
men who were sworn 'flee siiouil'''.
possible amid such isurrrrundi
'until my eyes happened to war
down ,alane where I envie, leme
of wagons each maaa.rkeel with a gra
red erase. Then I knew u he ha
taught thseee brave men the 'ese
of Humanity that will grarbra l}
surely, overthrow the reign of nate
Christ had not diet le vain.
Borten In lifer. r,s.
A boom in rage it the latest .,vi
dente of war -rinser nctivit..•. The,
ere wanted for the hcxtire. freeh-
and as Continental Mupp ie. hats
fallen off, old home s'k,eke"are fetch
ing high prices. At. l}e.w:herre
England, and other textile ^,entre
the rag sales have been marked ii-
exciting scenes. Priers,, liav' 'id
vanced by $20 n tort, end by ens zit=
$4t) for the better.
13arriste;rs Predominate,
In the Frena, Clran,lie r 1)01)i
ties there are 154 har•r biers •
solicitors. 'I)he uext, mot ns,
ously represented preeessmn ri
of medicine --5 deputies The
arymon and lorrrnal lets nitro
the universlier professors, 43 ;
landed proprietors, 46; retired ofla
vials, 27; tittarrirfa.atnrer•s, 2.2.. and
merchants, 27.
let
Mode in Helfand,
Holland's sa,f{eta' in tires of war
Iies in her ability to flood great
tracts of lead. W'illi,rl.ni of Orange
flooded the couni: y in 1574 and by
so doing drove out. the Spe aisle in
vaders. The ,tine police wrzs adopt•,
ed en the oeea, i'n of the. French isle
vasi<vt of.1.6;2.
13'iIll Renndte'eL
I)uttun-•You shou'ldpay more ate
tention to your personal appear-
ance, old shae :Rnzrisrnber that the
clothes inak's the -man.
De Broke -•..Yes, but for me the
C
man refu.ae' tc make' any moeit
clothes.
She Gave Diet i^rr;aanr.eaa. ;c:zu nt.
"But she says She Into newer eiteise
you Any enc aura6;'einen;t."
"Did she si+,,y thet,1 ,
"She certaiu.y did " •
"She toldn,. her txni. w pole
to leane her foo ytne and til t•t lx ,
heel got onoee flet in itho. gr Svc.
that at not tar.etinreg.:eet utt, 1'd li3a+e'
to know what'oa call it."