Newspapers / The Roanoke Beacon and … / April 12, 1918, edition 1 / Page 2
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jfiiiL At IW WIIOWENT 1 K machine: "SOMEWHERE IN FRANCE" GUNS Synopsis. Fired by the sinking of the Lusltania, with the loss of American lives, Arthur Guy Empey, an American living in Jersey City, goes to England anil enlists as a private In the British army. CHAPTER II. , Blighty to Rest Billets. The next morning the captain sent for me and informed me: "Empey, as ' recruiting sergeant you are a wash out," and 6ent me to a training depot After arriving at this place, I was hustled to the quartermaster stores ana received an awful shock. The quartermaster sergeant spread a wa terproof sheet on the ground and com- menced throwing a miscellaneous as sortment of straps, buckles and other paraphernalia Into it. I thought he would never stop, but when the pile .nnnlisw . 1 V A nough to say, "Next, No. 5217, 'Arris, B company." I gazed In bewilderment at the pile of junk in front of me, and then my eyes wandered around looking for the wagon which was to carry it to barracks. I was rudely brought to earth by the "quarter" exclaiming, ' I0. x-nn Vin If tvko If- nw'v? hiinrl my eyes, 'e's looking for 'is batman to 'elp 'im carry it." Struggling under the load, with fre- quent pauses for rest, I reached our barracks (large car barns), and my platoon leader came to the rescue. It. was a marvel to me how quickly he aoociuuicu me t'qiui.'uieui.. aiici lie had completed the task, he showed me soon I stood before him a proper Tom my Atkins in heavy marching order, feelini? like nn nvprlnnrtprt rnmpl. On my feet were heavy-soled boots, tudded with hobnails, the toes and heels of which were re-enforced by steel half-moons. My legs were in cased in woolen puttees, olive drab In color, with my trousers overlapping them at the top. Then a woolen khaki tunic, nnder which was a bluish gray wooien snirt, minus a coiiar; Deneatn this shirt a woolen belly band about Blx inches wide, held in place by tie Btrines of white taDe. On mv head ' was a heavy woolen trench cap, with nuge eanaps buttoned over tne top. Then the equipment: A canvas belt, "tvlde canvas straps like suspenders, - ' 1 1 - I1TMI j j. . a . j it in 1 front, passing over each shoulder, crossing In the middle of my back, and attached by buckles to the rear of the belt. On the right side of the belt nung a waier Dotue. covered with felt ; !on the left side was my bayonet and scabbard, and intrenching tool handle, ' this handle strapped to the bayonet scabbard. In the rear was my in trenching tool, carried in a canvas case. This tool was a combination pick and spade. A canvas haversack wa9 strapped to the left side of the belt, while on my back was the pack, also of eovas, held in place by two canvas straps ov-er the shoulders; suspended oh the bottom of the pack was my mess tin or canteen in a neat little canvas case. My waterproof sheet, looking like a. jelly roll, was strapped on top of the pack, with a wooden stick for cleaning the breach of the rifle pro jecting from each end. On a lanyard around my waist hung a huge Jack- ' knife with a can-opener attachment. xne pacK contained my overcoat, an ' extra pair of socks, change of under wear, hold all (containing knife, fork, cpoon, comb, toothbrush, lather brush, ' shaving soap, and a razor made of tin, with "Made In England" stamped on the blado; when trying to shave with this it made you wish that you were at war with Patagonia, so that you could have a "hollow ground" stamped "Made In Germany") ; then your house , wlf. button-cleaning outfit, consisting ; of 5 brass button stick, two stiff bnutnes, and a box of "Soldiers' FrUiid" paste; then a shoe brush and a box of dubbin, a writing-pad, indel ible pencil, envelopes, and pay book, . and -personal belongings, such as a small mirror, a decent- razor and a ..sheaf of unanswered letters, and fags. -In your havtrsack you carry your iron .rations, meaning a tm of bully beef, tfout biscuits and a can containing tea, - 1 , .V . .pipes and a pack of shag, a tin. of rifle oil, and a pull-through. Tommy gen t erally carries the oil with his rations; it ives the cheese a sort of sardine taste. Add to .this a first-aid pouch and u long, ungainly rifle patterned after'the ianlel Boone period, and you have an idea of. a . British soldier in Blighty. Before leaving for Fracce, this rifle is taken from him and he is issued with a Lee-Enfield short trench rifie uv iion bag. ( x"v i8caivs two as hel- V V (in mi AMI DIPAXT .SOT 1)111) gunhlreryingim HUNCf- I9t7 BY ARTHUR' 5UY EMPTY EMPEY FIRST HEARS THE BIG BOOMING. mets, a sheepskin coat, rubber mack intosh, teel helmet, two blankets, tear shell . goggles, .. a balaclava helmet, gloves and a tin of .antifrostbite grease which is excellent for greasing the boots. Add to this the weight of his rations, and can you blame. Tommy for growling at a twenty-kilo route inarch? naving, served as sergeant major in the United States cavalry, I tried to tell the English drill sergeants their business, but it did not work. They immediately put me as batman in their mess. Many a greasy dish of stew was accidentally spilled over them. I would sooner fight than be a waiter, so when the order came through from headquarters calling fr a draft of 250 re-enforcements for France, I vol unteered. Then we went before the M. O. (medical officer) for another physical examination. This was very brief. He asked our names and numbers and said "Fit," and we went out to fight. We were put into troop trains and sent to Southampton, where we de trained, and had our trench rifles is sued to us. Then in columns of twos we went up the gangplank of a little steamer lying alongside the dock. At the head of the gangplank there was an old sergeant, who directed that we line ourselves along both rails of the ship. Then he ordered us to take life belts from the racks overhead and put them on. I have crossed the ocean several times and knew I was not sea sick, but when I buckled on that life belt I had a sensation of sickness. After we got out Into the stream, all I could think of was that there were a million German submarines with a tor: pedo on each, across the warhead of which was inscribed my name and ad dress. - After five hours we came alongside a pier and disembarked. I had at tained another one of my ambitions. I was "somewhere in France." We slept in the open that night on the side of the road. About six the next morn ing we were ordered to entrain. I looked around for the passenger coaches, but all I could see on the sid ing were cattle cars. We climbed Into these. On the side of each car was a sign reading "Ilommes 40, Cheveaux 8." When we got inside of the cars, we thought that perhaps the sign painter had reversed the order of things. After 48 hours in these trucks we detrained at Rouen. At this place we wort through an intensive training for tea days. The training consisted of the rudi ments of trench warfare. Trenches had been dug, with barbed wire en tanglements, bombing saps, dugouts, observation posts and machine gun em placements. We were given a smat tering of -trench cooking, sanitation, bomb throwing, reconnoitering, listen ing posts, constructing and repairing barbed wire, "carrying in" parties, methods used in attack and defense, wiring parties, mass formation, and the procedure for poison-gas attacks. On the tenth day we again met our friends "Hommes 40, Cheveaux 8." Thirty-six hours more of misery, and we arrived at the town of F . After unloading our rations and equipment, we lined up on the road in columns of fours waiting for the order to march. A dull rumbling could be heard. The sun was shining. I turned to the man on my left and asked, "What's the noise, Bill?" He did not know, but his face was of a pea-green color. Jim, on ray right, also did not know, but suggested that I "awsk" the sergeant. Coming towards us was an old griz zled sergeant, properly fed up with the war, so I "awsked" him. "Think it's going tp rain, sergeant?" ne looked at me in contempt, and grunted, "'Ow's it a-goin' ter rain with the bloomin' sun a-shinin'?" I looked guilty. "Them's the guns up the line, me lad, and you'll get enough of 'em be fore you gets back to Blighty." My knees seemed to wilt, and I squeaked out a weak "Oh !" " Then' we started our march up to the line in ten-kilo treks. After the first day's inarch we arrived at our rest bidets. In France they call them rest billets, because while in them Tommy works seven days a week and on the eighth day of the week he Is given twenty-four hours "on his own." Our billet was a spacious affair, a large barn on the left side of the road, which had one hundred entrances, ninety-nine for shells, rats, wind and rain, rnd the hundrsdth one for Tom my, t as tired out, AakI nslng tuy shrapnel-proof heltaet (shrapnel pro if until a piece of shrapnel 'hits it), or tin hat, for a pillow, lay down in the straw, and was soon fast asleep'... I must have slept about two hours, when I awoke with a prickling sensation all over me. As I thought, the straw had worked through my uniform. I woke up the fellow lying on my left, who had been up the line before, and asked him: ... ... :-f "Does the straw bother you, mate? It's worked through my uniform and I can't sleep.". In a sleepy voice he answered, "That ain't straw, them's cooties." From that time on my friends the "cooties" were constantly with me. . "Cooties," or body lice, are the ban of Tommy's existence. The aristocracy-of the trenches, very seldom call them "cooties," they' speak of them as fleas. LTo an American flea means a small Insect armed with a bayonet, who is wont to jab- it. into you and then hop skip nrjd jump to the next place to bis attacked. There is an advantage in having fleas on you instead of "cooties". In that in one of his extended jumps said flea is liable to land on the fel low next to you; he has the typical energy and push of the American, while the "cootie" has the bulldog tenacity of the Englishman; he holds on and consolidates or digs In until his meal Is finished. There is no way to get rid of them permanently. No matter how often you bathe, and that is not very often, or how many times you change your underwear, your friends the "cooties" are always in evidence. The billets are Infested with them, especially so if there is straw on the floor. . I have taken a bath arid put on brand-new underwear; in fact, a com plete change of uniform, and then turned in for the night. The next morn ing my shirt would be full of them. It is a common sight to see eight or ten soldiers sitting under a tree with' their shirts over their knees engaging in a shirt hunt." At night about half an hour before lights out," you can see the Tommies grouped around a candle, trying, in its dim light, to rid their underwear of the vermin. A popular and very quick method is, to take your shirt and draw ers, and run the seams back and for ward in the flame from a candle and burn them out. This practice is dan- The Author's Identification Disk. gerous, because you are liable to burn holes in the garments if you are not careful. Recruits generally sent to Blighty for a brand of insect powder adver tised as 'Good for body lice." The ad vertisement is quite right; the powder is good for "cooties;" . they, simply thrive on it. The older men of our battalion were wiser and made scratchers out of wood. These were rubbed smooth with a bit of stone or sand to prevent splin ters. They were about eighteen inches long, and Tommy guarantees that a scratcher of this length will reach any part of the body which may be at tacked. Some of the fellows were lazy and only made their scratchers twelve inches, but many a night when on guard, looking over the top from the fire step of the front-line trench, they would have given a thousand "quid" for the other six inches. Once while we were in rest billets an Irish Hussar regiment camped In an open field opposite our billet. . After they had picketed and fed their horses, a general shirt hunt took place. The troopers ignored the call "Dinner up," and kept on with their search for big game. They had a curious method of procedure. They hung their shirts over a hedge and beat them with their , en trenching tool handles." ' I asked one of them why they didn't pick them off by hand, arid he an swered, "We haven't had a bath for nine weeks or a change of 'clabber.' . If I fried to pick the 'cooties' off my shirt, t would be here for duration of war." After taking a close look at his shirt, 1 agreed with him ; it was alive. . In the next installment Ser geant Empey tell of the realiza tion of his ambition -his ar rival in a first line trench and of how wished he were back In Jersey wity. (TO BE CONTINUED.) Cheap notoriety In dear at anj sricf w - i ft-. ' '4 If1)?'' 7111 lm i . WfJ I About the Two It has become popular to economize or, at least, to persuade ourselves that we are economizing. You cannot make observation of the new modes without, cpmfng .to the .conclusion that designers . have taken this ; spirit of the times into consideration and that it has brought grist to their mills. They have made combinations of mate rials and combinations of garments al most unheard of before. These com binations are novel and unusual and alluring. In tailored suits, for example, we have wool fabrics combined with silk or cotton. Since wool must be con served and life is not worth living without a tunic skirt, the tailor pro vides a tunic of crepe georgette over a skirt of serge or other wool fabric. Coats are no longer uncompromisingly plain, but modified just enough to look exactly right with this new order of This Summer's Sport apparel, now having become a settled "and accepted institution in the business of outfitting for the sea sons, has reached new developments. These are in the directions of new re finements. Fabrics that were not iu the running for -sports wear a season or two ago, hold the center of the stage today, without displacing the( older favorites. ... In sports coats the spring brought in Sleeveless models in silk ynd in. velvet along with new long-sleeved coats in both these materials. Velvet in sports coats is. an innovation, but it appears made up in designs that leave no room to doubt the purpose of the garment. Wide girdles, very big patch pockets, large, Hat pearl buttons and parallel rows of stitching in white or colored silks or in the color of the coat, stamp '.ts character very certainly upon It. These velvet coats, sleeveless or oth jiff a' -fcrjSg ')(: ::.::' L p fflmgemX. 7 lll' - in - One Frock. things in skirts. The result Is so fetching that many an . unsuspecting tailored skirt of wool is destined to find itself joined, for life to a tunic of geor gette or some other silk. Paris goes even farther and sponsors a union of serge and, organdie in dresses that are too chic to need excuse for being il logical. Among these aspirants for the fa vor of the economically Inclined there appears the two-in-one dress. A fine example of this design is shown in the picture and is made of silk in two gar ments. It is a suit as pictured, with an unusually graceful coat. When the coat is removed a pretty, simple eve ning dress is disclosed hence the "two-in-one" title. There are several lovely new silks in highly lustrous and somewhat heavy weaves, in which a two-in-one dress will play its ver satile part and never become tlre some. Sports Coat. erwise, are worn with the several sorts of sports skirts. Quite equal to asso ciating with them, to their mutual ad vantage, theve are skirts of satin gfcice, of khaki kool and some new heavy and lustrous weaves of silk, but velvet coats will be worn with wool or cotton skirts as well. In the picture a very practical sport coat of knitted ' silk has lengthwise s tripos in fancy stitch and a collar and cuffs of plain knitting. The sash is knitted like the coat' and finished with a' knotted fringe of the silk. It has patch-' pockets with tops turned back and fastened down with a large button. Two of these buttons with loops of silk cord manage the fastening at the front and two others in a smaller size hold the sash to the coat at the sides. A CHILD DOESN'T LAUGH AND PLAY . IF CONSTIPATED LOOK, MOTHER! IS TONGUE COATED, BREATH FEVERISH AND STOMACH SOUR? 'CALIFORNIA . SYRUP OF FIGS,t CAN'T HARM TENDER STOM ACH, LIVER, BOWELS. A laxative today saves a sick child tomorrow." Children simply 'will' not take the time from .play 'to empty their bowels, which becpme.clogged up with waste, liver gets sluggish, stomach sour. Look at the tongue, mother ! .' If coated, or your child is lis'tless, cross, feverish, breath bud, restless, doesn't eat heartily, full of cold or lias sore throat or any other children's ail ment, give a teaspoonf ul . of "Cali fornia Syrup of Figs," then don't worry, because it is perfectly harm less, and in a few hours all this con-, stipation poison, sour bile and fer menting waste will gently move out of the bowels, and you have a well, play ful child again. A thorough "Inside cleansing" is oftlmes all that is neces sary. It should be the first treatment given in any sickness. Beware of counterfeit fig syrups. Ask your druggist for a bottle of ".Cal ifornia Syrup of Figs," which has full directions for babies, children of all ages and for grown-ups plainly printed on the bottle.- Look carefully and see that it is made by the "Cali fornia Fig Syrup Company." Adv. Gas is always shut In when it is turned out. Hod To Quit Work Gave Up Hope of Recovery, But Doan's Restored His Health. Has Been Well Since. i J. B. Ragless, carpenter, 210 V. 60th St., Chicago, 111., says: "My back gave out completely and 1 had to quit work. I could hardly endure the pain in my back and nights I tossed and turned, unable to sleep. Often in the morn ing my back was. as stiff as a board, so that I couldn't stoop to dress myself. When I did manage to bend over, everything before me turned black. My head seemed to be whirling and sometimes I was so dizzy I had to grasp something to keep from falling. "The kidney secre tions were irregular in fir. Riglcjj passage, getting me up at night and the passages burned cruelly. I lost my appetite, was weak and listless and went down twenty-five pounds in weight. When I had almost given up hope, Doan's Kidney Pills cured me. Soon after, I pussed an examination for life insurance and I'm glad to siy my cure has lasted." Sicorn to before me, GEO. W. DEMrSTER, Notary Public. Get Doan's t Any Store, 60c a Bos DOAN'S VfJLV FOSTER-MJLBURN CO., BUFFALO. N. Y. j S" Son or Brother in training camps in the American! Army or Navy ? If so, mail J him a package of ALLEN'S J FOOT EASE, the antiseptic! powder to be shaken into! the shoes and sprinkled in the foot-bath. The Ameri can, British and French) troops use Allen's Foot-j Kase, because it takes the Friction from the Shoe and! freshens the feet. It is the greatest comforter for tired, aching, tender, swollen feet, , i Soldl.ro uo , and gives relief to corns and j Foot bunions. The Plattsburg Camp Manual advises j i men in training to shake Foot-Ease i in their shoes each morning. Ask' your dealer to-day for a 25c. box of 1 Allen's Foot-Ease, and for a 2c. stamp he will mail it for you. Y hat remem- 1 brance could be so acceptable ? EGGS-POULTRY We are tbe largest bandlnrs'of Begs and Poultry lntheSonth. WHAT HAVE YOU TO SHIP? Tbe highest market price guarantee.! wi'.h quick returns. iive us a trial, fioft-rences, IstKauoual Batik, Rictiuiond, Va. WOODSON-CBAIG CO. Commission Merchants, RICHMOND, VA. CONSTIPATION CUREO RIGHT No drags, medicines, oils or appliances of any kind. ' Ho dieting, inaNag, or water cures, bnt an article of daily line and trifling cost, prepared in a certain way which anyone can do at home. I cored tny-selt after -J6 years of suflering and want every snfIror to know about it. Bond 25c, (coin) tor full particulars. FRANCES E. MORSS. !225W. York Ave.. Spokaie. Wash. FARRIERS Itairymon, PoultrjrmeD and I'ruit, Urowern. power makes the wheels tmrn ; prosperity is for all no nave t ne ngni anowieauo. uei more long frero .timing your' way. Wrlt today for information. Jaa. 11. Wonjack, '.U8 Poplar Ate., Memphis, Teno,
The Roanoke Beacon and Washington County News (Plymouth, N.C.)
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April 12, 1918, edition 1
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