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I r 1 I EMPEY JOINS THE "SUICIDE SQUAD IS Synopsis. Fired by the sinking of the Lusitanin, with the loss of American lives, Arthur Guy Empey, an American living in Jersey City, goes to England and enlists as a private in the British army. After a short experience as a recruiting officer in London, he is sent to train ing quarters in France, where he kjnakes the acquaintance of "cooties." Mjipey's company Is sent Into the tnrn on the fire step while a a swim "0 t k 40 lTc that rinth Inrlrfl nlwnvs !n thf tTPTlPheS. jaa ,uuiiauc auiao, n v Jey goes '.'over the top" for the CHAPTER XII. Bombing. am,a Vwvtra in tho Rprtifin welcomed me Iktk, but there were many strange vaces. Several of our men had gone Jpeet In that charge, and were lying !iomewhere in France" with a little wooden cross at their heads. We were In rest billets. The next day our cap- In asked for volunteers for bombers bhooL I gave my name and was acc epted. I had joined the Suicide club, id my troubles commenced. Thlrty ?o men of the battalion, including my- J self, were sent to L , where we j went through a course in bombing. WHere we were Instructed In the uses, methods of throwing and manufacture Jof various kinds of hand grenades, from the old "Jam tin," now obsolete, JSft the present Mills bomb, the standard jot the British army. It all depends where yon are as to what von are called. In France they s call yon a "bomber" and give you med- yys, while In neutral countries they call you an anarchist and give you "life." From the very start the Germans fl were well equipped with effective j bombs and trained bomb throwers, but the English army was as little pre pared in thl3 Important department or "feEhtini s in manv others. At bomb- Ing school an old sergeant of the Gren- i amw rmnrria. vcnnm i nnn line troou J fortune to meet, told me of the discour agements this branch of the service suffered before they could meet the Germans on an equal footing. (Paci fists and small army people In the U. S. please read with care.) The first English expeditionary forces had no bombs at all, but had clicked a lot of 'casualties from . those thrown by the Boches. One bright morning someone higher up had an idea and issued an order detailing two men from each platoon to go to bombing school to learn the duties of a bomber and how to manufacture bombs. Noncommls slooed officers were generally selected for this course. After about two weeks at school they returned to their nnits in rest billets or in the fire trench, as the case might be, and got linav teaehine their platoons how to :e "jam tins." Previously an order had been issued tife all ranks to save empty jam tln3 pit the manufacture of bombs. A pro fessor of bombing would sit on the the front trench with the of his section crowding see him work. OnTils left would be a pile of empty nnd rnstv-Jam tins, while beside him on the fire step would be a miscella neous assortment of material used in the manufacture of the "jam tins." Tommy would stoop down, get an 2opty ."Jam tin," take a handful of clayey mud from -the parapet, and line the Inside of the tin with this sub stance. Then he would reach over, pick tip his detonator and explosive, and insert them in the tin, fuse pro truding. On the fire step would be a . nUe of fragments of shell, shrapnel balls, bits of iron, nails, etc. anything that was hard enough to send over to Fritz ; he would scoop up a handful or this junk and put it in the bomo. per haps one of the platoon would ask him what he did this for, and he would explain' that when the bomb exploded these bits would fly about and kill or wound any German hit by same; the questioner would immediately pull a button off his tunic and hand it to the bomb maker with, "Well, blame ie, send t over as a souvenir," or v wnnl" volunteer an -Spken jackknife; both nd Inserted, r would take an Sind fill the tin, ch a hole in Hit over the I:king out. litly wrap tin, and 3. i fire step in 1 Vremainder i mround to (ip in WHOVENT MIlIJIKlWIMY MACHINE 0UNHER, JERYING IN fWfCP ' 19(7 OY ARTHUR ciY tnpry CLUB," AS THE BOMBING CALLED. first hears the sound of big guns and After a brief period of training front-line trenches, where he takes the bullets whiz overhead, kmpey 7 - - - first time and has a desperate fight. 2 bomb. To Ignite the fuse, you had to rub it on the "striker," just the same as striking a match. The fuse was timed to five seconds or longer. Some of the fuses issued in those days would burn down in a second or two, while others would "sizz" for a week before exploding. Back in Blighty the muni tion workers weren't quite up to snuff, the way they are now. If the fuse took a notion to burn too quickly they gen erally burled the bomb maker next day. So making bombs could, not be called a "cushy" or safe job. After making several bombs the pro fessor instructs the platoon in throw ing them. He takes a "Jam tin" from the fire step, trembling a little, be cause It is nervous work, especially when new at It, lights the fuse on his striker. The fuse begins to "sizz" and sputter and a spiral of smoke, like that from a smoldering fag, rises from it. The platoon splits in two and ducks around the traverse nearest to them. They don't like the looks and sound of the burning fuse. When that fuse begins to smoke and "sizz" you want to say good-by to it as soon as possible, so Tommy with all his might chucks it over the top and crouches against the parapet, waiting for the explosion. Lots of times in bombing the "jam tin" would be picked up by the Ger mans, before it exploded, and thrown back at Tommy with dire results. After a lot of men went West in this manner an order was issued, reading something like this : "To all ranks In the British army: After Igniting the fuse and before iv .:- Throwing Hand Grenades. throwing the jam-tin bomb, count slowly one I two ! three I" This in order to give the fuse time enough to burn down, so that the bomb would explode before the Germans could throw it back. Tommy read the order he reads them all, but after he Ignited the fuse and it began to smoke orders were forgotten, and away she went In record time and back she came to the further discomfort of the thrower. Then another order was Issued to count, "one hundred! two hundred I three hundred!" But Tommy didn't care if the order read to count up to a thousand by quarters, he was going to get rid of that "jam tin," because from experience he had learned not to trust it. When the powers that be realized that they could not change Tommy they decided to chenge the type of bomb and did so substituting the "hair brush," the. "cricket ball," and later the Mills bomb. The standard bomb used in the Brit ish army is the 'Mills." It is about the shape and size of a large lemon. Al though not actually a lemon, Fritz In sists that It Is; perhaps he judges It by the havoc caused by Its explosion. The Mills bomb Is made of steel, the outside of which is corrugated Into 48 small squares, which, upon the explo sion of the bomb, scatter in a wide roa, wounding or killing any Fritz is unfortunate enough to be hit one of the flying fragments. "thnvsJ a vry destructive and cf- If If ft ft fldentre of th thicwer, In ttsnt ho knows It will not explode until re leased from his grip. It is a mechanical device, with a lever, fitted into a slot at the top, which extends half way around the circumference and is held in place at the bottom by a fixing pin. In this pin there Is a small metal ring, for the purpose of extracting the pin when ready to throw. You do not throw a bomb the way a baseball Is thrown, because, when in a narrow trench, your hand is liable to strike against the parados, traverse or parapet, and then down goes the bomb, and, In a coupU of seconds or so, up goes Tommy., In throwing, the bomb and lever are grasped in the right hand, tho left foot Is advanced, knee stiff, about one and a half its length to the frot-t, while the right leg, knee bnt, is carried slightly to the right. The left arm is extended at an angle of 45 degrees, pointing in the direction the bomb is to be thrown. This position is similar to that of shot putting, only that the right arm is extended downward. Then you hurl the boinb from you with an overhead bowling motion, the same as in cricket, throwing! it fairly high in the air, this in order to give the fuse a chance to burn down so that when the bomb lands, It immediately ex plodes and gives the Germans no time to scamper out of its range or to re turn it. As the bomb leaves your hand, the lever, by means of a spring, is projected into the air and falls harmlessly to the ground a few feet in front of the bomber. When the lever flies off It releases a strong spring, which forces the firing pin into a percussion cap. This ignites the fuse, rifv burns down and sets off the detonafwr, charged with fulmi nate of mercury, which explodes the main charge of ammonal. The average British soldier Is not an expert at throwing; it Is a new game to him, therefore the Canadians and Americans, who have played baseball from the kindergarten up,' take natu rally to bomb throwing and excel in this act. A six-foot English bomber will stand in awed silence when ha sees a little flve-foot-nothing Canadian outdistance his throw by several yards. I have read a few war stories of bombr ing, where baseball pitchers curved their bombs when throwing them, but a pitcher who can do this would make "Christy" Mathewson look like a piker, and is losing valuable time playing in the European War bush league, when he would be able to set the "big league" on fire. We had a cushy time while at this school. In fact, to us it was a regular vacation, and we were very sorry when one morning the adjutant ordered us to report at headquarters for trans portation and rations to return to our units up the line. Arriving at our section, the boys once again tendered us the glad mitt, but looked uskance at us out of the corners of their eyes. They could not conceive, as they expressed It, how a man could be such a blinking idiot as to join the Suicide club. I was begin nlng to feel sorry that I had become a member of euld club, and my life to me appeared doubly precious. Now that I was a sure-enough bomber I was praying for peace and hoping that my services as such would not be required. CHAPTER XIII. My First Official Bath. Bight behind our rest billet was a large creek about ten feet deep and tjventy feet across, and It was a habit of the company to avail themselves of an opportunity to take a swim and at the same time thoroughly wash them selves and their underwear when on their own. We were having a spell of hot weather, and these baths to us were a luxury. The Tommies would splash around in the water and then come out and sit In the sun and have what they termed a "shirt hunt." At first we tried to drown the "cooties," but they also seemed to enjoy the bath. One Sunday morning the whole sec tion was in the creek and we were hav ing a gay time, when the sergeant ma j jor appeared on the scene. He came to the edge of the creek and Qrrlered : "Come out of It. Get your equipment on, 'drill order,' and fall in for bath parade. Look lively, my hearties. You have only got fifteen minutes." A howl of indignation from the creek greeted this order, but out we came. Disci pline is discipline. We lined up In front of our billet with rifles and bay onets (why you need rifles and bayo nets to take a bath gets me), a full quota of ammunition, and our tin hats; Each man had a piece of soap and a towel. After an eigLt-kilo march along a dusty road, with an occasional shell whistling overhead, ws arrived at a little squat frame building upon the bank of a cre'ek. Nailed over the door of this building was a large sign which read "Divisional Baths." In a wooden shed in the rear we could hear a wheezy old engine pumping water. The joys of th bath are de picted by Empey in the next in stallment. (TO BE CONTINUED.) Great Writers Lazy. Shelley had an indolent vein. Re was very fond of the water, and many of his finest poems were composed &3 he idled at his ease in a boat. II made the best of his short life, how ever, and that cannot be said for Cole ridge, who seemed to be afflicted with that lack of will to wcrk which some people call laziness, lie had cpe ol the greatest minds, but he left ever NO HUT TO IN GOING OVER THERE EVERY SHIP THAT SAILS WILL TAKE FIGHTING MEN AND THEIR SUPPLIES. MORE THAN FIVE MILLION ? President Tells Great New York Gath ering That Every Eenergy and Every Resource Must Be Concen trated to Crush the Horrible Hun. The President's speech in full fol lows: "Mr. chairman and fellow country men: I should be very sorry to think that Mr. Davison in any degree cur- J tailed his exceedinly interesting 3peech for fear that he was postpon ing mine, because I ani sure you lis tened with the same intent and inti mate interest with which I listened to the extraordinarily vivid account he gave of the things which he had re alized because he had come in contact with them on the other side of the waters. "There are two duties with which we are face to face. The first duty is to win the war. And the second duty, that goes hand in hand with it, is to win it greatly and worthily, showing the real quality of our power not oniy, but the real quality, of our purpose and of ourselves. First Duty is to Win. "Of course, the first duty, the duty that we must keep in the foreground of our thought until it is accomplish ed, is to win the war. I have heard gentlemen recently say that we must get five million men ready. Why limit it to five million? "I have asked the Congress of the United States to rame no limit be cause the Congress intends, I am sure, as we all intend, that every ship that can carry men or supplies shall go laden upon every voyage with every man and every supply she can carry. "And, we are not to be diverted from the grim purpose of winning the war by any insincere approaches upon the subject of peace. I can say with a clear conscience that I have tested those intimations and have found them insincere. I now recognize them for what they are, an opportunity to have a free hand, particularly in the east, to carry out purposes of con quest and exploitation. To Stand by Russia. "Every proposal with regard to ac commodation in the west involves a reservation with regard to the .east. Now, as far as I am concerned, I in tend to stand by Russia as well as France." A voice from the audience inter rupted with: "God bless you." "The helpless and the friendless are the very ones that need friends and succor; and if any man in Germany thinks we are going to sacrifice any body for our own sake, I tell them now they are mistaken. "For the glory of this war, my fel low citizens, in so far as we are con cerned ,is that it is, perhaps for the first time in history, an unselfish war. I could not be proud to fight for a selfish purpose, but I can be proud to fight for mankind. If they wish peace, let them come forward through ac credited representatives and lay iheir terms on the table. We have laid ours, and they know what they are. Force to the Utmost. "But behind all this grim purpose, my friends, lies the opportunity to demonstrate not only force which will be demonstrated to the utmost, but the opportunity to demonstrate char acter, and it is that opportunity that we have most conspicuously in the work of the Red Cross. Not "that our men In arms do not represent our character, for they do, and it is a character which those who see and realize appreciate and admire; but their duty is the duty ot force. The duty of the Red Cross is the duty of mercy and succor and friendship. "Have you formed a picture, in your imagination of what this war is doing for us and for the world? In my own mind I am convinced that not a hundred years of peace could have knitted this nation together as this single year of war has knitted it to gether; and better even than that, if possible, it is knitting the world to gether. "Look at the picture. In the center of the scene, four nations engaged against the world, and at every point of vantage, showing that they are seeking selfish aggrandizement; and, against the 23 governments represent ing the greater part of the population of the world drawn together in a new sense of community of purpose, a new sense of unity of life. Great Day of Duty. "My friends, a great day of duty has come, and duty finds a man's soul as no kind of work can ever find It. "May I say this"? The duty that faces us all now is to serve one an other, and no man can afford to make a. fortune out of this war. There are men amongst us who have forgotten that, If they ever saw it. Some of you are old enough I am old enough to remember men who made for tunes out of the civil war, and you know how they were regarded by their fellow citizens. That was a war to save one country this is a war to save the worm. "And your relation to the Red Cross is one of the relations which will relieve you of the stigma. You can't give anything to the government of the United States; it won't accept it. There is a la-w of Congress against accepting even services with out pay. The only thing that the gov ernment will accept Is a loan, and du ties performed: but it is a great deal better to give than to lend or to pay, and your great channel for giving Is to the American Red Cross. "Down in your hearts you can take very much satisfaction, in the last analysis, in lending money to the government of the United States, be cause the Interest which you diaw wil burn in your pockets; It is a com mercial transaction, and some men have even dared to cavil at the raie j of interest, not knowing the inciden- ! tal commentary that constitutes upon ! their attitude. ' "But when you give, something of your heart, something of your soul, : something of yourself goes with tha , gift, particularly when it is given in i such form that it never can come back j by' way of direct benefit to yourself. You know theie is the old cynical defi nition of gratitude, as 'Th lively ex pectation of favors to come.' "Well, there is no expectation of ! favors to come in this kind of giving. I These things are bestowed in order ; that the world may be restored; that suffering may be relieved; that the face of the earth may have the blight of destruction taken away from it and that wherever force goes, there shall go mercy and helpfulness. Give to the Limit. "And when you give, give abso lutely all that you can spare, and don't consider yourself liberal In the giving. If you give with self-adulation, you arfc not giving at all, you are giving to your own vanity; but If you give until it hurts .then your heart blood goes into it. "And think what we have here. We call it the American Red Cross, but it is merely a branch of a great international organization, which is not only recognized by the statutes of each of the civilized governments of the work', but it is recognized by in ternational agreement and treaty as the recognized and accepted instru mentality of mercy and succor. And one of the deepest stains that rests upon the reputation of the German army is that they have not respected the Red Cross. "That goes to the root of the mat ter. They have not respected the in strumentality they themselves partici pated in setting up as the thing which no man was to touch, because it was the expession of common hu manity. "We are members, by being mem bers of the American lied Cross, of a great fraternity and comradeship which extends all over the world, and this cross which these lads bore to day is an emblem of Christianity it self. "It fills my imagination, ladies and gentlemen, to think of the women all over this country who are busy to night and are busy every night and every day doing the work of the Red Crops, busy with a great eagerness to find out the most serviceable thing to do, busy with a foregetfulness of all the old frivolities of their social relationships ready to curtail the du ties of the household in order tfrat they may contribute to this common work that all their hearts are engaged in, and in doing which their hearts be come acquainted with each other. "And you have, then, this noble pic ture of justice and mercy as the two servants of liberty, or only where men are free do they think the thoughts of comradeship; only where they are free do they think the thoughts of sympathy; only where they are free are they mutually help ful; only where they are free do they realize their dependence upon One an other and their comradeship in a com mon interest and common necessity. "I heard a story told the other day that was ridiculous, but it Is worth repeating, because it contains the germ of truth. An Indian was enlist ed in the army. He returned to the reservation on a furlough. He was asked what he thought of It. "He said: 'No much good; tod much salute; not much shoot.' Then he was asked: 'Are you going back?' 'Yes.' 'Well, do you know what you are fighting for?' 'Yes, me know; fight to make whole damn world demo cratic party. "He had evidently misunderstood some inocent sense of my own. But after all, although there is no party purpose in it, he got it right as far as the word 'party'; to make the whole world democratic in the sense of com munity of interest and of purpose, and if you ladies and gentlemen could read some of the touching dispatches which come through official channels, for even through these channels there come voices of humanity that are in finitely pathetic; if you could catch some of those voices that speak the utter longing of oppresssed and help less peoples all over the world to hear something like the Battle Hymn of the Republic, to hear the feet of the great hosts of liberty going to set them free to set their minds free, set their lives free, set their children free, you would know what comes into thfl heart of those who are trying to con tribute all the brains and power they erty. I summon you to the comraf ship. I summon you in this next w to say how much and how sincf and how unanimously you sustaiii heart of the world." 1 i A CHILD GETS SICK CROSS, FEVERISH IF CONSTIPATED LOOK AT TONGUEI THEN GIVE FRUIT LAXATIVE FOR STOM ACH, LIVER, BOWELS. "CALIFORNIA SYRUP OF FIGS" CAN'T HARM CHILDREN AND THEY LOVE IT. Mother! Your child isn't naturally cross and peevish. See If tongue is coated; this is a sure sign the little stomach, liver and bowels need a cleansing at once. ' When listless, pale, feverish, full of cold, breath bad, throat sore, doesn't eat, sleep or act naturally, has stomach-ache, diarrhoea, remember, a gen tle liver anJ bowel cleansing should always be the first treatment given. Nothing equals "California Syrup of Figs" for children's Ills; give a tea spoonful, and in a few hours all the foul waste, sour bile and fermenting food which is clogged in the bowels passes out of the system, and you have a well and playful child again. All children love this harmless, deli cious "fruit laxative," and it never falls to effect a good "inside" cleans ing. Directions for babies, children of all ages and grown-ups are plainly on the bottle. Keep it handy In your home. A little given today saves a sick child tomor row, but get the genuine. Ask your druggist for a bottle of "California Syrup of Figs," then see that it is made by the "California Fig Syrup Company." Adv. MERE HAMMERING MAY WIN But More Effective Way to End War Would Be to Open Eyes of the German People. Among the applicants for enlistment In the Marine corps the other clay was a man with a wooden leg. He gave a demonstration to show that his arti ficial member could be unscrewed with such celerity as to make it equally useful as a baseball bat with which to wnllop the pill In the regimental series or as a war club with which to clout blockheads In raids on the Ger man trenches. In swinging at the domes of Huns rising stealthily from dugout doors it wouldn't matter If a man did have a wooden leg so long as he had his bat ting eye with him. Winning the war, however, Is not a matter of battering brains out, but of hammering sense in. It is not a ques tion of knocking on wood, but of open ing the eyes of the blind. It will take more than wooden legs to wind up the affairs of the Hohen zollern regime. Exchange. FARMERS ARE WGRKIHQ HARDER And using their feet more than ever before. For all these workers the frequent use ol Allen's Foot Ease, the antiseptic powder to be Ehakea into the shoes and sprinkled in the foot-bath, increases their efficiency and in sures needed physical comfort. It takes the Friction from the Shoe, freshens the feet, and prevents tired, aching and blistered feet. Women everywhere are constant users of Allen's Foot Ease. Don't get foot sore, get Allen's FootEase. Sold by dealers every where, 25c. Adv. He Followed Directions. Doctor Have you taken those pills I gave you? Patient Some of them, doctor. "How many of them have you taken?" "About ten, doctor." "There were just twenty-one pills, and I told you to take one after each meal, so In seven days you should have taken them all." "I followed your directions, and took one after each meal. But you must remember, doctor, that I am not a physician, and do not always get three meals every day." You May Try Cuticura Free- Send today for free samples of Cuti cura Soap and Ointment and learn how quickly they relieve Itching, skin and scalp troubles. For free samples, address, "Cuticura, Dept. X, Boston." At druggists and by mail. Soap 25, Ointment 25 and 50. Adv. Unprotected. "Russia's climate is very severe." "Can't believe it. Those Russian dancers never could have survived in a really cold climate." Old People Who Are Feeble and Children Who Are Pale and W eak Would be (freatly beneflted by the General Htrenptn enlng Tonio Bllect of GHOVH d TAWTKLKsS chill TONIC. It parities and enriches the blood and builds tip the whole system. A Oeneral Btrengtn enicg Tonic for Adults and Children. toUc Many a. man who objects to carrying a bundle home from a dry goods store goesyiiome from his club loaded. ,,... d Eyelids. Sties, Inflamed Eyes J?d Sver night by Roman Ky. Balaam. trial proves Us merit Av. ivorry is the most popular form of tide. W, G. Jcrdan.
The Roanoke Beacon and Washington County News (Plymouth, N.C.)
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May 24, 1918, edition 1
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