Newspapers / The Roanoke Beacon and … / Sept. 6, 1918, edition 1 / Page 2
Part of The Roanoke Beacon and Washington County News (Plymouth, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
4iiir CHAPTER XXIV Continued. 23 Just as he finished speaking, the wel come "pup-pup" of a machine gun in their reur rang out, and the front line of the onrush! ng (icrmnns seemed to melt away. They wavered, but once again came rushing onward. Down went their second line. The machine gun was taking an awful toll of lives. Then again they tried to advance, but the machine gun mowed them down. Dropping their rifles and bombs, they broke and fled in a wild rush back to their trench, amid the cheers of "D" company. They were forming again for another attempt, wheu in the rear of D company came a mighty cheer. The ammunition had arrived and with It a battalion of Scotch to re-enforce them. They were saved. The unknown machine gunner had come to the rescue in the nick of time. With the re-enforcements It was an easy .task to take the third German Hue. After the attack was over, the cap tain and three of his noncommissioned officers, wended their way back to the position where the machine gun had done its deadly work. He wanted to thank the gunner in the name of I) company for his magnificent deed. They arrived at the gun, und an awful light met their eyes. Lloyd had -reached the front line trench, after his company had left it. A trange company was nimbly crawling op the trench ladders. They were re enforcemenfs going over. They were Scottles, and they made a magnificent eight in tbeir brigbtly colored kilts and bare knees. Jumping over the trench, Lloyd raced tcross "No Man's Land," unheeding the rain of bullets, leaping over dark forms on the ground, some of which lay still, while others eullei out to him as he peeded past. He came to the German front line, but it was deserted, except for heaps of dead and wounded a grim tribute to the work of his company, good old D company. Leaping trenches, and gasping for breath, Lloyd could see right ahead of him his company in a dead-ended sap of a communication trench, and across the open, away In front of them, a mass of Germnns pre paring for a charge. Why didn't D company fire on them? Why were they o strangely silent? What were they waiting for? Then he knew their am munition was exhausted. But what was that on his right? A machine gun. Why didn't it open fire and save them? He would make that gun's crew do their duty. Rushing over to the gun he saw why it had not opened fire. Scattered around its base lay six srill forms. They had brought their gun to consolidate the captured position, but a German machine gun had decreed they would never fire again. Lloyd rushed to the gun and, grasp ing the traversing handles, trained it on the Germans. He pressed the thumb piece, but only a sharp click was the result. The gun was unloaded. Then he realized his helplessness. He (lid not know how to load the gun. Oh, why hadn't he attended the machine gun course in England? He'd been offered the chance, but with a blush of ehame he remembered that he had been afraid. The nickname of the machine gunners had frightened him. They were called the "Suicide club." Now, because of this fear, his company, would be destroyed, the men of D com pany wo'Ud have to die, because he, Albert L'oyd, had been afraid of a name. I his shame he cried like a baby. Aj yway he could die with them and, rising to his feet, he stumbled over tbe body of oue of the gunners, who emitted a faint moan. A gleam Of hope fltshed Ihrough him. Perhaps this man could tell him how to load 'he gun. Stooping over the body he gently sin -ok it and the soldier opened his eyes. Seeing Lloyd, he closed them again and, in . faint voice, said: ' tht Top V Mil II TOP" MAMOKM50LWER WHO WENT - MACHINE CUM, JBMNG IN fRANCE" ' 1917 DY arthur juy rnpry "Get away, you blighter, leave me alone. I don't want any coward around me." The words cut Lloyd like a knife, but he was desperate. Taking the re volver out of the holster of the dying man he pressed the cold muzzle to the soldier's head and replied : "Yes, It is Lloyd, the. coward of Company D, but so help me God, if you don't tell me how to load that gun I'll put a bullet through your brain !" A sunny smile came over the coun tenance of the dying man aud he said in a faint whisper : "Good old boy ! I knew you wouldn't disgrace our company " Lloyd interposed: "For God's sake. If you want to save that company you are so proud of, tell me how to loud that d d gun!" As if reciting a lesson in school, the soldier replied in a weak, singsong voice: "Insert tag end of belt in feed block, with left hand pull belt left front. Pull crank handle back on roll er, let go, and repeat motion. Gun Is now loaded. To fire, raise automatic safety latch, and press thumbpiece. Gun is now firing. If gun stops, ascer tain position of crank handle " Rut Lloyd waited for no more. With wild Joy at his heart, he took a belt from one of the ammunition boxes ly ing beside the gun. and followed the dying man's instructions. Then .he pressed the thumbpiece and a burst of fire rewarded his efforts. The gun was working. Training it on the Germans he shout ed for Joy as their front rank went down. Traversing the gun back and forth along the mass of Germans, he saw them break and run back to the cover of their trench, leaving their dead and wounded behind. He had saved his company, he, Lloyd, the coward, had "done his bit." Releasing the thumb piece, he looked at the watch on his wrist. He was still alive at "3:3S." "Ping!" a bullet sang through the air, and Lloyd fell forward across the gun. A thin trickle of blood ran down his face from a little, black round hole In his forehead. "The sentence of the court had been "duly carried out." The captain slowly raised the limp form drooping over the gun and, wip ing the blood from the white face, rec ognized it as Lloyd, the coward of D company. Reverently covering the face with his handkerchief he turned to his "noncoms" and, in a voice husky with emotions, addressed them : "Boys, it's Lloyd, the deserter. He has redeemed himself, died the death of a hero died that his mates might live." That afternoon a solemn procession wended its way toward the cemetery. In the front a stretcher was carried by two sergeants. Across the stretcher the Union Jack was carefully spread. Behind the stretcher came a captain and forty-three men, all that were left of D company. Arriving at the cemetery, thev halt ed in front of an open grave. All about them wooden crosses were broken anc" trampled into the ground. A grizzled old sergeant, noting this destruction, muttered under his breath : "Curse the cowardly blighter who wrecked those crosses ! If I could only get these two bunds around his neck his trip West would be short." The corpse on the stretcher seemed to move, or it might have been the wind blowing the folds of the Union Jack, CHAPTER XXV. Preparing for the Big Push. Rejoining Atwell after the execution I had a hard time trying to keep my secret from him. I think I must have lost at least ten pounds worrying over the affair. Beginning at seven in the evening it was our duty to patrol all eommunk-n- in a Chargt. tlon and frontline trendsei, matfiif note of unusual occurrences, and ar resting anyone who should, to vs, ap pear to be acting In a suspicious mau ner. We slept during the day. Behind the lines there was great ac tivity, supplies and ammunition pour ing In, and long columns of troops con stantly passing. We were preparing for the big offensive, the forerunner of the battle of the Somme or "Big Push." The never-ending stream of men, supplies, ammuuition and guns pour ing into the front Hues made a mighty spectacle, one that cannot be de scribed. It has to be witnessed with your own eyes to appreciate Us vust ness. At our part of the line the influx of supplies never ended. It looked like a huge snnke slowly crawling forward, never a hitch or break, a wonderful tribute to the s.v!'iu and eHicioiuy of Great Britain's ''contemptible little army" of five millions of men. Huge fifteen-inch guns snaked alon, foot by foot, by powerful steam tract tors. Then a long line of "four point five" batteries, each gun drawn by six horses, then a couple of "nine point two" howitzers pulled by immense caterpillar engines. When one of these caterpillars would pass me with its mighty monster in tow, a flush of pride would mount' to my face, because I cjmld plainly read on the name plate, "Made in U. S. A.," and I would remember that if I wore a name plate it would also read, "From the U. S. A." Then I would stop to think how thin and straggly that mighty stream would be If all the "Made In U. S. A." parts of It were withdrawn. Then would come hundreds of lim bers and "G. S." wagons drawn by sleek, well-fed mules, ridden by sleek, well-fed men. ever smiling, although grimy with sweat and covered with the fine, white dust of the marvelously well-made French roads. What a discouraging report the Ger man airmen must have taken back to their division commanders, and this stream is slowly but surely getting big ger and bigger every day, and the pace is always the same. No slower, no faster, but ever onward, ever forward. Three weeks before the big push of July I as the battle of the Somme has been called started, exact duplicates of the German trenches were dug about thirty kilos behind our lines. The layout of the trenches was taken from airplane photographs submitted by the Royal flying corps. The trench es were correct to the foot; they showed dugouts, saps, barbed wire de fenses and danger spots. Battalions that were to go over in the first waves were sent back for three days to study these trenches, en gage in practice attacks and have nij,rht maneuvers. Each man was required to make a map of the trenches and fa miliarize himself with the names and location of the parts his battalion was to attack. In the American army noncommis sioned officers are put through a course of map making or road sketching, and during my six years' service in the United States cavalry I had plenty of practice in this work, therefore man ping these trenches was a compara tively easy task for me. Each man had to submit his map to the company commander to be passed upon, and 1 was lucky enough to have mine select ed as being sufficiently authentic to use in the attack. No photographs or maps are allowed to leave France, but In this case It ap pealed to me as a valuable souvenir ot the great war and I managed to smug gle it through. At this time it carries no military importance as the british lines, I am happy to say, have since been advanced beyond this point, so in having it In my possession I am not breaking any regulation or cautions of the British army. The whole attack was rehearsed and rehearsed until we heartily cursed the one who had conceived the idea The trenches were named according to a system which made it very simple for Tommy to find, even in the dark, any point in the German lines. These imitation trenches, or trench models, were well guarded from obser vation by numerous allied planes which constantly (ivled above them. No German airplane could approach within observation distance. A re stricted area was maintained and no civilian was allowed within ihree miles, so we felt sure that we had f great surprise in store for Fritz. (TO BE CONTINUED. I Isinglass From Fish Sounds. Isinglass is made from the sounds or swimming bladders of fish. One ton of hake, says the Popular Science Monthly, will yield from 40 to Trf) pounds of sounds. These are dried, soaked, cut in pieces, rolled Into sheets and cut Into ribbons. The rib bons are dried and wound on wooden spools. One ounce of Isinglass will chirify from 200 to 500 gallons of wine and one pound will clarify from 100 to :"0 barrels of beer. It is used for making cement for mending glass mid pottery and for adhesive plaster and titers Into the manufacture of many lextiles and waterproof fabrics. Tea Plant Purposely Dwarfed. In Its wild state the ten plant grows to n height of from ten to twenty feet: In cultivating it its size is kept down to about three feet for convenience In picking. The ten of Japan is mostly of the green variety. Considerable ii'ack tea Is exported, but Is grown nattily on the Island of Formosa. The fft is usually planted In terraces that xtend from the bases of hills to their very crests, like giant steps that con form with the general contour of tht lillsides. During picking time one ma see large groups of tea-pickers (most ly women) gradually working th wcj downward from tta toy of a Uli) LtSTENlNG-IN BY SIGNAL CORPS III (REMARKABLE DEVICES BY USE OF WHICH GERMAN MES SAGES ARE CAPTURED. WIRES FAR AWAY TAPPED Student Army Training Corps Plant Changed to Conform to Lowered Draft Ages Soldiers Want Lemon Drops and Soluble Coffee. The listening-in service of the signal corps of the array Is one of Its Inter esting activities. Information of the enemy and his movements Is always of use, and sometimes of great Impor tance. The signal corps operates numerous listening-in stations close to or within the enemy's lines, at which, by means of devices recently perfected, it is able not only to Intercept any radio mes sage but also to determine accurately the location of the radio Instrument which transmits It. This Information as to location is transmitted to the artillery, which proceeds to put the radio station out of business. German telephone wires have been made to divulge their secrets, though such wines are well within German ter ritory where It Is Impossible to tap their lines. This Is accomplished by one of the most ingenious Instruments that has been produced. By means of It our signal corps man can sit in his dugout on the front line with a re ceiver to his ear and hear any tele phone message well within the enemy territory, even though several thou sand Huns may Intervene between him and the nearest point to the telephone wires being used by the enemy. The signal service of the army came into existence with development of the telegraph during the Civil war, and was expanded greatly In the Spanish American war. It was then a mounted organization, mobile as cavalry, and used largely to serve the needs of the cavalry. It developed practically a perfect system for open warfare. A new system had to be originated for trench warfare and experts began the study of this problem and the use of telephone and telegraph lines and the radio as soon as the present war started. Signal corps men were among the first units sent to France after the United States entered the war. The French system of rignaling has been adopted In part, but with many purely American innovations. The whole fighting area within ten miles of the front lines is a mass" of lines of Information. There Is the wire net, or telegraph and telephone; the radio; the visual, or searchlight and fire works, and the messengers, runners and motorcyclists. Plans for the student army training corps have been changed by the war department to conform to the lowered draft ages. The war department will utilize the plant, equipment and organ ization of the colleges to maintain a reservoir of officer material for train ing as officers and technical experts from which it will be possible to meet the enlarged needs of the various branches of the service. The length of time during which men will be trained in the colleges will depend on the needs of the service. As fast as one group of trained men Is drawn from the colleges into the serv ice their places will be taken by a new quota obtained by voluntary In duction or through the draft. In this way the educational facilities of the country will be used to maintain a constant supply of men who are trained to meet the needs of the army. Under the regulations selected young men who are physically fit for mili tary service, who are eighteen years of age or over, and who have had a grammar school education may be In ducted as volunteers into the army and enter upon a course of special train ing. Those who have had only a gram mar school education will enter ordi narily special training detachments to be trained along mechanical lines of military training. Those who prove In the course of their mechanical train ing that they are officer material may be transferred to a unit in one of the colleges to be prepared to enter a cen tral officers' training camp. Young men who have had a high school education will be allowed to en ter the. college for more advanced training as officers and as technical experts of various kinds, according to their experience and abilities. Those who show promise under this training will be kept in college until qualified to enter an officer training camp or be sent directly into the service as tech nical experts; those who do not show promise under the training will be sent either to noncommissioned offi cers' schools, to the nearest depot bri gade or to detachments where men are trained according to their technical or mechanical abilities. Your Taffeta Underskirt. Taffeta has an unenviable reputation for splitting or crn eking. True, the chiffon taffeta Is trying hard to work up a better reputation with excellent results. But if your taffeta under skirt when you first get it is dipped in water nnd then hung up without wringing to dry, the silk will not crack so readily. Tub Silk Blouses. When It cornea to the more sub Utntip.1 tal;rd blouses tub silks still Lemon drops and conee are popular with the army. There is such a de maud for lemon drops that the quar termasters corps is having difficulty In obtaining the. desired quantity and quality. About 200,000 pounds of lemon drops are used each month' at the present time, or about 15 per cent of the amount of candy furnished the army. The lemon drops being supplied the army are made of pure granulated sugar and flavored with an emulsion made from the rind of the lemon. The extra sour lemon drop is the favorite with the soldiers. It has the thirst quenching quality of lemonade. The formula was prepared specially, and Is being followed by the candy manu Tacturers supplying the army. The entire output of all factories In the United States making soluble cof fee Is being purchased by the quarter masters corps for the army, but It Is not sufficient to meet the demand ; new companies are being organized and large capital Is being expended to Insure a largely Increased output. Soluble coffee Is used in the front line trenches, where It Is not possible always to have hot . water because It cannot be brought up from the rear and fire to heat water causes smoke which Invites the fire of the enemy. The men can make good coffee from the cold water which they carry in their canteens. Increasing needs of the military forces for woolens has brought an or der from the woolens section of the war industries board stopping the manufacture of woolen or worsted hand knitting yarns, and calling for reports as to stock held by the manu facturers, and wholesale and retail merchants. The Red Cross is buying up these stocks at a nominal profit to the hold ers for use in Its war work. A much greater supply Is required, and the Red Cross will take up stocks of yarn suitable In quality and quantity as rapidly as they are offered. Large manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers reported their stocks on hand promptly, but many small mer chants throughout the country have failed to report to the woolens section, and reports have been received they are continuing to sell to their custom ers. The war Industries board has no desire to penalize those who have re ported their stocks of yarn for the benefit of those who have not so re ported, and asks for Immediate replies from those who hold unreported stocks of hand knitting yarns and compliance with the original order of the board. The yarns affected Include both wool en and worsted in Oxfords, khaki, nat ural and natural gray colors with the counts, make, quality and cost price. Reports should be made oo lots down to 50 pounds. The United States has vast known sulphur deposits guaranteeing an abun dant supply for the manufacture of sulphuric acid and other necessary war materials for the successful prosecu tion of the war. Two great plants are now turning out most of the sulphur needed. One Is in Louisiana and the other in Texas. There are two other known deposits which can be opened up quickly In case of necessity. Preliminary work on one of these Is under progress to meet any unexpected emergency, such as destruction or damage by hurricane as occurred recently at the Louisiana plant. Sulphur is melted In the ground by steam and hot water and forced to the surface through wells where the molten sulphur solidifies on exposure to the air. The sulphur deposit underlies a bed of quicksand through which it is Impossible to drive shafts and mine In the ordinary way. The development of this project Is one of the Interesting mechanical achievements of the past decade, and the United States is now by far the greatest producer of sul phur. Colonel Churchill, chief of the mil itary intelligence branch of the gen eral staff, warns American editors against publication, as authentic and reliable, of statements in letters from American prisoners in German .camps of the excellence of the food and gen eral treatment of the prisoners. An officer of the military intelligence branch who spent two years of the war in Germany reports that there are certain rules laid down by the German military authorities for all prisoners in letter writing. The price they pay for the transmission of their letters Is that they must state that they are well treated, that the food is good and that they are contented. The letters of the prisoners are carefully censored at the prison camp and any statements made contrary to the rules laid down for letter writing simply means destruc tion of the letter. It is concluded, therefore, that any information coming from American prisoners in Germany is absolutely un reliable and should not be published in American newspapers or magazines as in any way authentic. A few letters from apparently contented American prisoners in camps have made their appearance already in American news papers. lead, though there are many good linen tailored blouses in both the heavy and sheer weaves. The familiar Chi nese and Japanese silks and some new effects in wash silk crepes are much used, as is the ever-popular crepe in wonderful lines of plain as well a in striped and fancy effects. f Charming soft turbans are brocade and fur. 1 Real filet Is a great favo daily for brassiere. J n Who Is On the Lord's Side? iii By REV. J. H. RALSTON, D. D. Secretary of Correspondence Department, Moody Bible Inetltute. Chicago TEXT Whoso is on Jehovah's aide 1st him come unto me. R. V. 7 'A It Is related that at a certain poiut ln Lincoln's presidential experience, whn the affairs of the Union were i" a precarious con dition, a friend remarked to him that it was a good thing to have the Lord on our side. Mr. Lincoln very se riously replied that he was more concerned about whether he were on the Lord's side. There are indications that the German kai ser is more con cerned on having the Lord on his side than about being on the Lord's side. The natural tendency of man Is to seek his own or the things of human ity, rather than the things of the Lord, and man Is simply asking what some particular course will bring to him, or what it will bring to his time. The chief end of man In these days is not to glorify God. In this, grievous wrong is done. When a course of action is before one, the chief question should not be, "How will it affect me?" nor Indeed, "How will it affect my neigh bor?" but "How will it affect God?" The great need of the day is a new sensing of God God at the beginning, God in the middle, God at the ending. The right thing for man is to ask where God is, and to go where he is. If man would do that many of his great theological questions would be , settled. God manifests himself through his Word, and if men would go to the Word of God with these questions' they would soon be substan tially correct on all of them. The text suggests the question, "Who is on the Lord's side?" or rather, "What man or woman has a right to say that he is oa the Lord's side?" In the particnlAr case before us, thej people had made a golden calf and were worshiping it. To do that was to break the first two commandments of the Decalogue, and it became open idolatry. It is inevitable that a man worship. If he does not worship God he will worship som thing, or some one else. Nor can a oan be on the Lord's side if he does those things that the Lord hates. If a man would know his duty to the Lord he should seek to know what the Lord thinks of certain things, and here again he must take the Lord's judg ment through his Word, for he cannot know what the Lord thinks unless he knows his Word. As to particular ac tions, a man may be left to his own judgment, but as to the great princi ples that He at the root of things, the Lord makes clear declaration in his Word. Does the Lord love a liar, bru tality, deception? The remnant of God's image in man says at once, "No I No !" Does the Lord favor truth, lib erty, kindness? That same remnant of God's image says, "Yes ! Yes !" And consequently, the duty is clear, and he should stand for these things. We might sum up everything by sayings "Ye cannot serve God and mammon." The scene connected with our text was probably this: There was. a golden calf and people were dancing about it. Moses stood aloof and made the cry, "Whoso is on the Lord's side, let him come to me." Ac cording to the constitution and nature of man we make appeals to him as to his conscience, to his sense of duty or privilege, and he must make choice. What Is it to be on the Lord's side It is a natural inheritance from our sinning first parents that we will eithei be indifferent to God's commands or we will positively refuse to obey them. Fundamentally, the issue Is the ' same. In the case before us, the wor shiper of the go!den calf either con, tlnued his dancing and worship, ot just endeavored to be neutral. A maa must "come across;" he must take positive stand. The position of a neu. tral is the position of the enemy of God. There are no neutrals In our country now as to Germany. FolUIcaU ly we were neutral until the president said that a state of war existed, but now the neutral is a pro-German. We must be out and out for the United. States of America. A man's religious obligations could be illustrated by tak Ing the two sides of an Imaginary line, and to an imaginary line there can be only two sides. It is one thing or it is the other. We must be positively,, clearly, professionally on God's side, or we are against him. In the day in. which we are living the ideals and mc tives are to be more sharply defined than in former days. An eloquent man said very recent!? that heretofore men were living to make money, and now they are dying to preserve righteousness, a tremen dous reversal of form. Precisely sa a man's actions; if their character Is to be determined by whether the? are right In the sight of God rather- i than whether they have been person f ally or socially beneficial, man will ar rive at the realization of the purpose. lof God and at the realization of hi- town greatest happiness.
The Roanoke Beacon and Washington County News (Plymouth, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Sept. 6, 1918, edition 1
2
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75