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SUNDAY MORNING, DECEMBER 6, .914.' r THE NEWS AND OBSERVER 13 v WORLD'S GREATtST VIOLINIST TELES OF Fritzs Kreisler, Early in Conflict," Joined His Regiment -J-and-VVenMo Front DescnbefifTerrible Life of Sol- v - diers in the Trenches. : i Shortly after the outbreak of th European war news h received in tola country that Frita Kreisler, the I't- -sreatear-vtottntatr a r Join " th Austrian regiment of which ha "waa a member and had rone to the -toont. Kreisler 1 well aftowa Tri"lhi- :-r ; -eoentry. and "th news waa received with treat regret, which waa Intend- lied when a report came that ha had , been killed. Although this waa only , la the form of a rumor, there were ; , many people who believed it, and the - thousands of mulc lover who did "; not quite credit it were nevertheless confirmed in their anxiety for the . ajety of the artist. .Later came the ' s ." definite newa that he had been wounded before Lumber and re . moved to a hospital, which, under the '. circumstances, waa Rood newa. aaya an article in tne New York Times. Frlti Kreisler and hie American ': wife walked down the gangplank of a tnttcn ateamer last .Tuesday and landed aaf In New York. The artist leaned on a nibber-tipped cane and , walked alowly,' with a limp, becauae . hip had been torn by the lance of a Cossack who rode him down in the . trenches, and there la a alight stlff - nes In the right shoulder, where he u lamed, probably by the leg of the noree that knocked him down. But he ia to all tntenta and pur poses able to appear on 1 the concert platform and play aa usual. HI about der doe not bother him, and the arm and wrist that draw the wonderful virile tone from hia violin and the ', fingers of the left hand that mold ita tone have escaped through great for tune, even though they were riaked ; ' aa readily aa the leg whose Injury ' make him carry a rane. The- interviewer who waa sent to auk Mr. Krelaler to tell hia war expert ence waa nut altogether a stranger to the artist and his personality, conse- .-.. .uei. Hotel .J tlea he. would he confronted with;-and sure- ettotrtrh; they were there Kreisler is b of the men about It van truly be -Said that he ts unaffectedly and Innately modest; - slso. that tie " 1 hugelv -sincere In other words, not at nil the manto. get. mwd wnrf out of when he is the hero. That phrase is pattered oil, about a good many men. It ...haji- pene to tie true of Kreisler. For the hs-refit of any one who does '. not fcho::ll may be an well to ray Iter fhut the violinlet dees-not hr t he 7 remotest way resemble- the type that passed In the pre-modern era ai the musical "virtuoso. Those who go to I he concert halls, will know this: aiid for the others it will be valuable to - -point nut that a new order of things exists. Kreisler is an- upstanding man of sturdy figure. Willi heavy shoulders mid neck and an easy gait who (turn the impression Hi first sight that he ban. as follwers of the limit art would sny, a "wallop m either mitt." lie looks at if he would have jthe better of the average man In strength unU enduranre. All these things should le remeni- .inrd ae-the-sfory-tif tinw The' world famous virtuoso turned soldier at i moment' notice is considered. On' other thing should also 1i borne in mind, namely, that Mr. Kreisler recognized hi a keen observer und a Host reaaoner, and that the Impres sions nt im man. pointed an they are by the vision and itiiugination of . s highly setiHitive artist, should af ford some interest ins; first-hand evi depoe on the psychology of the hat tie fir Id. As. nearly as it ran be pieced to gether. this 1m what Kriti Kreisler told of his experiences as a soldier and his resulting reflections: V Osiwd to tile Front. After having given concerts in France and Germany during the sum raer I was on my way from KwiLxer land with Mr. Kreisler when I learn ed of the declaration of oar Ixtween Austria and Hervsa As 1 am an of fleer in the Third Infantry Regiment of the lamixturm, I Immediately went to t ienna and reported. We spent iwo Weeks there and at Grata in prep aration and then my regiment waa ordered to the neighborhood of 1-em ... berg, Jn iinlicla. We gn to the fight log line ahout August It. , "Our orders here were to hold our . positions at any cost and you know , ahat that ineana We were two army corn to seven of the lUissians. and our task was to hold" them back until our -reinforcements came up. That meant fighting day and night with out rest. - "It-is all. a vague, blurred Imprea aion in my mind. 1 cannot call it even a nightmare, for It lacks the , definite impression that a nightmare - sometimes creates. You will see what I mean shortly. For instance, when -' you hear (lie first shell burst, it Is a terrible thing: the whining In the air, the deafening crash, and the death It spread around It. That Is what you . think of your first shell. Rut you think less ef the second and third. and after that they pasa out , of your 1- mina. Tn first man ou see die affect ymi terribly. I shall not foigft mine. He sat in a trench and suddenly he 'began to cough two or three times " like an old man. A little blood showed j at his mouth and then he toppled over L- and lay quiet That was ulL - Very shortly none of theae things affect you. ltina made rne mournful when 1 have thought how quickly we ail threw over everything the cen turiea have taught us. tine day we were all ordinary civilised men. Two or three days later our 'culture' had dropped .aside like a cloak and we .1 were brutal and primeval. "I was in the trenches three amlia, V Sflhstance. without a single change 4 - of clothes ot any kind. Hut I never I thought of It, For ail of ua the things that were Considered necessities in a ' civilisation simply dropped out of existence. A toothbrush waa not imaginable. We ate. instinctively, : when wi half food, with our hands, f If we had stopped to think of H at Saih it woum nave seemetf ludicrotis to bother using a knife and fork. "A certain fierceness arise in rou. an absolute indifference to anything fighting, lou are eating a crtast of bread and a man fa shot dead in the trench )next to you. Yon look at him caimla for a moment and then go on f -estins your bread. Why not? There - la nothing to do. In the end you get! to taiging or your own aeath la the , trench with aa much excitement aa yon eould get up over a luncheon en gagetnentu - 1 TVroch Life a Dreary One. "Why? Becauae there Is nothing else- left in y(Hir mind hot the fact 'that hordes of men yoa belong-with ' are fighting with other horde and your side must win. That is. your complete psychosis.' It is only snm .tremendous fore like this warfare that can so destroy the individual' TncepUoS dTTiirhself white ha still .'. lives. ' . ' " , ' ' "It become terribly dreary waiting .in the trenches, with no Incident but the occasional wounding or killing of a man near enough to se'. Actual firhuosT la, under these- condition WAR AS HE SAW IT welcomed by ths soldier as a great relief. - "For the officer there la perhaps a little mora variety.stnce they-mtut keep thinking about and safeguarding their responsibility. It began to get very hard for Msto holdbacsJujf fnenrTor instance. We had been In a trench in a awamp for three day. The water gradually drained in and finally reached our knees. We resort' ed to balling with our hats, but that did not help much. I nder these clr cumstances It became difficult-to con vince our men that it waa wis to stay Intrenched, rather than try charge. "On the modern field of battle the soldier of Infantry is a small unit. We eould took out and see the clouds of smoke and hear the thunder of the guns, but there was little el' except now and then the sight of an earo- plane. You could hear the whirr of the motor, but they generally flew so high-we dared not fire at them for fear that the hall of bullets would tall back among our own men. "Amid this absence of all sign of !lfe it waa hard to convince our boy that their time had not yet come. As I have said, we were then outnum bered by the M Haitians about three to one and our aim was to hold our posi tions until the reinforcing troops could be brought up in the rear and form permanent lines. "In the trenches we were generally Without food, several times for three days at a stretch. 1 have more than once licked the dew from the grass to moisten my throat because I could get nothing to drink. The roads were 1m passable and the supply trains moved only with great difficulty at the out set of the war. Now and then a cow would be found, shot, butchered on the spot, and then we could roast portions In the trenches and eat' -where we were. In the night time they would were available, and then ,,we woul4. nave soup. "Somehow the physical discomfort rr-Hhat . is a tame w,rd tor apply doea you. no Tftarm, Indeed you feel better physically. I am of a nervous tem perament. 1 would never have given myself ..credit - beforehand fotr ' betng able to get through what I. went througb. But -when I Was -In It. . I found It did JnsvJM .stsHi'ttsw.WsK trary it improved me in some ways. t'or . Instance, my -eyeeht - was firr better on the battlefield than It ever was "before. T could see like a hawk, for long distances; belter than I cap now. My nerves disappeared. in Horrible, shocking Mights that were seen hourly did not a fleet me as much as some leu era -1 gel now from i friend or well w:isher expressing sym patliy. "t'oming hack to comfort and safety lias heen more of a shock to the jier vous system than I suffered whll I was lighting. And I dread my first concert Hpper:i nee here,, where-l real friend, more than 1 did the'shells of the enemy. I think you can under stand what I mean on the mental side "On the physical side does It mean tluit we moderns under civilization do not live rightly? I)o we eat too much. tlo wsypi too much sleep, do we fail oi proper exercise: r or my expen ence lius shown me that the soldier on the battlefield, milTerlng crippling physical discomfort and mental shock that must almost' have a pathological effect, is really a healthier man than even the one who uses civilizatlon'a best hygienic experience under the most favorable conditions: "That is part of what goes with the primeval condition that war reduces us to. 1 suppose. I have learned my lesson in I he trenches. When we have war. the centuries roll away and we are hack al beginnings at a bound. "Hut therevis another aide to the picture. War may bring unspeakable horrors but it does not fall to unfold the finest flowerings of humanity. "Krom the moment war was de"- eiareo, an ranks disappeared in my country. No one knew who the other was. He was satisfied that they were brothers in their devotion ot their ceuntry. That Is why It has made me angry sometimes when people nave said. Mow could tney take an artist and let him fight?" They should rattier not think it w--thy ot any com ment. I am an Austrian. As soon as war began the last thing I thought of was a violin or that I had ever played one. "Next to me In the trenches were Prince, a sculptor, a mathematician. and a professor, and nobody iteked hem who they were, or cared. We forgot everything except the work we had to do. Why should 1 claim Im munity as an artist? I have seen people whose houses stood In the way of our artillery fire and therefore 'Ka,i t'b rased put the torch to the house cheerfully them selves. I. too; lost everything' 1 had Invested in the regions touched by the fighting. "Before the war w thought the human race had deteriorated. We often said so. We thnnch it hart gone tatigo mad and destroyed Itself in frivolities But the warjlraved mdng"airih"e"hatTons engaged that the race is, Just aa sturdy as it ever was. TDere Is that side to it. Hatred for Foes Is Impersonal. "I have seen acts of the monttehder sympathy and kindness, and real heroism, with my own eyes, go hand- In-hand with grim, stalking war. for instance, it was good to see that the hatred of one foe for another wss only an impersonal thing. In the mass we hated our enemy, but as soon aa we were confronted with him in person, all was kindness to the In dividual, i have seen emaciated Aus trian -soldiers assd t WeTTR he w'Tio w long It had been since they had had enough to eat hand a crust of bread to a Kussian prisoner. And we know from Austrians who were taken prisoners that the Russians nad exactly tne same feelings. Often our wounded would be captured and removed to a Kussian 'field hospital. Then a sudden temporary change in the battle . line-up would force ths Russian to abandon theae prisoner and they would come back to our hands, 8o we well knew hnw ths I Ktlssians -acwa and felt to a'ard us. I Then there were Innumerable lit tle Incidents of the honoring of bravery in a foe. We took one trench, for Instance, after the enemy had out up a gallant fight. The first act was a salute to the foe in acknowledg ment of bis pratneryv-Ana there were the little things like returning the arms of an officer who had fought well but been forced to surrender by the fortunes of war. " , , "There were ail those -fine flwra of? courtesy to show that. 1 perhaps, after all. It was not ' utterly brutal ar d primeval, but that finer feeling bad survived and been cultivated. "I remember bnoe that , a Russian officer tottered out f on of their trenches waving a rag oajbe end of his sword. The firing ceased. He came to our lines. Under his srm was a bottle of wine. He aald he had had nothing to -eat for five day and could stand it no longer, end proposed that w exchange some bread for his wine. V rrped together aume mildewed nieces of bread and gave them fea Mm, y stumbled back to his lines. He hsd nokn to ua and ws to him. and I remember w gar him a handful af cigarette for his comrades. Whan aa got back to hia tranches ths firing waa resumed, but there had been an lMot ftcial trace for twenty minutes. - Th ext morning. I am sorry say. I ttsmbled across hia dead., body. ""Another Incident of pur human kindness being brought out oa ths battlefield " concerned a soldier who was In charge ef tn of the bones that carried our ammunition. Ths sol dier had become deeply attached to the animal he was in charge of. On day a fragment af a shell hit ths boras and made a -deep gaah along tt-side. The man also was wounded, "He stopped a civilian surgeon and asked- hint ta bandage the horse's wounda Tb surgeon gasped In amaaetnent at 1 being asked sucn a thing when there were so many wounded men, and refused. There upon ths soldier drew his bayonet and foreed the surgeon to bandage the animal. They were In a hellish nr all the time and the man waa wound' ed. but be asked no attention for him elf. The acts of heroism were Innu merable, of course, I remembe where three, solidera were sent with a very. Important message to the di vision commnader. In the hope that one of them would get through. They had to cross an open space where they were exposed to a heavy fire, and progress was impeded by barbed-wire entanglements charged with electric Ity, They had to cut - their way through this with Insulated wire cut era. "Two of them were shot dead. The third found himself nearly through when his arm, which had been shot badly, caught In the entan glement and he could not get lf-nut Thereupon the soldier drew his bay onet and finished the work the ene- Ay' fire had begun, amputating hi rm himself. He got clear and de livered his message. Saved by His Orderly. "I have seen artillery caught In an exposed place and the horses killed. The men who tried to work the guns were shot down; then the non -com missioned officer went, and, finally, there were none left but the officers to fire the guns. But they kept at it. The instances of devotion of soldier to officers under fire were numerous "Without, doubt, X owe my life to .my .xrdrti,3;b trenches, my men i .wag. noiaing ; we r . rustisa - ty -tne uosserH on -the night of Kept. . The cavalry only dares attack ln treadwd Infantry at nbrbt. when they have some protection' from rifle, fire. It was about 11:10. when they at tacked us. .... "I can remember' being hit by one horse and kaooked down. While T lay I saw a second Cvossack reach down tn finish nif. Hi got me in the -hip. but an he struck me I fired my revolver.--! remember, seeing liim fall and ths riderless, home gallop- on. Then I became unconscious. "My orderly retired with, the rest of the. company. After the fighting had moved on he came back and started to look for me. using a socket Pash lamp to examine the faces of the dead and wounded. He says that several times he was nearly caught by Cossack patrols, but escaped by dropping to the ground, where he was taken for wounded or dead. He found me ahout 3 a. m.. . so I must have been lying there about four hours. "He says I was lying on the dead Cossack who had wounded me, and that I must have grappled with him and then used him for a pillow. He gave the some brandy and revived me and then assisted me back to our lines and to a field hospital. I was wounded near Komarano. a village a little way to the southwest nf L?m berg. After being In the field hos pital I was taken to Vienna. "During the three and a half week my wife, who had been acting as a Red Cross nurse, had not heard a word from me. The first word she had was that I was dead. That was probably the same report which reached this country. She says that when she heard I was dead, she re ceived that as good news, for at least she had found me. tVnna'a War-Time Mood. "The report of my death originated through a mistake of the surgeon. Next to me in the hospital was lying a man who waa dying. After the sur geon had looked at him an officer in the hospital said. 'Did you know that was Kreisler, the violinist?" The surgeon thought he referred to my neighbor, and when be unfortunate ly died, reported my death. "I was In the hospital three weeks after .reaching Vienna , Then I took tthe cure at the sulphur springs near t -ansnao. After tni a commission of surgeons examined me and pro nounced me unfit for further military duty. My trampled right shoulder has healed and doe not bother me much now. I suppose 1 will always remain at least a stiffness in my log, however. a "I shall always remember my days in Vienna alter i was invalided. I think it was Impossible to have lived in Vienna In war time without loving it. There was an air of sertousn or solemnity, of dignity, and yet tnorougn resolution mat was strik ing. Perhaps, after all, if war cart bring about that feeling of unity that was so apparent through 'all the classes of Vienna, it ma.v have rvalue as a purifier of the dross of human sentiment. "It is my fond hope that after the war has ended we artists will be In a position to carry first the message of peace" mroujn au the . .countries. purely art and religion will be the first forces that will set about the great reconstruction of world syrti- painy. "If. for Instance, the dignified figure of Ysaye were seen on the con cert stage of any country which had been hostile to bis in the war, would there be any one equal to expressing animosity? J don't know what I myr self will be able to do, because I have fGBffht, snd they may not be able to forgive me at first. Can we tear down I tne great wails or hatred that have beeav ere4 between the hationa? "If will be sv gigantic task. I fear art Will suffer. When peace comes although art will try to speak ita message, will not all the energies of the nations be devoted to reestab lishing the' material thing that are of first urgence? I fear all- other Jii . . JT. . "" Lpropose to have any" Is the slogan re- Th?rth!3w are so nTnvrVn dop,d b' ,h omclsiTjrTd. Then there are so many artists who I commercial organization, nf tti.r ir have -fallen: They may not be world famous, but. after all, the art of a country la the sum of what all the artists are. and,, the individual does net lm large.1? -l .Mr. Kreisler now seemed to hare exhausted -his ability to answer ques tions, ms manager nad come for a visit, a ad with Mrs. Kreisler was fin gering over the huge mas of letters of welcome that lay on the table, far too many to nope to catch up with for the present In the conversation that ensued It came eut that the vio linist had been advanced in rank one grade on thedajfe-before he wa dis charged auobild by hi regimental commander that he Waa to he men tioned for "-distinguished service. alreisler bad not seen fit to cnsntios tbsu before. . ; . . , . At the doorway the interriewer wov nu isuini ara. jyra'isier' alone, t"!"!.10. nB 0"! i?"" hf band bad distinguished h lie dldn t do anything mors than any one else." she said: "Just what they were all doing, their duty. But there was one thing:' Ths men of his enmpany. before he left, expressed their gratitude for bis special consid eration ef them. It seem be bad a OPPOBTTO Raw Material, Resources Plen tiful in United States; Con ditions Favorable PROSfEftlTYNEAfrATHANO South Has tts Happy Combina tion of Coal and Iron Ore. West Its Hydro-Electric Pos sibilities; RoCky Mountain Region. .Its Vast Unutilized Supply of Phosphate Rock ( Extracts from address by Geo. Oil Smith, Director, Vnlted States Geo- logical Burvey, before American In. . stitute Chemical Engineers, Phila delphia, Pa). Konr constituents enter Into the re action that wa term Industry. Two of these, brain and brawn, are organic compound and two are perhapa to be regarded a inorganic money and material. None of these component Is wanting here in the I'nlted Btate and In " fact their abundance) affords the best reason for sun optimistic out look upon the present Industrial sit uation. Of these four constituents, labor and capital and brains are all more easily transported generally than the crude materials upon large, ton nage of which .the Industry must de pend. Thus, cheap coal attracts man ufacturer Just as cheap land attracts farmers. With distribution of raw material is linked the Influence of markets upon the location of industry. The development of transportation sys tems make the problem of markets most contpI--mer'TTl''IhduskriaJ in- -depen denes" Of 'thC'tftnktl 'cbmmunflly' w eentury ago naa given way to the system under which your dinner table may represent the uribute from several continent. Kven In a coun try so diversified as ours In Its nat ural bounties domestic production nf everything consumed Is not desirable nor profitable. . Exchange "of" commodities- with foreign pountries be comes necessary, so- It "follirws that industrial Independence is the itual to ward. Which A nAton should face, but not-a--gee which . It. should have either the intention or desire to at tain. To Increase industrial prosperity this country needs to export finished rather than crude products and to Im port raw materials rather than manu factures. It ia ths product of Ameri can labor rather than the bounty of our natural resourcea that prefers lilv should go Into the world's markets. As the engineers of America study this matter or expansion of manufacturing it becomes evident that the distribu tion of raw material and of power is tne aey to industrial opportunities Petroleum and natural gas in their distribution in some degree sunnle meat coal Thus, the largest oil field both in present production and prob able reserve is in California, a mate with only negligible coal resourcea Taken together, these, mineral fuela constitute a national asset comparable wnn me son resources ef this country, but thefarger part of the value of the natural gas. petroleum, and coal to tne nation la in their relation to man u fact u res. The wide distribution of ores of the principal metals sufficiently rich and extensive to be mined in large quanti ties means that the metallurgical in dustry is Important on both the Pa cing and the Atlantic seaboard. In most of the Rocky , Mountaiu Ktatea as well as In several of the Middle states, isren in the two metals whlrh at once suggest to us centralization copper and steel there is widespread production. In the mining of copper set year iweniy-tnree tftates contrib uted, and no less than twenty-eight States furnished iron ore to the fur naces of the countrr. The raw material resource of this country are so widely distributed that industry haa been developing at this rapia pace at man nolnta The ten. dency is away from geographic cen tiIixatioaoflndustry rather than to ward It. Afew opportunities for ex- panslon need only to be suairested the South with its haouv combination or coal and Iron-ore In the same die trict makes pig-lmn production nos stble at minimum cost; the West with It hydro-electric possibilities avail able as a source of relatively cheap power lor rnemicai ana metallurgical industries; the Rocky Mountain re gion with its vast unutilised sources of suipnurlc acid and equally great un- minea stores or phosphate rock. The ingredient necessary ifdr pro duolng prosperity appeatr at hauid The new financial system already promises more mobile credits. A more sympathetic attitude of the public to- wara Dig industrial operations ts In dicated. The efficiency of American labor and, American engineering was never questioned. 1 In any estimate t-.A meriean aWrrty-i 10 maae me most or tne present op portunities for Industrial expansion, no better measure of the inventive genius of this country can perhaps oe luuno man ui. a moment s review of what is making the European war so terrible. Strictly neutral may we be. yet from the height above to the depths below we find American Inven tions "at the front" the aeroplane, the magazine rifle and machine gun the barbed wire, and the submarine and its torpedo. Can not our nation lead as well in fashioning tb tool of peaee-a itrdesignmir the machines of vi-ar! -I - : SANITARY VIGILANCE. Mobile lights Disease' .Before It Mobile haa no plague and does not according to the Weekly Health Re ports of tne Lnlted Htates Pub' Health Service. To make good her Mobile Is dolus something that has never before been dona She la flrhtinr fltAas, K t, ... n ed her. rfphe Is Undergoing s munici pal house-cleaning and renovation that will leave plague a poor chance to establish itself even If it enter tbe city' doors. " v Plague Is advancing. lis appear ance-in New . Orleans has brought home to every city, and especially to those on the coast, the, fact that this disease Is s real menace. Plague ta brought in by rata, and rats can- be controlled only by rat proofing; that habit of doing outpost .duty for some of them. There were several other ir1r' nnM Vhn , la ttim itlnwi- -' - wh equcatrnnd on the march he carried the equipment of another. He argued that they were under a die. advantage in having heavy kVapaaeks to carry, and he was stronger .and better able to bear fatigue anyway." All of which adds Something to the picture of th world's.' greatest. Vlo- liqtst as a soldier. . : la by building them eut: changing buildings so the rats cannot find shel ter from their enemies and ts rear their young. Many cities are catching rat and re examining then in their labora tories In order to assure themselves that they hare no plague aa well as ta cstch ths Infection early If It come bat only Infected, cities and Mobil are rat-proofing their bunding. Early la August, the cHy authori ties asked the United State Public Health Service to send them an ex. pe tie need officer, who eould advise them what to do. and eould organise and begin the necessary work. Dur ing the six week this officer was on the-grwend,- -ordinance were drawn up and passed, the work of cleaning out the aooumulated trash of jears, of arousing and Instructing the peo ple, of rat catching and examination, and rat?proofing waa organised and begun. A squad of tea men are catching ret along the water fronv-ead nearly rats a week Are being examined In the laboratory. Clean-up day are being observed and a crusade against ths rat and the filth on which they thrive, is In progress. Under the or dinance building are being Inspected at the rate of five or six a day and de tailed Instructions are being issued, which require that -the changes or. dared must he begun within 41 hours. Absolute rat-proofing la required In that part of Mobile which is between Mobile river and Royal street. This street runs in the ami general direc tion aa the water front and about four blocks from It Everywhere within the city limits, stables must be rat-proofed as well as fly-proofed, and all new building or substantial re. pair-must be of rat-proof construc tion. A rat proof city Is a plague proof city, and Mobile la setting an exam ple .or taking a step because she be' lievea It to be a wise sanitary pre caution and not because she must 8 he is finding that It will help In other ways utner diseases-will be decreas ed, her Insurance ratea should be leas, and flimsy structures requiring fre. quent repairs will be replaced hy en during ones. The Federal Health Service has al ways urged that prevention is better than cure. While It help to cure the infected . city. It Is- glad to help the city that is willing to protect Itself in advance. tadkwtiua -of Velio w Kever and Ma larial Vvtpt In IqnitnK, Pern. How a doctor of the United Htates Public Health Ken-ice was able to ac complish .remarkable results in reduc tne the death rate of a d'sraserrtdde.n Houth American City. Is told In the last Issue pf the Weekly Public Health Keporta.' . ' - - : When the government of Vera was authorised by-Ue Congress hi 111! to contract. a loan for the sanitation ot Iqultoa a town of 11.000 Inhabitants lying 2,100 mile up the Amazon Kiver. and almost on the Rquator, the' authorities of that government re quested our State Department al Washington to recommend a man who could do the work. Dr fleorge M Converso. of the Public Health Her' vice, was the man recommended, and he was given leav of absence to un dertake tbe task. 1'pon arrival In Iqultoa. In January, 111. Dr. Converse found a popula tion afflicted with a death rate which averaged 40.1 per I.0V0 inhabitants for ten years preceding, and which had risen in 111 to 4 6J The death rate In an average American city is from 10 to IS. He also found yellow fever prevalent, with aa utter lack of knowledge or disbelief of the method of Its transmission. Hookworm was almost universal. There were no pav ed streets, no sewerage system, no public water Supply. Plana for sewers, water supply and street paving Nad already been pre pared by an American engineer, Mr. Samuel K. Itayless, but Just at this time a financial crisis arowc. due to the law market price of Peruvian rub her, and these engineering Improve ments pad to be abandoned. Mo Or. Converse set to work, to see whst could be accomplished by purely sani tary measures, in spite of the lack of all these things. , Telloi fever Is spread by a certain species of mosquito, and every mos quito wsses through the early stage of its development In standing wster. The problem ass to destroy the nios qulto In Its larvae state, and this was done by methods employed In the Canal Zune and elsewhere. All wster containers were screened to prevent the laying of moeaulto eggs. Th operations resulted in the jttrTrff dis appearance of yellow fever within a short time, and the oeople. who had been skeptical at first, became satis fled that real efforts were being made for their welfare when month after month passed and no rases nf this Illness appeared among them. The campaign against hookworm waa one of education, assisted by the medical treatment of nearly two thousand case. It wss explained to the 'people that the disease resulted from walking barefoot oa polluted soil, and picking up through abra slons in the skin the hookworm para site. A curious feature of the dis ease is that it produce in persons the desire to eat unusual things, and It wss found to be common practice among the Indians to eat little cakes of baked clay, sand, and even pieces of clay plastering picked from ths walls of their humbleijhousea. Hani tary' toilets were installed, and the wearing of shoes or other foot cover ing encouraged wherever possible. Br thesr-megnr aWd nthTs,eneral sanitary measures, good results were rapidly attained. During the first year of Ihe work the death rate fell from 4 tJ per 1.000 to JK.SH. Fur the first six months of 114 It drop ped further to 2 I The people seemed to have awakened to tbe importance of these matters, according to Dr. Converse, who lis just ..returned to this country, and he is of the opinion that the cxmoaign will be permanent. KVN POWSf BY BENT MAX. Intrrru4ed s Roisrymoaa With An Auto tolllston. New York Times. It's hard luck when a man stands upas your nem man one mint, ana then, less than two days later, runs you down - with an automobile, ac cording to C H. Nulle.-room clerk at Ihe Hlltmore. who. with his bride. formerly Miss Josnnhine Hchmidt. of the WsIdnrfT "pi spending his honey moon at Holllswood Hall, Mollis, fc 1. Nobody wss seriously Injured, but Mr. Nulle was omewhjaLjBrlsd-1Bi ine accioent mat occurreu anoui nan a mile' from Hollls 1st yesterday af ternoon. Dr. Herbert Htraub. of East Orange, who was beet man at the wedding on Wednesday nis-hi thoueht vesterdav afternoon he would lake a run In his car to see how Mr. and Mrs. Nulle were getting M. Home- ttnte after he had made tht decision the bride and bridegroom decided they Would do a little automoblllng. Just as they were about to turn a cornar. Ihr. Htrauh's car. coming from the opposite direction, turned ta. Both drivers put on their brakes, but the cars met. and- Mrs. Xu He was flung out. Her. husband jumped af ter her. but thejcaipIniJt.tJeeher cf got these almost at the same tlm with apologies, and an offer of surgical assistance, if necessary it was not until he had pronounced the bride suffering only from shock and bruisae that - her nushand . re cognized hi best -man .of Wednesday night. The party went back to ths hotel m one. car. and discussed- tb coincidental accident ever' tea.; JOFFRE, THE SILENT, ON WHOM . . THE WHOLE OF FRANCE RELIES t . Leaves Nothing to Chance Determined Supporter, of the .Policy of Attack for a Commander Beautiful Home ILfe. ' ' jr. . A y, ;" (Alexander Balrd. ia Post.) Washington Whence the beginning of the pree-1 ent war. It waa announced that u prems commend of the French army was ttr tbe lianas of Uenerei jotire. tiler were many who asked, "who Is he?" They had forgotten that three years ago he was appointed chief of the general army staff, which carried with It the supreme command of the army In time of war. the result ef the unan imous decision of the French cabinet, a decision- which met with not one word of disapproval throughout France. Only the monarchists would have preferred Ueneral Pau. but on political grounds only, and even Gen eral Pau himself declared that the one man in Franc for the position wa Oeneral Joffre. French Ucnerate All From 8nulh It Is a curious fact that all the French general who have signally dis tinguished themselves are southerners. Oeneral Joffre was born at Itlversaltea, a little town In the Pyrenees Orien- tales, famous for its cordials and hav ing. the reputation of "producing nothing but artists and orators. Ob' vioualy that la not the case. Thai region can also show natures that are calm. cold, and silent. Joffre's great friend, 'leneral de t'astelnau. is also a meridional, and comes from I'evenes Ueneral Pau waa born in Montellmar. and Ueneral (lalllenl also Is from the farthest south of France Oeneral JofTre' family was founded by a traveling auctioneer about 100 yearn ago. This ancestor went from village to town, from town to village In a showman's van,, loaded with all sorts of goods, which were trumpeted by him as bargains "J'offre" such wvd such an article at such and such a price, he would cry from hi van in the mayoralty square or market place of-twrg nr "village;"- Hearnifmr -at' high ftKiirer. he ram, down gradually. But his Catalonlan name proclaimed him as a foreigner, and he adopted the nickname the country folk had gtven him of "Joffre" ""Le Per aoffre " ' ' ' .' ttremka Thigh ta Ktfrattlnc. The general In whom so much faith Is now reposed very early acquired a desire to -become a soldier." It was in this-wwy-r- A a ttld he Was fond of bathing lit a rather deep and impet uous Pyreenean stream. His parents fearing he would he drowned, locked him up in a second-story room at nigh., nd kept him under guard in the daytime. The boy pined and fret ted He then proceeded to act. He went to the press where his mother stored her house linen, borrowed the strongest and longest sheets he could find, and made with them a ladder whereby be could escape from his bed room at dawn and have his river bath and swim. For a time all went well, till one morning the "ladder gave way and he broke his thigh. While the limb was In splints young Joffre acquired a taste for study, went to the Lycee and chose the army for his career. Toward the end of IKS, when he was not yet 1 7. he was fourteenth on the list of those admitted to the Krole Polytechnluue. where the great gov ernment engineers and the officers of the artillery and engineering corps are trained. JoSre 1 Incomes Dictator. ills whole military career was pasaed In fortifications or oft colonial expeditions. As s young man he la bored at the outerworks at 1'arts and Pontarlier. letter he constructed the fortresses st Tonking. organized the defense bf the Island of rormosa our Ing the war in China, and built the whole of the huge stronghold nf Lnego Sumarez. in the Island of Madagascar, Later still he went on the Dahomey expedition to Africa. On his return finally to France, he was professor at Ihe Hcole de I luerre. and tilled other Important positions, but It was not (111 106 that he obtained the epaulettes or a brigadier general Though he became later chief of the general staff, he was no more com mander-in-chief, while peace reigned, than the chief of the general staff Is '"w4r lord" In Uermany. The supreme commander, of the French army and navy Is the president, who exercises that command, as far as the army Is concerned, through the minister of war. Hut Joffre'soon became dictator. The war minister Is said lo have re marked that If he drove hts automo bile into the war area without Uen era! 'Joffre's permission he would be turned) out. Mar Oenerals Resign. Perhaps the first thing that made France realise that ahe had found dictator waa the dismissal of certain generals, whtctl' followed last yenr's army maneuvers. In easy-going times, when a general made mistakes nt ma neuver. it had been usual for the rrilk-lsing authority to say. "I may be wron. but personally I think It would have been better so and so." snd to make mental notes not to em ploy the said general after his time waii up. 0ural J.oftjrf. however. ca led for resignations on file spot Among the retiring officers were one or two man of great energy and devotion to duty. For ihem It was s hard blow. Hut (rrneral JofTre had been put in office to make the French army as near perfection as It could be .brought, and ir. this, aa In other things, no consid eration would make him swerve from Ihe line of duty. ICclH-arssI of the Heal Tiling. He remembered, doubtless, that the Cetin.in victories In lit and 170 peace maneuvers. He regarded ma neuvers as a rehearsal of the real thing, snd the members of his com pany who did not know their parts he cast out. There has been none of the comfortable feeling that "It win be all tight In the end" since General JofTre took control of the army. This may seem less than fair te his predecessors, who were strong. tsaTiT-WoFsThg men bf the highest abil- iLxv. and In fact created the army which Ueneral Joffre has simplynuned lynuned Ml. think I on An1 It n-isv hurt f ham t ., thfnlr ThaTThe opportunity of handling that arm' has come after their time. Moore made the army thst M el- llngton waa to lead : Carnot the troops of Napoleon: Mct'lellatt the army with which Grant crushed the Confederacy. Ho fate ordsins, and will ordain to the end of time. It Is primarily as a man or char acter and action, fortified by the the ory begun and practiced .n the new doctrines of war that the mtelletcwal leader have worked out, that JofTre now stands at the head of the French army. And the world had not to wait lone to xfe--th Individual quality of hia leadership stamped 'upon a great bat- ttetHts" plrtjic may not yet b com pletely painted and signed; but If one were inclined to look for soma resem blance between fJoffv and aom other great leader df history, one would probably choose Grant a his nearest equivalent. - except that in technical a) Ul Orant was Incomparably above I is-education. .While tt la almost im peissible for the French general to h,- prove very much vpoa the French doc trine. It is in type more than to clr. euroatano that tb two men seem to rssamele- oeeh- other--quiet,- rureinat- Ing, both perhapa a little . alow to move, certainly noses un awa with"- by their Ideas, absolutely clear aa to what duty la and what It la not. pow erful "prim msvers and resolut fighters. A IVamestioseed Cttteesx. ' Both, too, were domesticated citi zens, and this has Ita Importance In th case of Joffre. For no man whose civlsm wa not above reproach would hare been, or could have been. tn trusted with dictatorial powers by a republic to which three distinct par tie of monarchists lay claim. There to a wonderful letter In existence writ ten by Lincoln to on of hi army commander who had been telling the. world that "the country need a die- " ' tator." "Only those commander whe gain military success," wrote the great President, "can set up aa dictators. Give me success, uj I will risk a dic tatorship." r An Organiser of Victory. And the French republic haa shewn hew It believe In the axiom today. It ha been aald that If Franc hast had a Joffre In 1(70 the probability la that the Germans would not have won. Like Lord Kitchener, J off a I an organiser of victory. He doea not believe in flaahea of genius. Ha know that long and careful prepare- . tion i necessary. Never for a single moment during tb three years that he ha been at the head of the army ha h . forgotten the purpose for which h was appointed to prepare for th. druggie In. which France ta engaged today. Now tt year ot age, Oeneral Jof fre la a man of medium height, stout, with a massive head, fair hair, and with a thick drooping mustache, and . heavy eyebrow nearly concealing th l.yesv.'. ......, , t-.i Hi W1IL . the , outstanding xeaxur or-his character, .la that under th kindest, quietest, most , unaffected, -moat easy-going manner Is the steel determination that can abut tight Ilk a vise upon. Its purpose. . oa Meed tear a "WTachaog." "A good head for a watchdog: calm, but -always iraady to bite." Is ' one of . the first description ,1 .jftW.: ,, heard. Of tba French commander-la- chief. There la more truth in thl than in most eplgrama Yon haw only to see how that calm, slow manner flaahea into energy a he refuse a suggestion. He looks like wiping It out of existence with one decisive movement of his hand. General Jof fre Is the most determined supporter In France of the policy of attack for a commander. "The only tacxtc" ta what he call the offensive. He is a general, too, who has th utmost confidence In hi troop. "Th French are warriors by temperament." la one of hi saying; and, though In th course of hi career ha has seen the luxuries of life Increase and mul tiply, so accordingly he believe that the young men of today are aa good soldiers aa those he commanded a boy lieutenant 44 year ago. Vast t's parity for blsmrn. He Is known to few. His friend M. Puade recently referred to him lo an article In the Matin as "JofTre the Taciturn." Those who have met him In the corridors of Ihe war office have noted his heavy pachydermatous tread and his peculiar garb. It was a short Jacket and a tall hat. He never wore a unKform. Like his coadjutor. General 8ir John French, he Is a "silent man." He talks little. He does not even write. Yet. vast as is his capacity for silence, you never feel that he Is silent lecause he has nothing 'to aay. Yeu feel he is silent because he has too much to talk about. And when he speaks what he says Is pithy and to the point, th result of quiet reflec tion, spoken with studied expression, in slow, straightforward sentence -There Is no eloquence about what be saya no flummery. i But. bf course, It Is the man of ac tion that France has wanted, and she has him In Joffre. Leave Nothing to Chance. "That's the man we need." said M IJiiand to the president before hi ap pointment to th chief of staff. , He leaves nothing to chance. Th mobilization of the French army took place In admirable order. In" the same (cay his plana for the campaign are ebelqg executed with the utmost possible precision. In the field, aa tn his office at the ministry of war, h Is "hard as nails." He gives his or ders and expects them to be carried out exactly. 'If they are not, there la trouble. Affable, kindly and eon siderate to all under him, he may sympathize with Incompetence, but be cannot overlook failure. Hia Hons Life. If. a few montha ago, you bad visi ted hltn si hia- eusH home at Auteull. you would have found him apparently living th life or a peaoerui. gentleman with hi wife and two daughters: bis principal indoor relaxation bridge, at which he Is, aa he has said himself. an Indifferent player. Now the -minds are -drewn, bat- pass ersby notice a modest little bunch ef flowers placed on the doorstep. Thee flowers- are ren'ewed each week. Fer some 'time tt remained a mystery where these bouquet came from, un til It waa discovered that the faithful donor was "Pere" Jean Garland.- -veteran of 187. who waa wounded, three time while serving with th boy lieutenant Joffre, snd who works as a linkman at the Auteull railway station. .-; . WATCH EH' NERVES.' Some People Have (Jneer InfluenctJt on Tlmckerpcrs They tarry.: -y--- Pearson's Weekly. . ' On of the trouble of watchmak ers i the man who nets on hia ' watcn nervea. i lurre ace ois si customer on whom a good watoh In wasted. A Rood. second-han4 -watch that has kept perfect tlm for other people will, with certain other peo ple, go Irregularly when It la not P'. lwUn edge In the trade that watches are greatly influenced by their owners. Nobody knows the reason, but two explanations have been offered. On -Is that wralchea are sensitive to per- v tonal magnetism, the natural electri city that iir man beings contain la varying i.uantitie. ---..' , ' Ths other is that a" watch may be " disturbed by the vibrations set up by a footstep which la heavier than the, ordinary. The man - who put bis' heels down heavily usually need to set the regulator toward "low" to keep It from gaining. On of th mysterious aide of th sublet is that watches, seldom keep good time on pooplg of nervous, exdt- able temperaments. . Tbe potato crop .of Germany was on ef the largest on record. The of ficial statistics place the figures at , it.u4k0 metric tons, a against . 14.1 00.0.04 (-metric tona In 1111, vtatt ' a high percentage of the potatoes were diseased and eeuld not be kept over winter, and the xrop being large' tbe prions obtained were lew, .
The News & Observer (Raleigh, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Dec. 6, 1914, edition 1
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