POLK COUNTY NEWS, TRYON, N. C.
IMPROVED UNirOW! INTERNATIONAL
Wh&t Viteil Dress
Women' Will Aifea:
Bjr An American
SoIdierWhoWent
Arthur Guy Empey
Machine Gunner, Serving in France
(By E. O. SELLERS, Acting Director
the Sunday School Course of the Moody
Bible Institute. Chicago.)
(Copyright, mt. Wettern Newspaper Union.)
LESSON FOR APRIL 7.
JESUS SETS MEN FREE.
Copyright 11T, hy Artanr Guy Empey
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EMPEY GOES "OVER THE TOP" FOR THE FIRST TIME AND
HAS DESPERATE HAND-TO-HAND FIGHT
Synopsis. Fired by the sinking of the Lusitania. with the loss of
American lives, Arthur Gay 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 Frcfnce, where he first hears the sound' of big guns and
makes the acquaintance of "cooties." After a brief period of training
Empey's company is sent into the front-line trenches, where he takes
his first turn on the fire step while the bullets whiz overhead. Empey
learns, as comrade falls, that death lurks always in the trenches.
CHAPTER X Continued.
Wei had a sergeant in our battalion
named Warren. He was on duty with
Ms platoon in the fire trench one after
noon when orders came up from the
rear that he had been granted seven
days' leave for Blighty, and would be
relieved at five o'clock to proceed to
England.
He was tickled to -death at these
welcome tidings andlregaled his more
r less envious mates beside him on
the fire step with the good times in
store for him. He figured it out that
In two days' time he would arrive at
Waterloo station, London, and then
seven days bliss!
At about five minutes to five he
started; to fidget with his rifle, and
then suddenly springing up on the fire
step with a muttered. Til send over
couple of souvenirs to Fritz so that
fcell miss me when I leave," he stuck
Ms rifle over the top and fired two shots
when "jcrack" "went al bullet and he
tvmoted off the stepfell into the mud
at the bottom of the trench, and lay
still In a huddled heap with a bullet
bole in his forehead.
At about the time he expected to ar
rive at Waterloo station he was laid
to rest In a little cemetery behind the
fines. He had gone to Blighty. -
In thej trenches one can never tell
Is not safe to plan very far ahead.
After pstand down te mee sit on
lie fire step or repair to their respec
Hve dugouts and wait for the "rum Is
e" to materialize. Immediately fol
wing he rum comes breakfast,
fcrtraght up from the rear. Sleeping Is
Shen in order unless some special work
tarns up.j
Around 12:30 dinner shows op.
fTfcen this Is eaten the men try to
muse themselves until tea" appears
it about four -o'clock, then "stand to"
md they j carry on as before.
While in rest billets Tommy gets up
bout six; in the morning, washes up,
answers roll call. Is inspected by his
platoon officer, and has breakfast. At
3:45 he parades (drills) with his com
pany or goes on fatigue according to
!he orders which have been read out
jj the orderly sergeant the night pre
. tious. . i
Between 11:30 and noon he Is dis
missed, has his dinner and is "on his
own" for the remainder of the day,
snless he has clicked for a digging or
working party, and so it goes on from
flay to day, always "looping the loop"
and looking forward to peace and
BSighty.
Sometimes, while engaged In a
tootle" hunt, you think. Strange to
fay, but It is a fact, while Tommy is
searching his shirt serious thoughts
eome to him. Many a time, when per
forming this operation, I have tried
to figure out the outcome of the war
and what will happen to me.
My thoughts generally ran In this
rhannel :
Will I emerge safely from the next
attack? If I do will I skin through the
tallowing one,, and so on ? While your
.ind Is wandering into the future it
Is likely to be rudely brought to earth
by a Tommy; interrupting with, "What's
good for rheumatism?"
Then 'yon have something else to
think of. Will you come out of this
war crippled and tied Into knots with
rteumatismt caused by the wet and
mud of trenches and dugouts? You
give It up as a bad job and generally
saunter ovejr to the nearest estaminet
to drown your moody forebodings In a
glass of sickening French beer or to
try your luck at the always present
Came of "house." You can hear the
sing-song voice of a Tommy droning
ct the numbers as he "extracts the
Utile squares of cardboard from the
lag between his feet.
CHAPTER XI.
Over the Top.
On my second trip to the. trenches
cr officer (was making his rounds of
Inspection, and we received the cheer
ful news that at four in the morning
-we were toT go over the top and take
the German front-line trench. My heart
turned to lead. Then the officer car
ried on with hto Instructions. To the
test of mjj memory I recall them as
follows r "At eleven a wiring party will
S out In front and cut lanes through
owwj wire ror the nassa nf
In the morning. At two nVWfc-
artillery will open up with an In
le bombardment, which will last nn.
tfl four, jjpon the lifting of the bar-
rage the first of the three waves will
C over." Then he left. Some of the
Ttomles. first getting permission from
the sergeant went into the machine
gunners dugout and wrote letters
home, saying that in the morning they
were going over the top, and also that
if the letters reached their destination
it would mean that the writer had been
killed.
These letters were turned over to
the captain with instructions to mail
same in the event of the writer's being
killed. Some of the men made out
their wills In their pay books, under
the caption, "Will and Last Testa
merit."
i.nen tee nerve-racking wait com
menced. Every now and then I would
glance at the dial of my wrist watch
and was surprised to see how fast the
minutes passed by. About five minutes
to two I got nervous waiting for our
guns to open up. I could not take any
eyes from my watch. I crouched
against the parapet and strained my
muscles in a deathlike grip upon my
rifle. As the hands on my watch
showed two o'clock a blinding red flare
lighted up the sky in our rear, then
thunder, intermixed with a sharp, whis
tling sound In the air over our heads.
'The shells from our guns were speed
ing on their way toward the German
lines. With one accord the men
sprang up on the fire step and looked
over the top In the direction of the
German trenches. A line of bursting
shells lighted up No Man's Land. The
din was terrific and the ground trem
bled. Then, high above our heads we
could hear a sighing moan. Our big
boys behind the line had opened np
and 9-2s and 15-lnch shells commenced
dropping into the Gerctan lines. The
flash of the guns behind the lines, the
scream of the shells through the air,
and the flare- of them, bursting, was a
spectacle that put Pain's greatest dis
play into the shade. The constant
pup, pup, of German machine guns and
an occasional rattle of rifle firing gave
me the-impression of a huge audience
applauding the work of the batteries.
Our lS-pounders were destroying the
German barbed wire, while the heavier
stuff was demolishing their trenches
and bashing in dugouts or funk holes.
Then Fritz got busy.
Their shells went screaming over
head, aimed In the direction of the
flares from our batteries. Trench mor
tars started dropping "Minnies" In
our front line. We clicked several cas
ualties. Then they suddenly ceased.
Our artillery had taped or silenced
them.
Iuring the bombardment you could
almost read a newspaper in our trench.
Sometimes In the flare of a shell-burst
a man's body would be silhouetted
against the parados of the trench and
It appeared like a huge monster. You
could hardly hear yourself think. When
an order was to be passed down the
trench you had to yell It, using your
hands as a funnel Into the ear of the
man sitting next to you on the fire step.
In about twenty minutes a generous
rum issue was doled out. After drink
ing the mm, which tasted like varnish
and sent a shudder through your
frame, you wondered why they made
you wait until the lifting of the bar
rage before going over. At ten min
utes to four word was passed down,
"Ten minutes to go!" Ten minutes
to live! We were shivering all over.
My legs felt as If they were asleep.
Then word was passed down : "First
wave get on and near the scaling lad
ders." Before a charge Tommy Is the po
litest of men. There is never any push
ing or crowding to be first up these
ladders. We crouched around the base
of the ladders waiting for the word
to go over. I was sick and faint, and
was puffing away at an unlighted fag.
Then came the word, "Three minutes
to go ; upon the lifting of the barrage
and on the blast of the whistles, Over
the top with the best o luck and give
them hell.'" The famous phrase of
the western front. The Jonah phrase
of the western front. To Tommy It
means If you are lucky enough to come
back yon will be minus an arm or a
leg. i
I glanced again at my wrist watch.
We all wore them and yon could hardly
call us "sissies" for doing so. It was a
minute to four. I could see the hand
move to the twelve, then a dead si
lence. It hurt. Everyone looked -un
to see what had happened! but not for
long. Sharp whistle blasts rang out,
along the trench, and with a cheer the
men scrambled up the ladders. The
bullets were cracking overhead, and
occasionally a machine gun would rip
and tear the top of the sandbag para
pet. How I got up that ladder I will
never know. The first ten feet out In
truni was agony men we passed i
through lanes In our barbed wire. I
knew I was running, but could feel no
motion below the waist. Patches on
the ground seemed to float to the rear
as if I were on a treadmill and scen
ery was rushing past me. The Ger
mans had put a barrage of shrapnel
across No Man's Land, and yon could
hear the pieces slap tne ground about
yon.
After I had passed our barbed wire
and gotten into No Man's Land a
Tommy about fifteen feet to my right
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make out on account of the noise from
the bursting shells. Then he coughed,
stumbled, pitched forward and lay still.
His body seemed to float to the rear
of me. I could hear sharp cracks in
the air about me. These were caused
by passing rifle bullets. Frequently,
to my right and left, little spurts of
dirt would rise into the air and a rico
chet bullet would whine on its way.
If a Tommy should see one of these
little spurts in front of him, he would
tell the nurse about It later. The
k, w " maus anQ remams
blank to me.
Men on my right and left would
stumble and falL Some would try to
get up, while others remained huddled
and motionless. Then smashed-up
barbed wire came into view and
seemed carried on a tide to the rear.
Suddenly, in front of me loomed a ;
bashed-in trench about four feet wide, j
Queer-looking forms like mud turtles
were scrambling np Its wall. One of
these forms seemed to slip and then ;
rolled to the bottom of the trench. I 1
leaped across this intervening space. !
The man to my left seemed to pause In
midair, then pitched head down Into
the German trench. I laughed out loud I
In my delirium. Upon alighting on the
other side of the trench I came to with
a SUdden iolt- Rlhr in tmn nf ma
loomed a giant form with a rifle which'
locked about ten feet long, on the end ,
of which seemed seven bayonets. These t
flashed in the air In front of me. Then
through my mind flashed the admonl-
Hon of our bayonet Instructor back In
Blighty. He had said, whenever you
get in a charge and run your bayonet
up to the hilt into a German the Fritz
will fall. Perhaps your rifle will be
wrenched from, your grasp. Do not
waste time, if the bayonet Is fouled
in his equipment, by putting your foot
on his stomach and tugging at the rifle
to extricate the bayonet. Simply
press the trigger and the bullet will
free it." In my present situation this
was the logic, but for the life of me
I could not remember how he had told
me to get my bayonet Into the Ger
man. To me this was the paramount
issue. I closed my eyes and lunged
forward. My rifle was torn from my
hands. I, must have gotten the Ger
man because he had riisflmurMi
About twenty feet to my left front
was a hu&re Prussian nearlv si- f t
four Inches in height, a fine specimen !
or physical manhood. The bayonet
from his rifle was missing, but he
clutched the barrel In both hands and
was swinging the butt around his head.
I could almost hear the swish of the
butt passing through the air. Three
little Tommies were engaged with him.
They looked like pigmies alongside of 1
the Prussian. The Tommy on the left
was gradually circling to the rear of
his opponent. It was a funny sight to
see them duck the swinging butt and
try to jab him at the same time. The
Tommy nearest me received the butt
of the German's rifle in a smashing
blow below the right temple. It
smashed his head like an eggshell. He
pitched forward on his side and a con
vulsive shudder ran through his body.
Meanwhile the other Tommy had
gained the rear of the Prussian. Sud
denly about four inches of bayonet
protruded from the throat of the Prus
sian soldier, who staggered forward
and fell. I will never forget the look
of blank astonishment that came over
his face.
Then something hit me In the left
shoulder and my left side went numb.
It felt as if a hot poker was being
driven through me. I felt no pain
Just a sort of nervous shock. A bay
onet had pierced me from the rear. I
fell backward on the ground, but was
not unconscious, because I could see
vujtvu moving around me. Then
a flash of light in front of mr or- 1
unconsciousness. Something had hit f
r, v , v. 5 a&a mt
me on the head.
I have never found
out what It was.
I dreamed I was being tossed about
in an open boat on a heaving sea and
opened my eyes. The moon was shin
ing. I was on a stretcher being car
ried down one of our communication
trenches. At the advanced first-aid
post my wounds were dressed, and
then I was put into aa ambulance and
sent to one of the base hospitals. The
wounds in my shoulder and head were
nOt SPrfOTIS tnr) In civ -r .
M ureks x naa re-
7 company tvT service in the
Empey Joins the "Suicide
club. The thrilling detail are
told in the next installment.
(to be exurrofufav-
LESSON TEXT Mark 7:1-37.
GOLDEN TEXT If the son therefore
shaH make you free, ye shall be free In
deed. John 8:35.
DEVOTIONAL READING Psa. 72:1-17.
ADDITIONAL MATERIAL FOR
TEACHERS Matt. 15:1-81. II Cor. 3:17, 18;
Gal. 5:1-25.
PRMART AND JUNIOR TOPIC we-
j sus and the deaf man.
MEMORY VERSE He hath done all
I things well, he maketh even the deaf to
i hear and the dumb to speak. Mark 7:37.
SENIOR AND ADULT TOPIC Chrts
! tian liberty.
lesson deals with tne last of
' those fMr events, which mark the
! crisis in the life of our Lord at Caper
naum. It occurred just before the third
period of his Gallelean ministry and
the time of his final departure for Jeru
salem. We have seen what the atti
tude of Jesus was toward the law of
his nation. In this lesson we see his
attitude toward the rabbinical tradi
tions of the people which were the
opinions of men and not the law of
God. Just so many today look upon
the forms and ceremonies of the
church as being verily the law of God.
j Moreover, these traditions were made
a pretext whereby men
evaded the
law. So today we find men very relig
ious and punctilious in their churchly
t duties, who fail miserably In their ap
! plication of the moral code to conduct,
j The analysis falls into four general
j divisions: One, the accusation, (vv.
1-5.; two. the answer, (vv. 6-13) ; three,
the application, (w. 14-23)- and four,
the illustration, (w. 24-37).
1. The Accusation, (vv. 1-5). The
growing hatred of the Pharisees, led
them to make long journeys from Jeru
salem that they might spy on Jesus
and find a pretext for accusation.
While they were studying him, they re-
f vled their ideas of the kingdom of
God. They took
special notice that
the disciples of
Jesus ate without
' wasnInS their hands. We must not un
derstand this to mean so much the re
moval of defilement, as the neglect of
a ceremonial observance over which
the Pharisees were punctilious, (w. 3.
4). Verses three and four illuminate
certain traditions to which the Jews
adhered tenaciously. Thus exempli
fied we can see that their ideas of
man's relation to God were largely a
matter of external ceremony. Purity
to them was an outward matter largely
governed by the traditions of men, (v.
4).
II. The Answer (v. 6-13). The an
swer of Jesus reveals the very oppo
site ideal. He begins by calling the
Pharisees hypocrites. A hypocrite is a
play actoir one who hides behind a
mask. Applying the prophecy of
Isaiah, Jesus plainly tells the Pharisees
that they are hiding their true charac
ter behind the mask of ceremonial
cleansing. Such play acting Is but a
poor imitation of the real heart con
dition demanded of God, (Psa. 51:10).
Their hearts were far from God, even
though with their lips they professedl
to serve him. The love we express to
Ood consists not in ritualistic worship,
but in doing his will from the heart.
III. The Application, (v. 14-23).
Jesus takes advantage of thW discus
sion, and, turning to the multitude, up
on whom the Pharisees would bind a
grievous burden of ceremonialism and
falsehood (Matt. 23 :4 warns them
that it is not so much; that which en
ters into a man that defiles him, as
that which issues from him (v. 15). it
seems quite natural that in their per
plexity the disciples should ask Jesus
what he meant by that. In his reply
(vv. 1S-23), Jesus shows very deafly
that "the issues of life" (Prov. 4:23),
reveal the corruption which is within.
(See Matt. 12:34, 35; Gen. 6:5; James
3 :10-12). If the heart be not cleansed,
what wiU it avail if we wash the
hands? What then is the application
for this present day? Clearly we are
taught the danger of Up service with-
t out a change of heart. SuhstirnH7Tr
good for the best is sin. Forms and
ceremonies are eood and haro
place; they are significant for they are
important teaching factors; but they
must not be substituted for a pure
heart. We must beware lest we hide
behind such a mask.
There is here also plain teaching as
to Jesus' estimate of the PentatPnrh f
I and Inferentially of the prophecy of
xZT "! .1" "
h ,1h We 0311
1113 estimate as contrasted witn ty
tradition of the elders or the -consensus
of modern thought."
Less talk and mor walk.
Lss wishing and more doing,
Leas preaching and more practicing
L3 organization and mora of the 'spirit.
Finally, we have two illustrations
as to how Jesus sets men free, (a)
Jesus silence appears to deepen faith
In the pleading Syrophenician woman
(v. 24-30).
(b) We have the cure of the deaf
and the dumb man. (w. 31-37); In
stantaneous healing, showing divine
power.
Jesus was setting his people free
from their bodily infirmities and at
the same time delivering them from
their sins and Imperfections and bring
ing them into his spiritual Kingdom.
ThU he la still doln.
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FOR MOTOR AND GENERAL WEAR
Coats for general wear It fimosu
goes without saying should be weath
erproof; but weatherproof garments
! have to be that and much more to
meet the approval of the sophisticated
woman of today. She requires crisp
style and substantial quality in them
and cheerful colors.
Two rainproof coats that declare
themselves ready to meet the most
critical eye are pictured above. The
only departure they make from the
rules that govern in the season's coat
styles, appear in the matter of length.
Nearly all coats are several inches
shorter than the frock worn under
them, but the rainproof coat is priv
ileged to be an inch or so longer.
The coat at the left is a smart ex
ample of the military style and noth
ing will be quite so appropriate for a
coat for all weathers. It has big patch
pockets on body and skirt, a convert
able colkir and narrow, loose belt of
the fabric. It fastens with a fly, to
the left ofthe front and is equal to
protecting the gown under it perfectly.
It Is of a fabric resembling covert
cloth. An every way to be recom
mended. The story of the coat at the right is
fold so completely In the picture that
ml I -x i-I Jr f A
IN THE WAKE OF SPORTS
there Is almost nothing to say about
It. It also Is made in double-breasted
style fastening to the left with bone
buttons and Is a good style for any of
the usual waterproofed wool materials
like serge, twill, covert cloth, etc. To
add to our comfort milliners have add
ed rainproof materials to their stocks
and even the most fragile fabrics are
made impervious to moisture. But to
wear with rainproof coats, small tai
lored hats made of millinery patent
leather or of atin or lacquered braids
.look their capable prt. A satin hat
with silk cord and tLo! ic sKa. -k
the military coat In ;he picture and la
m-'j- Wi m a If ItU b
ryje ami utility they are two of
M.-.d.
There are sweaters and sweaters,
in greater varletj- of design and texture
and color than ever before and In al-
msi universal i: ems ml sit m.
lK and W001 re the yarns used for
he handsome - machine-knitted gar -
ments that manufacturers make so
nearly like hand-knitted ones that It U
not always easy to distinguish betwea
them. There Is more precision in the
machine-knitted sweaters, all the
stitches exactly alike, but many of
them are finished with han kaitfin:.
Leaving out the sweaters and sweat
er coats of silk and st!k fiber which
are worn with sport skirts or other-.
wise, that are an essential of the
smart woman's wardrobe, there are
many styles in the verv practical
sweaters for real sports wear. Two of
these are shown In the illustration
one for the "flapper' at the right and
one for the grownup. These are both
of wool, closely knitted and are classed
as fitted slip-overs. The sweater for
the little girl has collar and cuffs of
angora wool and is. a gxxl general
utility model, while the other pro
claims itself an ideal garment for 1
sorts of sports.
A very clever model ia a loose'j
knitted, heavy coat sweater, designed
to provide warmth when it is needed
has a small square cape collar that
may be turned up over the head and
buttoned so that it forms a hod. It
also buttons up close about the throat
and has two comfortable-looking pook-
ets. The sports woman wV h?
among her belongings will be f.-rtffl
against any weather emercen.-'y
The loosetr fittin?. sleeve! e
Slln-OTer t wnfnfy in fr mnch "'OH
teration as a noveltv for raM-uir.r'
wear. It is shown In vivM , tnes of
Sreen. in rose and in blue sha l'
is not so altogether practical as
regulation sweater coat buttoned r
the front an?f provided with :vc
but It ia amazingly smart. Aan.? lhe
sweater coats there are Uh-
moe!s with nisiMt sHrt und ka:
sashe. finished with frinze that
o re
! very handsome for mature w
v TMrt t.vi tmuy
j nwuvn wvano
i era are working: as pipefitters ia t
1 Jersey chemlcai plant.