The St. Charles herald. [volume], June 15, 1918, Image 5

About The St. Charles herald. [volume] (Hahnville, La.) 1873-1993

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nsurt w
ßaUie Lines
A
Daring American Line
men, Fresh from Civil
Life, Maintain Commun
ications Under Fire •••
RSBSSi HE two prent means of conimu
||T" • "VJ nicatlon on the modern battle
field, the means by which gen
eral headquarters keeps In
I .. touch with every sector of the
line and by which the perfect
co-ordination of all branches
of the service is possible are
tli^ airplane and electricity.
Tlie romantic appeal of the
aviation service, tlie stirring
stories of high adventure that
have come out of the war have
made the work of the blrdmen,
the superseders of cavalry ns
the eyes cf the commander, fa
■Snlliar to the people at home. Cm the ground
•charging infantrymen and roaring cannon cap
•charging infantrymen
ture the Imagination. But
(the heroic labors of men
fwho keep open the tele
graph and telephone lines
►which make co-operation
(■of Infantry and artillery
[possible are almost un
tknown outside the serv
ice, save, for instance,
(When one reads of a
tmedal bestowed on a line
Repairman for magnifi
icent disregard of danger,
fpor their losses and their
fconors are alike great.
1 They go over the top
Vith the troops, smoking
(fchelr pipes, coolly string
ing lines behind the ad
vancing first line so that
ithe gun crews may be
kept Informed of the ad
jrance ot told to concen
trate their fire on n par
ticularly obnoxious ma
chine gun, says a writer
îû the New York Sun
magazine section. They
■klamber out of dugouts into the slush and the
(freezing wind of a winter night to feel their way
elong a broken wire, sometimes over the shell-pit
ted open ground behind the trenches until they
(find the break, tbe» sitting in ice water under fire
they repair it ns ëirefully and skillfully as If they
Were at work In the shop at home. It often takes
three or four men to repair one of these breaks,
the first men sent out may never come back.
Repaired at all costs the wire must be. and dan
ger does not excuse a slipshod bit of work. <>r
the signal system of the army Is what the nerv
ous system Is to the human body.
• Without It the modem army covering 100 miles
of front cannot see. feel or move. The army com
mander wishing to move a portlonof his line>50
miles away or to change the rapidity of his arti.
teer fire or to receive Information of enemy move
ments is as helpless without the slender threads of
copper as he would be If he wished to move his
Tight arm and found the nerves paralyzed.
"There am still people of Intelligence who think
that the transmission of military thought «nimmed
up in the use of the notebook, the orderly and hds
horse." writes Brig. Gen. George P. Scr ven. But
these are passing, and the trained soldier and the
educated volunteer understand the vital Impor
tance of information.
"Hence the necessity for a signal corps or Its
equivalent, for without Its aid modern arales can
no more be controlled than can great railway sys
ZS- the commander in the field remains blind
and deaf to the events occurring around him, in
capable of maintaining touch with conditions and
otrt of reach of his superiors or thwse under his au
thority upon whom he depends for the execution of
his plans/* The brain lacks the power to control
because the nerves are lacking.
"Time is the main factor in vvar; to arrive first
«Hth the greatest number of men and with the
clearest understanding of the situation Is to sue
nod often the first, ot these cond^
SS defends upon the lines of Information of the
"ïïd these »nee tn turn depend upon U*i »hsenr.
» , ri.Hnp work of the repairman, the grimy,
mucky^hard-fisted mechanic who crawls on bis
•T,ÎT hennrt shell fire calculated to appall the
SÜSS nïd courte the breah between the
£SSd!?«nd the point he wishes to roach.
Somehow the Une.
££££ .Ä -*■ SSS!
nsystetn of I. «Ä«Ä
headquarters on the British iro J ^ ^ qq
S eTnt A^e could be
SÄ SSFLÄ-*« and shrapnel on ,h,
iAmlens front. telephone and tele
This tremendous tme^the^ ^ ^
the American application
This tremendous -- - ■ g of j m .
«raph In warfare JîTÏmerican application of
■petus arising from the Am gcale [ n the
Metrical communication on a a g exists is
■Spanish war. The signal corps as
a comparatively recent evolution ^
la the a ^^ r geom Libert James
J* %L° U 0 f g sS officer ot the army was
JMyer. The office 0 f its kind, and
•created In June, I860, toe once sent with
iMyer was appointed. He &ns lQ New M ex
*n expedition against Navu j . once demon
{[co, and his crude apparatus at once
rfrated Its worth. ordered East
When the Civil war bega
and opened a »hoot tor df. .m_« ° d t»» corp! .
tte definite beginning of Ute p then, the
Wires were carried on hor tpiegraphic corn
instruments were imperfect and The
[munlcatton was a rare an P ^ nce ( n the
•erviee took on t reraead ^%STrough Cuba
•Spanish war and followed ' was t he only
fcnd the Philippines, and In China was
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means of communication for a week between 1 e
king and tlie rest of the world.
But the tasks that confronted our signal men
in these wars were play compared to the " or
tliat is being done every day on the western front
Our signal men there have an area to cover about
the size of Pennsylvania and they have gone at it
with a vigor and efficiency that spell volumes for
tlie superiority of Americans in this particular line
of work.
The hardy linemen who have strung lines ana
repaired breaks on the Western plains or battled
with great floods and storms in the Rocky moun
tains have taken to this new work with a zest
which is inspiring. On the foundation of the
French system they are building a signal system
that will be a model of its kind.
Up to within four miles of the front construc
tion is not different from what it is here at home.
The wires are strung on poles and most of the
poles have been planted by the French. But when
one gets Inside the shell-torn section that stretches
at least four miles from the front wires have to
be protected by being burled from six to eight feet
deep, so that only a direct hit by a large shell will
disturb them.
Within half a mile of the front not even this
protection is sufficient, as the shells chum and re
chum the ground. Therefore all wires In this zone
are duplicated and are strung along both sides of
the trenches. Sometimes a trench wall i9 covered
with wires.
In the battalion headquarters signal office, where
the hundreds of wires from the trenches and ob
servation posts center and where the receivers
hum with the constant tremors of a world under
fire, plain Bill Smith lounges In a corner rolling a
cigarette and occupied in his own particular
thoughts. It is a dugout, this headquarters, and
the air is vile, but Bill got used to that long ago.
"The wire to A battery is down," Smith's su
perior officer says, turning to him.
"All right, sir," is the answer. And Bill climbs
out of the dugout, repair kit over his firm and tin
hat on bis head.
In the trench he finds the wire that Is broken
and begins to follow it along. It is hot work la
the trench, shells are dropping thickly, but Smith
doesn't mind—much. He follows the wire down
a communication trench and then after a long time
out into the open, where he has to crawl along
looking for the bole that will mark the place where
the line bos been broken.
He gets nearly there when a shell lands near
• him and Bill Smith, his face toward the break,
poes west. After a time, back in the dugout, an
other repairman Is sent out and perhaps he Is
luckier than Bill and finds the break.
Then he has to sit down in the shell crater, the
smash of bursting shells so close that sometimes
he is half buried In dirt, calmly making fhe con
nection that will enable the observation officer up
front to get in touch with his battery again. If he
nets back to the dugout he will be sent out again
and yet again If the bombardment is heavy, and
f often for days and nights at a time these men are
under fire, snatching a nap now and then in the
dugout between breaks. But they keep the lines
0I Jnan attack the signal men go over the top with
the infantry, generally with the second wave In
charge of the observing officer. They make for a
point where they can establish an observation
post, and as they pass on and fhrough the enemy*
barrage they unroll their line and one of them car
ries a field telephone, through which they somehow
manage In the din of battle to make themselves
That telephone Is like a battle flag, and many a
man goes down with it, only to have It picket! up
and carried forward by another of these noncom
batant troops. Their business Is only to serve not
to fight, and they do ltjKith a cool daring which
is not surpassed in any bfcmch of the service.
• They are in the forefront of every advance and
in the retreat are sometimes the last to leave the
If*
w 7 :
/ f
ARffRJCAAL JTA/ACJAG W/A£ö
BE WAD 2JAEÔ
front line, where they stick to the end of their
wires under terrific shell fire until ordered to re
join their commands if they can get through alive.
"An experience of this kind happened to me a
short time ago In a lonely chateau of the Ypres
Menin road," an English officer wrote home. "The
chateau was the center of a perfect hell of Ger
man shrapnel for nearly a week, until It became
almost untenable and w - as abandoned by the head
quarters staff.
"The general gave Instructions that a telegraph
ist was to remain behind to transmit Important
messages from the brigades, and I was left In
charge of the instruments in this shell-swept
chateau for a day and a night
"On the second day the Germans broke through
our trenches and the wires were cut by the shell
fire. I was given orders to evacuate the building
and smash up my Instruments. These I saved by
burying in a shellproof trench, and then I had to
escape between our own fire and that of the
enemy's across a field under a terrible tornado of
shrapnel.
"On the early morning of the same day one of
our cable detachments was cut up and another
captured by the Germans, only to be retaken by
our sappers and drivers after a desperate and
glorious fight."
The linemen also have regular patrols, stretches
of line which have to be constantly examined not
only for breaks but also to make sure that they
have not been tapped by enemy spies ln such a
way that every bit of information sent over them
finds its way to the Germans. In the Aisne once,
where the hill country offered good cover to spies,
the wires were constantly being tapped.
One day a lineman passing along the rood no
ticed a lot of cable lying at one side. He started
to coll It up and found that a piece of wire had
been tied to the main line. When he traced It he
found that It ran to a haystack. He went on,
tapped the line and sent In word to headquarters
and an armed escort found a spy hidden In the hay
with several days' supply of food.
They are autocrats in their way, these wire re
pairmen. and no one Is permitted to interfere with
the swift execution of their work. Word coming
over the line that tlie wire to a battery was re
paired is often the sweetest sound In the world to
an observation officer up front, even if It comes In
a rough brogue which French weather has cot Im
proved.
So when anybody else breaks In on the line and
interferes with the repairman he gets rolled, es
pecially if he has been sitting for several hours In
a «hell hole with an Icy rain drlrping down his
back. An English officer told of what happened
to a general who broke in once.
"A general came In the hut and told me 1 rang
up the telephone just now and said, "Give me the
_ brigade, please," bat some one with a loud
voice replied deliberately and distinctly: "Get off
the blinking line." I got off remarking that as
soon as ennvenient I should like to speak. I
apologized and explained that the line had been
down and was being repaired. He went off with
a merry twinkle in his eye.'
As the number of men in the American urmy
abroad (trows with the weeks, the number of line
men, those who make possible all that the artil
lery and infantry together accomplish, will stead
ily Increase until they are a small army in them
selves. And probably It will not be long before an
nouncement will be made that some plain Bill
Smith, wire repairman, has been given a medal for
bravery under fire, which attracted attention even
among the hundreds of brave acts which these
men perform every day.
Furlough
By Fannie Barnett Linsky
replb
flit
.Copyright, 191S, by the McClure Newspa
per Syndicate.)
"Lieutenant Hanlon and Sergeant
Farrell—to see Doctor Carroll, please,"
anti a flash of admiration came into
the usually Impassive countt-nance of
Sims, the butler, as he took in with
one all-appraising glance the uniformed
figures before him.
"A fine looking pair of soldiers," was
his silent verdict, but aloud lie said:
-I'll tell the doctor you have come"—
and he waved them into the large re
ception room that forms part of every
doctor's home.
"Coe," said Scott Hanlon (he of the
lieutemintliko decorations), "this is
sure some line place. Dur doctor man
must certainly he a man of means, al
though ho never tried to make us think
so when he talked to us."
"I know it, Scott, but that's Just
hat made everybody like him so,"
1 Sorgt. John Farrell, lute of
One Hundred and Seventh 11 rt 11
ry. "I know a few boys in the trench
. that'll never forget him, and I'll
uger any one of them would cheer
fully give up his life for 'Did Doc.'"
1 guess you're right. Jack. 1 always
new he was u big man, but I never
thought that he hud left all this be
hind to go 'over there' and take cure
of the boys; and as for anyone ever
giving up anything to help 'Did Doc,'
why. I only hope I have the chance
some day, for I'll sure never for
get—"
Sh !" came a warning whisper from
his brother officer as footsteps sounded
in the halL The draperies parted and
once more Sims, the butler, made his
appearance.
'Beg pardon, sirs," said he, "but the
doctor was called out quite unexpect
dly, but he's expected back uny min
ute. Mrs. Carroll went with him, but
If you'll please nrsAo yourselves com
fortable, Miss Madeline and Miss Mary
will be down directly." And taking
caps and ulsters from the two guests
Sims withdrew once more with an
apologetic cough.
I
|
1
,
,
Again left alone, the two men talked
In undertones. "Kind o' queer tluit he
shouldn't be here to welcome us, don't
you think?" said Jack to Ids compan
ion. "He's had our letter now over
two weeks, telling him that we'd spend
the last three days of our furlough
with hhn here. However." as an after
thought, "I suppose a doctor's a pretty
busy fellow. Must be if he can afford
to have all this," and once more his
eyes wandered with an admiring
glance around the luxuriously fur
nished room. "I guess I'll leave our
small offering here till by and by,
he added, carefully depositing on the
table a large and bulky package w hich
up to now he had been holding.
"Miss Madeline and Miss Mary—
they must be the twins that 'Doc' was
forever ruving about," said Scott.
"Cun you picture me holding a chub
by three-year-old on my knee, and
saying: *Oos ducky darling Is oo?"'
And two hearty masculine laughs
pealed forth, forgetful for the moment
of their surroundings; but only for a
moment, for a slight noise made both
men turn.
The twins. Indeed—but nothing
chubby or three-year-old about the two
young ladles who stood in the door
way. Quite the contrary; tall, slen
der and good looking—at least such
was the mental verdict of two young
men who saw them for the first time.
"Lieutenant Hanlon," spoke up one,
slightly taller than her twin, and she
looked Inquiringly at the two young
men,
"I am here," said Scott, as he
stepped forward.
"I am Madeline Carroll," said the
girl, holding out her hand, "and this is
my sister Mary. Then you, turning
to Jack, as Mary and Scott were
gravely shaking hands, "you must be—
must be—" and she made a pretense of
looking at a well-worn letter that she
held In her hand, "you must be Ser
geant Farrell."
"I am," said Jack so promptly that
they all laughed, and so the Ice was
broken.
"We've been looking forward to your
coming for ever so long," said Made
line, who evidently felt that the bur
den of entertainment rested upon her
shoulders, "and we were so excited
when dad got your letter saying that
you were coming today, because—well,
you see. It's a very important «lay for
us—It's our birthday—Mary's and
mine. You see, we're twins."
"Yes, I know that," said Scott. "Your
dad—we always called him Doc. over
there at the front—did nothing hut
talk about his 'twins.' "
"He sure did," chimed in Jack, "and
Scott and I thought that you were
about three years old.''
"What!" exclaimed Mary, shocked
Into speaking for the first time: "Why,
we're eighteen today," and she dre.v
herself up to her full height, as if to
emphasize the importance of that fact
and then blushed adorably as she sud
denly realized that all eyes were upon
h er>
"Evidently," thought Jack. "Mary
was the shy member of the pair"—but
he didn't mind how shy she was if she
only blushed like that.
"Well, of course, we realize our
dreadful mistake now," he said, look
ing straight into her eyes, "1 ut how
were two poor soldiers to know—Doc
always called you his 'twin kiddies.'
"Groat Scott!" he exclaimed, as a
thought suddenly struck him, and go
,1 t.i
I
is
of
11
be
his
the
but
an
Pt al up*
j
d ot Inli
ran:
• out
—the b.e.
J">
ne in
the
less
heartily !
call
<• the j.
\ as
Ui«<>ri
them, ami
in t
ie Ililil-t
•f IÎ
all
•atne
a stampir.
g IJJ
the f n
ht
Tej.S
the
front duo
V. II
s thrown
a a
id a
deep bass
voici
culled o
it :
"W<
11, so
you got. Iii
re a:
lend of m
(î
? I
hope
my twin
kith!
ies—I m
: » n
my
twin
young hull
es —
lave till;»'
\ r-' 1 *<
..1 cn
re of
you," am
di\
esting h
m>*
f o
his
great fur
ci ml
, which
\\ u.s
tale
n in
charm* by
th.
ever-pre
♦ lit
Hin
s, in
came Dr.
Wii
Iter Carr
oil.
lithe
rw ise
known as
"i ild
Dee" Of
th.*
One
nun
drtd and
Sell
nth regin
nn<]
held
out a luin
i to
■ach of h
m miest.s.
Each j
mine
soldi* r
gri
sped
the
hand exte
Taled
to him,
mil
gri pi
ieil It
with that
grii
, by uid
<h Iü4*ïl
make
known to
nthei
men the
feel
ng that Is
in their h
earl
It was a pn
tty party
that
s:.t
down
to dinner
that night i
i D
« ti r
< 'up
roll's bout
e. at
tl many a
"t n.
h«'h
-tory"
ditl the t
wo i
ttys rt lut
e ti
til*
r old
friend, w
th tl
If rest of
the
faru
ily as
interested
list
•tiers.
"And m
iW fi
r the par
y,"
Ti* <1
Mad
eline, hi I
eyt
s dancin
g w
ith <
xcite
meut, as
a en
•up of th
• y*
:
ioople
of the m
igllb
irlieod c:
me
in n
help
celebrate
tin*
birthday
of
th«»
twins.
Soon the fun waxed fust and furious,
and many were th** envious looks cast
in their direction when Scott and Jack
were elected by the two girls to cut
the two birthday cakes that adorned
the table, brave In their proud array ot
IS candles each.
"It's because they have swords, you
see," explained Madeline, anxious to
soothe the feelings of some of her de
voted admirers, "l'ou know swords do
cut the cuke so nicely."
"The ring—the ring—who gets the
ring?" came a chorus from tlie girls,
as the pieces of cake were distributed.
Scott held up the coveted trophy.
There followed three such glorious
duys, that as they sat at the dinner
table on their lust evening with the
Carrolls, Scott declared that he was
so spoiled that be knew that he'd
never amount to anything after he get
back to actual duty.
"Well, were glad if you enjoyed
your stay with us," answered Mary
Carroll sedately, hut although her lips
answered Scott, her eyes sought out
his brother officer.
to
his brother officer.
"I'll tell you this," said Tom, grave
ly, in answer to her look, "If I've got
to die, I shall certainly die happier for
having had these few wonderful days.
"Pooh ! Pooh !" cried the doctor
quickly, anxious to avoid any refer
ence to tlu> dangers to come that might
spc.il their last hours together. "After
dinner the girl'll take you out along
the river for a walk, and you 11 only
think how nice it is to live, and not ha
worrying about dying."
Along the south path that led to tha
river John Farrell strolled with Mary.
"It's only three days I've known
you, it's true," he said, "but you must
remember thut really I've known you
since you were three, from what dear
'Old Doc' hus told us. I've got to go
back to the front, dear, but the war
can't last forever, and when I come
back— huve I chance, Mary?"
"Well, it was my ring—and you won
It," said Mary, and she blushed ador*
ably, and In some mysterious way her
answer completely satisfied Jack.
"But you mustn't tell anyone," she
begged, "for you see I'm only eighteen,
and we'll huve to wait a long time.
Besides I'd hate to have Madeline
know—that is—right away. Of course.'
I always tell her everything. Twins
always do, you know," and she looked
up at him with serious eyes, "hut some
how I'd like to keep this a secret Just
between us for a little while."
"All right, sweetheart. If you say so,"
he agreed, "but I don't think you need
worry about Madeline. There she is
now," as Scott Hanlon ami the other
twin came slowly up the west path.
• ••*••*
On board the U. S. transport Alida
two well-set-up. fine-looking young
soldiers slowly paced the deck.
"Well," said Jack Farrell to his
friend, "I may not have won the penny
that was in that birthday cake, but
I'll bet you an army sweater against
a pair of pigskin puttees tliat If I ever
grt safely buck home again Til be
richer thau you'll be."
"But you seem to forget," replied
the other, "I w « >n the wedding ring,
and sometimes it's Just as well to be
lieve in signs," and he smiled broadly.
"Oh, ho! So It's you, too, eh?" ex
claimed Jack, as he whistled softly;
"well, we certainly are two lucky fel
lows. Here's to our next furlough,
Scott, and may it be as happy a one
as tills one has been."
"Yes," said Scott Hanlon, "God will
ing, here's to our next furlough."
And gravely the two soldiers shook
hands.
Ancient Soap Making.
A soap boiler's shop was among the
things discovered in the excavation at
Pompeii several years ago. The city
was buried beneath volcanic ashes A.
D. "!). It. is said that the soap found
in the shop ha<i not lost all efficacy,
although it had lain under the ashes
| more than eighteen hundred years.
Soap making was quite a business in
1 a number of the Italian cities at the
| time that Pompeii was destroyed.
she
our
how
a
Pliny the elder speaks of soap, and
says that because its price was so
high many substitutes were used,
among them a kind of glutinous earth
and fine sand mixed in the juice of
certain filants that made lather. His
tory tells us that the Gauls made soap
two thousand years ago hy combining
go- j beech tree ashes and goat's fat,