BOYS EASY TO
DISCIPLINE
PURLOINED GOOSE WAS CAUSE
OF MUCH TROUBLE FOR SOME
OF THE SOLDIERS.
WOMAN OWNER COMPLAINED.
Insubordination, Says One Officer, Is
Often the Consequence of a Grouch;
Our Men Have Few Grievances and .
We Have Very Little Trouble With :
Them—Some of the Cases.
HEADQUARTERS AMERICAN I
TROOPS WITH THE BRITISH AR
MY IN FRANCE, JULY 24.—A pur-j
loined goose was the cause of so much
trouble for a few soldiers of the Am-1
erican army recently that they now
consider that the bird would have been j
cheap even at the high war prices that
prevail in these l’egions.
The complaint from the woman who
lost the goose was the only one receiv
ed at the headquarters of the division
to which the men belonged; she
promptly received satisfaction in the
coin of the country and the men were
obliged to digest their feast in the
guard house while they reflected upon
the rules regarding “foraging.”
“Of course there are worse things a
soldier can do than to swipe a goose,”
said an officer of the division in ques
tion, “but even that is more than shall
be permitted in this force. We came
over here to do a laudable thing and
we are going to do it cleanly. What
ever we draw from this country is go
ing to be paid for in due form and the
ItTW JiiCIl III UUI iailI\C5 ViCilC. CIV
any other system will pay dearly for
their experience.”
Other units of the American army
in this zone have not had a single case
of this kind. The men behave even
better than at home; they are getting
on splendidly with the inhabitants and
with their allies. Guard house cases
are the rare and are generally for in
significant misconduct.
“Insubordination,” said one officer,
“is often the consequence of a grouch.
Our men have a few grievances and
we have little trouble with them.”
The dignified but friendly way in
which the average officer tells a man
where he falls short provokes earnest
ness instead of the resentment that
more brutal methods engender in
some European armies.
“That’s bad,” said a lieutenant in
charge of a company at rifle practice,,
handing a poor record back to a
soldied. “You’d better try again.”
“I never could shoot much, sir,” re
plied the soldier, visibly relieved at
being let down so easily,” but I’ll do
better next time.” He came on with
another detail and did far better.
i
The excellent feeling between offi-,
cers and men that results from this j
kind of discipline is apparent every- j
where among the troops billetted in j
this area. It is difficult to find a sour
countenance or to hear a word of com
plaint. All the men seem to realize
what respect their mission over here
commands. They are showing them
selves worthy of that respect.
WORKERS MUST
WORK OR FIGHT
LONDON, July 27.—Premier Lloyd
George today announced that all
munition workers who are wilfully ab
sent from work after Monday will lose
their protection certificates and thus
become liable to service under the
military act.
COSTS FIFTY
CENTS A MILE
WASHINGTON, D. C., July 26.—
The postoffice department announces
that the postal aeroplanes operated
between Washington, Philadelphia and
New York cost the government at the
rate of fifty cents the mile.
WAR SECRETARY AND CHIEF
OF-STAFF MAKE REPORT
TO MILITARY COMMITTEE.
HOLDING UP THEIR END.
Baker and March Tell House Members
That American Forces Employed on
Aisne-Marne Front Progressing in
Satisfactory Manner in Helping
French and British Forces.
WASHINGTON, D. C., July 27.—
Secretary of War Baker and Chief-of
Staff March appeared before the house
committee on military affairs yester
day afternoon, for a weekly discussion
of military matters.
Both the war secretary and the
chief-of-staff declared with consider
able elation that the American forces
in France were acquitting themselves
nobly and efficiently; that the Ameri
can forces on the Marne-Aisne front
were progressing in a most satisfact
ory manner in helping the French and
British push back the German lines in
the Soissons-Rheims salient.
Neither Baker nor March gave out
information as to the American
casualties in the present offensive, but
said that this information would be
given out later, when complete advices j
were received from General Pershing,
commander of the American expedi
tionary foi'ces.
EIGHT-HOUR
DAY GRANTED
THE SHOPMEN
DIRECTOR OF RAILWAYS Mc
ADOO FIXES HOURS AND
RATE OF WAGES.
WASHINGTON, D. C., July 26.— ;
Director of Railways McAdoo has j
granted an eight-hour day, in addition J
to the wage increase, to the railway
shopmen throughout the nation, to go
into effect August 1. The wage in
crease will affect 500,000 men and will
add $100,000,000 a year to the payroll.
TO SUPPLY LABOR
FOR THE MINES
WASHINGTON, D. C., July 26.—
James Lord, president of the mining
division of the American federation of
labor, has been appointed as the head
of a special section of the federal em
ployment service, in charge of the re
cruiting of a supply of labor for the
mines of the country.
PROSPECTS GOOD
FOR RECORD CATCH
VICTORIA, B. C., July 27.—With
the season but half over, sixty-four
whales have been caught off the west
coast of Vancouver island and in the
vicinity of Queen Charlotte islands. A
record season is expected.
JUNE LOSSES
IN SHIPPING
SHOWS DECLINE
STRONG INDICATIONS THAT
SUBMARINE MENACE BEING
OVERCOME BY ALLIES.
LONDON, July 26.—June losses in
British and allied shipping, due to en
emy submarine, mine and other activ
ities, and natural marine risks, aggre
gated 275,629 gross tons. This is the
lowest month’s record since Septem
ber, 1916, and proves that the subma
rine is growing less and less a menace
to allied shipping. It is claimed by
the allies that they are sinking more
submarines than are being built by
the Germans.
Washington, July 27.—It is the belief in Washington military
circles that the allied generals of France are setting the stage for the
decisive battle of the war. The fighting in the northern part of Ijjrance
and in Flanders may have more than local significance; it may be a
prelude to major military operations, especially in the Picardy sector,
where the German forces have been weakened by the sending of rein
forcements to the German crown prince on the Marne-Aisne front. Gen
eral Foch’s plan is not indicated, but it is believed that he intends to
force the Germans from the pocket in the Marne-Aisne salient, rather
than attempt to entrap them.
ORIGINAL FIRST LINE RECONQUERED.
Paris, July 27.—The original first line front in the Champagne
sector has been reconquered by the allied forces. Eleven hundred pris
oners, two hundred machine guns and seven cannon were taken by the
sllies on this front yesterday. The allies are organizing their new posi
tions so as to be able to defend them. Villemontoire and Oulchy le
Chateau are in the possession of the allies. Seven hundred prisoners
were taken when these villages fell. The possession of Oulchy le
Chateau places the allies in a position to effectively bombard Fere-en
Tardenois, the present allied objective in this sector.
DRIVING THE IIUNS FROM THE FORESTS.
WiTrt the Americans on the Marne, July 27.—Franco-American
forces northeast of Chateau Thierry have driven the Germans almost
entirely from the wooded areas, which they subbornly defended. Artil
lery is punishing the enemy this morning, and under the cover of the
big guns, the Franco-Ameriean forces are steadily crawling forward.
The allied forces are approaching Fere-en-Tardenois, the important
railway junction, in the possession of the Huns. The enemy is mak
ing an intense effort in the endeavor to hold the German flanks in the
Rheims-Soissons region.
ALLIES TAKE OVER THIRTY THOUSAND,
Paris, July 27.—The Havas News Agency says the allies have cap
tured over thirty thousand German prisoners since the beginning of
the counter offensive. The News Agency also reports that Americans
discovered emplacements for the German super-cannon at Brecy, north
of Chatcau-Thierry. The big guns had been removed when the Am
ericans appeared on the scene. These super-cannon had been employed
in bombarding towns behind the allied front and perhaps even Paris.
FRENCH MADE ADVANCE LAST NIGHT.
Paris, July 27.—The French forces last night advanced north of
the Marne, in the district where the Germans have been clinging to the
river. The French line now extend to the north of Port Abinson. The
French performed a local operation on the Champagne front and ad
vanced their lines two-thirds of a mile along a two-mile front, capturing
two hundred prisoners.
RETREAT IS MOST DIFFICULT.
London, July 27.—Documents taken from captured German offi
cers show that the enemy decided to retire the day after the allies began
their offensive on the Marne front. The orders were cancelled, due
probably to the difficulty in making a retreat.
ALLIES MAKE ROADS USELESS.
With the Americans on the Marne, July 27.—Fere Tournelleris
forests are nearly cleared of the enemy. The Fere-en-Tardenois roads
have been made useless to supply the German artillery, due to heavy
allied bombardment.
HUNS THROW IN NEW ARMY.
London, July 27.—Germans have reinforced the right flank of the
Soissons-Rheims pocket with a new army, according to La Liberte, in an
effort to prevent the capture of the Hun crown prince’s forces which
are seriously threatened.
HUNS LOSE ALL GROUND GAINED.
London, July 27.—A Reuter dispatch today says the Germans now
retain practically none of the ground gained by them along the Marne
river in their offensive started July 15.
GREAT RECORD OF FRENCH AIRMEN.
Washington, July 27.—During the first two weeks of June,
French airmen dropped six hundred tons of high explosives on enemy
trenches, billets, railway stations and munition works. The French
aviators had two thousand combats with Hun machines; destroyed a
hundred and ninety-nine aeroplanes, and downed a hundred and sixty
one. During this period of aerial fighting, the French lost but seventy
two planes.
ALLIED OFFENSIVE SLOWS DOWN.
With the Americans on the Marne, July 27.—The allied offen
sive has slowed down, but is not checked. The main fighting is now in
the big forests north of the Marne river and along the western flank
salient. It is estimated that two thousand German dead were found
in a small area yesterday, which is an indication of the severe fighting
that is in progress.
BRITISH DOWN TWENTY-FIVE PLANES.
London, July 27.—Official: British airmen yesterday downed
twenty-five German aeroplanes and forced six others out of control.
Fifteen British planes are missing.
SEVERAL ADVANCES ARE REPORTED.
Paris, July 27.—Official: French infantry south of the Ourcq
river are remaining in their trenches. Several advances were made by
the allied forces southwest of Rheims.
ASTOUNDED AT NUMBER OF AMERICANS.
Paris, July 27.—A nephew of Prince von Bulow, the German
statesman and military man, was among the Huns captured in the fight
ing on the Aisne front yesterday. The young man was astounded when
he learned the number of Americans that were fighting in France.
COAL SHORTAGE
DIRECTOR OSBORN OF GEOLOGI
CAL SURVEY GIVES RULES
FOR PREPARATION.
FOUND IN MANY STATES.
Its Storage in Localities Remote from
Coal Fields Would Release Much
Needed Cars—Enormous Peat Beils
Are Found in New England States
and Middle West.
WASHINGTON, D. C., July 29.—
This is the season for preparing and
storing peat, and in view of the possi
bility of another coal shortage this
winter, the use of peat for fuel is go
ing to be a matter of importance in
certain localities. In this connection
the director of the United States geo
logical survey calls attention to the
practicability of thus using peat and
has offered suggestions for preparing,
storing, and the use of peat.
Vast deposits of peat that could be
converted into fuel are found through
out New York, the New England
states, in Pennsylvania, New Jersey,
Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Iowa,
Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio, according
to C. C. Osbon, of the survey, who has
recently made a study of the subject.
There are many peat beds also on the
Atlantic coastal plain from New Jer
sey to southern Florida and westward
along the gulf coast to the Mexican
boundary, Mr. Osbon said. This coast
al plain was i-emote from known coal
fields'and contained few other mineral
fields. The preparation and storage in
farming communities and villages of
peat taken from these deposits by the
owners of small bogs and by citizens’
associations for distribution among
their members would not only increase
the local fuel supply, and in many lo
calities prevent a recurrence of the
suffering caused by the recent fuel
shortage, but would release railroad
/»Ol*c fTiof ii’Ail 1 rl ha r'norjnrl I
other purposes.
Peat, or muck as it is frequently
called, consists of partly decayed plant
remains that contain enough carbon to
ignite and burn freely when dry. In
texture it ranges from a fibrous, im
perfectly decayed kind, through pro
gressive degrees of decomposition, to
a thoroughly disintegrated type, and
varies correspondingly in color from
slight yellow to jet black. Peat in an
undrained bog contains about 90 per
cent water, which must be reduced to
30 per cent before it can be used for
fuel. In this connection Mr. Osborn
pointed out that artificial drying re
quires so much heat that so far as the
United States Geological survey is
aware, it has not proved commercially
feasible. The director said:
How to Test Fuel Value.
“The value of a given deposit of
peat as a source of fuel is dependent
on many factors, most important of
which are degree of decomposiition,
heating value, and ash content.
Coarse-textured fibrous peat makes
fuel that is inferior to the black, com
pact, thoroughly decomposed kind,
unless that kind contains a very large
proportion of ash. The maximum
quantity of ash that is usually consid
ered allowable in peat for commercial
use has been placed between 20 and 25
per cent, but if the content of ash ex
ceeds 20 per cent of the total weight
of the dry peat it is scarcely worth the
labor of production, even for home
use. The heating value and ash con
tent of peat fuel intended for domes
tic consumption may be determined by
a simple practical test.
“A typical sample should be taken
from the bog, thoroughly macerated,
dried and weighed. If, when burned
in an ordinary heating stove, the heat
generated is almost equal to that pro
duced by bituminous coal, and after
complete combustion the weight of the
ash does not exceed 20 per cent of the
weight of the dry peat before burning,
its usefulness as domestic fuel is es
tablished.”
The season for drying peat begins
about April, or as soon as the frost is
out of the ground, and ends in Sep
tember, except in the south, where it
ARMORED CRUISER MARMORA
DESTROYED OFF THE
COAST OF IRELAND.
rEN MISSING; BELIEVED LOST.
British Torpedo Boat Destroyer Runs
Ashore Off English Coast Wednes
day and May Be Total Loss—Thir
teen Members of Crew Drowned
While Trying to Reach the Shore.
LONDON, July 27.—A German sub
marine torpedoed and sunk the Brit
sh armored cruiser Marmora, off the
loast of Ireland, Tuesday, according
;o an announcement given out by the
British admiralty today.
The Marmora carried a crew of over
a thousand men, and all escaped in
safety, save ten, who were killed by
the explosion that followed the en
trance of the torpedo into the warship.
A British torpedo boat destroyer
ran ashore on the English coast Wed
nesday and may prove a total loss.
Thirteen members of the crew were
drowned, when a boat in which they
were seeking to gain the shore,
capsized.
ENEMY RAIDER
SIGHTED OFF
NEW ENGLAND
CAPTAIN OF FISHING BOAT DE
CLARES HE SAW ONE OFF
NANTUCKET SHOALS.
GLOUCESTER, Mass., July 26.—
The captain of the fishing schooner
Elizabeth King, which reached Glou
cester last night, reported that he en
countered an apparent German sea
raider off Nantucket shoals Sunday
afternoon. He describes the raider as
of about 2,500 tons’ burden, painted
gray, flew no flag, and had two high
wireless masts.
DEPARTMENT
SPEEDING UP
WASHINGTON, D. C., July 25.—
The ordnance department has deliver
ed over two billion small arm shells
for the army since America entered
the war. Weekly machine-gun pro
duction is now over 6,000.
FIRMS IS FIRMS.
Long & Short are in business in
Federalsburg, Maryland.
Little & Moore are in business in
Cleveland, Ohio.
is somewhat longer. The hand-cut
process of preparing peat, which is
widely used in Ireland, seems, the geo
logical survey men said, was the most
practical for the owners of small de
posits in the United States. Before
this method could be used the bogs
have to be drained and the turf re
moved from its purface. The survey
described the method of draining and
of digging the peat. The blocks of
peat range from eight to ten inches in
length, from four to five inches in
width and from three to six inches
thick, and as they are dug they re
roved to the drying grounds and plac
ed on end or on covered racks. At the
end of about four weeks, in which they
should be frequently turned, the blocks
are usually ready for storage. As cut
peat absorbs moisture rapidly, great
care should be taken to protect the
blocks from rainfall. To produce bet
ter peat and in large quantities the
machine process should be used.
To meet the demand for specific
data relating to the quantity of peat
and its suitability for use as fuel or
for a fertilizer in this country, the
United States geological survey has
undertaken an exhaustive examination
of the New England, Lake, and Atlan
tic peat regions.