New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-09-29
A Place for Everything
and Everything Put
in Its Place.
EVERY DAYS DUTY
SET OUT BY R0TE
Invaders Give the Idea That
they Think Of Little Things
and DO Big Things. 1
Nv JAMES O'DONNELL BENNETT.

AiX-la- Chapelle, Sept, lS.-Looklng
oat Of the windows Of a German mills
tary train when it stopped at Charleroi,
one morning last week, saw Ger,
man soldier bending over a flower BED
IN the grounds OF the railway station,
he seemed to be attentively examining
The flowers. Aa he knelt there he tre~
quently moved his hands gently among
he blossoms, as IL he were caressing
hem.
See" I said TO ore Of my compsn-
ions, "there is that beautiful German
love Of flowers again. With the ruins
Of whole streets in this town stlli
smoking, this private soldier hnds
time to admire a flower bed that has
escaped destruction"
We grew quite sentimental about the
matter.
Suddenly the man arose from his
knees, and with him there came from
che flower bed telephone receiver and
two or three yards Of telephone wire.
Strengthening himself. he put the re-
ceiveT 10 his ear and spoke rapidly. We
could hear some of the words. They
appeared to be a repetition or veriti:a-
don Of certain orders.
The flower bed and the soldier were
on the left of che train. On the right,
and at a greater distance, you saw two
parallel streets Of unroofed houses.
From their cellars and shattered floors
clouds Of smoke arose laziiy into the
sunshine. As the train was pulling out
with its burden Of silent German
wounded, Of disconsolate French and
English prisoners and Of fretted cor
respondents who had been suavely as
sured that they were guests OF the
German army, the soldier ceased speak
I h. 4nlnnhnnn
receiver and the wire among the low
ers The German system was working
How the System Works.
In every instance and everywhere II
appears to work that way. They nave
a place for everything and they put
everything in its place. This system
Is a curious combination of simple
household and Office routine, OF craft
and Of overwhelming prowess.
As for the stupendous phases OF the
svsten, the mind is staggered by them
These men, you say to yourself, think
If the little things and do the big
things. You take your stand on an
cminence of the Belgian countryside
which affords you a noble sweep OF
reld and sky line. At your feet long
gray column is moving across the PLAIN
h seems 70 stretch from horizon 10
horizon. Half a mile to the east
parallel column is rolling forward. A
mile to the west you follow the route
of a third column from the clouds OF
dust that hang about it.
There is no music. There are no
Gags. From the highway Immediately
below you rise the clink OF chain har-
ress, the cries of drivers the rumble
Of metal pontoon bridges borne on
Tho cTnaHV ETMft-
cuff of 5000 men who are marching
an average Of thirty kilometres day
and who frequently make maximum
Of fifty kilometres a day.
The columns seem to roll forward.
Halts are infrequent. There is no con>
fusion. The region of the coal mines
in Southern Belgium is undulating ana
ID traversed by winding roads. You
reach the head of a line of army
wagons at the top of hill, and you
lcok back on three miles Of rolling
plain TO a village which you passed
with the van forty minutes before. the
rear has not yet left the village. Three
points on the horizon seem to belch .
men, horses, cannons, wagons.
Everything is beautifully in hand
Everything is German, and every reqpl- :
site is so amply provided that the de-
mands made Upon the countryside are
relatively slight. During one whole az
ternoon's marching i saw only two
kinds of acquisitions. One was pals
Of water fer men and horses. and one
was cakes of sweet chocolate, For the
chocolate each village baker was paid
"a German marks the price he asked.
Routine of a Day.
Dnring the week was with the
army the routine of a German SOL
dier's day appeared to comprise early
rising, q hot breakfast, march for
ward 20 whip somebody--if he could
oVertake him-a hot luncheon, an
afternoon of marching or fighting,
hot supper and a songfest for two
hours.
In the evening you passed Belgian
schoolhouse or convent where Ger
man soldiers were quartered, and the
strains Of Deutschland Gber Allies"
OF "I,orelei" or "Die Wacht am Rhein"
came in q rush of melody to your ears.
You passed the town hall or the bur-
Tomaster's house and you saw group
Of German officers working on their
maps, spread out on tables under the
lapphght.
The system was working.
The Saxon soldiers who, after q
hard days marching, had sung all the
verses Of "Lorelei" over and over
again for you in the refectory Of a
convent. and who had asked you
whether YOU knew his cousin, who
lived at six hundred and something
Wells St, Chicago him you would
see lined up with hundreds Of other
men in the convent courtyard at
dawn. manifestly as fresh as daisy
aud indicating by a cautious wink that
he would be ready for another song
fest at the end Of the day, persdven-
ture a French or English bullet had
not silenced him before evening came.
The whole thing moved on the prin-
eiple Of days wOrk-get up and do
81 and eniOv yourself at the end of it
IL you could.
Even the time Of day was German,
for the routine of marching, fighting,
rating and singing was marked of by
watches set by German time. That is
one reason why the German is not 4
good colonizer or assimilator. Every
thing has to be German He iTks Al
saee. He breaks the heart Of Lorraine.
And that is why, if he takes Belgium
into the empire-as there already is
talk that he will do Belgium will be
q thorn in his side for generations.
Even Lighting system German.
When /. as a guest" had marched
at night With a batch Of French and
English prisoners from the square in
Beaumont to the railway station we
foand the freight yard brightly light
ed,
%But," said 10 the German slieu.
tenant whose particular guest" was,
Il thought the lighting plant Of the