South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1914-09-12
BURTON TELLS HOW
BRITISH SOLDIERS
MARCH TO FIGHT
BY HARRY PAYNE BURTON.

PARIS, France.-Six "Tommies'' in
khaki, clanking their big English guns
are all the signs of war you see as you
leave the old gray quay at FolkestOne,
the one large place in all England
from where you can sail now for
France. About the sandy beach there
beneath candystick awnings, sit, with
all the tranquility of former years,
scores of white-h haired Britons reading
their Times" and putting their pipes
while old ladies near by knit and blink
at the blue channel beyond just as
they have always knitted and blinked.
But an hours run on the little milk
colOred steamer brings you into BOu-
logne and suddenly you are in the
midst of-warl
You do not mistake it from the very
moment you start down the gang
plank. Starting up the gangplank, at
Folkestone, the guard scarcely queried
Nationality ?" and my easy reply,
American, coupled with the cut of
my clothes and the twang in my voice
in EurOpe-passed me with margin
but not so at BOulogne.
had to show my passport getting
off the boat.
1 was passed into the customs
where 1 showed my passport again and
had, in addition my baggage raked
fore and aft.
From there 1 was escorted by a
gendarme to the ticket office, where a
project of police now examined my
passport.
He turned me over to the ticket
agent, who also had a look at the
passport. He finally stamped it!
Normally the run from BoulOgne to
Paris is done in five or six hours. 1t
took me &c hours and they said 1 was
lucky to make it in that time. There
90 hours to follow the Seine to the
sea!
The hours walk 1 took in Boulogne
before the one train that goes to
Paris each day started, told me why.
Every available railway coach in
France today is being used to convey
British and French troops TO that
fusillading frontier.
For not all of them, by any means,
are modified against the German
line as yet. French reservists are
still arriving from the four quarters
of the globe. And as for England,
she will be pouring her army into
France for months, until the very
Norman coasts groan with the weight
of British sOldiery.
nightfall could pour so continuous
stream of volunteers into an embat-
tied country. From Canada, from
New Zealand, from Australia, from
Africa and from India they are COM
ing on every boat that swings into
the Mersey. And there are still TO
be heard from that army Of 100000
men that Lord Kitchener is raising IN
Londonl
The town of Boulogne was absO-
lutely besieged with British troops In
khaki. Fully $4,000 of them were in
evidence the day 1 passed through
Their equipment was perfect
1t was not just an English army
saw moving through those quiet Nor
man streets-it was England!
Every last circuitous little detail Of
Anglo civilization as it is known TO
the English-speaking race, was there
Just let me give you a picture OF TINS
moving segment of the British isles!
First Of all came the officers OF the
cavalry corps on their perfect
prancing. muscular
ponies as they raise only in England
and each officer sat in his spotless
khaki like a statue, as calm ana as
reserved in expression as though he
were going through the maneuvers
in Horse Guards parade oehlhu
Buckingham palace
Then came countless numbers or
infantry-every Tommy Atkins IN MS
careful best. a contrasting reheI 70
the baggy. smeary effect produced on
the eve By the not-tOo-clean French
privates And then, for a mile there
streamed by ambulance wagons, wa
ter wagons wheeled hospitals, medl-
cal wagons and doctors corps. They
were followed by hundreds or pieces
Of giant artillery including many
mounted howitZers.
But the next contingent-coWs!
Just plain, ordinary Jersey COWS so
that the Britishers can have good,
fresh milk every day like he has at
home, There were easily SEQ OF
these English COWS and keeper 10
every 20 Of them. And bringing up
the rear were many wagon load OF
dressed meat and chicken Tor WITH
out his meat-which he eats three
times day-Johnny Bull would not
be in fighting trim
This was but a small contingent OF