The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1914-11-15
BoER WAR WAS MILD
Red Tape in War Contracts 10 Some
times Very silly, But Rules
Must es Carried
Out.
[By Ed. L. Keen. United Press Stan
Correspondent

LONDON, Nov. IA Letter from
"a young officer OF the Royal Munster
Fusiliers gives an interesting descrlp-
ton Of the fighting in which his bat
talon lost 1913 in killed, wounded ana
missing, out Of . total OF 1,OO0-the
heaviest loss sustained by any single
unit. It was during the great retreat
from Mons. The writer says:
1--WE fought q small battle just on
the frontier, without any losses. and
We retreated to Fes, near where we
started all the marching. Then the
real lighting began. The frst knew
Of the fighting was when was awak-
ened at three o'clock one morning ana
ordered to proceed at once to my pla-
toon to reinforce another outpost
company which was being attacked.
We fought for two days and Just as
we thought it was all over We found
we were surrounded. Then the des-
rerate fighting began.
Il could not describe the horrors OF
it on paper. but we were about three
quarters of battalion fighting SIX
German battalions, and without any
chance of relief. We Gid our best. we
had one section Of the artillery and
two machine guns with us, which
helped a lot. but they were soon
knocked out. Our colonel was won
der to see; he had absolutely no fear
and / followed him and helped all
could in every charge, but he was
killed by a shell. We had, think,
ten officers killed, five wounded and
the remainder prisoners.
81 was wounGed in two places. One
bullet had pierced my throat. The
biceps of my left arm had been blown
away by a piece OF shell. Luckily
there were no bones broken.
1.-THE wound in my throat Is OF
course very troublesome. They put In
a tube which make 1t possible for me
to breathe without difficulty and can
eat and drink. 1 cannot speak at all.
The doctor says 1t will be all right
when the wound heals, and that l
shall he able to speak when they take
the tube out.
1--WE killed and wounded great
many Germans, and they say them
selves that we made a gallant fight OF
It Our fellows who were in the South
African war say 1t was child's play to
this and that in all the Boer campaign
there never was a battle SO flercely
fought as the one in which we were
knocked out"
Not even Lord Kitchener has been
able to escape all OF the red taps which
has strangled the war office for 80
long. Despite his arduous labors OF
organization, however, Kitchener has
managed to do something toward in
PRODUCING business methods in White
hall. but the Tite Barnacles still hold
sway in certain departments.
A notable example has just come TO
light at the docks, where an omcer
noticed a workman busily engaged IN
unpacking bottles OF port intended FOR
the field hospitals in france an0 Bei-
gium. The cases in which the bottles
were originally packed appeared to be
quite serviceable, and the officer In
quired why 1t was necessary to un-
pack them
Inen IL was 6XPldHcu " AAA sAos
during the South African war some
organizing genius had laid 1t down
that bottles of wine, spirits, ETC., for
the troops, should be packed In cases
Of ten. The contractor who supplied
the port had sent them in cases OF
twelve, and red tape insisted on the
change OF cases.
| Perhaps a more fragrant case was
that Of a contractor who had $50,00e
worth OF goods returned because the
packing cases had not been fastened
with the right kind Of nails. During
the Crimean war the British war Of
| fee decided to use what are known
as rose-headed nails, and although
modern improvements have Installed
the fiat headed nail in general use,
the war office still sticks to the 1857
pattern. Getting a rush order the con-
tractor, who hadn't roselheaded nall
in the place. foolishly imagined that
in war time ordinary nails would do,
but the lite Barnacles said mo"