South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1914-12-04
GREAT
FACTOR IN WAR
Elaborate Precautions Taken to
Cover Motor Cars and Am
munitiOn Wagons With Bush
eS as Protection From Filters.

1
the war the aeroplanes have become,
| is evident from the account of a
German-American civilian who has
just returned after visiting several
points of the German battle line IN
der official escort
Wagons and motor cars and am
munitiOn carts were usually covered
with bushes as a protection against
/ observation from above by fliers," he
wrote in his diary. The nearer 10
the front We came, the more careful
such measures Of precautiOn were OBJ
served
I'VE first went to a fine chateau
| belonging 10 a rich French merchant
near the frontier. but on French soil.
a general staff officer explained to US
the situation, showing on large maps
the German and French positions,
and told us where we would be taken,
and what we could expect to see. He
impressed everybody most favorably.
Especially his frank admission that
the German troops had tried to take
the fortress OF Toul by storm, but
! failed. and had therefore begun a
regular siege, impressed us all.
while we were walking from a
village to the siege battery, we sud
denly heard the short sharp sound
noticed small clouds of smoke against
the clear blue sky, slowly dissOlving
and disappearing. And then we dis
covered a flying machine, which was
fired at with shrapnel. 1t was a
French flier, bOmbarded by German
field artillery The shrapnel some
times exploded dangerously near him.
but he managed TO turn around
quickly and disappeared behind the
crest of the hill.
From there we rode through the
woods toward st. Mihiel. At the edge
of the woods, our cars stopped, and
we marched in the valley along the
foot of the wooded hill to the small
town Of that name. In the meadow
along the road we noticed numerous
regular, deep, funnel-shaped holes,
dug by heavy shells from Toul and
the forts between Toul and Verdun.
The occasional dropping of such big
sugar loafs" as the German soldiers
nicknamed them, did not prevent the
Germans from sending out small
commands to dig potatoes and yege-
tables in the surrounding fields, thus
providing for a change of diet.
Begin Concert of Shells.
1T was just p. m. We were mer-
rily walking along. in full expectation
of what was going to happen. We
had been told at about that time the
so-called 'abendsegen' (evening pray
ers) was to begin. And, sure enough,
ut the mentioned time the air was
rent by a deep dull reverberation at
great distance, followed by a long
shrek, ending in a slowly dying howl
1t was a heavy shell sent by ore of
the forts, probably of foul Others
OF the same kind followed, and this
hellish concert lasted for nearly an
hour. till dark. This is what the Ger
man soldiers call in grim humOr the
French evening prayers.
"Our guide, Capt Gemerich of the
engineers. directed us to an electric
works, which had been destroyed by
the French. but was now repaired by
him with the assistance of German
electricians. and is furnishing electric
power to large ore mines which were
in danger of being drowned by
ground-water. The mines are now
being pumped out and operated
again The German administration,
presided over by a civil officer. is do
ing everything in its power to pro-
cure work for the working population
in that region, because it has to feed
them.
1--WE saw two more pieces of engi-
neering work Of which the German
pioneer corps can justly be proud.
Near Joeuf the frontier runs along
the crest of a hill. On both sides
railways are ending at the foot of
this hill, which were never connect
ed, the French always declining Ger
man proposals to that effect because
they feared it would be of greater
advantage to the Germans.
Tunnel Through Hill.
Gas soon as the Germans had in
vaded French territory they went t.
work and within a few weeks, dug a
tunnel through the hill, connecting
and running a dOuble-track railroad.
And a little to the north, at Landres,
the French had blown up early in
August a railway and a street bridge
crossing a deep ravine. German en-
gineers first built within a few days
temporary wooden bridge admit
ting one locomotive and one car at a
time. and then, within three weeks, n
solid bridge of cement and steel for
traffic Of all kind and removed the
10-foot high railroad bedding for
distance of 80 feet, thus avoiding the
work of removing the old bridge.
1.-The German soldiers were so
proud Of their work that they insert
ed a large mosaic iron cross on both
sides of the bedding.
I'VE boarded our ears to go back
to the town mentioned above, where
treat OF n peculiar kind awaited
us With some little incredibly, we
had listened to a story that volun-
teer soldier. who in civil life is
public school teacher and conductor
Of singing societies. had organized
singing club among his comrades.
The battalion TO which he be-
IOnged had been in the trenches in
the foremost line for a long time
and lost heavily by infantry and ar
tillery fire until il had been relieved
and taken back 10 recuperate.
This man had crept from one
trench TO the other, and practiced
with his pupils, not singing aloud, Of
course. hut humming. When the
battalion arrived in TIL the chorus
invited the officers and men IN town
10 a concert. A similar invitation
had reached Us in the morning. We
went to the Catholic church, a large
magnificent edifce. with beautiful
stained glass windows and heavy
gold and silver candelabra.
After we had taken our seats. the
church filled with officers and sol
diers. a FrenchwOman with two chill
dren entered also and listened as in
tently as did the whole audience to
the TeutOnic songs of the soldiers.