The star-independent. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1904-1917, 1914-12-11
Correspondents Vivid
Description of Scenes
on the Battle Field in
France
HOURS SPENT IN
THE TRENCHES
Race of German Troglodytes Discov-
cred, With Men, Horses, Supplies,
Etc, Well Protected From Fire of
Enemy in Hillside Caverns

Headquarters of Certain German
Army in France, Dec. IL Forwarded
by Automobile Courier to Berlin,
Thence to London, All A. MA cor I
respondent of the Associated Press,
spending week in the field opera
tons, has also been the guest of Cen
erals Won Heeringen, formerly War
Minister and now commanding the
Seventh army; Won Zwehl, the capturer
OF Maubeuge, and Won Emmich, the
conqueror of Liege and Namur.
Several hours were spent in the
trenches in picturesque old town
where German ritlemen and French
leglonnaires plan and play grim prac.
tlcal Jokes of war upon each other
from positions scant 200 yards apart.
A race of German troglodytes was
found IN one place on this front. Men,
horses, supplies, hospitals and so forth
were housed in hillside caverns, former
~ stone quarries, which were absolute
y protected by 50-foot stone roof
from even the most powerful shell fire.
View of Rheims Cathedral
The morning was passed in an artil-
lery observation stand opposite Rheims,
where powerful stereoscopic telescope,
through which the fire of the artillery is
directed, brought the observer within a
hundred yards of the city and the ca
thedral and enabled him to see that the
cathedral and its towers were standing
fairly intact, although blackened by
fire.
A trip of inspection was made
through labyrinth of field fortifca-
tions and approaches along the Aisne at
its nearest point to Paris, where the
lines are normally two or three hundred
yards apart. The soldiers even in the
foremost trenches Were found living in
comparative comfort i'll their under
ground shelters. They are well sup
piled with blankets, food water and
clothing and are in good spirits, despite
their long residence in the trenches.
Desultory infantry fire is always in
progress here and the rattle of machine
guns breaks out now and then. The ar
tillery on both sides has thrown tons
of iron daily, but there have been no
great fights of late in, TINS section of the
front.
Stacks of Unthreshed Grain
Of all the impressions of the trip
one of the most striking is that left
by the countless stacks of unthreshed
grain, stretching for miles in every di-
rection throughout this granary of
Northern France. Over hundred Ger
man threshing machines of the largest
size are working in the region occupied
by the army and six new ones were en-
countered to-day plugging forward to
reinforce these harvest batteries which
are doing work quite as important as
that of the 42-centimeter cannon. The
army is notConly living on the supplies
of flour and meat derived from this see
ton of the country, but is actually
sending wheat and -four back to, Ger
many.
German Soldier Well Fed
The German soldier at the front is
smiling and well fed as he has one more
warm meal daily than in peace time.
The lean greyhounds seen after the
dash on Paris are again rounding out
into portly Germans.
The normal soldier at the front does
not sing as much as formerly partly,
perhaps, because he has sung himself
out and partly because singing in the
immediate vicinity of the enemy is apt
to draw fire, but he is neither dis
couraged nor exhausted. There is no in
dication whatever that mis- nerves are
breaking under the strain of the pro-
Ftracted war.
No trip to the front would be com
plete without visit to the field hos
pital Health conditions are good, the
surgeons state, even better than in
peace time. There has been considerable
typhoid but this is now well in hand,
owing to the vigorous use of the anti
typhoid serum. ......
Cleaning Out Typhoid Ccnters
The medical department is just now
cleaning out three villages in the i'm
mediate vicinity of the headquarters
which were found to be typhoid GEN.
ters. The surgeons are devoting special
attention to this matter and are isolat-
ing or vaccinating the inhabitants of
suspected villages.
The Germans are evidently prepar-
ing for an extended occupation. The
French peasants have planted winter
crops and are working in the fields.
The roads are being maintained as usual
by French labor and in some cases fac
tories are being reOpened