Semi-weekly herald., 1915-05-06
STRUGGLES
FOR SLIGHTEST GAINS
(By VIM. P. SIMMS.l

(By VIM. p. SIMMS.)
UNITED Press Staff Correspondent.)
copyrighted 1915, by United Press.
Copyrighted in Great Brittany
WITH THE FRENCH ARMY AT
THE FRONT, April 1S.-(By Mail
to New York.)-One of the things
that has caused amusement where it
was not understood has been the
pleasure expressed in the official
communiques over regions Of terri
tory numbered in yards and feet. You
smile when you read. In this, the
greatest of all wars, where tine Bel
gians hold twenty-five miles Of
| trenches, the British 80, the French
543, not to mention the Russians L.
1875 miles and the Servians 260, they
speak of winning few yards as
though it was football game. Yet 1t
takes only visit to the actual scene
to understand and appreciate just
what few yards mean. Imagine
yourself in Arras, the beautiful city
nj French Flanders, northeast of
Anions, whose fourteenth century city
hall, one of the most wonderful ex-
amples Of Flemish renaissance in the
world, is now a mass of ruins. You
may make your way to the railway
station, pile OF debris, then going
to the left and continue mile and
a half. Here is your objective.
Arras is surrounded on three sides
by the Germans. The French hold
one side and the city itself. Our su-
burb is on the east. The eastern half
of it is in the hands of the Germans,
the French hold the left. This is a
small suburb like any American vii
lage. Some homes, factory or two
and some stores. Then there is the
finest home in town" where the rich
est man lives. You enter deep COM
municating trench that zig-zags across
the front yard of this "finest home"
The house, in this case the chateau
Rouge, is completely in ruins.
You keep on toward the east. Now
and then you reach point where you
are told to run as trees overlook 1t
that contain German sharpshooters.
| On you go through the piles of
bricks that used to be cottages. They
were once held by Germans, but the
| French mined and blew them up. You
are too near the Germans and word
would mean hand grenade.
By and by you come to brick wall,
another ruined house, but this wall is
reinforced by many bricks. Standing
at lOophOles are French soldiers.
They pay no attention to you. You
have watched fisherman and noted
the expectative look on his face as
he holds his pole just after getting
big bite. Well, that is the look
on every soldiers face. Nobody
makes a sound. You wonder how close
the Germans are. Then your guide
touches your elbow. You can have a
look. The soldier steps aside. There
they are, the Germans, within short
thirty feet of you. You don't see
them, but you sense them and their
trench is business looking.
The German trench is cut through
the flower garden of French work.
ingman. The back door of his cot
tage is seen forty feet away. A pitt
full little lop-sided dishrag is flutter-
ing on the porch. Between the wall
which shelters you and the German
trenches is a row of yellow Jonquils |
nodding their heads in the sunshine.
A broken water pitcher, a battered
old hat and some tin cans are near
the flowers, while blue and white
bandana has been spread across the
top of the German trench to dry.
To the left and right of you there
is the occasional crack Of Lebel and
about as often you hear the Germans
replying. At the base Of the brick