Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1915-05-09
Strength of French Army At
tributed to His Humane
Efforts.
GER MANY IS WAsTEFUL
One Country Grows Mightier
While Other Is Feeling It's
Sacrifices.

the blood OF his soldiers. To this
humane effort no attributed the fact
that the strength Of the French army
is continually growing while that Of
tho German armies Is diminishing.
Commenting on this statement. II.
Maurice Barres says that General
Joffrc's tactics were dictated, not mere
~ BY his humane dislike of useless
slaughter OF men. but also because
these tactics were the only proper ones
under existing conditions
Germany's military effort at the out
break OF the war surpassed all expec-
tatlons. France was momentarily al
most paralyzed when she realized the
immensely Of the German avalanche
rushing down upon her. She had ex-
pected to have to me-. the onrush OF
twenty Ave army corps, and instead Of
that Germany modified sixty-one.
When this gigantic host was stopped
and almost broken at the Marine, Ger
many made another effort, and in Oc-
tober she brought eight moro army
corps into the western theater of war.
GERMANY FINDS HERSELF
IN POSITION OF NEED
But here she reached her maximum,
and new Germany finds herself in
position OF need which General Jonrc
has been wise enough to avoid.
From the official German lists French
sta'ist!cians have established that the
definite German losses have averaged
about 10000 men month. At the
present moment Germany has 100000
new recruits ready to be sent to the
front II she uses these for new forma-
tons she Will be unable TO nil up the
gaps in the old.
This difficulty will probably. NJ.
Barres says. make little difference to
the German general staff, that first Of
all believes In immediate results. It
undoubtedly Will create new lorna lions
even though this means that officers
must be taken from the old to COM
mand new bodies. This Germany has
been doing for months. a very lar-e
number OF officers have fallen or been
taken prisoners. The total result is
that the number OF officers in the
German regiments at present is abso-
lutely insufficient
This is fact which cannot be denied.
and is the logical result OF the Ger
man system, which, to be successful.
from the very start called for quick
ana decisive victory in France before
land could train her reserves and be-
fore the effects OF the economical war
were felt. This was the reason why
Germany kept on creating new corps
which she could not keep up II mat
tered little to her then because she
counted on Immediate victory, but vic
tory did not come.
The other system. the French, con-
sists in keeping sufficient number of
units IN good form and not to create
new ones until you are sure of being
able TO keep them up and place them In
the proper cadres.
France has now at the front more
than two millions and half Of troops,
one one-f1fth more than the number
first mobilized. and the resources at the
various depots amount to one-half of
the number OF men at the front. This
means that France is more than able
TO keep up her present strength. The
French system Is proving Itself inf
nitely superior to the German during
n prolonged war.
a committee had assembled at Tou-
louise in order to examine a number OF
soldiers who had to be DISCHARGED from
further service on account of their
wounds a man minus an arm pre-
sented himself The colonel consulted
book. and said:
wounds. an arm mutilated
Dis rged with pension"
Pardon me. colonel" said the SOL
der without a pension"
Why without a pension?"
Because am a schoolmaster can
still teach in spite of my inhrmity, and
my salary will be sufficient"
10 ha
owes you pension
MY salary will SUFFICE" the wounded
soldier persisted.
The colonel had to give in. He
pressed the wounded mans hand.
You are not only a brave soldier,
but You are n good man." he said
OWES HIS LIBERTY
TO ATTACK OF SNEEZISG
\ French soldier in the early months
of the war was made prisoner with
seven comrades. In the evening a Ger
man officer questioned the prisoners.
Seven Of the men replied to the ques-
tons put to them. but the soldier who
tells the story could not get out
word. Il have a singular infrmity,"
he said. when l begin to sneeze, the
attack lasts half an hour"
r The soldier sneezed so long that the
officer lost patience and ordered the
man to he kept under guard until the
next day. When the officer again ques-
toned him, he managed to say that he
was a matchmaker by trade. The Of
ficer gave him his watch, which had
gone wrong, and he was shut up in
the village watchmaker's shop and or
dered to repair 1t.
The soldier worked at the watch
with several Germans at his elbow. He
dallied so long over the job that the
Germans fell asleep He then blew out
the lamp and left the shop by tho
window. Off he ran through wood.
and fell into sand pit. He was pur-
sued by the Germans, who had awak-