New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-06-14

working after its own fashion to stimu-
late the manufacture Of big gun ammu-
milton.
Shrapnel No Longer Effective.
BY November, however, there arose
another vital consideration concerning
shells. Artillery ammunition for land
operations is of two kinds shrapnel
and high explosive. The shrapnel she'll
consists of a thin casing loaded with
bullets. As the she'll reaches its mark
the casing eXplodes scattering the bull
lets. This was the type Of shell most
used in old wars. II is tremendously
effective against men in the open.
There is nothing like il to stop
charge But against men well in
trenched it is of no more use than
volley of stones, hand-thrown. For that
purpose one needs the high explosive
shell, a thick casing, loaded with some
form of dynamite which blows up and
disturbs the earth when it lights. Still
further, the barbed wire enlargement
has grown greatly in importance. And
experience has shown that shrapnel
will not eliminate barbed wire. That
also needs high explosive shells. 10
put the matter in nutshell, IN trench
warfare shrapnel is defensive weapon.
high explosive an offensive weapon. SO
long as you are merely holding on,
shrapnel, the discourager of charges,
will do very well; when you try to
drive forward you must have high-ex-
plosive shells. And with the opening
of the spring campaign the Allies ex-
pected to try 10 drive forward. Where
fore, Sir John French and all his re-
IL L l. r inc an,
the War Office more and more high eX-
plosive shells.
After months of urging those high
explosive shells failed to appear in any
number. What became of the appeals
from the line, where they were side
tracked, no one knows. But the War
Office was sticking to the policy Of old
wars and sending shrapnel.
The Dardanelles Mystery.
This brings the history up 20 late
April or early May. In the meantime
another factor disturbing 10 the gov
eminent had appeared The Darda-
nelles adventure had turned out badly
An expedition which the optimists ex-
pected to be a short, successful drive
against a weak but vital point in the
enemys lines had turned into sepa-
rate war and a very hard one. That
expedition, as all the world knows, was
preceded by a bombardment on the
part Of the French and British fleets
& bofnbardment which did comparative
ly little harm and which was not
backed up for weeks by land forces.
And quite suddenly The Morning
Post opened uron the government,
criticising Winston Churchill, First
Lord Of the Admiralty, with extreme
bitterness. There had been a row in
the Admiralty. Admiral Fisher, First
Sea Lord, had certainly opposed the
Dardanelles adventure. Yet there must
have been more 70 that adventure than
we shall know until the end of the war
hidden diplomatic causes which the
government cannot reveal even under
FIRE. For he il noted that the French
also arc engaged in this Dardanelles
affair, and the French have been max
inc very few mistakes, either military
or diplomatic. However. the attack Of
The Morning Post" shook the govern
ment somewhat.
But, after all, the important end OF
the war, the crucial end for England,
is Flanders. Though the Dardanelles
stand or fall once let the Germans
make that f.fty-mile drive 10 Calais
and the whole British Empire finds it.
self in a bad way. The really serious
matter was that shortage of high ex-
plosive shells in Flanders
Northcliffe Takes a Hand.
Here enters Lord NorthclfFc, the
genius Of British journalism, the Brit
ish edition OF our oldtime fighting
Western editor How many news
papers he owns no one but he knows
exactly. His most important organ, all
things considered, is probably "The
Daily Mail" II has by far the largest
circulation in the empire. 1t is con