The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-01-24
andS


II needs "A railway man to appreciate
IL. the sheer science and magnitude of
the achievement; the problems of roll
ing stock of time schedules and the
rest, that were thus solved upon the
moment.
There should be a monument to him,
the man that saved Warsaw. lie should
be presented. life size, with his coat
off, fitting wings to broad gauge snail.
On October II the Germans were
straddling the Warsaw-Nienna railway.
from the little town o. Blune 20 the
village and junction of Pruschkow and
had spread thence southeastward to
the Nistuil-und pruschkow is only
twelve miles from the city. They had
sheled the Russians out Of che village
and moved up in force; another sage
would hoist them over that slope of ris-
ing ground whence one can look down,
along the railway and across the forts
that were dismlntled two years ago
upon the roofs OF Warsaw: their guns
would dominate IL; and the Marszal-
kowska would he open to the eagle
crest moving superbly at the head Of
a victorious army.
There had been nothing much to
stop them; but now, at the last mo-
men' troops were spuuting into War
saw, snatched from the trains. poured
through the streets and rushed out to
build a last wall of bayOncts and bod
les between the city and its imminen;
fate. scores upon scores Of them, go
ing straight from the trucks TO the
fighting line, soldiers of all arms, OF
many races, tremendous spectacle ana
incidentally, a valuable education for
Poles wavering on the farther brink Of
| loyalty. Russia. Germany and Austria
are always educating their Poles; Po-
land Is the reform school child Of Eu-
rope.
Sometimes wonder whether IT, after
all. Nlculai Nicolaicv,ch was really
caugh' mapping. The Kaiser's procla-
nation to the Poles promised them as
much as the Cars: they had seen
Russia fighting and being beaten be-
| fore: and 1t was for the Kaiser that the
| convent bells had rung their automatic
| and miraculous welcome when he en-
tered he town Of Czenstochowa. Po-
land inher!ts a long tradition of hatred
for Russia; 1t has yet its leaven of fire.
brands; and there were not lacking
guides to show the Germans the pas.
sages through the woods north oil
! Groizy.
Now. as ,hings turned out, the Poles
were to see the country laid waste not
| by the Russians but by the Germans
| they were TO see Russia in the role OF
pro eCtor Of Poland, her might and
| greatn summoned to the spot as
| though by magic and brandished like a
fis, in their faces, and then to watch
the Germans broken. driven back, flee
ing, burning, looIng and numbering as
| they went
My fellow travellers. the CosSacks
were escorted through The own DC.
tween lines Of Dragons they naC
shown signs of a wish to set to work
to loot the shops. They had never
seen a big city before and many o
them thought they had arrived at Ber.
lin.
The road that goes south on; of War
saw runs for about eight miles along
side a light railway linking up the
smaller towns Of Tjasetchno. Cora Kal
varja con the Nlstula) and Groizy; .
cut across the very vortex of the figh,
ing as things 3 ood on October Is. Fu
three days and nights il had been
mere stream bed for river of troop
pouring forth to the fighting line; now
though transport and hospital traiti
still crowded It, the curren, had a littl
abated.
on either hand the gently undulate
country was thick with woods-not tn
pal,ry and dreary frs Of the cas-
Prussan front but real trees-with tn
farmers fields in between them; owe
It and about it, pervadlng It like an at
mosphere of heavy sound, there tone
the unceasing dlapason of battle.
was as though one were ringed in b
the noise of war; the great thuddin
reverl erations of the batteries to tn
south, qulckening from time to time I
an insane and monstrous tattoo of eX
ploslons, were answered by distant an
yet more distant guns till the ear the
guessed at their direction was battle
and perceived them only as a hurizo
OF tremendous sound.
Then a rise in the road lifted or
clear of the screening woods and or
saw low against the sky, white puff
balls of smoke that appeared sudden
hung for a space of moments and dii
persed slowly--thc shrapnel Of II
Germans bursting over the trench,
where Gen. Schcidemanns Siberian
were hanging on grimly. \ coup
Of miles more and from another ri,
one looked down upon the little tow
Of PjasetChno, with its background
low hills and the levels eastward of
stretching away to the river.
The traffic of the road had thinn,
by now; the ammunition trains al
hospital carts had branChed of lurCl
ing along byways behind and betwe,
long arms Of wood but here, at Il
top of the rise, was a knot Of coul
try wagons halted at the side Of Il
road and a crowd of perhaps 200 pc
pie. They We're folk from Pjasetchl
watching the Smelling of their town
the Germans.
My glasses showed me the lit
place a tiny Polish town of that sir
pie and antique character VIII.
towns in Poland so often Contrlve
have and towns in Russia so scldol
Its houses clustered close together u
der irregular brown roofs; its chur,
lifted square white tower amor
them. OF those who stood in the rO
with me and watched many were al
to pick out the very roofs under viii
their lives had shaped themselves, roc
Iii