Semi-weekly herald., 1915-05-27
FRENCH HAVE ass"
CONSTRUCTED FOR
SHOOTING AT "ZEPS''
(By Lafayette Young.)


(By Lafayette Young.)
NORTHERN FRANCE BATTLE
FIELD, April l6.-(By il.)-So
long as Zeppelins fly and aeroplanes
soar there must be anti-Zeppelin guns.
This being in mind the French have
made an anti-Zepelin gun out of the
"75."
In Paris near the tomb of the great
Napoleon the "75" is standing with
sfanszia up, ready to make strike at
= Zeppelin. When tine "75" is used
for firing in the air its general make.
up is not changed. The wheels belong.
ing to the gun are retained. The en-
tire gun<-can be whirled round and
round as rapidly as may be neces-
sary. Its range is adjustable. 1t is
a wing-shot gun.
The man who fires it sits on the
frame and submits to the noise. There
is no limit to its speed. The placing
of the cartridge is simple matter
of moment Getting a range is
quickly done and the discharge is in
Simultaneous. Then the shell goes
crashing through the sky, looking for
the flying invader.
On high hill giving long range
view of the valley of the river Aisne,
we had demonstration of the way
and manner of working the "75" gun
when hunting for Zeppelins or aero
planes. The gun was worked with
out cartridges, and we had chance
to see how the gun could be swung
around and also how the range could
be changed in best pursuit of the OBJ
ject in the air.
Battle Lines Unchanged.
All soldiers must eat, and newspa-
per men when in pursuit of knowledge
in regard to the activities of war
must also eat. Our luncheon this
day was on hillside. We had hard
boiled eggs, cold ham, bread and but
ter and other ingredients which usual
ly go with first-class luncheon. 1t
was not military meal, but had been
brought in one of the automobiles
from our military base at Amiens.
Even this hillside luncheon was in view
of and from the German trenches. We
were again looking down the valley
of the Aisne, famous as one of the
places where the Germans stopped af-
ter the battle on the Marne, and
where they began to dig their de-
fenses.
It's little strange that there have
not been more changes in their lines.
They are practically the same as they
were at the same point nine months
ago. 1t is near this same point that
the river Aisne empties into the Disc.
These rivers have both become ia
nous since there world wars began.
Both have been stained with blood.
Women in the Fields.
No country could be more beauti-
full than northern France. This beau
ty has not been destroyed by the
armies. Most of the trenches that
were hurricdly made when the Ger
mans were in retreat and the French
were following have been obiterat-
ed by the plow and harrow. Only
the deeper ones remain. Women are
everywhere in the fields doing the
farm work while their men kindred
are at the front. Occasionally SOL
diers are seen at work in the fields.
Often they are found repairing the
roads. The army has such use for
roads for the transportation of sup
plies that it is good sense to keep
them up.
When tho Germans were in retreat
there were many deaths. 1t is a mys-
terry what has become of the burial
places which should naturally be visi-
BILE from the public roads. The bod
les must be turned under the soil, as
was the case on the field of Waterloo
a hundred years ago.
The Chauncey Depew Hospital.
After our luncheon we started
through groves and over the hills to
discover the chateau in which Mrs.