Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-06-12
FAILURE OF BRITISH SPRING 'DRIVE'
Tommy Atkins Is Shattered but He Keeps His Crit"
and Cheers Himself by Remarking, "The First Two
Years Will Be the Worst"
By e. RICHARD sCHAYER

The Gathor Is an American newspaper
man, noD private IN the British Army
SerVtce Corps at the front IN northern
Frunce
THESE notes are being written in the
i shade OF an old apple tree near Bethune.
My back is against it's snariy old trunk and
my dusty army shoes grinding their
steel-shod heels into a little bed Of daisies
Overhead the massed white blossoms fiutter
IN the soft breeze, and still higher a skylark
chortles with glee and performs marvels in
aerial gymnastics little further down the
orchard small flock of goats bleat and nib
BILE at the rich turf.
The goats seem to fit in the picture, but
the goatherd Jars the eye. He is black
man-very black, with sharply out features
and straggly beard. He wears a grtmy khaki
uniform of Oriental cut and q greasy turban.
His name, as nearly as could get II, is Mo-
hammed Umphf. He is a cook with bat
talon of Pathans, but SO far, imagine, the
goats don't realize it.
Barring the goatherd, there is nothing in
sight at the moment to disturb the serenity
of nature in her best spring raiment. The
little orchard rims curve In the highway,
and the outlook on every side is calmly beau
tiful At such moments out here one almost
wishes he were deaf. For It is by the sense
OF hearing alone that one is chained to the
grim realization OF things. The roar of the
guns only few kilos away beats heavily on
the eardrums in ponderous sort of synco-
pated rhythm. with a treble part played by
the Maxims, that sounds at this distance
exactly like coal wagon emptying itself into
your cellar on a sheet-iron chute.
A Dream Gone to Smash
The great British dream of the winter has
gone to smash. The one oonsoling thought
OF all US thousands through the bitter hard
ships OF that killing winter campaign-that
when spring came and the sun made the
earth's surface negotiable and Kitchener's
new army was in the field, the enemy would
Immediately md himself on tho defensive
and the new British hordes would swarm
upon him, crush him, beat him back, stead
lily, surely, into Belgium and out again on
the other side to make his last stand in the
valleys OF his Fatherland-has proved itself
a CHASTITY delusion.
"Licked, but Not Beaten"
II was all summed up for me only an hour
or so ago, a mile or two up the road. had
been helping load lorrtes and wagons with
cases of ammunition at a division headauar-
ters, and when released from the Job and
told to set back to Bethune TO my train. I
first took good look around. Down the
road toward the battle line. half a mile away,
came upon young man. His uniform
dirty and tattered though It was. still bore
the stamp OF good London tailoring, by
which together with the fact that he used a
sword for a cane as he hobbled toward me,
I knew him for an officer
He proved a young first lieutenant Of a
rife brigade l saluted as I passed, and hs
answered with a slight gesture Of his free
hand Something about the expression In
his eyes turned me about and asked him IL
I could be of any assistance.
Thanks, awfly," he said. in that high
bred English tone. ''but I think I can make
II quite Well"
Then, for the first time. realized that he
was freshly wounded had been SO aeeus-
toned to seeing broken and torn men hob
bling around hospitals and camps that Il
hadn't occurred to me TO connect this limp
ing pedestrian with the battle then in prog
ress. Besides. he was the first wounded man
had ever seen making his own way back
to dressing station.
His wound. IN the right calf. while not dan
gerous In itself was painful. ana he was glad
to accept my profered shoulder 10 help cover
the remaining hundred yards or SO 10 The
marquee tents Of the dressing station.
why didn't you get some one to ride Won
up. sir?" 1 asked.
His answer was typical OF his breed.
I'm not hit badly The ambulances ara
oveFerowded with dangerously wounded. I 4
knew 7 could hoof IT,"
After a few steps n silence I asked.
How Is iI soing. air, down there todaye