The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1915-09-12
TRAGEDY AND
COMEDY IN WAR
Battle Of searchIlshts is One Of the
Amusing Things for the
Men at the
Front
WOODEN GUMS ARE USED
convicts Of Italy Are Given Chance
to Again Become
Citizens Of
Country.
rBy Alice Robe United Press stan
Correspondent

rBy Alice Robe. United Press sta
Correspondent
ROME Aug. 2o.-fBy mail. Timer
fs both tragedy and comedy In wa
as told by stories that inter pac'
from the italian front.
on the line of opposing trenche
near Podsora. west of Gorilla Wher
the Italians and Austrians have beel
FACING each other for month. ther'
is a nightly battle OF searehilghts; a.
soon as darkness comes on. both sine'
tnrn the powerful rays of their re
Electors on to each other to neutral
I've their effect half way between the
trenches. The jockeying for search
light positions creates amusement
among the soldiers. When the light
generator is successful he maneuvers
his stream OF light through the oppos
ing streams and reveals the line OF
the enemy's trench. This is victory
and always brings cheers.
One night an Italian searchlight To-
Gated two new Austrian guns that had
been placed after the darkness fell.
The soldiers were warned They ex-
pected an attack at dawn They STOOD
on their arms all night. Before dawn
a lieutenant was sept out to recon
hotter. Crawling like snake around
rocks and bushes he observed the new
guns. Then rising to his feet he
tore" back toward his own trench
amid hail of enemy bullets. He
reacheck the parapet in safety. He
jumped into the trench roaring with
laughter. The two guns he told his
comrades, were constructed of wood
and paint. They weren't real guns at
all. A notice was Immediately drawn
up and posted in view of the enemy:
AMessrs. Blank of Milan. whose
representatives, Sergeant Major de
False. can be found in this trench,
are willing to supply guns of any
calibre in cardboard or paper rf1ache.
Prices reasonable"
Now comes the tragedy. The lieu
tenant who discovered the wooden
guns, also found two real guns, con-
cealed in dense thicket OF bushes. A
council of war was held. The artil-
lery could not locate the enemy guns
because OF their masked position. A
captain volunteered to blow them up.
He tied couple Of ticks of dynamite
to his waist and followed by SER
veant. started on his perilous crawl
Three hours passed, Suddenly the
noise of an explosion was heard. Soon
after the sergeant returned The two
guns had been put out of action. But
the captain would never return His
escape had been cut OF nv the enc
my, and he had been riddled with bull
lets.
The battle OF searchlights and
wooden guns ended that day. Fired
by the bravery OF their captain whose
death they avenged the troops charg-
ed the enemy trenches and drove out
the foe with the bayonet They found
the captains body and buried it with
full honors.
The red badge of courage pinned
upon the breast of a convict forms
one Of the humanizing incidents OF
Italy's entrance into the war
Among the men at the front Italy's
submerged dregs of humanity are
fighting, and as they fight for the pa.
tria they are being regenerated into
citizens. Those who live will take
their place in society once more, those
who fall on the battle field have cross.
ed the great divide into honored mem
DRY.
As result of the splendid work
he has done in inspiring these con
victs with their supposed lost moral
sense, through love of patria, Lieu
tenant F'fnizio Of the -th infantry
regiment has Just been given a
months leave of absence and Official
thanks from the ministry of war.
Finizio was instructed by his col
onei to go to the Island of Ponza and
bring back party of forty-s,y
"coatti. as these convicts are called
taking them to Gaeta for medical in
spection, then bringing them to Rome
But there was real pathos, SAID
Finizio, in the attitude OF the "lost
souls when they rushed forward tc
take their places before him. The,
were enthusiastic to be measured fo,
uniforms to become once more par
of Italy. At Gaeta they received thei-
rifles and hayonets. but no cartridges
were provided as 1t was regarded as
entirely too risky. During the rail
road journey from Gaeta to Rome
however, Lieutenant Finizio actins
upon his own initiative gave them al
cartridges.
Upon his arrival in Rome. Finizis
gave each man eight francs his con
Wet allowance for five days. Their
he told them they were free, but hi
trusted them to be hack the mex
morning at four o'clock, a half hou,
before the military train left for thu
front.
Every one of the forty-six turned u,
on time. sober but without cent II
their pockets. Instead of money. thu
coatti had supplied themselves Will
long knives and daggers in which the,
placed more reliance than in rifles ant
reyolYers.
Thanks TO Lieutenant Finizio's sys
tenn many of these social derelict,
have become heroes. Several of then
have received the silver medal 70.
bravery.