The Goldfield news and weekly tribune. [volume] (Goldfield, Nev.) 1911-1947, 1915-09-18

ITALIAN FRONT, in Trentino,
Aug. 20.-A foreigner visiting the
Italian army along any of the fronts
is quickly impressed with the camer
aderie existing between officers and
men.
King Victor Emmanuel Is per-
haps the most affable of all the Itai-
ian officers toward the soldiers. The
king uses a high-powered motor a
in his almost constant tours along
the fronts, but he always finds time
to chat with groups Of soldiers,
speaking in the native dialect of the
men he is talking to.
This friendly spirit between Of
ficers and men has actually made
for excellent discipline and bravery,
military experts state. And for this
reaso all attempts to enforce the
German discipline in the Italian
army have been abandoned.
With the exception of the British
fighting in France, it is said no 9TH
er nation takes as good care of it's
soldiers as Italy. The food is ex-
cellent and plentiful. The rations
are cooked twice a day and served
hot, regardless of whether the SOL
diers are in the trenches, on the re-
serve firing line, or on the high
est mountain.
The first aid corps provides ade-
quate facilities for handling the
wounded along the firing line, while
numerous field hospitals are locat-
ed convenient to the fronts. Several
large base hospitals have been estab-
lished.
In addition there are Ter
.reliefs carried on by private and
public subscription. Chief among
these are the first aid restaurants,
which were established by an Eng
lish woman, Hullah Scalfi. widow Of
a former prominent officer of the
Italian Alpine and Signora Bag.
mani, who was Miss Dewar of Ham
ilton, Ontario. Some of these res
taurants are set up close to the fir
ing lines. Others are located at
bases or main railroad stations. III
addition to giving regular meals he
restaurants supply the soldiers with
d~elicacies not provided for in the
army ratiOns.
Along the front in the Trentino
one rises rapidly from the heat of the
valleys to the sharp cold of the Al
pine heights. While the army in
the lower sections has been digging
itself in the troops holding the
mountain positions have literally
blasted themselves in. In the heights
the soldiers living quarters r cnt
in the solid rock. In many cases
these caves are lined with planks
and all are heated by fire places.
In the Galore, north of Cortina
and neal the Marmolata mOuntaiis.
which rises nearly 1900 feet. there
is a fair sized town consisting en-
tirely of entertainments or dugouts
and caves. All of the v are
furnished with rough furniture MADE
bn the spot. The officers have beds
of moss. The walls are covered
with military cloaks and festoOned
with ivy and fir cones.
Over the entrance to the officers
mess is chiselled Grand Hotel Nor
tar. In the center of the hotel hangs
a cage containing a canary captured
il an Austrian trench. Outside Of
the mess hall and at various places
in the cave town life sized and he
roir busts of King Victor have been
carved in the rock faces.
A chapel has been cut in n side
of a large spire of rock where it
is sheltered from the enemy's shells
A portable altar has been erected
and the soldiers have lined the
walls of the chapel with pieces OF
bright quartz, scraps OF colored
cloth and the silver and gold paper
from cigar and cigarette packages
In another part of the settlement
an open space is reserved for amuse-
ments. Here plays r given wi:n
officers and men mingling in the
audience or games are held except
during heavy fighting.
A museum containing objects Sc
cured during the campaign, was
started in a corner of the amuse-
ment square. The chief display is
a mandolin which was owned by a
young Italian soldier who lost his life
in a desperate hand to hand encoun-
ter with Austrians after the latter
! had tainted the Italians with be-
ing an army of "mandolinists" rath-
er than fighters.
The Italian officers have already
accomplished much in transporting
large siege guns in the mountains,
as well as keeping an adequate sup
ply of ammunition and food on