Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1915-06-15
THE Difference
BETWEEN THE REAL
AND FANCIED War
(Bangor Commercially

Dear F.: j have Just received copy
OF Golfers for April "A. The two
featured articles are on the war. Hav-
ing just slipped through scrap that
was no pink tea affair, was curious
to see What a Battle Looks Like"
by Senator Beverage.
I suppose his effort is not too badly
written or Golfers would not have
time, and you will know as much
about the battle itself. the CUTS OF
the struggle. the sweating and freez-
ing. the joking and groaning. the ten
sion and reaction, the sights and
sounds and feelings Of battlefield as
Mr.. Beverage does, which is nothing
at all.
His stuff is Hike the rest Of the dope"
the periodicals pay big money for.
hopelessly, monotonously long distance
and unseeing. These personally con-
Quoted staff automobile rubberneck
parties come as close to the real life
Of the soldier in training camp. in
transport, billet, the field and the
trenches as the President does to In
viting you to dinner when he shakes
your hand at a worlds fair.
Verify, this endless almost misrepre-
sentation seems to get on my nerves
far worse than a matter which is no
particular business Of mine has any
right to do All these big articles deal
with war from the staff officer side,
and General Smith Dorrien was right
when he told us shortly before the
battle at Ypres that this was war
of men, not of Generals. The masses
Of all soldiery come from the masses
Of the people; and SO 1t would seem
to me that the people would be more
interested in pictures of their men as
they actually play the great game;
as they really eat and sleep and play
and work, as they think and talk of
the war, the nations, involved and neu-
trail, and their folks at home, as they
look upon drill and fatigues. on their
n. c. O's. and officers, of the changes
in character for good or bad that &C.
cur in army life, as in college life, or
the attitude Of the men toward these
very war" correspondents like the
honorable Senator and the feelings of
one regiment toward another. Of a
thousand and one things that you and
the folks at home and nine out OF ten
Of these high paid stuff producers
know nothing of at all and which even
the officers see and sense only in a
very vague and distant way.
Don't draw the conclusion that I re-
fer you to the letters from men at
the front" for a real picture of this
terribly comic, tragic, foolishly neces-
sary game. On the face of them as
a whole they are monctonously exag-
gerated, cverdrawn and unoriginal.
have read great many of them. Nine
out of ten speak Of the fighting. which
is not one-tenth Of our actual sched-
ule; the same percentage are always
written as the bullets are whizzing
overhead and shells are usually fall
ing anywhere from six inches to six
feet away.
l have seen several such letters
written and published by boys whom
! have known for months; ard having
been present at the times, and places
Of which they treat, l know how
grossly sensational they are, to say
the least. l have also noticed that it
is those whose bellies are closest to
| tie ground when the bullets are flying
who write the most highly Illuminated
letters
Well, this hammering of the efforts
of good men and true isn't buying any
frocks for the children, is it? OF
course your comeback is, why don't
you do better" And sometimes 1
think 1 would like to take punch at
the battle of Ypres from the point of
view of the mere man. the private who
knows nothing Of the strategy in
volved. the plans of the staff, but who
marches and digs, doubles and crawls.
charges and retreats, sweats and freez-
es and fights and dies, all in a very
real, human and personal way.
r. NJ. B.
! The Trenches, May S.