New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-02-20
DISCIPLINE SAVES
BRITISH FROM LOSS
Engineer Writes of Drastic
Measures Taken with
DeSerterS.

If discipline were not now being
maintained in the British army it would
lose, according TO p. NJ. Nelson, now
at the front in France with the First
Lowland Company of Engineers. In
letter received recently by his sister,
Miss Bessie r. Nelson, of Williamsburg,
Penn, he tells Of several striking in
stances to show this. The letter is
dated January %.
"The Germans made an attack in the
night" he says, "on the -- Regiment,
which took panic. and nearly all, ex-
cept two, of their officers fled. Our
twenty, however, under Mr.. Clark lone
of the officers, who had retreated
little, came back to a charge. The
other two officers were killed, but our
good old Lowland regsined the trenches
after very hot work.
zone of the men left to tell the tale
of Ypres says he and few others saw
the Prussians going round the British
wounded bayoneting them. They could
not stand that, so they charged the
Germans, who had three times as many
men. The Germans, as usual, fell back
into their trenches, but the Scotch and
English boys pursued them, and then,
of all the cheek in the world the Ger
mans threw down their arms and plead
ed for mercy. Our fellows simply shot
them all down. Their blood was up.
might before last bullet passed
through a box on which ! was leaning,
but have had few exciting times my
self. Two men of regiment who tried
to desert were killed on the 18th, after
court-martial, and if discipline were
not now maintained we would lose.
''lt's a terrible thing. but I'm afraid
il will last a long time. You have no
idea what it is like. Our company,
which gets home each night. is luckier
than the infantry. They are in the
trenches for days, even weeks, and
some of them don't know what they are
doing. Being there so long makes them
mad. There is no doubt about that. If
you want 10 speak to them they just
stare at you. They don't understand.
IF. at many points, man is wound
cd and falls down he has to lie there
and die in the mud Should the medi
cal transport come in time he will be
attended TO, but they can only remove
the wounded at night, on account of
the enemy. So that if man gets
wounded at daylight he has to stay
where he is until night.
"Some of our dear old Scotch regi
ments have been wiped out. The Black
Watch and Camerons have about 81 and
1853. respectively. of above 1000 each.
They have been out since the begin
ming of the war, and it was at Ypres
they suffered so terribly"
Although, because OF the censor, Mr..
Nelson is unable to tell just where he
is, he says the villages have not q sin
oil tph h..
tiful houses, filled with furniture, now
occupied by troops. The people, he
adds, will never return.
People will tell you the Germans
can't shoot" he says. well. they
have not seen them. They also say
enc Briton equals three Germans.
I There is no difference, and because of
their being taught from infancy re-
gsrding militarism the German is the
better of the two. And by Britons
mean all the Allies.
THE guns here are booming all day,
and an occasional Jack Johnson drops
around our billet. which is q mile or so
from the actual firing line"
Mr.. Nelson continues that the Brit
ish are bringing 70 the front only their
best men, and says the troops are now
supplied with fur jackets and warm
ers. but remarks that because of the
heavy boots many leave them near the
trenches, as they can hardly carry
themselves. not TO speak of ammuni-
tion. Even rifles. too, are thrown down
Under date of Sunday, the oath, he
adds brief postscript:
1.-THE French people here won't allow
any one TO sing. They say il is time
of weeping. All France is the same,
and everybody, or very nearly so, is
dressed in black. So you see | have
not heard any singing since coming TO
France. Imagine my surprise when
Just now (this is what made me write
this extra bit) there burst forth the
tooth Psalm. On looking out see it
is the Black Watch. Fancy hearing it
here! IL tones you up a bit. They
Gre at church parade. and really that is
the best music have ever heard in all
my life, and they are not good sing