New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-01-11

American plan, managing their armies
/ like so many subsidiary companies of a
/ big trust, was fully confirmed by my sec
ond visit 20 the Office Of the great Cen
erai staff. Instead of picturesque
bunch Of generals spending anxious
days and sleepless nights over their
maps. with faithful attendants trying
/ TO coax them TO leave off dispatch
I writing long enough TO eat sandwich,
J found live lot of army officials.
keeping regular Office hours and taking
ample time out for meals. The staff
/ was quartered IN a handsome old mu-
nicipal building, the ground floor. de-
voted 10 living purposes. quite like an
exquisite club. the business Offices up
stairs
General Won Haenisch took me aloft
and explained TO me how business was
/ done \ good telephone operator. .
+ developed. was almost as important as
a competent general the telephone
( central the most vital spot Of an army.
Here were three large switchboardS
with soldiers playing telephone giri,
while other soldiers. with receivers
fastened over their heads. sat at desks
busy taking down messages on printed
/ business forms. In the next room
sat the staff officers on duty. waiting
for the telephone bell 70 Jingle with
latest reports from the front. There
was no waiting because numbers were
engaged or operators gossiping; you
could get. Berlin or Vienna without
once having TO swear at "long dis
lance General Won Haenisch had his
chief Of field telephone and telegraph
rot ont what looked like huge fam
Q u hut 20 i,a =
minute chart OF the entire telephone
system Of the army. II showed the
position of every corps and division
headquarters. regiment. battalion and
company. and all the telephone lines
connecting them. even TO the single
trenches and batteries
General Won llaenisch suggested hav-
ing some fun with General Won X. com
mandng the army next door on the
right. and connection was made, the
acting chief of staff for two minutes
getting Won rs chief of staff on the
phone and inquirinG if there was "any-
thing doing"
NO; everything quiet here" came
the reassuring answer.
An art exhibition within sound o. the
guns at the front by the well known
Munich artist, Ernest Nollbehr. the
kaiser's own war painter with the
army, was another real novelty. The
long-haired painter. wearing the reg
ulation field gray uniform. brought his
portfolio of sketches into the billiard
hall of the headquarters and showed
them with sprightly running comment:
Here is the library Of Brimont. You
can see most Of the books lying on the
ground. 1t wasn't a comfortable place
to paint. because there were too many
shells flying around loose. Here is the
Cathedral Of Dinant Very much i'm
proved esthetically BY the shells
knocking the ugly points Of the towers
off. Here is a picture OF Rheims Ca
thedral looming through the fog. as
seen from the German lines. painted
this picture of the battle Of the Aisne
from a captive balloon. Here is a pict-
ure of the surrender of Maubeuge,
showing two of the 10000 French pris-
oners. ] can Usually paint better dur
ing a battle. because there's nobody
looking on over my shoulder to distrac.
my attention. have about lao
sketches done in ell. His majesty has
most Of them now. to pick out those he
wants painted.
This sketch Of a pretty young
French woman is Mile. Nix "a Nackcn,
50 nicknamed by some siXty-odd hun
gry but good naturcd Landsturm men
0uartercd in q tavern of French vii
lage. where she was the only woman
left. Every time they made signs in
dicativc OF q desire for food she would
laugh and say in near-German. Nix
~ macLen.' and that's how she got her
name
Vollbehr was authority for the fol-
lowing Kaiser anecdote:
Zone day as the Kaiser was motor
ing along "A chaussee he met herd OF
swine under the guardianship OF
bearded Landsturm man who drove
them raDidly to one side TO keep them
from being prematurely slaughtered by
the imperial auto. As The motor slowed
up the Kaiser asked him If he was q
farmer by profession. No; professor
% the University Of Tubingen,' came
the answer. to the great amusement
Of the over war lord