The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1915-07-29
QUIET PLACES ALONG
FRONT FOR WEARY
TROOPS TO REST
Points on Line Which Have Never
Been Attacked Except by
Shippers.
BRITISH HEADQUARTERS.

BRITISH HEAD QUARTERS,
France, July There are points along
the British front which see nothing but
desultory shell fire and sniping for
weeks and months on end; points where
neither side has made an attack through
the winter and spring, These are known
as quite corners. A practical stale
mate exists. Neither Briton nor Ger
man finds any object in trying for a
gain. Troops who have been in the
thick of it elsewhere are sometimes
sent to these regions for a rest AMI a
change.
Other points-points which stick out,
as 1t were-are known as hot corners, -
where the guns and rifles seem always
busy.
Such has been the La Bassee region
during the month Of June. Probably
the fighting is all the harder here be-
cause it is so largely blind. When you
cannot see what your enemy is doing
you take no risks with him. You keep
pumping shells into the area which he
occupies.
A visitor may see about as much of
what is going on in La Bassee as an
ant can see the surrounding landscape
when promenading in the grass. The
only variation in the fis tness of the
land is the overworked bitches which
try to drain it. Look along the level
and hedge, a grove, a cottage or the
trees and the shrubs around it limit the
vision.
If a breeze starts in field it is ar
rested by wall of foliage before it
goes far. The cursed mud of winter
has became dust as the curse of sum
mer This hot corner" is all the hot
ter in tt csc days of burning July sun.
Those little water carts which run back
to wells Of cool water which have the
approval of the doctor men are busy
filling empty canteens while shrapnel
trims the hedges and high explosives
play hide and seek among the trees.
The guns of both sides seem engaged
in kind of savage. vindictive. blind
mans bluff sparring. OF course the
Summers have a point on the map at
which they are aiming. They have in
formation in one way or another that
there Is something at this point worth
shelllng. 1t may be house; and of
course, every house Is down on a large
scale map. Troops may be in the
house; or if they are not, and you de-
stroy the house, you have destroyed
shelter for troops and made the enemy
nervous. At least, theoretically, you
have made him so; nothing seems to be
able to make the British soldier actually
so, or the French peasant either.
You may kill us with your gun fire,
but you cannot scare US, repres 9nts the
attitude of soldier and peasant in
sentence, and surprisingly few are kill
ed.
We had left our car to 90 forward on
foot. We were coming into the zone
where the inhabitants had been ordered
to vacate their homes This is an IN
failing sign that whatever the con-
ditlon of your health you are becoming
poorer risk every minute for life in
surance company. The average peas
ant wants to be convinced that the
shelling is habitual before he will go.
1t takes'more than a few roofs dis
placed by a single bombbardnent to
convince him.
The road we were on had been a tar
get for German shells. All roads near
the trenches are. There might be
someone on that road and shell direct
ed at the road might happen to hit him.
In order to take this sporting chance a
gunner has only to aim at the right
angle of elevation to reach the road,
slip a shell into breach and fire.
Usually the shell does not hit the
tOdu- dI ledSt, GtIIIdtI SuGllS UU HOl.
One may not go over and see where
the British shells hit, though the other
seem to know, In one small field be-
side this road were a score of deep
shell pits. The wheat had grown up
around them. Next year when the
farmers plough they will fill in the
holes, and. with accustomed French
thrift turn any fragments of steel I'M
earthed oyer to the junk man. Proba-
bly, five thousand dollars worth of Ger
man shells had been buried within the
space of couple of village lots with
no result except slightly to reduce the
wheat yield. Each shell, one estimat-
ed,.has spoiled one peck of wheat.
Again shells in this sort of firing by
the map do score sometimes when
they do not hit the target they were
aimed at A shell may get group of
soldiers in shouse or in dug-out.
Houses are not safe shelter in hot
corners where the visitor, instead of
looking for houses which have been
damaged by shell fire, looks for the