The evening world., 1915-03-01
monk IN A TOWER
UNDER DAILY FIRE
S|GNALSbELGIANS
Has Kept Watch More Than
Two Months At Most Dan
gerous Outpost
FOE IS 200 YARDS AWAY.
Priest by Phone Keeps Belgians
Informed as to Effect
of Shots.
FOE IS 200 YARDS AWAY.
BIZ William Philip Sinsn,s.

NOuN9u VII ONNtSpuuoess~b
FLANDERS with the Belgian
Army At the 'FRONT.' Feb. 10. (By Mall
to New York).--The Chief Observer
for the Belgian Army. the man ac-
cupying the most dangerous post
along the entire Flemish 'front.' 10 .
Capuchin monk.
Hidden In . medieval tower Of
chimney proDortiens. but with
walls six feet thick. part OF an ancient
church. this hGhting man Of God
spends his days. telephone receiver at
his ssr.. deld glassss to his eyes. In
forming the Belgian artillery whether
their shots are too long. too short or
just right All day long his snassled
tower. rising from . tiny island not
moer than Q hundred feet square. u
bombarded and battered BY German
guns planted along the User. Only
Middle Age masonry OF granite mig
turs could stand this daily hammering
and even that must finally yield. for as
this 10 written the old church steepie
is all jaxgsd At the top. whore half
has been shot away. and great holes
two feet deep mark its sides. And
whom at last II oollapses under the
blows the monk viii certainly be
there, for he stubborniy refuses to
yield his place to another. even for a
day or . night
MORE THAN TWO MONTHS IN
hio PgRiLouS POST.
For two months and two weeks he
has stuck to his ruined church tower.
surrounded By . dood Of sea water
and river water mixed. which inun-
dates the country for forty miles IN
all directions. His post u the most
desolate In Europe. When his superior
ofiicers, under cover Of night 80 To
him and beg him to take . rest hs
smiles like IN embarrassed child and
replies:
"whyr an lees lonely here than
In my CELL"
Escorted by q Belgian stan ofliceI
on his rounds Of inspection, wal
permitted to visit this outpost. The
night was pitch black. Heavy clouds
hung low and. driven before q forty
mile gale blowing In from the North
Sea, q drenching rain, stung us ~
the face. In the shsltsr Of roofet
front line trenches, dozinS by the
side Of charcoal nrss, the troops wers
to DO envied.
Once clear Of the front line trenches
and the barbed web. We splashec
down the ridge called . road. the onls
land anywhere near W standing
above the foundations. After few
minutes Of this the road dipped
slightly and we found ourselves wad.
ing In the flood.
There are hundreds Of bodies II
the water which We cannot get Il
and bury" the officer told me. They
fell IN trying to GROSS under fire. A.
night wo can't locate the bodies
During the day the Germans star
shslling II even one man shows him
self. Yesterday the general and
Presently we left tho road at righ
angles and took to q causeway three
or four fest wide. made Of small
branches tied In bundles resembling
logs.
MONK STATIONED ONLY eol
vARps FROM oGRMANo.
We found the monk standing q
the base Of his steeple looking will
eyes, gray and tender ~ . womanl
In the direction OF the 0ermanA nov
only 200 yards away.
Prior to joining the order the hsroi,
monk, who II only thirty years old
was In the artillery branch Of tn,
army. When war was declared he 90
permission to leave his cell and 20
Into his uniform again. His objec
was TO serve God BY aghting for KIM