The Washington herald., 1915-09-19
GERMANS SCARE
RUSS TO Flight
Cars S Men Have Not Lost Be-
cause Ammunition Was
Lacking.
JEWS BACK TO WARSAW
Had Been Driven Out by Cossacks
and Return When City Is Cap
turedAby Teutons.
JEWS BACK TO WARSAW
By AUGUST sPANUTH.

thrown-away rife cartridges. Thousandi
Of enemies could have been killed with
these bullets If the Russian soldiers had
put them to proper use.
/ do not insinuate that the Russian sol.
diers are towards; on the contrary, I am
inclined to think them brave. But II
seems that the Germans. especially theil
artillery. have found means to terrify the
Russians to such an extent that they see
their only salvation in getting away al
quickly as they can. and for that reasor
throw away even the burden of ammuni.
tion they carry with them.
Did Not Economic.
Russia is not everywhere short Of artil'
lery ammunition, as reported. I rely
upon what have seen with my own eyes
in preference to repeating what Others
have said. 1 had a splendid opportunity
to witness the last days Of siege and the
final capture of Nowo-Georgijewsk. The
forts and the citadel fired away shell
after shell without thought Of economy
The Germans, having brought their big.
gest guns nearer to the fortress resumed
the bombardment with the steadiness
and regularity which characterize ali
their military actions: and while they
soon got the better of the enemy, the lat.
ter never ceased to answer their rain OF
shells until he was actually silenced.
Half Of the next day spent in the
conquered fortress itself. There were
mountains of big shells which the Rus
slams had been unable to destroy by fire.
enough to hold the biggest fortress for
months. if firing shells il all that is nee.
essary to hold a fortress.
AS far as / can judge, the Russians 80
far have not lost fortress or a battle
on account of their lack Of ammunition.
I hat, slat hail lo nt oh
far enough. that their heavy artillery is
in every respect inferior to the German,
and that. above ALL the Russian officers
in general are hopelessly inferior
The Undesirable effect of the Sodka
and Krupp mortar batteries is contag-
ious and ruinous to a whole army. Be-
sides, the irresistible force behind con-
centrated German artillery attack can
not be fully explained because it consists
of so many elements.
Among the long lines Of Russian pris-
oners I passed these last days on the
roads of Poland l have not seen a single
private or officer who seemed inconsol-
able. Many showed relief. Net because
they were glad to give up fighting. but
because they had encountered more
than human nervous systems can bear.
Destroyed Much Property.
The Russians when leaving Poland
north and east of Warsaw We're afflicted
with On uncomfortable wrath Of destruc-
ton. Not only were railroad cars and
tracks and all military stores destroyed.
but all the crops and even many dwell
lings were devasted by the retreating
Russians. The idea was to leave neither
rations nor cover for the German in
vaders
The Russian army drove the entire civil
Of
it evacuated Poland. The suffering and
brutality were indescribable.
Since the fall of Warsaw thousands
and thousands of Russian subjects, Poles
as we'll as Jews, crowded the roads lead
ing to Warsaw from the east and north
and from Warsaw to the west with their
fragile little one-horse wagons. laden
with little children and the scantiest
kind of household belongings.
They had been driven away from their
hearth by the Russian authorities at the
time the Germans broke into the So
called Blonie position. a formidable line
of field fortifcati tions a hundred miles
long. which for many months had effec-
lively kept the Germans away from War
saw.
The refugees returning to their homes |
to find them frequently burned to the |
ground-are as a rule in a pitiful condi- |
ton. Despite their sufferings. every one
seemed to be glad to have escaped Rus
sian oppression. Germans. if not well
come. were at least not opposed
/ met family of six in tolerably good
humor grouped around the last relic Of
heir house, the chimney. on which a ket-
tie was boiling. ready fo- potatoes just
dug up from the neighboring field. 1t
was noontime. Father and mother, one
boy and three girls had returned from
Warsaw early in the morning-they had
not even waited for daylight: they pre-
ferred to creep their way through the
dark. rainy night. Nor had they taken
time and the trouble to shed tears over
the lost home.
Poles Do Not Despair
Instead. they hurried to construct a
primitive kind of shelter near the chirn-
ney. using an old piece Of awning spread
between a few trees as a roof and strew-
ing the ground with a layer Of straw and
some old rags. They were apparently
contented to put up with all sorts Of
hardships and privatiops as long as they
were again on their own soil
And when one of our marty put up a
hlm apparatus, assuring them they were
o be received among the movie" celeb
titles. they were ready and thought II
huge fun. A hasty collection among the
newspaper men realized a snug little
amount, and We left the hapless family
n state Of comparative Joy.
These Poles have been through too
many vicissitudes Of life to give up hope
70 easily. They will soon build up their
little huts again around all these unde-
,troyed chimneys-which the shells seem
% have spared almost intentionally-and
the future government Of the country
guarantees them undisturbed possession
Use to be permanently happy.
The train that brought the representa-
ives Of neutral newspapers from Berlin
% Warsaw was so-called DE Zug." I'll
ook five hours longer than 1t would have
lken in time Of peace When We arrived
t warsaw the station was swept OF por.
ers. But there were plenty Of ham
oms." after the Austrian style, while the
russian "istwostschickas.'' formerly seen
a warsaw. had entirely disappeared.
II was o'clock In the evening, the
treets were full Of life gay music In all
he restaurants and cafes, the slender ,
olish girls not in the least abash to flirt
ven with the sinister gray uniforms OF ,
he German soldiers. Apparently theyl
ave special and fortunate talent OF ,
dapting themselves to circumstances
suddenly Spoke German.
The German troops, ws we're told. haA
cen reesived with flowers and hurrahs
rhen entering the city. But this haal Z
zen two weeks ago. and upon nearer q
with strict oerman raie thal !
5ir5t of the citiSens may have uodar. 4