The Parisian. (Paris, Tenn.) 1907-1962, 1915-06-18

entered anu hskeu 10 speak 10 MIN,
Excuse me-" the captain said, after
getting the message, Il have to co.
AS he departed, his subordinate, q
robust, blue-eyed Breton. whose child.
ish figure contrasted with his strong,
almost fierce appearance, exclaimed:
For him we would willingly die. All
monsieur, the 'boches' may do their
best; they have no chiefs like ours"
AS a matter of fact, / think one
could not have gained better idea
OF the best type of French officers
than from this captain, SO full of en-.
ergy and courage. intolerant of any
serious breach of discipline; unforgiv-
ing toward towards certainly, but OF
the same time thoroughly understand
ing and ready to excuse certain weak.
nesses, and constantly endeavoring
to lessen them by being the friend of
his men as we'll as their leader. And
is 1t not a slight but sure proof of
his influence that he is dressed as
they are, neglecting the prestige of
his uniform, just as he eats, sleeps
and dirties himself as they do?
ZOE Days Without Undressing.
An artillery lieutenant, with whom
l talked, mingled most interesting
speculative reflections with amusing
recollections of his life at the front
After having explained to me the
difference between percussion shells,
which explode on striking an obstacle,
and fuse shells, which burst in the
air at regulated distances, he con-
fessed to me while consulting a small
calendar that he was much pleased
when shower baths were finally in
stalled near his trench. They we're
wonderful subterranean establish
ments, he said.
And l assure you" he added, they
seemed very comfortable, as l had
been exactly 202 days without I'M
dressing once, sleeping always In the
same barn, in my same hole In the
hay" :
Dares to Criticize the Famous rs.
Suddenly he changed the subject.
And as a variation from the usual
French attitude, he actually criticized
the famous 75-millimeter guns.
Much trouble has been taken for
nothing" he said. 1.-THE rs is a good
cannon, but 1t was created too exclu.
sively for direct firing. In fact, In
this war, where one has to hit men
hidden behind obstacles, 1t Is of little
use. What is needed is a means OF
throwing pro1ectiles which, after de-
scribing a widely curved trajectory
will fall on the heads of the occupants
of the trenches, without first striking
the trench walls.
THAT is why we have bomb slim
gers, which do not carry farther than
200 or 300 yards at most, and the how
tiers and mortar pieces, which must
not be confused with the cannon. The
cannon are long and narrow and al
most horizontal when firing. The
howitzers, which fire at angles Of
more than 80 degrees, and the mortal
pieces, which at even greater angles
fire heavy projectiles loaded witt
enormous explosives intended to crust
such things as cupolas of forts, arr
short and massive and stand almos
vertically.
Why Some Guns Are Short.
"By the way, do you know the rea
son for the difference in the lengths
of artillery pieces? For instance, the
S05-millimeter Austrian howitzer, G
very short gun, fires a greater charge
of powder than the French marine
gun of equal caliber, which is Il
yards long?"
had never tried to find the reason
Of this difference.
"And yet 1t is very simple" the
lieutenant said. "The marine gun IL
designed to fire the shell at its maxi
mum speed, so the combustion of the
powder must be complete before the
projectile leaves the barrel. This re
quires a fraction of second, during
which the shell covers exactly Il
yards-the length Of the piece. This
will give you an idea Of how difficult
It is to make the exact calculations
necessary In the operating of these de
structive me chines. Thus, when the
combustion is complete, the pressure
developed by the gases is also maxi
mum. AS a long trajectory is not re
quired of the howitzer and mortar
piece, 1t is not necessary to have
barrel Of this length, which is incon
venient
Surprise Ahead for Germans.
1.-THE largest mortar, as you know
is the famous 42-centimeter. The
huge guns of this caliber have all the
same drawback; they are difficult t.
handle. 1t Is almost useless to thinl
of transporting them by anything but
rail-
"And / may tell you, we have nc
longer any reason to envy the Ger
mans. Right now, in France, we have
achieved the construction Of mortal
pieces still more powerful, which, fol
our adversaries, will be cruel reve
lation the day they are brought ou
ready to fire"
AS the officer did not wish to tel
,.o ,,o,n ~, +bic ouhioof 7 snoka n