East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1915-09-07
by WILLIAM PHILIP sIMMs.


Omitted Press Staff Correspondent)
Copyright 1915 by the United Press.
Copyrighted in Great Britain.)
"There has been a violent bonn
bardment OF the Forest Of Apre-
mont From the French Communi-
que Of August 8.
WITH THE FRENCH ARMY AT
THE FRONT. Aug. 5.-(By Mail)-
When the performances Of Bernhard,
Irving, Duse and Mansfield cease to
be anything but faint recollections
shall still remember quite vividly an
unpretentious vaudeville show given
by soldiers to soldiers out here in the
open air 1900 yards back Of GER
tain famous woods through which a
most unhealthy part Of the firing line
runs
The performers were soldiers the
stage was built by soldiers with
scraps of lumber collected here and
there; the curtain was painted by a
cavalryman on tarpaulins which serv-
ed In the beginning as covers for box
es Of ammunition; the sky and a few
walnut trees played the part of roof
while that part Of the regimental
band not busy bearing wounded on
stretchers off the battlefield, furnish
ed the music, these men and a young,
stoutish surgeon-lieutenant who dou-
bled on the piano when not stage
managing acts.
The bill was the regular bill. IT
was not specially arranged for visit
ors. Since January IA this house
has been playing to standing room
only two performances a day, at 2 D.
m. and at 6. Sometimes-as often as
possble-the bill changes; sometimes
the headliner fails to be on hand for
his cue; shell or a bullet has inter
fered. But always, rain or shine,
good bill or bad. the curtain "goes
up on time and the soldiers on their
repose week Casually they have
week In and week back OF the
/ trenches) never miss performance.
As p. m drew nearer the plank
benches in front were creaking un-
der their maximum burden and hum
dreds OF other pollus-the soldiers
nickname for himself. meaning shag-
gy-were standing at the back and
on either side. A heavy rain began
to fall precisely at o'clock but the
fat surgeon, on opening the piano.
turned and shouted
"Polus. you don't mind a little
thing like few drops Of rain. do
| you?"
''No!" the poilus thunder back.
and the surgeon. sitting down in
very wet chair began pounding out an
astonished intermezzo, on a no doubt
greatly outraged piano. For, being
in the, place where the orchestra usu-
ally sits, the piano as well as the pi-
| anist was catching the full force of
the young cloudburst. Every time a
chubby finger struck a key there was
splash.
As the curtains parted the Ger
mans began to lombard the French
positions a short distance away. The
explosions of shells punctuated every
spoken line which followed and beat
time to the music as If jealous Of the
big base drum,
A clown in costume and makeup
which only the ingenuity of a French
soldier can account for, rushed out
and began to sing and grimace The
audience roared. II was clear that
he was a favorite. He was Just back
from the trenches and as he iabbered
comic patter song, with grimaces
and antics like any Barnum & Bailey
star, one caught sight of his matricu-
lation number bound by a steel chain
to his wrist; for Identification in case
he fails to dodge a bullet some day. |
The clown sang on and when he got