The commonwealth. (Scotland Neck, N.C.) 1896-1929, 1915-04-29
TERR|TOR|ALS As
KEEN AS MUSTARD
British Generals Speak in High
Praise of Kitchener's New
Soldiers.
ASK FOR NO BETTER TROOPS
Men Are Wonderfully Intelligent and
Acquire Remarkable Skill in Trench
Warfare-Hot Bath Every Ten
Days for Every British
Soldier.
By e. ASHMEAD BARTLETT,

International News Service Correspondent.
British General Headquarters,
France-At the outbreak Of the war
almost everyone in England had COM
plete confidence in the British small
regular army, and felt certain that it
would give a splendid account of it.
self on the continent. On the other
hand there was widespread mistrust
of the capabilities of the new terri
torial army, either for purposes OF
home defense, or for service abroad.
l will give my own impression from
what l saw during my visit to the
front, and also the opinions of various
generals-without mentioning names,
which is forbidden by the censor-un-
der whom they have served.
) The vast majority Of the men who
fill the ranks Of the territorial forces
are drawn from different class to
those who enlist in the regular army.
There are clerks from the London
financial district holding good posi-
TONS There are men who come from
behind the counter, and others who
fill positions of a highly important
and confidential character, such as sec
lretaries, accountants and mechanical
experts. Every branch of trade and
industry is represented in the ranks.
They are men who have joined the
force out of a sense Of duty, because
they feel that every able-bodied man
should play some role, however small,
lin the defense Of his country.
Many have been obliged to throw
up employment which was bringing
them in large salaries, and now sup
port their homes and families on the
kings shilling and separation allow
ances Some of the battalions sent
to the front had to meet their baptism
;of fire under the most trying circum-
stances.
French Is Delighted.
But Sir John French himself is de-
lighted with them. A corps commander
said to me: Il consider the terri
torial battaliOns under my command
the equal of any of the line battalions
Let them send NE out as many as
they can. ] can ask for no better
troops after they had a few weeks of
experience in the face of the enemy
A brigade commander spoke as fol
lows: My territorials are a wonder
full lot. l never saw finer troops. The
men are wonderfully intelligent They
are as keen as mustard, and are ac-
Quiring a remarkable skill in trench
warfare"
Take the case of a crack corps like
the Artists Rifles" Our losses in
officers has been SO heavy that Sir
John French decided on the novel ex-
pertinent of keeping the whole of this
famous battalion behind the line, and
training all ranks as officers. AS they
reached a certain standard Of progress
they were given commissions and
drafted to regular battalions l made
careful inquiries as to how this ex-
pertinent had worked out in practice.
One corps commander told me he had
received large number of these new
officers from the Artists Rifles, and
that with extremely few exceptions
they had turned out admirably.
A love Of cleanliness is one of the
strongest traits in the Anglo-Saxou
race. The best of troops speedily lose
their pride and self-respect if they are
obliged to live in filthy surroundings,
amidst which it is impossible for them
to clean themselves, their uniforms
and equipment. The conditions in
Flanders throughout the winter have
been about as bad as any troops have
ever had to face. The army medical
corps took the problem in hand and
has shown remarkable skill and in
genuity in its solution
Bath Every Ten Days.
Scattered over northern France and
FLANDERS are many factories for max
ing beet sugar and beer. These pos
sess enormous watts such as most OF
us are familiar with in breweries al
home. AS their legitimate occupation
In the case of those situated close tc
the firing line, is now gone, they
have been utilized for the purpose OF
washing the British army
This experiment of cleaning every
man in an army several hundreds OF
thousands strong once in every ter
days has never been tried before in
war. Yet so complete is the organi
zatlon that, except under exceptiona
circumstances, every man and Officer
is sure of his hot bath every ten DAYS
"A battalion comes off duty anG
marches to rest in it's billets, the mer
and their uniforms covered with mud
Above all, it is necessary to change
their shirts and underclothes.
Let it not be supposed that the onl,
enemy our men have to face is found
In the trenches. There is another
who carries on a horrible nerve-rack
Ing form of guerilla warfare in closer
proximity to you after a few days
spent in the mud
His r,ertinacity and vitality is
amazing. He requires ten times a.
much Kill; aS Ge ia !.
medical service has proved equal t.
the task of circumventing his wiles
The battalion is paraded and marched
to the nearest bath. Often this is un
der shell fire, and the shrapnel is