Evening star., 1915-03-29

then passed on. The boy remained
strictly at attention, but tears were
slowly falling from his eyes when the
touching ceremony ended.
| Later the Associated Press CORE
| spondent was presented to Gen. Joffre
] You see how these men look, said
the general. after months Of hard
| lighting, and in what fine condition
they are. though just from the
| trenches. Well 1t would be the same
three years, until there is a definite re-
| suit"
The men did look hardy and unfa-
| tfgued. They were bright-eyed and In
pleasant humor; They passed in re-
view at swinging step. Their uni
forms. stained and worn by service
| seemed clean, even smart, looking by
| the manner of the men who carried
| them. The men looked strong with
( purpose-so different under the somber
skies with the heavy guns sounding
| remotely from the brilliant summer
| parades of Vincennes or Longchamps
| Going on three legs behind one OF
fthe battalions was collie dog, wound
| ed in one leg. He had been in every
| charge and a keen sentinel on night
| duty.
] The review finished with two reg1-
ments of cavalry passing at full gallon
| before Gen. Joffre, thirty trumpeters
| sounding the charge, and the general
| standing at salute
| Gen. Joffre himself seemed in perfect
| health. He was very tranquil IN bear
ing and smiled pleasantly in convesa :
| ton.
| The men in the army are beginning to
| look upon him as the most eminent
soldier France has had since Napoleon
| Qualities most frequently attributed to
him along the front are his will and
Judgment
| The generals favorite chauffeur was
| driving him today. He is the MARQUIS
de Albufera, grandson OF Louis "a :
br1el Suchet, Due d'Albufero, ono Of
Napoleon's marshals.
Trench Life Attractive.
Trench life, less in the Champagne
country perhaps than on some other
parts Of the line. is singularly attrac-
tive. Comfortable is scarcely the word
for it, but it is sanitary and the
trenches are equipped with every ne
cessity. Much lumber has been used
In building them. The miles of
trenches in the Rheims region are from
four to five feet wide with board floors.
The earth is shored up with planking
and earth is piled upon the roofs so
that the galleries are proof against
fragments of bursting shells. They
are not. however. proof against the
direct impact of heavy projectfles One
of these fell today in a trench fifty
stood, wounding three men.
Every mans rife rests in his loop
hole. The soldiers name is in plain
lettering on white cardboard beside his
gun. Loophole observers are relieved
frequently so that their alertness will
not be dulled. They either look through
the 1oopholes with glasses or through
the roofs by aid of the periscope. When
darkness comes on sentinels creep out
beyond the trenches, SO that they may
Or tpa hA a n nf q
ample time to the observers in the
trenches who might not otherwise per
ceive the approach of the adversary
The men on this dangerous duty are re-
lieved frequently so that their atten-
tion may always be kept keen.
Machine guns are carefully emplaced
at various angles in order that all ap-
proaches to the trenches may be swept
by cross-fireS.
There are underground retreats with
many useful touches in them. There
are folding tables. German bayonets
set on crosspieces at the entrance for
shoes; horizontal bar for exercise
games, newspapers and illustrated
periodicals.
Wire Laid Everywhere.
Wires are laid everywhere. There
are numerous telephone instruments.
The general commanding a division on
one part of the line remarked that he
had 200 miles of wire and 100 instru-
ments in his twenty miles of trenches
The defenses appear to be impregna-
BILE. but the same system proba bly, eX-
lists on the other side of the narrow
zone, in the German trenches. Such
works as the French are now demon
strating in the Champagne segment are
only to be destroyed by an intense and
prolonged shell fire.
nno And hah
light artillery, which is constantly
shifted, on improvised roads of the
corduroy variety where the ground is
soft. The guns are massed and dis
tributed and then recombined, accord
ing to the artillery generals compre-
hensive and somewhat complicated
plan, SO that the adversary may not To-
cate the batteries. or. II they do so.
that they will fire into vacant spaces
or where dummy guns are placed. The
guns are behind slopes or in woods, and
are covered with pine branches, SO that
aviators cannot discover them Far
behind these are the heavy pieces. The
correspondent saw a battery in action.
An officer was posted somewhere to-
ward the front, whence he could OBJ
serve accurately how the shells were
bursting.
Instructions Given by Telephone.
He gave his instructions by telephone.
These were received by sergeant, who
called out in a penetrating voice the
notifications of the range.
No 4. 100 meters to the right"
NO I, fifty meters ahead This
| chanting, as 1t were, of ranges was
| audible a quarter of a mile away In
| all parts of the pine woods. Vt was
| followed in two or three seconds by a
crash of the gun, the roar of a shell
tearing through the air, and then the
| dull detonation of the projectile burst
| ing five or six miles distant.
Occa asionally there was a German re-
sponse. One shell dropped $50 yards
away from where the correspondent
stood, cutting through tree trunk
and scattering the earth from deep
hole which it dug.
| While the countryside is in this tur-
moi1, the farmers tie the vines or so
| on with their spring planting and the
| children play war games.