The Dolores star., 1916-03-10
PAINTS WAR HORROR
Death Stalks Everywhere, "
Writes Bernhard KeIlermann.
Men Only Parts In Great Machine
All the Time Their Thoughts Are
Of Home, but They % Not
Shrink Duty.


knowI German novelist and CORE
spondent OF the Berlin. Tageblatt.
who became seriously i'll while In the
trenches in France in December. now
has recovered and is back on the
western front. His first contribution
since his illness is graphic word
picture of war conditions now exist
ing en- the western front:
Along the whole front OF hundreds
of kilometers extending rom the
North sea to Switzerland the faithful
are in their trenches" he writes
They are there day and night and al
this very moment
up in Flanders the water reaches
TO the knees. The pumps are working
but the water does not subside Des
pite concrete. beams and sandbags.
the trenches daily collapse and the
sandbags have to be replaced again
and again with much labor. II they
leave the trenches the soldiers have
to wade in water. In the Champagne
region the m I'd is ankle deep. also in
the Argonne. Here. too. the pumps
are working to free the country Of
the water.
in mud and water. behind the sand
bags. the soldier stands with his gun
in the narrow labyrinth OF trenches.
Thousands of men are doing this. from
the coast where the wintry sea rolls
on the beach to Switzerland. where
the Alps rise to the sky Day and
night they stand. a few feet apart. aid
da and night the machine guns spout
and END out their deadly fire. In
damp Enclosures are the reserves.
ready at a moments notice to spring
to their guns and charge II need be.
The water keeps trickling from the
walls of the trenches. There Ia deep
silence among the men; they are
thinking OF home. As long as they
stand at their guns. in muddy uni
forms and boots. they do not think.
but as soon as few hours rest
comes then they think OF home and
family.
Remnants OF burst shells. rain wa.
ter. blrbed wire and bodies that ha, G
lain out there for weeks. and over
there the enemy's trenches. that Is
all the men tee That Is their entire
world. It IS always the samoa mo-
notoEv 10 drive men mad TIL >usands
Of fine. healthy men who could be do
ing good work are th"s engaged.
Death is doing a fine business here.
The rats. too. from wrecked French
villages near by. a-e adding t. the
troubles of the men the trenches.
Added to this is The horrifying shrieks
and cry OF the ravens The war ia
without mercy.
And here death stalks everywhere
The life bullets. the shells and the
hand grenades-all dc their deadly
work Officers and men all feel the
hand Of death upon them. Even in
II e tired soldier seek 4 rest, in the
v oods. in he air or under The earth
everywhere is death There is no safe
place here.
This girdle of death extends
through France, Belgium and Alsace
and there are particular sIcts where
hell breaks loose Nov I is at Ypres
then 1t Souchez and my, thea in the
Camp gnc reg On or the Argonne
Often for days Their. is lombard
IT ent. when thousands Of shells come
car shing into our lines with the regu
lar movements of a sledschammer
1t is then h he ,;cEches are
smashed to dust We are driven from
our trenches, but the reserves are or
dered forward; they charge in the
deadly fire. and the trenches are again
ours
This is not a war of man agains,
man. The telephone. the automobile
the railway. the big guns-all have
changed the method of warfare II
is now a war OF science and chem
istry of brains against br'.ins. The
soldier of today is skilled mechanic
who simply ads in operating the 81
gantic machine Of modern warfare.
"A trench is captured. lost and won
a lain. That is all that happens here
and the siege continues.
The roaring Of the shells is con
slant. Even when lying on his bed
of straw the soldier bears them. and
then the picture Of his home. his wife
anC family quickly fade away.
THE siege continues, and the sol
der is at his post. keen. alert. faith
fu. and true"