Shoshone journal. [volume] (Shoshone, Idaho) 1884-1931, 1916-12-15


tured after months of ceaseless attack
The cost In lives has not entered
into the discussion here at all. though
the question OF man-power Is the catch
word of the day. and there Is rea-
sou FOR #. Everyone In France knows
now that French troops are not or
dered out OF the trenches until the OPP
posing German trenches have been
wiped out by shell fire. When the Ger
mans cry This Is not war. It Is slaugh-
ter" the French people simply rub
| their palms In self-congratuation
They know they have the job of driy-
Ing the Germans out of France jump
at a time. and IL the Germans will
jump back ahead OF their shell 1re
they are content. They have reached
the cheerful state of mind where they
are willing to go on making shells In
larger and larger numbers for an In
definite period.
verdun Front Secure.
Things may go ahead for while
on other fronts, but there is hardly
a Frenchman living who thinks any
thing disastrous can happen again on
this front. | am with them In that be-
lief. and so Is everybody who knows
anything about the present strength
of the French army In men and shells.
My confidence In the situation, gath
cred from contact with the French
people, Is such that | am willing to
write this and confide it TO the slow
going malls when the French advance
at Verdun is hardly more than under
way, and l have no fear anything will
happen meanwhile to contradict II.
There is a common-sense reason for
this. too. For the first time there Is
an adequate supply of big new modern
artillery before Verdun. The Germans
nearly took Verdun because France
did not have a sufficient number of
heavy fieldpieces TO protect it. 1t was
saved by the small .75-millimeter guns,
the same guns that turned the Ger
mans on the Marine, and the Germans
were stopped only when the French |
succeeded In bringing up fortress guns |
from the forts on the Italian frontier; |
the French army was that badly off In |
artillery. There was new artillery |
both the Somme and Verdun, so they |
advanced with the new on the Somme |
and held the Germans at Verdun with |
the old. Now the French have enough
new heavy artillery for both the
Somme and yerdun. so they are adj
vancing at both spots.
Artillery the Big Factor.
IL takes time to make artillery, out
II takes longer yet to remove fixed
ideas, and even the brilliant men who
have turned Frances military fortunes
could not foresee what the war would
be like at this stage and did not pro-
vide against the present necessity for
heavy fieldpleces. 1t was Yerdun that
stirred things up. Verdun Stands for
many things, but In close-ln military
and political circles In France 1t means
the point where Francs began to go
In for heavy artillery on a big scale.
There are several different factions
In France just now claiming the credit
for Frances growing artillery superb
GRITTY, and without casting any dis
credit on the high command of the
army II Is generally conceded that the
French parliament had an important
hand In II. 1t is balm, too, to the feel
ngs of French parliamentarians, fer
they were certainly snubbed at the
beginning of the war. and they can
point out now with perfect propriety,
the senator's that they or
Tered and voted the funds for heavy
artillery when many military men In |
nigh position were inclined to think
he thing was being overdone. The
'redit for the new Verdun advance
It least that part not due to the sol
Hers and the brilliant French artil-
erymen-will have to so to sena-
orial committee that got busy months
Ego. when il was not very much en-
and made the new supply
# big guns possible.
This whole matter is not talked
bout much here; it is simply accept
a. One no longer hears scornful re-
marks from military men about "med- q
ling politicians" And the members c
I parliament and all the civil side of /
he government they represent are l.
rearing their regained prestige rather e
nodestly. But anyone who ever feared e
military dictatorship in France can
ow definitely put that fear aside. D
"Rsined Grape on France"
At this time last year the more u
eryous PariSians were Just beginning J
o believe that the Germans would 0
ever get TO Paris. That had. In fact. n
cen obvious since the battle of the II
iarne. Nevertheless. they had more II
onhdence. and the army itself had :,
iore confidence than the facts justi- =
ed. The Germans could not break Z
trough. perhaps. but they showed at $
'erdun that they could make 1t very =
Spensive for France to hold its line. u
'erdun, as whole. the loss and re-
N Of attfNr rfraf.a 81 -