New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-06-11

would happen if war were TO take place In
England. with our small, narrow lanes and
well kept but illogically arranged roadways.
There would be beyond question an immense
and dangerous congestion Of traffic. The road,
say, from London to Dover, one of the prin-
cipal highways in England, is in one part eX-
tremely narrow and tortuous. | presume the
authorities have thought out all these things,
but it is fact, which any foreigner can de-
tect by looking at our maps, that we are no.
well provided with strategic railways stra-
tegic roads. In France they have also the
gteat advantage of wonderful canals; not tn.
bitches TO which we give that appelation here.
but wide waterways carrying barges, which,
turned into hospitals, have been of the great
est use in the transport Of cases requiring
great care. These floating hospitals are quiet,
cool and we'll ventilated, and have been OF
great utility.
1T is NO LONGER TRUE THAT THE
AIR IS THE SAFEST PLACE IN WAR.
As the war has progressed, and one must
always bear in mind that each month has
changed it, there has been great development
of air fighting The first air fight / wit
messed was a very vague affair in which
neither side seemed to do very much, but every
pair Of eyes for miles was watching il. To-
day air fights are very common occurrences,
and on the whole are most dramatic and inter
estiEg to watch, but they DO not engage any,
thing like the attention they originally did.
The fighting aeroplane, with its handy ma
chine gun so arranged that it can assail tho
enemy from many angles is developing every
month. 1t used to be said at the air was
the safest place in the war. That is no longer
true. great French general, who knew
what he was talking about. told me that ths
air fighters were, he thought, the most cour-
ageous men of all. When I looked at the
modern fighting aeroplane, with its 2O0-horsc-
power engine, and compared it with the planes
OF seven or eight years ago in which made
few flights, realized that war has devel-
oped the aeroplane at speed that would never
have been possible in peace time. Yet even
now human ingenuity has not been able to in
vent an aeroplane that can hover or keep even
relatively still in the air.
The war zone is world apart After few
petely absorbed in the activities around that
the outer world is entirely forgotten. There
is practically no night or day in that curious
land though there is, of course, not so much
activity in the hours Of darkness as in the
hours of daylight. There are none of the long
reiefs from fighting that were experienced 80
lately as the Napoleonc wars There is no
longer going into winter quarters The
battle of Verdun was commenced in the freez-
ing month of February. The strain Of mod
ern warfare is therefore, so great that am
Of the opinion that as much leave as possible
should be given to the men, and more TO off.
cers-and especially to officers of the higher
command. | know this view is contrary Ia
that of those who think that continued alb.
sences make for slack discipline. have not
observed or heard Of any actual cases of weak.
ness in discipline due to holiday. | have,
however, met at the front many men knew
IN peace time who are showing great signs Of
war fatigue, and tired man is Of no use in
war or any other worldly affair Two year,
ago very few people had any idea Of the nat
ure of the coming warfare. Not one modern
military writer gave warning Of the intensity
OF the attention with which each army would
watch the other at close range and with all
kinds OF new and unexpected weapons It IL
a strange and weird life, that of the days in
the trenches and back to the resting biliets
JIG-SAW PUZZLES AND MOUTH Or
CANS AS ANTIDOTES FOR
POISON GASES.