Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1916-07-06
CAPTAIN SEES HEAVY
SACRIFICE IN LIVES

New ] DIh. July d u6 Dig push
which the British and French have at
last attempted along the northern por-
ton of the German line has been
viewed by at least some of the officers
in the British trenches as likely to en-
tail sacrifice of life that no general
will be prepared to face" according to
a captain whose letter from the British
front was written just before the big
forward movement began, gives some
interesting light on the present psy-
chOlogy of the men in the trenches.
Ralph L. ShaniWald, a New York man
ufacturer, makes public the letter,
without disclosing the identity of the
captain who write it.
we talked of a big push when |
was in London" says the officer. 1t
may be attempted, and l may be in it,
but the sacrifice of life will be some
thing that in my humble opinion, no
general will be prepared to face. Only
those who have had some experience OF
trench warfare can appreciate the stu
pendous difficulties of a great forward
movement, with its attendant whole
sale slaughter Of the very blood tn 1t
England requires most. No; in my
opinion, valueIess though it be, our
policy must be one of attritiOn-Of
wearing out the enemy-a policy that
| fully recognize, however, may mean
the bankruptcy Of the civilized world.
Verdun is doubtless the last great eff
fort Of a desperate and wonderfully
organized military nation, but its fail
ure in that quarter will not render the
task of Overthrowing its well-handled
masses Of troops very much easier, IN
der trench circumstances"
In other parts of his letter, the
Il WI a
he thinks of war:
Between you and me-" he says,
war is the most damnable, stupid,
nonsensical thing that was ever in
vented for settling disputes, and is
carried on by brainless, well-meaning
men, that you wouldn't give the office
boys job to. Incompetence, inefficien-
cy, and pluck; effrontery, interference,
red tape and ability, are all mixed up
together out here, in a manner that
would drive business man like you
crazy.
Il have no intention of wearying you
with tales of hurting shells, and the
deafening roar OF cannon, making your
blood run cold with stories of the
sights that disgust you, and yet fill you
with deep sympathy; of shocks and
hairbreadth escapes; of tales of val
our anu III IIUAuDitllS hLCCS VI bAAF
brave British officer shaving under
shell fire although l have done that
stunt many a morning, without cut
ting myself of shots that pierced
the tunic to be DETECTED finally by the
small bible presented by the blue and
brown eyed maidens of Bloomsbury
square; of the bullying officer being
saved by the fresh-faCed yOungster
fulfilling a noble revenge
strangely enough, in my short eX-
perience, | have seen many of these
things, including the winning OF
Military Cross at in the morning by
a blase young man somewhat tired Of
life. who fortunately for me, refused
nv preferred assistance, and who,
when he returned TO share my dug-out
with the sweat of suppressed excite
ment on his brow, drank two stiff mob
blers of whisky in quick succession
that | poured out for him, and then
failed to find sleep for his Over-tired
nerves. I have seen the shells burst
ing around with no opportunity of
running like the devil, as we all felt
inclined to do. | have escaped bits or
horrible shrapnel by two and three
feet. and snipers' bullets by inches,
and I've eaten bully beef till the cows
came home-the bravest deed of all.
1T is a curious feeling the first time
one stands surrounded by she'll and
machine gun fire. l was interested by
watching myself to see how | took 1t,
To my intense surprise l wasn't
frightened. but only curious-and then
sad. sat at the thought Of what it all
meant, and what | had seen. But in
spite of everything. 1 have never for
moment been depressed or nervous. !
have had to stand under machine gun
fire for an hour at night, so as to i'm
press my men, and Teassure them: for
/ find example is everything in war.
and yet | am disguised with it alex
cept the spirit Of the splendid fellows
with whom / am surrounded. Their
devotion TO duty, their unselfshness,
fraternity and cheerfulness, is some
thing TO make one proud of ones race.
Hard-swearing and hard-liying men
they may be {officers and men alike
but they are the finest fellows one can
meet. and their daily contact is more
beneficial than a hundred sermons by
the finest parson orator living
All the news all the time-The Argus.