Arizona republican., 1916-11-27

British now have evolved an organiza- tion and system of dealing with this evergrowing problem which will at least relieve the bereaVed at home of the added torment and anxiety of the unknown grave
 At the beginning of the war men were buried near the trenches only to have their graves blown away by ex- ploding shells the very next day. But many remained. and some have been identified as the Allies have fought their way slowly back over part of the ground once occupied by the Germans
 Where there was hard fighting ln France and Belgium. the eye of the traveller along the roads today is struck by many low crosses sticking out of the ground in the fields, in cottage gar dens, in corners of farmyards and or chards, even on the outside strips of grass. Where the ground has changed hands q good deal in the course of the war one can see within a few hundred yards of each other, the gablod and eaved cross of the Germans, the "Hier ruht in Gott' and name painted white on dark background; the beaded wire wreath of the French with its Requies- cat or Mort pour Ia France" and the plain lined cross of the English white or light brown. or just unpainted wood. Tn loving memory" or one or more officers and men.
 The very position of some of these isolated memorials is eloquent. Near 1 Fricourt, on what used to be No Mans i Land" until the English won it the past summer. a number of English crosses stand to the memory of unknown French soldiers. This was part of the line turned over to the English by the French. We leave you our trenches and our dead" they said When the English offensive began last July and the first line German trenches were carried by storm. it was one of the first cares of the British Tommes to bury the bodies of their French com rades. some having lain in the fire swept zone since late in the winter.
 To some officers the idea of being buried where they fall. and have there erected even the modest little memorial of a roughly hewn cross. Is an honor greater than the shelter of Westminster Abbey. few such graves. and some part of the trenches near them. prob ably will be preserved forever by vil- lage communes or private owners Of land
 But as the war has fingered, and there still is much stubborn fighting ahead-some say for years-the care of the dead has become a most important branch of war work--important alike l in sentiment and sanitation. The Brit ish have organized a Commission of Graves Registration and Inquiries and under it's direction registration units and sections have been sent to the front and back of the front Much of the work is done by -combatants, but many Of their tasks must be car ried out under fire and some have been killed and others wounded
 When an officer or man Is killed at the front or dies of wounds. his burial is now at once reported to the regis.ra : ton units. If killed in action he may still be buried in the old way some = where near the trench If so the chap lain or officer who buries him. reports the position Of the grave. which as soon as possible Is marked with a durable cross and an identification plate stamped in aluminium.
 But this mode is becoming much less common. The army has been quick ic realize the desirability of burying it's dead in the nearest of the 300 or more recognized cemeteries behind the lines The bodies are carried back by road or light railway to one of the little wood en, iron or canvas mortuaries which the registration units have set up 1T the cemeteTies. There is nothing per functory about the funerals. Every
 thing Is done as tenderly and reverent- ly as if the dead were in an Englisf churchyard.
 Some of the cemeteries are great ex-
 tensions of little village graveyards Some were begun by special corps ol I, divisions. which wished to bury theil : dead all tooether. In one is found sep !, arate plots, each with its special en- 2 trance. for Gurkhas Sikhs and Pun 2 jabs. Under the great trees of anoth
 CT. where many of those wno fell a , Festhubert lie some Indian soldieri have followed the custom of tnei country and built brick tombs of extra
 ordinary massiveness.
 At Nillers aux Bois the French bur
 jed 2.500 of those who were killed il , winning the Vimy Ridge. On eacl , grave. at the foot of it's wooden cross y there is still stuck in the earth. necl
 downward the bottle in which the frs
 nasty record of the interment Wa / placed
 few days ago a woman in deel
 mourning visited one of the frencl e cemeteries with a handful of whit Q flowers She was arranging those ol one of the French graves when one 0