Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1917-01-04
MANY CHANGES
Seen AT FRONT.
Some Mighty Hand Seems to
have Evolved Order Out
of Chaos.
French MOVE EVER ONWARD
Marvels Accomplished In France by
Industry and Inventive Genius
Pressed by Necessity-Miohty
Construction of Artillery.

Construction Of Artillery.
London. - Ellis Ashmead- Bartlett,
who recently lectured in the United
States, has just returned to the west
ern front after an absence of many
months, and finds many changes there,
lie writes to London newspapers. He
says. in part:
"When you enter the zone Of war on
the western front for the first time
after long period spent in other fields
of strife, you realize at once the vast
change that has come over everything.
You see the difference In the attitude
of the French soldier In his surround
ings and equipment, and, above all, IN
the appearance and spirits of the
civilian population.
Turning to the machine of war H.
self, some mighty hand seems suddenly
to have evolved order out of chaos,
aud collected all the conflicting ele-
nlents that make up the ordinary lie
OF nation into one vast, homogeneous
force directed toward the attainment
OF single end.
"This terrible light blue wave is now
moving in one direction from which
nothing will ever divert it.
Rolls Every Onward.
'rhe current never stops rolling on
ward. 1t may be checked from time
to time, its progress Is often slow, and
the rocks are difficult to submerge. but
ever the blue waves sweep reinorse.
lessly on. There is only the back cur
rent of the transport trains, carrying
food to the men and millions Of shells
TO the guns. The wounded alone turn
their backs to the giant conflict.
"What an organization has been built
up IN the short space Of two years to
keep these vast armies supplied! What
lnarvels have been accomplished by
industry and inventive genius pressed
Icy necessity, financed without thought
Of cost, and utilizing the markets of
the neutral world! Hundreds of miles
of fresh railways have been laid down,
new roads have been cut ana surfaced
old railways have been rebuilt, and
countless bridges restored. Hundreds
of thousands of motor lorries pour in
incessant streams toward the advanced
depots to meet the requirements of
this Unsuitable nav of war.
"Petrol is the true king of this war.
Without the motor lorry all these
Inarvels would have been impossible.
Petrol regns supreme on the battered
earth below, as he reigns supreme
amid the clouds above. His two in
struments are the car and the aero
plane. Both have helped to revolu
tionize the science of war.
"What are the paramount impress
sions made on the mind as you APP
and come within hearing distance of
the thunder of the guns? Two were
made on mine. The one, the spectacle
Of an sutire nation bent on the full
fillment at any Sacrifices af single
fixed determination the other, the linn
itless resources Of the world placed at
the disposal Of that nation. Unlimited
everything; that describes the scene
the best.
Guns, Guns Everywhere.
'First and foremost, take the guns.
Never before has there been brought
together such concentration of artil-
lery of all calibers. There are guns
everywhere. I am writing for the
moment Of those behind the lines.
which have not yet been brought up,
as there Is no room for them on an
already crowded battlefield. They lie
in the field in droves like cattle; you
see them like huge. many-colored
snakes on the railway lines, or moving
to the front on motor lorries. Some
are returning for rest and repair;
others are being pushed forward to
take their place. Many are yet lying
idle, with their huge mouths gaping
hungrily toward the Rhine and the
Mouse.
sand the meals for these monsters.
The fodder for these monsters fills
acres Of fields, and comes from every
corner of the earth. Yet they cannot
be carried too quickly to the front.
TEls monstrous Armageddon consumes
millions week.
Behind the battlefield the scene is
rather that of the migration of an
entire people to a new home than that
Of any army in the field. The amount
Of work entailed by an offensive on
the present scale passes mans compre-
hension. Every man and woman and
many children of France are now work
ing toward the common end. In the
munition factories are the women and
the Indispensable of the men. In the
supply area, which extends 20 or 80
kilometers behind the battlefield, are
the territorlals. Many of them are old,
but they work like youngsters on
holiday. They are making and repair
Ing the roads, helping with the trans
port and guarding the conveys. depots,
culverts, railways, and bridges. Be-
yond them you have the youth and
middle-aged Of France, who actually do
the fighting and who make good and
turn to practical effect the work OF
the women, of the old men. and those
of the young ones who are indispen-
sable"