The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1917-09-22
TOLL UNDERGROUND
TO WIN BATTLES
WORK or THE sAPPERS HAS NOT
THE INSPIRATION OF VISI-
BILE CONFLICT.

New York sun: Piping dynamite to
points beneath the enemy's positions;
blasting the foe from his strongholds
by subterranean mines: disembOweling
the very earth. Such is one Of the most
potent Of the means by which the Brit
lsh have broken through Yon Hinden-
burg's lines In the past ten weeks: and
IL Is highly probable that American in
genuity has contributed generously to
this end.
To the popular mind artillery attack
has seemed to be the dominating fac
tor on the battle fronts Eyewitnesses
have written endlessly Of the me
chanics Of modern ordnance. Of cur
tain fire Of the dire sweep OF the tor
rental barrage of bursting shrapnel
and splintered steel and Of the deaf
ening demoraliZing drum beat Of whole
batteries belching continuously They
tell US that the boom OF deep throated
siege pieces furnishes a rhythmic bass
10 the Internal orchestration. while in
the quieter periods the sinister rattle
Of the machine guns has tided along
the anthem Of demolition. But these
engines Of death after all are only the
superficial agencies Of annihilation
Many feet below the battle torn sur
face Of the earth war has been fol.
lowing other bents and paths little
sung by the annalists There in the
heart Of primordial deposits men have
toiled week in and week out. some.
times for months; burrowing forward
in the tickle light Of sputtering
candles and driving onward their saps
70 goals directly beneath well defended
points in the enemy's lines. Far from
the search Of sunlight these troglo.
dytes have labored 10 make modern
strife more awful. Theirs has not been
the inspiration Of visible conflict they
have been denied the stimulus of the
rushing onslaught. the selfforgetful.
ness Of the shouting charge. Instead
they have delved in the dripping
ground: have dug into the sombre wall
Of the enyeloping earth. not knowing
al times whether the foe had antici-
pated them by planning "A countermine
for their sudden destruction.
In measure. the sappers work
blindly. and. for that reason, their ears
have become doubly acute. Science
too. has amplified this faculty and
made It possible for them 10 hear even
from a distance the blows Of pick and
shovel in the ground beyond. This
holds equally good for all Of the bel.
lgerents An exquisitely sensitive mi
crophone is used for this purpose. and
the listening sentinels pick up the vi.
brations Of hostile workers and can
even tell with approximate accuracy
the direction Of the foes sap and also
something Of its nearness.
Then starts an underground race
The rival engineer forces work desper.
ately 10 reach their opposite goals. the
attacking sapeprs TO get beneath the
hostile surface position, and the de.
Tending sappers strive just as hard 10
intercept them. 10 countermine and Ia
blow up the attackers gallery before
It is complete. subterranean battles
not infreguent, where rival headings
break in upon one another during the
feverish haste Of the concluding exca
yations, when common knowledge OF
the situation makes cautious progress.
no longer possible Then pick anC
shovel are substituted for orthodox
weapons. and down In the bowels OF
the earth men struggle at close quar-
ters and often In utter darkness.