Trench and camp. [volume] (Augusta, Ga.) 1917-1919, 1917-11-21
HOW BRITISH TOMMY
VIEWS THE WAR
Thinks General Haig Best Cen
eral Ever Led An Army.
Germans Clever.

NCI AAn9 O4CRC1s
! Washington, D. c.-we have all heard
a good deal about what visiting French
and British experts and officers think OF
the war However, what the British and
French enlisted mantle private or non
con-has to say about it is another mat
ter. AS rule they are not interviewed
| in this country.
informal bit of war gossip from British
corporal now in this country as an in
structor at an American camp.
met Corporal Smith-which isn't his
name-on Georgetown car in Washing
ton fixe days after he landed here. He
was already at work with zoo of his fellow
English non-coms, instructing American
SergeantS and eorporalS of future liquid
flame companies at Fort Meyer.
Smith was. new type; His wooden
khaki colored uniform was nothing I'M
usual, but the British army shoe--a re-
plea of the old-time "brogan'' of the
American farmer boy of generation
back-was distinctive, and led to the
opening OF a street car conversation en-
tlrely uncensored.
There was nothing of the Tommy in
the corporal and as for accent or dialect
less difference between us than between
Texan and down Easter.
If he had stepped out of a midwestern
high school few years back, and then
worked as a bank clerk for few years,
the result would have been about the
same sort of young fellow.
English Not Mentioned.
OF course you hear more about the
Colonials in the dispatches" he said, "be-
cause the conseroship forbids mentioning
the English county regiments. This may
have started in sheer stupidity. but has
probably been kept up because Of a fool
ish fear of taking the people in confidence.
Many of these regiments get cut up so
badly and so often, they don't feel like
mentioning them.
Anyhow, the casualty lists show that
whether the English do anything else or
not they manage to die at the rate of u
per cent of the total killed
we are over here for instruction pur-
poses. We are still under British orders
and can be recalled at any time and are
still drawing British Pays cents day.
"a grin. THE French officers and men
sent over here are entirely at the dis
posal of your government and draw your
"The American army? Wen, I would
way into it if l had the tin. You say
some of the men kick at the feed They
ought to be put to extra fatigue duty
until they learn some sense. You would
have hard time buying as good meals
as we get at Fort Meyer at the SWEETEST
hotels in London. Nothing like it in the
we are skimped. Coal, all you want.
Over there, a bucket now and then and
you've got to make it last,
Finest material for an army I ever
saw in that camp Yes, the show will
last nlenty long for them to get into it,
and when they do they'll have no superb
ors. We are about all in for men, couldn't
raise another 100000 without stretching
the age limit to Is. The French, of course
are worse off, but are in to the finish
Women Doing Work.
The main thing that strikes a man
over here is the men he sees everywhere
at work. In England you simply don't
see them except in uniform; the women
are doing the work
We are taking men for service now of
the Glass C-3, which practically means
any fellow who can stand on two legs and
could have held an office job in peace
times.
OF course these go far back of the lines
to work. Our total in France? Well, the
Germans know it's over 100000.
THE last German prisoners saw were
mixed lot. Some divisions still yield
fine men, we'll kept; others gave up moth
ing buy boys. mostly runts. Certainly
they have lost millions, but they were
good breeders in peace times and in the
first part of the war we lost more than
they did because we had to match guns
and barrage fire with bare bodies and
rifles.
Now it's the other way and we send
over fourteen shells to their one, but they
are still desperate and still clever; they
make 'em no cleyerer.
They had the start but we and the
French have used all our brains and have
put some good tricks over on them, too.
But they are not out yet. If Russia had
stayed, 1T would be winding up now, but
nobody can call the end at this time.
Haig Great General
General Faig is the best general that
ever led an army, and all the men think
All of which we have heard more or less
from the Scribes and the experts, but [
know that Corporal Smith knows what he
is talking about and means what he says.
A PrOpos of the Recent Campaign for
Money.
Blessed are the money raisers, for they
shall stand beside the Martyrs. Moody.