The Butler weekly times. (Butler, Mo.) 1881-1918, 1917-09-20
QUIET AT FRONT JUST MORE
WAR
Spectacular Offensives Only One
Phase of Grinding, Killing, De-
structive Process.

With the British Armies in France
and Belgium, Sept. I8.-There must
always be periods Of comparative
quiet" when big spectacular often
sives are lacking on the great fight
ing fronts. The recent days have
constituted one of these periods
along the British lines in the western
theater, and to the outside world,
reading the commander in chiefs la
comic there is nothing of Importance
to report" or a brief account OF
seemingly inconsequental raids, at
may appear that hostilities virtually
have ceased.
But this conclusion is far from
right, for the grim business of war
continues perpetually. Hourly the
big British guns hurl their thousands
of tons OF metal, carrying death and
destruction into the German de-
lenses; day and night great squad
rons of avators guide their machines
over the German lines and dump
their cargoes OF high explosives on
important positions, and continually
small bodies of British infantry are
reaching out into the German
trenches and snatching back prison"
ers, after playing havoc with bomb,
among the dugouts and mortar en-
placements.
OF course. there is retaliation by
the enemy, but the advantage rests
with the Entente Allies in this con-
slant hammering process. 1t is the
steady dropping of water which IS
wearing away the stone.
The terrible toll of death being
exacted from the enemy ranks by the
artillery and the continual drainage
of their war supplies by the destruc-
ton caused by the shells and bombs
are having their effect. The German
wall of defense is still strong, but 1t
is weaker than it was, and sooner or
later must crumble, if the allied
methods of wearing down are con-
tinurti. 1t needs no military. expert
to figure this out. Every Tommy
along the line is aware OF it.
Persons far removed from the war
zone, perhaps, do not consider mil
i,ary operations from an abstract
viewpoint often enough. That IS,
they conceive progress only when
some community has fallen or an all
vance has been made over a great
stretch of territory, and thousands Of
prisoners have been taken. Certain
ly these big operations appeal to the
imagination, but in viewing them one
should not overlook the inestimablc
value of the grinding. killing process,
which never ceases.
This process has been continued
by the British steadily since the BE-
ginning of offensive. The artillery
has kept up All almost unceasing
thunder along the whole front, and
air raids and thrusts by. the infantry
have been working great destruction
in the enemy territory.
Last nights infantry raids are ex-
amples of the work being done, much
OF which is never published to tn"
outside world English and Scottish
regiments about midnight conducted
three successful raids.
East of Gavrele several prisoners
were taken and large number of the
enemy killed, five big dugouts were
bombed to pieces and two saps de
stroycd A similar success was
achieved south of Arras, several dug
outs being demolished and number
of trcnch-mortar emplacements were
wrecked besides other damage done.
The British air service still maintain
supremacy, and the big raiding ma
chimes have. been doing vast damage.
One of the spectacular incidents o.
curfed yesterday when a British
plane dispersed 1000 enemy infantry
by turning its machine guns on the
men along one of the highways.