The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1917-08-10

sadness of which is 1mpoSS1D DIE TO Ina
CINE. The road, hastily repaired al
ter the last advance is in fairly good
condition, but the trees have all but
disappeared. OF the trees that In
pre-war days shaded the road, moth.
ing remains but stumps, most of them
slashed and cut to pieces and the sur
rounding country looks unreal. In
truth one seems to walk amid scenes
such as we imagine are met with In
the moon. Those myriads of irregu-
lar shaped shell-holes resemble moth
ing SO much as extinct volcanic era
tiers. 1
But on the; moon at least 1t does
not rain while here everything is sat
urated with it! We notice endless
numbers of culverts full to the, brim
and overlooking in the violetn show
ers. These fertile fields were meant
to bring forth herbs and grain but a
deluge of iron and steel has riddled,
torn and upheaved this land to such
an extent that all that remains is an
unclean,~ brown-colored quagmire.
Here and there shape1ess masses of
rubbish, with charred beams and
twisted iron work still sticking out,
mark the spots where once stood
flourishing villages. One stands
speechless before such destruction
caused by the latest, "up to date"
achievements of modern warfare!
nd it is true, alas, that this desola-
ton extends for miles over country.
that not long since was a fair proc
vince of France!
Behold what man has done to this
earth which has been given to him
so sweet and green and covered with
trees and grass! Is this the culmina-
a. - 1ieI, Ia tn
sist on calling the progress of civiliza-
ton? How wise were those thinkers
of antiquity who limited the privilege
of scientific research to certain sac
red castles who alone were deemed
worthy to keep the fatal secrets they
discovered! Today any imbecile can
play at will with dangerous explo-
sives, while the most ill-favored and
dull German professor holds the key
to the most profound secrets of chem
istry and searches with incredible pa
thence for the most diabolical con-
trivances that will uproot and up
heave our country and consume zen
masse" the precious youth Of France.
| 1t is almost an indictment of sci
ence. that such knowledge should be
so easily accessible to a people who
are still in a state of barabrity and
seek to develop its evil possibilities
with an all but uncanny intelligence.
Truly they are an inferior race that
exceis only in the mechanical indus
tries. They are servile and common
place and seem unable to perceive
the uselessness of the sacrifices their
Kaiser demands of them and of the
hecatombs which bring no results.
When will the eyes of this people be
opened Ito the real motives of the
monster that struggles and kills with
the ferocity of a Gagged animal! When
will they realize that It is not to de-
fend Germany but to save his own
person, his dynasty, his charnel house
and his crown stained with blood
| When will this plebian race, who
think of nothing but the wholesale
destruction Of human life realize that
they have only to throw the Kaiser
and his regime overheard, as we say
on board ship, to save that little re-
spect that Is still left in the world
| for them and to obtain peace?
! In this dismal waste Of crevasses
and of mud a white wooden sign
post warns me to leave the main ar
terry through which flows the heavy
stream of conveys that drives every
thing before it and take a somewhat
indistinct cross-road that will lead
me to my destination.
i 1t seems a physical relief, to leave
the tumult and excitement but I fee
sad when L think of these soldiers
with whom we have travelled fol
hours and OF those French lives which
SO cheerfully go to meet the Mino.
taur and tomorrow, perhaps, WIZ be
devoured by him. would rather
stay with them, follow them, carried
| q long in fhaiy.-rIIGh rdc hot ~
J OF the front to which the trucks are
! taking them, than to continue alone
in this desolate country. On this new
road, which is kept flooded also By
the rain, an unexpected silence ha.
enveloped me, a silence, it goes with
} out saying punctuated by the roar OF
cannon. But this was only at Ions
intervals for the continuous rain
: naturally interfered with the fighting
Suddenly my auto came to a stol
in the serni-liquid mud. To drive i
further would mean to bury it be
yond hope of recovery. So I take tn,
more prudent course, leaving it Their,
2 and going the rest of the way OF
} foot Besides, the end of my jour
, ney is not very distant. 1 have hear,
it for some time and now by look
: ing intently I can see it through tn
myriads of tiny streams of rain tina
fill the air. I see a group Of fan
. tastic shapes that are moving an,
, trace their silhouettes against tn
, grey sky. You might think they wer
: great smokestacks but they move il
a strange way almost like an ANNA
3 They rear up, then bend over, the,
up again, and every time they are u
( they vomit with laundering roar
: lheavy mass of metal which Is hurle
into the sky to a height of kilo
emetres or more, to come down ia
g beyond our field of vision and Their
disembowel some Boche shelter
. blowing to pieces human bodies. Us
D ually, when it rains so hard, our ne,
giant cannons are not used but to
e day an urgent preparation make
n their use imperative and in spite O
y the wet they are in action.
!. With the terrifying regularity an
n phlegm they swing up and dowr
s they seem to raise themselves a
n high as possible that they may full
s fill their mission Of justice and re
e venge.
n These huge cannon, every on
y knows, were one of the most cherish
: ed ideas of the Kaiser He fondl
g hoped that they would cause a. mani