The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1917-02-28
THE AMERICAN SOLDIERS
IN FRANCE
The Life and Fighting
lBy Lord Northcliffe)
Headquarters Canadian
Army, France.

body of American citizens inkhaiki
who have already succeeded in ef-
recting another of the several revo-
lutions produced in warfare by the
United States.
The first and most important was
the aeroplane invented by the
Wrights, of Dayton. Ohio. The sec
ond is the machine gun. originally de-
signed by Maxim, with the newer
Lewis light machine gun easily car
ried or for use on aeroplanes.
The. third revolution is one that
would hardly believe had | not had
ocular demonstration. 1t is the con-
version of the British Tommy to a
faith in pork and beans as a diet in
stead of the beef on which he has
fought since the time of the Norman
conquest of England
These Americans in the British
Army with whom | have just spent
a day, are part of the topsy-turvydom
in which we are living. and when |
saw them marching back from the
trenches to the tunes of "My Coun-
try. It's of Thee" THE Stars pangled
Banner" and the less classical and
more modern ragtime wondered
what the small American boys, who
have so often teased me on Indepen-
dence Day celebrations in your coun-
try would have thought of factor
in the war that is not sufficiently
known in the United States.
propose telling you what the
American soldiers in the British and
French Armies are doing. where they
come from, how they live. and why
they came.
The Germans are particularly bit
ter towards them, and say that these
splendid young Americans were hired
by the Allies. From the German
point of view the pay of the Amer
leans who are fighting against Prus-
sianism is doubtless princely. 1t
amounts to exactly a dollar and
quarter a day. leave people in the
United States to Judge whether that
be the sort of remuneration that is
calculated to draw American univers.
ity graduates some with consider.
able private business men,
ieal-estate men, clerks. lumber men,
engineers, across the Atlantic. The
false hood is one of the bits of Ger
man boomerang propaganda with
which neutrals are becoming ac-
quainted.
The Americans I'm the British and
French Armies enlisted in divers
ways in the first few months of the
war. Many came to England direct
an dentered the British Army. Those
who were resident in Europe at the
outbreak of the war formed a union
with the British residents in France
and Joined the French. Others came
over later and entered the flying
services, where they have done splen-
did work
StaIwart Fighters for Freedom.
Early in the war, during the battle
of the Marine, | was billited with a
number of our despatch-riders. and
much surprised to find that the par
ticular company with whom | was
spending the night were mainly from
| the United States. II is almost i'm
possible to estimate the numbers of
| Americans in these two Armies. but.
! including those engaged in the noble
work of the American Ambulance in
Paris and its numerous automobile
conveys, il has been estimated at
quite a sufficient number to have
made the American language. Ameri-
can music and Boston baked beans
| familiar.
The great feature of the war on the
western front at the moment is the
day and night raids-a desperate
form of individual fighting encour-
aged by the British leader, Sir Doug
| las Haig, and in which the Canadi
ans and British, who have a consid
cradle force of Americans with them
are adopts. Each of these raids in
n miniature battle. and il was in
studying this form of warfare that |
had the pleasure of seeing the Amer
leans who are serving with a Cana
dian regiment reviewed by a gener-
al on their return from the firing line
for rest and New York's Day din
ner that was a week late.
BY a curious coincidence the set
ting of the scene was that of a
thousand of American and Canadian
lumber camps. even down to the log