The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1917-04-13
LIFE N THE TRENCHES
HAS ITS HAPPIER SIZE
captain Ian Hay, Noted Author and
Member of British Army, Tells
the Human Side Of the Art OF
Making War.
SOLDIERS APE CHEERFUL
Vivid Description OF an Ordinary Day
: In the Trenches, Where Men Live
Naturally as at Home-Crowd
Gives Speaker Big Ovation.

!. More than thousand generous.
patriotic Richmonders filled the JET
terson hotel auditorium last night
When Captain Ian Hay Beth, of the
Scotch contingent of the British army.
gave a powerful picture of the lighter
side of war in his address on The
Human Side of Life in the Trenches.
captain Beth, better known as Ian
HAY. the author of the now famous
THE First Hundred Thousand" spoke
-c.ider the auspices of the Virginia
War Relief association. He was in
troduced by Henry w. Anderson.
president of that organization. and
was given a great ovation when he
rose before his audience.
or England's valiant and pitiful
struggle to prepare for her crisis in
those first months of the war when
the first hundred thousand British
/ troops were hurled against the enemy
and sacrificed for the sole purpose Of
holding the foe in check until more
men could be trained and equipped
for LATHE, was a story that few per-
sons in the audience had ever heard.
perhaps. Captain Beth told it with
touch that robbed 1t of the grue-
some. but left 1t none the less i'm
pressive.
Debt Can Never BE Paid.
/ mo ultimate victory England can
h win. however great" Captain Beth
declared. will ever compensate for
the useless sacrifice Of life during
those first days OF the war"
|. Captain Belths regiment was the
first to set its feet on foreign soil at
the outbreak of hostilities. They
went into the trench life with DIFF
ferent spirit from the generally ac-
! cepted idea. TO the English, as we'll
& RS to the other armies of the allies.
life in the trenches is not the sober.
Il dark and heavy task that the Ger.
mans make of it. The chief char
scteristic. of all the armies, Captain
Beth said. Is cheerfulness, and this
spirit is carrying them through 10
ultimate victory. The men will
rrumble." he smilingly conceded. TO
4 that liz but natural They will com
< plain of the little things. but will pass
mnmhrmuring through the most try
3 Ing conditions accepting them as n
matter OF course. IT is common
: thing for q company to stand under
the mos; terrific Are for forty-eight
hours without a word. but raise
: great howl when they find they have
+ been supplied with plum jam instead
{ Of strawberry jam.
Z DE-, In the Trenches.
In a peculiarly attractive manner.
: which Immediately places him far
above the usual wartime lecturer,
! Captain Beth drew an outline of the
us1si twcnty-fonr hours. from dawn
I 10 dawn. In tho trenches. And 1t has
I humorous side, which is often over
y looked and oversha dowed by its
darker side Trench life is distinctly
. human. the speaker pointed out, an
men there are as natural and as mat
ter Of fact as Il they were at homo
or IN their places OF business
Dayhreak is the critical hour IN
trench life. The enemy has been pre-
pairing all night long for any attack
! that is 10 come, and it will come in
Tho morning. usually. At this hour
the decks ere cleared for action,
and men line the parapets OF the
trenches. side by side. II the enemy
attempts an assault, they are met
with a string OF rine-hre, supported
by heavier guns from behind the dug
outs. II there is no attack. the men
in the underground passages turn To
/. the duties of the day. These con
sist in tidying up the trenches an
putting things in order.
Most OF the work in the forenoon
consists in repairing the trenches. and
repacking them with sandhags' Cap
tain Beth stated that hts company
alone used to send TO headquarters
for 1000 sandbags every day. and
these cost fifteen cents each. This re-
pairing Is, necessary, because artillery
during the night had damaged the
trenches, and left them IN FALLEN
Down eondition----------
Enemy Close at Hand.
oh Sfa
the Notifications OF our friend. the
enemy" the same operations are go
inr on. The scraping of the shovels
and the rasping OF the picks can he
plainly heard. and on occasions the
voice of the men. some of them sing
ing, some whistling. Now and then a
pick, carelessly lifted bit too high,
comes above the sky line. IL this oc-
ours too often. and is seen, word is
sent back to the artillery by teie-
phone and a haH-dozen shells are
dropped on this spot. Then the pick
IL seen no more. and the singing and
whistling ceases.
In the afternoon. soldiers may get a
little sleep in their dugouts. provided
= thew can sleep through the booming OF
the heavy guns as the enemy trenches,
as well as their own. are covered with
blanket of steel until dark. When
niRnL comes, Zig ali SuuuSHiy ls IiSu
with great sky-rockets shooting high.
and illuminating every inch of ground
below. There can he no sudden at
lacks then. and men line the parapets
again. A shadow is seen in some shell
hole, and almost instantly the big
guns turn there A cloud OF dust puffs
up, and the shadow is no more.
English Arc Fond OF jam.
And SO on through the night. When
dawn comes. the crucial moment
arises again. and II. this passes with
out event. trench life settles down to
the monotony. English soldiers. Cap
tain Beth says. ere fond of jam. above
all things. They are provided with
three -fourths Of pound of meat each
day. tea and sugar--and jam. This
food Is brought up from the rear by a
wonderfully complicated but very per-
feet system Of transportation. that was
unknown in warfare of any other
time.