The Seward gateway and the Alaska evening post., 1917-10-05

from above like grass or earth. For the same reason tents may be painted in greens and yellows.
 The chief improvement in methods of defending enuenched troops is the increased use of machine guns, Ma chine guns must be put out of oper- ation by artillery fire or by rife fire directed against the gunners before infantry can advance directly against them. There has been also a great increase during the present war in the use of barbed wire in front of the trenches as a means of defense Simi- lar devices have been used in en- trenched positions for many years, 1 but never on so large a scale. Thru their use it is now known to be pos sible to defend the front line posi- tions with smaller bodies of men than were considered necessary during the earlier years of the war, thus consid- erably reducing the strain of the in- Gividu9I soldier.
 Development of Airplanes
 The chief new instrument of war fare developed during the present war is the airpIane. As previously ex- planed. it is used for scouting, direct ing gunfre, and dropping bombs. The scouting machine is usually equipped with large camera which takes a series of pictures. When these pie lures are developed and compared day by day they give invaluable informa- tion as to the exact location of troops, guns, and supplies. The scouting and bombing machines are usually pro- tcctcd by swift fighting machines. Air planes have also been used at times to descend close to the ground and fire from a machine gun upon bodies of troops.
 Another very interesting and prom ising device is the "tank'-a heavily mmored machine so constructed that it can advance under its own power over almost any obstacles, and thus lead an attack on enemy trenches. It is armed with machine guns. Armor- ed motor ears have also been used effectively under some conditions.
 In the front line trenches men are often armed not only with rifle and bayonet, but also with bombs which can be thrown by hand or by machine. Some of them are no larger than an ordinary lemon. Many men become extraordinarily expert in throwing these small bombs into enemy trenches. They even become expert in picking up enemy bombs before they explode and throwing them back.
 Another weapon of the trenches in troduced by the Germans, in spite of international agreements to the con trary, is poisonous gas. This was at first very effective, since no defense against it had been prepared. At the present time, however, each man in or near the front carries a gas mask, which enables him to meet an attack of this kind without serious injury.
 Wonderful Staff Organization
 Back of the lines the organization of the staff branches of the service has been enormously extended. Rail roads are constructed up to within a short distance of the front Trans  port of supplies and ammunition by motor trucks has been organized on a big scale. The medical departments have also made notable gains in meth ods of treating wounded men, with tNe result that a very large percent age recover. Even in the early months of the war it was announced that of the wounded actually treated in French hospitals, 54.5 per cent were returned to duty within a short time; 24.5 per cent were sent home to com plete their recovery and later return ed to duty; IT per cent at the time
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