Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1918-10-10
SHRAPNEL
Sidelights on the War
OLIVER OWEN KUHN.

When British forces invaded Pales-
! tine the men had fanciful ideas OF
the beauty and picturesqueness of the
Holy Land, their knowledge having
been derived from colored picture
books. They were disillusioned, how
ever, by actual conditions.
"Is this the promised lano?" one
soldier asked.
| He was assured that it was.
well, 1 don't know who they i:r.'m-
ised it to, but most certainly I don't
want it,
Lord Buxton recently compared the
kaiser to the Praying Mantis, which
"preys with an 'e' instead of an a."
and there has seldom been an apter
comparison in the history of oratory.
| Around this long-legged insect, COM
mon in Africa, innumerable legends
have gathered, and all because it
walks along upon four of it's six slender
ambulatory legs. with its head up
lifted and its two remaining forelegs
outstretched.
From very ancient times 1t has teen
believed that these insects Indicated,
,
! the road that a lost wande1er in the
desert ought to take. Hence they
we're called Nantes, or sooihsayers:
/ But a still commoner view Is that
clined. Hence they are knowa as
praying or preaching insects. ard are
supposed to be habitually engaged in
praying to or in praising me l";ty.
On the contrary. the Mantis is an ex-
ceedingly voraZous creature. The
1iyr1hS merelV extended IN
! readiness to seize its prey. Once
seized, the victim has no power of
escape. What those long arms inclose
they hold. Their power is great sr;s,, and and
but for fighting their own kind. cne
well directed blow will often remove an
! adversary's head.
! It has been suggested that Ameri-
can troops on the western front give
! some Of the popular college yells OF
this country's educational institu-
! tons. They would scare the Germans
10 death. it is claimed.
Helgoland was owned by the Brit
ish up until 1890, when it was ex-
| changed for some German territory
in Africa. When Helgoland was cap
tured by the British in 1897 from Den
mark during the Napoleonic wars.
| Admiral Russell then pointed out that
Helgoland could be made a great for
| titled area that would dominate the
| German coast. This step never was
taken by England. however
Owing to the coal shortage in Ire
| land the production Of peat has in
creased tenfold. In describing peat
digging one writer says:
early and late the bog jewellers
are toiling down in the deep bog hole,
cutting out the sods of soft, moist
| peat and throwing it up on the bank,
where it is left to dry.
| "Along the uneven. bunny bog
lanes little carts, drawn by donkeys.
| continually pass. Some of these are
driven by strong, hardy girls who
have known toll since their child
hood. others by small youngsters
scarcely able to walk, while old men
suffering from the same infirmity al
low the slow ass to take it's own time
| to reach it's destination. These con-
| veyances are taking the dried turf
home, where it is built into huge ricks.
from which it is taken and brought
! for sale to the villages and towns.
Some of the smaller industries of
Ireland are arranging to convert their
| plant, where practicable, to suit the
burning Of turf. and efforts are being
made to utilize it for the driving of
small-power steam engines.
"sky-rip" is the latest name for
aerial joyriding.
Discussing the question of saluting,
which since the war started has
| caused much comment, not only in al
lied countries, but the United States
| as well, one officer said:
THE personal element is there, in
| spite of all. Beneath the stiff mech
| anism of the military salute there is
more often than not a subtle touch of
human fellow-feeling. recognized by
none save the initiated. For the men
of his own company or battery every
decent officer has something particu-
lar, something special in his answer
| ing salute. There are a dozen dis
tinct correct methods of saluting.
each as accurately prescribed as the
| figures of a quadrille. Yet from the
downdropped hand of the horseman
or tho complicated gun-slapping of
the sentry, to the cricked neck Of the
cyclist and the outstretched whip Of
| the gunner, every salute can convey
the subtlest shades Of meaning.
1T is not too much to say that many
an officer is loved or loathed on the
strength of his salute. The shadow
of a smile. the little lingering of the
eye. the subdued CLEAN of recogni-
tion-all this means much to the
doughboy. And when out with his
young lady words cannot tell how
touched he is when his officer adds