Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1918-10-11
Somewhere In Francc.-Ycs,crday

ginning oil the Christian 'iH'
think that impcrtincnt little tank
was almost equal to the task OF seal
ing or puncturing the mighty baStionS
Mud puppies" the men at work up
on the tanks call them The last-porh
of the lot wore the name in white
rnint "DaIniinO."
Donning a suit of overalls. cllinDeo
in al a back door. which was slammed
after me. stood where the machine
gunner ordinarily stands. the turTet
cnclasping my head with its leather
pads like great helmet.
One mustn't go too minutcly into
uarticulars. Suffice il to say that one
man operates the gun. the other Is
chauffeur. The little craft scuttles
over the landscape like crab, turn
ing it's own length and extricating IL
self with ease from almost any terrain
less fluid than "A pond.
Tanks are an old story. but TINS is
fairly new and a most auspicious
variation.
The turrct was locked in place. 50
that | ran no risk of losing my bal
ancc. since there was plenty of han
dies to which | might cling II | wish
ed. | was surprised To find how inuch
one could see through slits so narrow.
We dipped into ditch in the open
field and the tank hardly noticed IT,
Then we plowed into the wildwood.
H.. e. yn
down young trees several inches thick.
I realized that this was the mcrest
childs play compared with remaining
in battle for siXty-four hours without
cessation, as British tanks did al Cam
brai.
But | could understand why the men
who are working on the tanks are
praying to he sent into action very
soon \ sense OF reInorsclcss rest
lrssncss sweeps over the tank rider.
The officer in command must be we'll
nigh omniscicnt.
He must know military tactics. so
as to he able To work with the dough-
boys.
He must he able to take to pieces
and put together machine guns OF the
various types.
He should know both how TO run the
car and how to fire the gun. no mat
ter II the tank is standing on Its head
a.pr tprning haadsprines. -----'
Before the apprentice is put in the
tank he is introduced to full-sizc
wooden model. which can be worked
quite as though II were the real thing
carcening tipsily over the landscape.
I'm this model he trains the gun upon
Il target and learns TO fire 1t with such
accuracy that when he graduates to
the tank itself nc is merely changing
from walls of wood TO those or steel.
was delighted at the fire and zcst
Of the men who were putting into
commission this feet of steel land
boats, the terrestrial destroyers. They
talked TO them as fondly as father
speaking of his children.
The NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS., all of them
were hammering and filing for dear
life. and. needless of long hours, they
UlQ not ncSu u Dt lOiu liioN 'hNh "NAN
directly counted toward victory.
The "Atterbury Special" named for
our American director general OF
transportation. has been nicknamed by
our men the "Attaboy Special"
1t traverses most of France, under
all-American auspices. using French
cars hauled by French locomotive.
There are American negro porters In
the uniform OF scrgeants.
I was delighted with the seven
doughboys who shared my compart-
ment with me.
They had Travelled the whole night
before. sitting, upright or composing
themselves to est as best they might
on their infant ~ packs along the cor
ridor.
But they we re clipper as field-micr
and fresh as daisies.
They congratulated themselves that
they did not have to travel in one of
the French boScars marked IS Horses
40 Men," such as they had endured
for three days after landing.
The subject of the Eats" was ia
vorite.
Do you tn Ink the talk was all
kicks? Asst redly it was not.
Before long thcy brought out new
sort Of army tardtack-much softer
and more palatable than the tradi-
tional kind.
noticed In the legend on this box
that q Philadelphia baking company
made the crackers
The men called them bully good
crackers"
Then an expert in high explosives
introduced q tin of jana big one
for which he had paid two francs and
a half. s'1
l didn't want to deprive them of any
part of their provender. but they gen.
crouSly insisted.
Eats are SO per cent OF the game"
said one, as he licked his fingers and
rubbed them sun eptitiously on his o.
D. shirt.
You know what Americans are.
You know how they love to eat. Chief
indoor sport, winter and summer.
When you get out in the field 1t
means ten times as much.
"Starve a soldier and YOU get him
grouchy. Don't think l am complain
ing. l am not. Our commissary Is
doing first-rate.
But 1t is simply question OF put
ting fuel under the boilers. A man
can't properly do his work on an emp
ty stomach.
Its a curious thing. but when you
get q group OF soldiers who haven't
had enough to eat you'll find them los
Ing their t,mpers and picking quar-.
rels with one another at the drop OF
the hat.
Things that didn't amount to any
thing before look big when you're
empty. When men are hungry they
..o ;,,s+ like animals that haven't been