El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1918-01-26

as though only travelling cranes could
move them, into such exposed posi-
tions2 These are questions that every
civilian asks himself at the front Let
me try to answer them
The scene changes back to England
For England. read America, and the
reader can foresee the development
OF the awkward gun squads he
watches drilling. perhaps with some
mfsgfvings from the Atlantic to the
Pacific. The men, Brown and Smith
and Robinson, city men and country
men. clerks and farmhands, factory
workers and sons Of the rich, have
been transformed for artillery duty
after a few most unpleasant weeks OF
Infantry drill as raw -ecruitc.
Become Soldiers Soon.
Slowly they develop, from rather
woe-begone citizens. strangely clad in
81 fitting uniforms, 10 men upon
whom the khaki sits naturally, SOL
diers with a visible pride in their new
work. And their appearance IS the
outward and visible sign OF the
change that has come 10 their minds.
They are gunners now, no longer mere
ciphers OF no interest TO any but
themselves. They have become. in
Few weeks, a battery, a corporate
body, unit worth living for, ana
perhaps. its members feel in some
vague way. worth dying for. Their
guns-the kings final argument. as
the Hun engraVes upon his pieces
are the arbiters whose compelling
voices shall be heard in the days that
presage victory. To this great ex-
tent has the idea grown through the
days Of their training.
Soon the scene changes across the
channel again. TO a French village,
whose narrow streets have long ago
been churned into rivers of mud with
its unpretentious houses placarded
with boards showing how many men
can be billetted IN there The little
square before the church is filled with
motor-lorries and tractors four great
guns covered with tarpaulins nearly
iii the width Of the main street.
Are Sure Comrades.
In the corner is a fire built between
a few bricks, and by It sit Robinson
the bank clerk; Brown, the country
grocer, and Smith, the great mer-
chants son. eating bully-beef with
their claspknives out Of the same tin.
and exchanging jests as to what they
viii 90 when they get into action al
last For days they have been march
Ing across France; now they are
within sound Of the guns; on the NOR
row their silent covered monsters viii
add their voices TO the clamor.
As soon as it is dark, the square
resounds to the roar Of many engines,
and the long procession OF guns. trac-
tors, and lOrries moves off into the
night 4 few children watch it. and
the village settles down 10 a short
period of rest, for the succession Of
these British guns that are to sweep
the hated Boche back into his own
country. seems interminable. But the
battery goes on TO its allotted task,
eager, expectant, in fury OF sup
pressed excitement
First Nfghters Confused.
Towards midnight 1t reaches its
goal, the position that IL is to take
Up, where in a few weeks it is des-
tined to help repulse the great attack
that has been described. Confusion Is
Inevitable, this Is its first experience
Of a night move, and over-enthusiasm
Is bound TO lead to a few mistakes.
The men OF q neighboring battery.
older hands at the business. turn out
OF their billets for a minute or two to