Evening star., 1918-06-23
SHRAPNEL
Sidelights on the War
-BY-
OLIVER OWEN KUHN.

TITS getting SO I feel lonesome un-
less I hear a boche shell whistling
over me every two or three minutes"
an American soldier writes from the
front.
French folk set up stands outside
the limits of American camps. where
they sell. tobacco, tooth brushes. SOU
venirs and toilet articles. After re-
treat it is like passing through hawk
ers' stands outside a circus.
Catholic chaplains have found that
soldiers care not at all If others hear
city Of Atlantis.
Ypres as a city is as extinct as any
city in the Atlantic.
Allied soldiers would rather take
souvenirs from the Germans than have
special mention in orders.
Chinese who are employed in tasks
behind the allied fighting lines in France
appreciate the efforts made to en-
tertain them. They wish to recipro-
cate and frequently give native en-
tertainments furnishing music from
queer instruments. Their acrobatic
ciated by the soldiers Of the allied
nations.
That Berlin is suffering terribly as
result of the war and has fallen into
a process of decay, is indicated by
Swiss journalist who says:
"Broken windows were stuffed with
waste material, there being no glass
to substitute for the shattered panes.
Crumbling woodwork, for lack of
paint, putty and nails. was rotting at
every turn. The streets were Uttered
was dingy and growing daily more
disreputable. Snow was falling stead
lily on one of my previous trips in jan.
uary. Gangs Of once stout citizens of
both sexes were being forced by the sour
police to clear the dirty stuff away.
there being no paid labor available for
the purpose"
Though German secret service men
may make amazing, stupid blunders
and subject innocent persons to un-
told annoyance and persecution. no
takes are made. That's not in the
German nature.
Interesting light is shed on the
average trench newspaper by British
soldier having trendh sheet in
charge. He said:
ITO the uninitiated. the greater part
Of our trench newspaper would be
meaningless = Written by a few for a
few, it bristles with cryptic illusions
and nicknames, the very significance
of which has almost passed away.
Parts of it read like a libel editors
nightmare, SO scathing are the per-
sonalities, SO unblushing the ridicule
heaped on the individual. The COM
manding officer retained the right of
censorship. but he only exercised it
once. That was when he dispatched
me to submit to fairly senior officer
a lament supposed to have been
written by one of the subalterns. on
his bitter fate in being in this officers
company. The editor returned in
course of time to the censor. with the
paragraph in question indorsed, read
and approved by the officer who was
its subject"
When London folk make dashes for
afraid shelters in the night time
they often grab their children from
their beds without taking time to
dress them. The 1avorite improvised
garment is the pillow case into which
the children are dropped. the pillow
case being tied beneath the arms of the
youngsters.
The Northumberlands who have dis
lluS uISuCu luSHlSClSCo Ai odlSlC oIi IiS
western front have a long history
of striking deeds behind them. When
the Scottish king. William the Lion.
invbded England Northumberlands
set out for Alwick castle where he
was, saw him fitting with his staff
in a meadow near the castle and over
powering the kings guard made him
prisoner. 1t has been suggested that
the Northumberlands be given the
particular task Of going after the
kaiser.
Britain Is conserving paper these
war times in a novel manner. Pupils
of the elementary schools are being
taught to write vertically inasmuch
as it has been found that more words
can be placed on a sheet of paper by
this system. But handwriting ex-
perts declare the upright hand indi-
Gates a sarcastic nature, and there
has been much ado over the new
system.
MEN WANTED FOR GUARD.