Arizona republican., 1918-01-01
SILENCE RE|CNS
 ALONG VARIOUS WAR FRONTS 

BEHIND BRITISH LINES IN FRANCE, Dec. 31.-There are times when it seems as if the whole ofsthe front slept, as if the country for miles on either side of the scared trench zone had been abandoned by man. Complete silence reigns, and no sign of movement can be detected in any direc- tion. But 1t Is just at these times that watchfulness is at it's keenest, and more is learned of the enemy and his plans than in periods of noisier ac- tivity.
 Observation of the enemy's line and of the country behind it is the first ne- cessity of war. Upon the evidence pro- duced day after day by piecing to- gether the reports of thousand ob- servers, the whole tactical scheme is hung.
 For every mile of front, many pairs of hidden eyes are perpetually watch ing, each gleaning an occasional scrap of information here or there, seeming ly unimportant in itself. but actually a fibre in the web of knowledge that grows continually at some far off headouarters.
 The aim of all this watching and study is to discover the enemy's inten- tions. For example. if he means to at- tack, he will bring up and retain a large number of troops in the zone where the attack is to be launched. If he abandons the idea, the strength will be reduced. A massing of batteries heralds a bombardment. Considerable movement behind the enemy lines sug- gests the relief of a division. It is by continual consideration of such things q fhat nd dnln h> plans of his opponent. The ordinary every day observation is embraced under three main heads ground observation, kite balloons and airplanes. Ground observation is work which engages thousands of trained fsoldiers every day of the year, and il is the work of the men in these ground observation posts to keep a microscopic lookout over the enemy's front-line ! trench system and it's immediate vicin. | ity. The work of the balloons and air planes is generally devoted to the en- emy's artillery and bach areas. Condi- tions Of ground observation vary from those of a roomy dug-out in the side l or a hill on quiet summer day, tt 1 those of tall chimney swingins through several feet in storm of slee with a hostile battery continuously try. | ing to level the chimney with a we'll. aimed shot. The observer has his maps his glasses, his notebook and a tele phone.
 Looking out of his slit, he sees i'm mediately before him his own trencl system, then a strip of land of greate or less width, torn by shell holes, with cred by gas, covered with broad masse of rusty wire. Beyond this runs the ir regular line of the hostile front para pet, and behind this again the compli
 cated network, that Is the mass of en
 emy support, reserve, and communica
 tion trenches. Tn the backgroun
 stretches the enemy's rearward terri
 tory. dotted with ruined farms bar
 patches of wood and lines of tre
 stumps that mark a road. There is n
 sign Of movement save for a smokin
 chimney or the wlSte steam of a mov
 ing train, far away in the distance.
 But in reality things are happenin all the time, if one can only see then
 Suddenly particular point in weed
 grown field catches the eye. Somethin
 has moved. and & patient watchin
 through the telescope reveals a rcgula
 succession of spadefuls of earth bein
 thrown from below the surface. A ne'
 SOIuluuulSdtlOn tIcncn IS DelnK Qul
 and daily watching will reveal the di
 rection it is taking.
 A morning inspection of the hostil
 parapet reveals a speck of light cole
 that was not there the day before. Tn
 speck seems to have grown during tn
 night as each successive dawn allow
 it to be seen; it is perhaps a new ma l chine gun emplacement. Somethin that looks like hedge appears or . morning across what was an open fiel the previous night; it must be scree , to hide something, and prolonged stud , may discover what that something is ), The ground observers work is ju. one drop in the streams of intelligenc
 that flow unceasingly along thousand : of channels to the central brain tn, r must determine their combined mear < ing.
 I WANT WAITRESS at Rose Tr, : from D. m. to F D. m.
 }. WANTED-Soda man at Rose Tree