Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1918-09-13
SHRAPNEL
Sidelights on the War
OLIVER OWEN KUHN.

-Tie-ups on German railroads due to
engine break-downs are common
these days. German railroads are any
thing but satisfactory mediums OF
communication these days. Rolling
stock. has deteriorated to point
where the situation is becoming a
serious problem for the government
Describing the trials and .tribula-
tions of the seller of meat in Eng
land during the days of shortage,
butcher in one of the more prominent
sections of London said:
-.''Fll tell you something. All my
working class customers think that
am Keeping the best meat for my rich
customers. and all my rich customers
classes. And both parties rub it into
me. Kind words!" he cried bitterly.
mo. mustn't say that 1; have no kind
words, because if I told you the num-
Der of women-proud. respectable
women-who come into this shop
the holy butcher of Hampstead. it
would stagger you. They dance up to
me, some of them. and. just like
actresses on the stage, say, Rudolph
am yours or they say. oh, Mr.. Smock,
please look after me nicely today
L
they want? They want me to break
the law. They want six coupons
worth. But how many of them know
the holy butcher when they pass him
in the street? Is it Good morning.
Mr.. Smock.' then?. No; they're look
ing up then to see whether it is going
to rain
An interesting story is told of how
the crown prince came to command
the German armies before Verdun. 1t
comes indirectly from Germany. The
crown princes military ability to lead
large armies. opposed the placing of
his SON before Verdun. He knew,
rather felt-that Verdun could not be
taken. The kaiser is known to have
numbered among his close friends a
name Of Frau Braumberg. One day
her apartments were raided by some
army officers, friends of the crown
prince. Several personal letters of
the kaiser were seized. On the threat
of exposing the letters the crown
fathers sanction to the Verdun COM
mand. After the raid the fortune
teller committed suicide.
The new and enthusiastic land
worker was having look round the
farrj.
What are these queer-looking
birds?" she asked.
"Them's geese" answered the farm
ooh, yes" exclaimed the fair one.
"And do they lay all the gooseber-
ries you use?"
Many thousands of tons of food
stuffs in Theoretically sealed vessels
will be recovered when the allied ma
tions begin their systematic work of
salvaging vessels destroyed by the
U-boats during the war.
Describing the difference in the
operation of a water plane and an
airplane. one pilot said:
"Piloting a waterplane is slightly
different from plotting an ordinary
land machine. 1t Is sometimes very
difficult to alight on a choppy sea in
the case of an aeroplane fitted with
floats, especially if the alighting has
to be done across wind. If the floats
do not land simultaneously-tha is.
if one strikes wave-the result NAV
be disastrous: a float may be torn off
and the machine spun into the water.
With a flying boat-which is much
rtre seaworthy-there is not this
difficulty. Certainly landing on the
water is not so easy as alightinag on
do not hit 1t in the right way. as I
once found out from personal ex-
perience with a seaplane on the
south coast"
In describing the British military
bakeshops behind the fighting lines
and their bread-making. one writer
says:
when the dough is mixed it is left
until the yeast permeates the mass.
Then it is taken out in about fifty
pound lots and shot through chutes
to the various floors. where each lump
is caught by waiting baker. who
carries it to the shapers and weigh
ers. 1t is cut up into Jumps of 2
pounds ounces each. Then it is ar
ranged-weighed and shaped - on
large trays, and taken to the ovens.
when baked the loaves are taken
out and stacked in huge stacks. The
stacks are about twenty-five feet high.
1t remains stacked until it seasons and
is hard enough to be put in sacks and
transported to the camps all over
France