The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1918-01-28


 sage from the front delivered to the Merchants Association Wednesday by Major Grayson M. P. Murphy of the Red Cross. Major Murphy, who is about to drop Red Cross work and return to France in active service, was the guest at luncheon in the Hotel Astor. He told his hearers that for military reasons he is convinced the Germans will not smash the western front unless they use some revolu- tionary new weapon, but also gave a warning against inefficiency in Ameri- con war preparations. Of the pros Dect on the western front he said:
 Unless they develop some entirely new method of warfare, something in connection with airplanes, don't be- lieve that either side is ever going to be able. to break through that west ern front; and the reason I don't believe it is this: They have been pounding away there for three years, there has been an enormous amount of blood spilled on both sides, and the greatest accumulation of effort and organization to furnish the artil- lery that is necessary in that kind Of warfare. You put that artillery on the lines, and you pound and pound and pound and pound, and you de- moralize the section where your ar tillery barrage is asrown.
 "Your infantry goes over. They find the land all broken and torn to pieces by their own shells. They ad- vance as far as they can be protected by their artillery fire. because the in- fantry that remains in the trenches have been properly shelled and are absolutely broken, and the resistance that comes from them is practically nil. So they go as far as their ar tillery can protect them.
 '.Then they run into the counter barrage-of course they have got that al the time, but when you have your own artillery it holds it down and saves you; but when you run into the untrammeled fire of the enemy's ar tillery and their fresh troops and fresh defenses, the infantry cannot go any further. You cannot bring your artillery up over the ground that is all torn to pieces until you have repaired the ground, and then you have to sit down and wait and develop the whole attack over again, and keep pounding away that way, and get practically nowhere.
 Need of Swift, Operation
 The speaker turned to warning against inefffciency in war prepara- ton, saying:
 q know our great people, in this country, with their courage and their ability and their unselfish willingness to serve. I know that if they are properly organized then we can make good; but I am very sure that if we waste time in developing our organ ization, that we are going to fail. Europe canont wait. We have no time to experiment, no time in which to consider personalities or individual feelings.
 q said yesterday, and I meant it, that the man in this country who, for any selfish purpose or for any per sonal vanity, or pride of party, or pride of locality, or pride of consid- eration, stands in the way of the prompt and effective development of our country to fight this war, is worse than a German in the trenches
 This is no proposition that can be handled in any mediocre or weak way. It is the biggest, hardest job that was lever given to any people or any or ganization in the world to do, and the on1y people who can do 1t are the very best that we have got.
 q would like to tell you a little bit about Italy" he went on. T do not know whether you realize what ii would have meant to our country and to the world if we had lost Italy. talked to one of the best informed men in Italy, and I asked ,, him why it was that the line of the Paive was adopted as the line of resistance, and he said it was because of the lack o1 pursuit, that the Germans and Aus trians had no idea that they would break. through and carry on as they did in that situation, and when I first went down there to Italy none of the men in the higher command talked o1 : holding the Paive line. The question was: How soon they would with draw to the Adige or the Pc?
 !. Need of American Aid. 'HThe Italians are brave and gal lant; they are fighting like heroes il t this war. There were regiments O = the Berseglieri that, when they were z surrounded, stood and fought on un
 til their ammunition was gone. Ant . then the officers said that they woult not surrender. The cavalry regiment 3 went back through the ruck headlon
 on the machine guns and the mel e died by thousands. In the case o 5 one cavalry regiment the officers ha Il on white gloves and were in dres
 uniform and as they went into tn , thick of the fight, facing the ma
 chine guns, they said, We will sho1 e them how gentlemen can die.' is "The great thing that Italy neede l God knows she has the courage an she has the brains and she has tn u energy, but there was one thing tha
 she needed; it was the same thin l. that a football team needs whe
 somebdy has suddenly made an en -l run and scored on them for 60 yard down the field. She needed some
 body to pat her on the back and te
 her people to come on and com
 back; and the one country that sh
 needed it from the most was tn
 United States
 Now it just happened that whe
 that smash came the United State
 was in no position to speak the word
 We had not declared war on Austria
 and a very skillful propaganda hal
 been carried on in Italy to the effec
 that America really didn't care fo
 Italy, that she had done nothing fo
 her but to lend her money and charg
 interest on it; that we had sold he supplies at high prices, and gotte1
 control of great deal of her golt
 and her credit. but that we were no