Evening star., 1939-10-13
By ROBERT ]. CASEY.

Chicago Daily News Foreign Correspondent.
PARIS, Oct. 13 (By Radio) -
Listen, my children, and you shall
hear of the midnight ride" Of Brit
ish war correspondents.
AS far back as two weeks ago, in
London, one heard much of this
talented expeditionary force. Eng
land, bowling at last to the inev-
liable, had given in to the impor-
tunities of peevish newspapermen
and agreed to send them to the
front. There was considerable Sc
rious preparation and excitement
no end
British brass hats, with their GUS
tomary suspicion of the press. were
not so CHEEKY over the prospect as
might have been expected, but they
took the situation with the aplomb
for which their country is so justly
celebrated. Also, they made their
own rules for the conduct of their
distinguished guests.
1t was announced that the cor
respondents must sign an agree
ment to stay at least three months
with army headquarters. subject
themselves to the same military reg
ulations as officers in his majesty's
forces, take leaves only with the
permission of the commanding Of
ficer, live in regular billets and per-
haps mess with the major generals.
They were to provide themselves
with regulation uniforms, gas masks
and tin hats, as we'll as pencils and
paper. In exchange. the army
agreed to do its best for them,
transport them hither and yon and
provide a bugler to get them in and
out of bed on time in their new life
Donned Uniforms.
So the correspondents abandoned
the old, carefree ways of civil life,
put their old clothes in mothballs
and donned uniforms complete with
riding boots and Sam Browne belts.
In ensemble they looked very pretty
With native pressmen the military
solicitude went q bit farther Sum
dry of these-but not all-were pre-
vailed upon to accept commissions as
subalterns, captains, majors, etc, de-
pending upon headquarters estimate
of their professional weight, to ac-
cept army pay, to serve, in fact, as
unarmed soldiery. The Americans,
despite their new and lovely cos
tunes, remained newspapermen.
There was some delay about their
getting off to the front, although it
was generally conceded that some
body must know where the front
was. Each candidate was carefully
checked by various huSh-hush de-
partments and each provided with a
bale of credentials. Then, after a
couple of weeks of fretting, the whole
contingent was mobilized as quietly
as possible in a London railroad
station.
The story of their interesting he
gira to the wars is now available
here in detail through sources hith-
erto known to be reliable, reporters
who have been in other wars and
consider rides in troop trains no
treat.
It was the usual sort of journey
to the seacoast through blackest
England-lightless train, lightless
countryside. ghostly villages identi-
fed by dim blue lights on station
platforms. And it was a long jour-
ney because troop trains run that
way. The caravan came at last to
thicker gloom under dim sheds with
smells of tar and fish in them and
the weary travellers knew that they
had arrived at the docks. What
docks? Who could say? The air
was filled with mystery and silence
broken only by the pad-pad of rub
ber heels.
It seems useless to mention that
they waited long chilly hours on
wharves. Some 1000, 900 experienced
Americans know they did that. After
a suitable delay came the old IA
miliar walk up the gangplank to the
transport, the old familiar ride