CAMPS GROW OVER NIGHT IN FRANCE Californian Describes American Military Base in Making. MEH WORKING AGAINST TIME «Job Contains Quintessence of Haste, ' Methodical, Intense, Intelligent, Ef ficient—Troops Are Coming, Sup plies are Coming and Provisions for ] Their Housing Must Be Made In I Time to Receive Them. A Californian with the United States Itroops writes from v Somewhere in France Dear : It Is two weeks since I wrote you. I have been delaying the last few days, expecting to hear from you by the "next mail." The bulk of the "next mail" arrived two <or three days ago, but driblets have been coming through daily since. There's another due tonight and— here's hoping. All told I've sent you five letters since arriving here —don't know how many arrived. Also I have been rather busy of late. I have been assisting in the pro motion of an epochal event —the first American boxing tournament held in France. It took place Saturday night In a strange little theater on a crooked rue in a nearby city before an audi ence of 500 Americans —soldiers, sail ors, marines and civilian employees of the A. E. F. —and 200 French, mostly women. The feminine sex are great fight fans over here. All the American sports have been tried out over here already. Baseball created Interest, but football was a sensation. It was while I was on a ticket-sell- Ing tour for the fights that I got my greatest insight into what is going on over here. Base in the Making. I have seen a New York skyscraper Climb toward the infinite, a story a day; I saw square rods of concrete poured into forms that molded a dam iwhich impounded a lake and reclaim- Jed the fifth of a state; I have seen |new railroads fell their way across ■deserts and mountains and rivers. I isaw the Panama Canal "before they jturned the water In the cut." More spectacular these, possibly, but no 'more Impressive than an "American '.military base" in the making. And cer- Itainly no busier. ' t On a certain day afe v—a very few f—-months ago an American general Istood on a certain spot and, shifting a (pointing finger, said: "There will be railroad yards, and ithere docks, and there a rest camp and that building over there will be a -base hospital." And from that certain spot today one looks and sees what very soon will be yards and docks and camps jand a hospital. In one direction a string of low 'wooden buildings stretch as far as Ivlslon. They are ten abreast. Four (hundred and forty of these buildings, icach capable of housing sixty men. : Twenty-six thousand troops they will accommodate. And within an hour's march are five other such camps. A highway parallels the waterfront : and It was on this that the American 'general stood the day he swept his 'finger In the circle and conceived the Improvements that are becoming l :1- ilties so rapidly. A town was within the sweep of his arm. It Is being re moved. Houses a century old are be ting razed. The space is needed for (trackage. On the other side of the road the rdocks are going in. Dikes are being 1 a quarter of a mile from shore and dredges and hydraulic pumps are banking silt behind +hem. Work Against Time. The work must be done by a stated j date. It is labor against time. Troops j are coming. Material is coming. Am munition is coming. And this must be ready for them. The job contains the quintessence of haste —methodical, in tense, intelligent, efficient. Here are working thousands Americans, French and white-clad German pris oners, unsmiling, slothful, stolid, each gang with its poilu guard, invariably small In comparison both to his charges and the long rifle he carries,; supermounted with its 24-inch bayo-; net. A construction locomotive passes with a trainload of rails. American steel! The engineer is in khaki and he wears the red and white hatband of the engineers. Further along is a big, four-story stone building that was a schoolhouse when Washington was inaugurated. It stands with all the dignity of its age In twenty acres of groomed forest and lawn. But now it radiates wooden ex tensions, extending incongruously be neath the limbs of the chestnuts. Open spaces hold barracks. A famous cha teau on an adjoining estate is being fitted as officers' quarters. This is a base hospital—one of many. Its ca pacity will be nearly four thousand wounded and sick—three regiments. Thirty-Three Millions in Motor Fees. A special congressional committee has announced that, according to esti mate, motorists will pay $33,095,000 in automobile license fees during the year 1918. Son Born to Veteran 86 Years Old. A son was born recently to Capt. and Mrs. Milton Garrigus of Kokomo, Ind. The father is eighty-six years jpld, and a veteran of the Civil war. iSAYS WAR MARRIAGES j SHOULD BE ENCOURAGED . Dr. Clara MacNaughton Says Married Men Fight Better Be cause Stake Is Bigger. "In my opinion and In that of Rll the French with whom I have associ ated during my three years' work !n Paris, the Americans are doing wiong In their tacit discouragement of v?ar marriages," said Dr. Clara MacNaugh ton, In an address to the National League of American Penwomen in Washington. "The experience of the French Is that the 'war bride' Is an Immense fac tor In the determination oi the peo ple and their confidence of ultimate victory. The married man fights bet ter because his stake ID the struggle is greater. He Is more hopeful, and when depressed, more quickly gets back to normal. The instant thought of one who lives in the hope of his homecoming helps him to ignore hard ships. "French surgeous have been quick to recognize that the married man has an added stimulus to get well. If hope lessly crippled ho is sure of devotion, and has not, like the bachelor soldier, the feeling that his future must be devoid of companionship. "For the woman the 'war marriage' Is equally an Incentive—not only to do her 'bit' but her 'all.' She enters more fully into the war work, and tht fact that her affections are so greatly en gaged causes her to minimize the hard ships which weigh so heavily upon the unmarried. "While IJJ-considered and hasty war marriages are not to be defended on any ground, the marriage of those whose acquaintance Is of long stand ing and whose affections are firmly fixed, should not, in my judgment, be postponed. That we have so general ly urged their postponement is a part of the American idea that wonfen should be shielded as far as possible from the buffets of life. The French are taking the view that the woman has as much right to risk her all for her country as the man-soldier has. "If we are to have a long war, such marriages will mean an increase in population of which we will stand greatly In need." CURES SHATTERED NERVES Electric Current Restores Soldiers to Normal Condition. German newspapers announce that the army physicians have discovered a successful method of curing the nervous affliction so frequent among disabled soldiers, which causes a con stant trembling of the whole or part of the body. Dr. Ernst Bayer, head of the nerve hospital at Roderbirken, has outlined a method of electrical treatment which, it Is claimed, often effects a complete cure in a few days, and Is almost in variably effective within a period of three weeks. The newspapers describe his method as follows: "By the application of a gentle elec tric current which causes no pain what ever, good results have been obtained In a few minutes or at the longest two and a half hours. A course of treat ment Is required after this, which does not last more than two or three weeks, and in light cases is finished In a few days. New attacks may occur due to excitement or nerve strain, but are easily cured." AN OLD CLAIM PAID. Heirs Get Money From the Govern ment After 57 Years. Mrs. Z. M. Morton, John Hicks, Ger trude and Annie Simpson, heirs of Thomas I. Flicks, all of Mountain Home, Ark., received a treasury war rant not long ago for $3G1.58 for money due Mr. Hicks at the beginning of the Civil war. He had the mail contract between Middleburg and Bolivar, Tenn. Imme diately after the war Hicks joined the Home Guards at Middleburg. After the war he came to the Arkansas Ozarks. For years after the war he endeavored to collect the amount due him from the government, but died be fore it was paid. Mrs. Z. M. Horton, one of his chil dren, remembered the account, and a few years ago the documents were turned over to Congressman J. N. Till man of that district, who got a special bill through congress which made the allowance. In the same bill were claims of a similar nature amounting to $210,000. SPIES IN NATIONAL ARMY Men Suspected of Disloyalty Said to Number Several Thousand. Major General McCain, adjutant gen eral of the United States army, is said to have the names of between 1,600 and 3,200 men in the National army suspected of berng German spies or dis loyal Americans. The lists, with % re port on each man, were compiled by commanders of companies, heads of batteries and members of the intelli gence bureau. Many of the suspects, it is understood, are of German birth. Internment for some is said to have been" recommended by their command ing officers. In the Eastern cantonments, It Is said was found the largest number of suspects. Some camps have sent in as many as 200 names. The search for spies has not been confined to the Na tional army, but has been equally as thorough in training camps for officers and others. GIRLS RISK LIVES ON FRENCH FRONT Ambulance Drivers Work Close to Firing Lines. WINNING LAURELS FOR SEX Show Unfailing Courage In Time of Danger and Display Splendid Ability as Drivers and Mechanicians— American Society Girls Doing Great Service in Gathering Up Wounded on the Battle Front. Over the shell-scarred ground of Flanders, and in practically every dan ger zone on the war map of Europe, women ambulance drivers are today whining laurels for the sex because of their unfailing courage In time of dan ger and for their splendid ability as drivers and mechanicians. In the ante-bellum days of 1914 breaking the speed Kmit in a car strip ped to Its best racing trim was one of the chief outdoor sports of many of the rich young women In America and on the continent, but the soldierly clad, patriotic girls who are doing their bit at the front today are getting more thrills to the minute than any speed enthusiast who has paid thousands of dollars in fines for the privilege. Collecting the wounded is not the simple thing of running over to the station to meet the trains and trans porting the wounded to the neoroy hospitals. Indeed, not. The women drivers of the ambulances go right up to the clearing station within reach of the big guns. Show Their Nerve. They think nothing of getting a bit of shell through the bonnets of their cars and it has yet to be reported that mm** y British Woman Ambulance Driver. so far any of the girls who have vol unteered for this d&ngerous branch of the service have pulled any Lydia Languish stunt in the face of an emer gency. Attached to the Scottish Women's hospital, which, by the way, was plan ned and is being carried out entirely by women, is an X-ray automobile, driven by a woman, which has saved a good many lives. As the wounded are taken back from the line a picture is taken and developed as the car runs back to the hospital. In this way the women sur geons realize the most critical cases and they are rushed straight to the , operating table. The picture of the wounded being ready for the operating j surgeon, she kno\\*s exactly what*she i has to deal with. Many of the boys owe their lives to these X-ray ambu lances and the plucky girls who are driving them. Women of wealth all over the world have found they could serve their country best by using their knowledge of how to drive and care for a car. Hundreds of them have volunteered. Society Girls in Service. Miss Maria Laurence-Wetherill, a New York society girl, has been driv ing an ambulance on the French front. She is accounted one of the most skill ful operators in the motor service. Miss Hilda S. Ambier of Bridge port, Conn., has joined the Volunteer Ambulance division. She is also an expert driver and mechanic. Miss Am bier has adopted the uniform worn by the British Royal Flying corps. Mrs. Blanche Shoemaker Wagstaff is another well-known New York wom an who is quickly helping in the res cue work of the wounded boys on the allied fronts. She heads a number of women drivers from the National League for Woman's Service who left early last month for France and who are stationed somewhere along the lines, doing their share in the work of rushing the wounded to the hospitals and also in permitting other men to rush to the colors who would be obliged to drive the ambulances had not women proved such splendid sub stitutes. fire, It may be a rain of shrapnel seek* ing the same object or of percussion shells endeavoring to blow up the wind lass below and set the big bag adrift In a wind blowing across the German lines. Naturally, every precaution in the way of protecting airmen and anti aircraft guns are on hand, but even at that constant vigilance is essential. Weather Makes Trouble. Weather conditions also bring diffi culties, though not so great as might be expected from a distance. Flying In thunderstorms is, of course, danger ous because of the lightning. Rain storms appreciably add to the weight of the balloon and thereby decrease its ascending power, while heavy winds put a strain on the cable and consider able wear and tear on the envelope. Clouds are bothersome as a mask for lurking airmen, and fogs, if regular through the atmosphere, render obser vation very difficult Nevertheless, so essential Is the news gathered by bal loonists that they are sent up In all sorts and kinds of weather. One of the most difficult and yet es sential parts of the work is that of concealing the balloon "beds," espe cially from enemy airmen who like to hunt out the big envelopes when they are lying still on the ground. "Beds" In the lea of a hill which obstructs artillery fire or in the deceptive shad ows of a nearby wood offer a prelimi nary disguise, but beyond that "camou fleurs" are needed to exercise their highest skill. Plans for all this work are now pro gressing at a gratifying rate. The American balloon program has been aided by the best and latest develop ments abroad, whiie manufacture pre sents but a few difficulties, owing to the resources of the big American rub ber companies. The great need, as with all the air program, is for men of the type and ability needed, men for officers' commissions as observers and men for the enlisted squadrons to do the delicate mechanical work neces sary. The balloon section of the Sig nal corps at Washington has already handled hundreds of letter applica tions and is ready to furnish the fullest details so that by next spring in France may be increased to a size commen surate with the pressing needs of the American army there. Requirements for Service. Men who are being selected as ob servers, and who will all be commis sioned as officers, should have physical endurance, acute vision, an apprecia tion of distances and localities, and, above all a sense of responsibility and thoroughness in keeping with the im portance of the work assigned to them. They may be somewhat older than avi ators —preferably from twenty-five to thirty-five—and of somewhat less se vere physical requirements. A special training is given In winds military ob servation meteorology and ballooning before a cadet is given his officer's commission and his post above the trenches in France in order that the high standards prevailing throughout the air service generally may be up held. For the enlisted men who will form the squadrons, gas-works employees, rope riggers, cordage workers and mechanicians are especially fitter. The number of men trained through their civilian occupations to do this delicate and highly specialized work is limited, indeed, and the difficulty of establish ing contact with them is great. Nev ertheless, the forces are being brought together with gratifying rapidity and give every promise of becoming an effi-j cient part of the air establishment : which is to help the allies blind the German forces in France. THREE OLD SUITS FOR NEW ONE IK BERLIN Strict Rules Are Enforced to Con serve the Diminishing Sup ply of Cloth. To conserve the diminishing supply of clothing in Germany, the German government has imposed regulations requiring that, for all articles of linen or personal wear to be purchased, three similar worn articles must be returned. This increases the scope and rigor of the clothing cards introduced less than a year ago. The regulation applies to cotton stockings, gloves, collars, table linen and cloth materials for various house hold purposes. For every suit or over coat two well-worn or one in good con dition must be surrendered. The only articles of ordinary wear or use that are exempted from card regulation are wooden shoes and silk things. More than a year ago there was much talk in Germany of reducing the con sumption of cloth by inducing patriot ic-minded women to return to the old but fashionable tight skirt. The maxi mum quantity of material, in meters, which should be used for a dress was even stipulated. The economy was not successfully accomplished, however, for the German women, though they short ened their skirts appreciably, made them wide and full. Now, therefore, there is pending a rigid specifications limiting the number of yards of cloth which may be devoted to any garment of given proportions — depending upon the size of the prospec tive wearer. And if the wearer needs linen and other garments than outer clothes she must turn in three corre sponding worn-out pieces of lingerie. The strict rules and regulations that are growing stricter each month have led naturally to an increased amount of deception and countless attempts by those who possess stocks of clothing to evade the card system by selling at abnormally high prices to those who cannot procure cards. developed for military purposes, and the moment that the war settled into the trenches came into their own again. It was at once discovered that work could be done with them which could be done in no other way. Balloon ob servation began to assume vital impor tance until now hardly a mile of the front lines is without its big, clumsy envelope. A constant, ceaseless vigil Is maintained over every move of the enemy, over every shell fired by either side, so that friends below may be saved from surprise and enemies across the lines may feel the weight of every shell hurled at them. The United States is building up such a force literally from nothing. Last November the old field out West was overgrown with weeds, the gas reservoir out of repair, the whole place stagnant. In the last few months, how ever, the field has been cleared and brought back to activity, the air once again is filled with big, friendly bal loons, and keen-faced men are being trained for immediate service abroad. Already the first American detach ments are In France, as shown In the accompanying pictures, the vanguard of a large American balloon force which ultimately will be as complete as any other branch of the army. Work Is Invaluable. The work that this force will do will be invaluable. With the airplane spot ters and photographers, It will complete the vast air service which it is expect ed will blind the German army and prepare the way for the artillery and infantry to break up the German mil itary resistance. Its minute-by-minute observations will head off all enemy surprises and will at the same time make it possible for American men and munitions to secure the maximum of destruction on the other side of No Man's Land. Few of us here realize that the big envelopes commonly ascend as high as 4,500 feet and that they stay for hours poised in midair to perform the re sponsible duties assigned them. Usu ally the ascent Is made anywhere from 2% to 4% miles from the enemy's front-line trenches, depending on the power of his artillery, the direction of the wind, and the activity of the sa lient. In any case the observer has a circle of vision of about eight miles, and is able to pierce far back into the enemy's lines. The most detailed and up-to-the-minute maps, the finest kind of field glasses, and instant communi cation with the ground make the bal loonist a master of everything spread out before his gaze. When the American troops are pre paring to go "over the top" an unusu ally large number of balloons will be concentrated as secretly as possible in masked camps in order not to betray what is about to take place. At the appointed moment they will take the eir and divide up every detail of the battle amongst them. Some will re cord the heavy-artillery fire, shot by shot; others will see to it that the work of demolition behind the enemy's lines is effective; others will guard against any re-enforcements or traps. Must Know Enemy Country. As the troops go over they will check closely the German batteries, the shift ing of their infantry, and the assem bling of supplies. As the American forces advance the balloons will move forward also In unison with them along routes previously prepared. Observa tions for the barrage will be sent down repeatedly, so that it may move back and forth with the men and details sent so that the enemy's guns setting up the destructive counter barrage may be silenced. To do this the American balloonist must know every detail of the enemy's land opposite him, for a mistake on his part may cost the lives of scores of men below. No new battery should open up across the lines without its location being spotted on the detail map, the number and size of the pieces and their objective noted, and counter fire preparations made against it. No new troops should move into the en emy trenches without being fully known, numbers as well as routes — difficult work all of it —for the Qerman has many wily devices for simulating gunfire and camouflaging movements. And the work also will not be with out danger and difficulties, though the chances of a fatal outcome are not large. If it is not a swooping airman bent on setting the big gas bag on QeGeCeQeGeQ*QeOeCeOeQeQeOe ENGLISH NOBILITY ARE ENGAGED IN WAR WORK o*oeo*o*ooo«c*ceo*o*o*o*o* jgll^ x-:k I W - , ,*\X; i Princess Alexander of Teck, wife of Queen Mary's brother, prominent among titled British women who are engaged in war relief work. BALLOONIST IS EYES AND EARS OE THE ARMY Watchful Observers Note Every Activity of Enemy. KEEP GENERAL STAFF POSTED Usual Routine of Enemy la Known and Any Departure From Thla Schedule Is Cause for Suspicion- Men Selected as Observers Must Have Physical Endurance and Acuta Vision, (By a Captain In the Aviation Corps.) Hardly a train moves within five miles back of the German trenches, or a squadron of men come up for relief, or digging begun on a new series of emplacements but a pair of keen eyes, steadily watching from great observa tion balloons just behind the allied front, takes notice of it. Every move ment, every activity, Is registered un til a schedule of the usual enemy rou tine is built up and the average amount of motion known. Any departure from this schedule Is suspicious. A train running late or with more cars than usual, men In the trenches being re lieved too frequently, new roads or emplacements being built too earnest ly, give the first hint that "Frit*," across the line, is up to something. A keen balloonist notes any of these changes, and at once telephones down to the ground, "An extra train of six cars passed at ten-forty." Half a mile farther down the line another pair of eyes reports, "Large convoy moving up to front, range so-and-so." Still a little farther down another sus picious circumstance is noted, until the general staff down below, assembling all these straws, foresees the beginning of a big offensive across the line. Coun ter measures are taken, batteries di rected, convoys and trenches smashed up, and the enemy's plans thrown askew. Possibly, however, the offensive is to come from the balloonlst's own side. The observer ascends with full knowl edge of all the details of action, em boldened probably to move up much nearer the German lines than usual, in the belief that the enemy's artillery will be driven off. The opening bom bardment is a time of* ceaseless and vital work, spotting shot by shot, watching for new enemy batteries to open up, moving the barrage fire back and forth with the advance of the troops. Any error here may send the steel wall into the observer's own troops or cost scores of lives later by failure to make a complete demolition' of the enemy's defense. Gets Parachute Ready. "Hostile airplane overhead," is apt to break in through the telephone wire at any moment. A German aviator, more adventurous than his fellows, is Bwooplng down, perhaps under a pro tecting the cloud, in an attempt to put out the ever-watchful eyes. The ob server makes ready his parachute, the machine guns on the ground below click off a rain of lead at the invader, and the windlass men start bringing the big envelope to ground with all pos-, sible speed. Perhaps the Invader is; driven off; perhaps the balloon Is stricken into flames and the balloonist; forced to parachute to the ground. In, either case it is all a part of the day's, work which adds adventure and ro mance to the responsible work done by the balloonist. Such is, briefly—very briefly—the duty p.nd work of the balloon observer.. Calm, patient, ever watchful, he rides far above the ground as the great en velope sways on Its long cable. Honrs pass, perhaps, but finally, as inevitably as fate, the reward comes. A single flash, a slight movement across the line, and another tiny claw of the Ger man eagle reveals itself for the allied artillerymen beneath. The vital importance and develop ment of this work has hardly as yet been suspected In this country. "Over there" balloon observation has become a science which, while perhaps less spectacular than airplane observation, is none the less essential. The bal loonist, riding steadily for hours at a time with the German lines spread out before him, and in direct telephone communication with the ground, with his batteries, and with other balloons, amasses a maze of details and accu rate knowledge which his more vicari ous and longer-winged air brother can not hope to secure. Used in Napoleonic Wars. The first use of balloons in warfare datf s way - back to the Napoleonic wars, when France employed them against Austria. So revolutionary was the procedure, however, that all cap tured observers were treated r.s spies by the enraged Austrlans. During the Civil war In this country Northern ob servers looked out across the Potomac from near Washington at the ConUd* erates, and gained very valuable in-i formation, though under very precari ous circumstances. France further de velopel the art in the war of 1870 against Germany, who later took It up on a much more ambitious scale In her Zeppelins. The science fell upon slack times, however, as did that of airplanes, and the war department's reports of a few years back are full of brief statements that no work was done in ballooning for lack of funds. The balloon services abroad, how ever, Lad been carefully, if modestly,
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