"GASMAN" TELLS GRAPHIC STORY British Permit Account of Spe cial Corps Which Adminis ters Deadly Gas London (correspondence of the As sociated Press). Before the "big squeeze" began discussion of British gas attacks was strictly prohibited, but now the taboo has been lifted and a British "gasman" has been allowed to write a graphic account of the work of his own special corps whose business it Is, he says, "to doctor the Germans with their own medicine." "Behind our lines," he \vrite3. "the sun set in a blaze of glory. A glance over the parapet shows the green ana scarlet of the poppied Xo-Man's land already merging into the gray mists of twilight; but lau yards away, like a brown earth shadow among the grays, hangs the rusty barbed wire of the enemy and Just beyond a white, chalky upthrow marks his front line trench. The gasmen stare across the silent shadows at that white line and for a moment they think of the choky, gurgling cough of the men who die by gas. It is not pleasant to die fcv gas. "•Connect up!' The order comes down the line from one bay of the trench to another, and the gasmen im mediately get busy. The front rows of neatly piled sandbags of which fire-step is apparently solidly built are pulled out and disclose a cavity in which show, black and ominous, the cowled heads of a row of iron cylin ders. They are sunk in pits well 'bagged up' to protect them from pos sible crack or puncture by flying frag ment or ricochetting bullet. Each cylinder weighs about 130 pounds, and contain sufficient compressed gas, if it could be used without waste, to put an entire company out of action. "On top of the cylinders lies a tangle of flexible connecting pipes, three and four way joints, spigots, and screw jets, and upon these, with spanner and key, the gasmen start work. The cyl inders are all connected in series, and nothing remains but to throw the jets over the top of the parapet and open the valves in order to release the deadly fumes. Need Favoring: Breeze. "But something is required to carry the gas over to the German lines—a favoring breeze —and never did sailor scan the sky more intently than the gasmen watch their little, inconspicu ous wind gauges, fixed to the edge of a trench. They must have a wind of a certain direction, and they prefer it of a certain strength. On this occa sion, the direction is satisfactory enough, but the breeze shows sign of weakness, and occasionally falls to a mere, almost imperceptible zephyr. "When not -matching the wind, the gasmen are watching their pipes: re peatedly feeling and testing every inch of tube and joint; for none know bet ter than they the danger of leakage and of the escape of gas into their own trenches. Persistently an officer passes down th«i line, casting rapid though keen glances as he goes at each set of cylinders and their con necting pipes. And in «very bay he pauses and whispers two words to the corporal in charge: "Eleven o'clock." But the wind, without which the gas will not reach the enemy's trench and do its deadly work among its occu pants, begins t3 peter out. "At ten-fifty the gasmen don their special respirators, which in the dim light, give the wearers a strange, al most inhuman appearance. Masked and goggled, with weird, trunk-like pieces of hose running from the mouth-piece to the box of air-puri fving chemicals strapped to their chests, they look like some of the unearthly beings who people the books of H. G. Wells. "But not a breath disturbs the still air. The feeble breeze has died com pletely. Hurried the order runs down the line: "Cancel, and stand by." Be hind their masks the gasmen grunt disgustedly. But suddenly—crack! crack-I rat-a-tat! rat-a-tat-tat! The orders to the infantry have not been countermanded, and the quiet of the night is roughly shattered by a long line of viciously cracking rifles and Lewis guns to which the Germans reply. Cylinders Are Exposed. "The gasmen move about uneasily. It Is not for themselves they fear, but for those pipes and cylinder heads lying bare and exposed to the hail of flying fragments. Well they know the danger of burst 3 and of trenches filled with gas and no wind to remove it. But they cannot "bag up' without orders, and so they detail one of their number in each bay to watch the cyl inders while the rest gather behind the traverse, as being a slightly safer spot. "When day breaks a fair wind is blowing, straight towards the German trenches. But.of course, it is now broad daylight, and the gas will be visible as soon as it leaves the pipes. The gasmen know what to expect. They know as soon as the greenish gray clouds appc-ar outside their para pet there will be running messengers and hurried telephoning in the Ger man lines. They know that within a few minutes the word will have reached the German big guns at the back, and that every piece capable of flattening out a parapet and burying them, mangled and broken, among their own cylinders will be concen trated upon the front line trench in which they stana. "Time! Over the top the jet-pipes are flung, and then, simultaneously along two miles of trench, there arise* a sibilant hiss, as If some monstrous and venomous snake suddenly aroused from slumber. Now the gasmen are working frantically with wheel and spanner and key, and the hiss in creases in shrillness and volume. Out side the parapet the green poison fog is already spreading like a foul blanket over No-Man's land. Carried cease lessly forward its outer edge is rap idly approaching the German trenches, into which it will presently sink, spreading agony and death among those who cannot escape. "No rifle or machine gun fire has been ordered this time, and from either line scarcely a sound is heard except the deadly hiss of the escaping fumes. The nvnutes pass in tense, ominous quiet. Nature herself seems to pause aghast to watch this latest deviltry is practiced by her children upon one another. "Behind their masks the gasmen be gin to breathe more freely, and then suddenly, to th«< left. "Crash!' And 'crash' again, and yet again. This time on the right, somewhere close at hand. The men crouch lower over their cylinders: the explosions follow one another almost too rapidly to count, and In any case their minds are no longer fitted to count—or care. Only the valves must be turned, and the pipes must be watched, and the sudden spurt of vapor which marks a leak must be checked by the applica tion of a handful of mud, which the gas Itself immediately freezes into an iron-hard and inpenetrable mass. "In one of the bays, the parapet rocks suddenly and falls forward, burying the men and their cylinders. Almost immediately the men scramble out unhurt; but the pipes are broken, and the gas Is filling the trench. With spanner and mud the thing is stopped, new connections are rigged up, and the death vapor is again directed out side what is left of the trench. But one of the men has had the mouth piece of his respirator broken and al ready he is coughing and choking painfully. 'l've got it!" he gasps hoarsely, and goes behind the traverse FRIDAY EVENING, J3jOmMM2% _____ BKI.L—IMI-VMTED HARRISBt'RU, FRIDAY, AUGUST S3, 101«. FOUNDED 18T1 For Saturday M— Store Open |[ jTplO-MORROW is the last Saturday half holiday of the season. During the five busi- Until 1 P. M. I ' I ness hours, BA. M. until 1 P. ML we will be at your service in full strength to pro iSmm vide that which you desire for the week-end. We have likewise provided an in- . j teresting budget of special-price offerings that will give you merchandise of a season- / * L able nature, but lowered in price. \ Dress Fabrics of Quality A Contingent of Special- I 36^ r^ s \ Wool Suiting-56 inches; mix- Hearth size, 36x63 inches; excel- SSBlftßfe tures of tan, gray and green Spe- j ent quality; mottled centres with cial 89c yard. fancy borders—Special #2.19. fjOI/VtYLCLTL " Worsted Club Check S -56 inches Scr ; m Curtains . r*Z y T , yards long; in white and ecru; LUggagC Seco Silks 24-inch; various pat- ] ac e edges and hemstitched-Special Clnt>C Withmi + terns and plain shades Special §51.35. v>t/C-O rr ILILKJLLL JJ r\ T~) 7|/f 1 r' curtain Laces Question Cotton Voiles—4o inches wide; figures and strioes; desirable-Spe- Nottingham and Filet laces in as to the endurance and general life ===============^==== . . . „ , white and ecru; about half the form- of the hundreds of bags and suit i i r • r> c iw. cial It c yard. er prices—Special 19c yard. cases and trunks that make up this For Saturday Morning ror Saturday Morning— V 7ou r S?nfind„o larger assort- Women's Dependable Worthy Offerings From ments in Harrisburg. _ Shoes; A Clean-up Re- Two Basement Depart- An T npynPffpH Arrival in flip #13.50, including dependable black gardless of Former ments 1 111 illlivai 111 walrus and pebbled leathers. An Prices Crystal Flower Vases—lo - fpArfYPt-fP excellent leather bag may be had for inches; heavy pressed blank; rose 1 Willi U1 tJl VJCUI HCIIC #5.00. You want shoes for every day use design, genuinely cut—Special 59?. t - y . - • Suit Cases in fibre are $1 and —for marketing and for many uses Mason Fruit Jars—quart size; And Urene dC V>ninc -DIOUSCS 'li. 1 while . le f th ers range from that do not require the very latest packed_one dozen to a carton—Spe- Jr #3.50 to #13.50. style, yet will wear satisfactorily; c i a l 15<\ Will be offered for sale this evening and all of to-morrow Trunks range from a reliable dress then select from 100-piece American Porcelain _ . , , . . . _ • or steamer style at #5.25, to the Dinner Set—floral decorations in six morning at lowest-notch prices finest Wardrobe Style at #72.50. High Shoes, Low Shoes distinct patterns; gold trimmed—i F (P 10 & *7 £T Wardrobe trunks include the famous t r, ~ , r Special #IO.OO set. KP&.KJC/ $&•/ O Likly, Indestructo and Belber. and Pumps at a Uniform Sevon's White Enamelware—4- T , ~, , ~ j. • , , BOWMAN'S —Second Floor. 11 r> • quart Berlin kettles; 4-quart Berlin 1 ou II recognize in these blouses, qualities of georgette and Ulean-Up rnce sauce pots . 2-quart coffee gots^and crepe de chine that only appear in a regular fo( . Saturday Mo{,/)/! D/yfr ** P "" ~ ** way in blouses marked at twice Venetian Enamelware-blue mot these amounts. rour specials From . BOWMAN . £ Maln Floor tied on outside and white within; 3 Choose from neatly tailored styles of a seasonable nature—choose from Women's Underwear and anc * 4-quart covered buckets; 2- models that are fanciful but practical and desirable—choose from models U * n t «- quart coffee pots; 2-quart milk which have never been marked so low in price—sizes begin at 36. liOSiery department • kettles—Special 19^. n 1.1. r* D 1 Women's Silk Hose heavv For Saturday Morning — Ekko Portable Cooker com- Georgette Crepe Blouses, fhreari cilU hicrh cro;™ri plete with can of solid alcohol; used ■ ' : iffec-.. thread silk, with high spliced heel A Savin* For Men in for heating liquids or for preparing $2.25. and wide garter top; in black and Saving ror IVlen in a quick di f h -Special 190. * U Wornp?'c CI T c*ii. Seasonable Underwear 6-quart Aluminum Preserve Kettle Crepe de chine Blouses, Women s Lisle and Fibre Silk -famous "Wear-Ever" brand; a «'■ H ° se— "? k ' hlte ' S ra y and tan Men's Swissani Athletic Union splendid value in a busy preserving $2.39. igjr w P ~fP eicial \ J* P air c .. . Suits—plain checks and silk finished period; bail handle—Special 83(«. fJ, I Women s Union Suits sleeve- materials; sizes 34 to 46—Special "Wear-Ever" Aluminum Stew Georgette Crepe Blouses, -to f/l l/fr MI- : less; lace and tight knee styles; JtJe. (Second quality). Pan—2-quart capacity; deep style; <r«o yc regu ar an extra sizes pecial, Men's Mesh Shirts and Drawers exceptionally low priced—Special ipCi.lD. ■ ■ * , «... ... TT . _ . —white shirts and drawers (knee 39c. (On sale main and third floors') cle P vel^!r. S \l rf > InH ' length); ecru shirts and drawers, 10 cakes of Swift's Prize Soap— 'h Ws sleeveless, tight knee (ankle length)— Special gar- a fine laundry soap Special 10 styles—Special 4o£. ment cakes for BOWMAN'S—Main Floor. BOWMAN'S—Main Floor. _ _ BOWMAN'S—Basement. to suck an acrr.onia ampule and die slowly. "Closing-up time! Rapidly the | valves are shut down, the jet pipes withdrawn and plugged and stacked away. Feverishly the men work at bagging up their cylinders again. Im perturbablv a sergeant stalks down the ruined and battered trench, shepherd ing his flock towards their dugout. He is an old-timer—a transfer from the 1 infantry—and he scarcely quivers as a shell bursts behind a traverse he has just left. Quietly he directs two of the men to carry an unconscious case to the nearest point of the communica tion trench where stretcher-bearers may be found. "In the dugout with the shells still 1 pounding overhead, the section's roll is called. Most of the men answer i to their names. Some are answered by I comrades as wounded and for others no one anwers at all. "But over in the German trenches hundreds of men are choking and gasping in agony for an hour before they can die. They have been made to quaff their own medicine." Shoots Lessee of Wife When Refused Rental Pittsburgh, Aug. 25.—Having rented his wife for a year to Nicholas Plush achefsky for an agreed prtce of SIOO, Yokim Batalskl grew angry because the lessee refused to pay the rental. While Plushachefsky, who works nights, was asleep in his room, Batal ski broke down the door and insisted that the money be paid. Batalski did not get his money, but Plusachefsky did receive in the stomach two re volver bullets out of four aimed at him. Mrs. Batalskl frankly told the po lice of the contract by which she had been leased, declaring she and her husband had in good faith carried out their part of the agreement. She said her husband had repeatedly de manded the money from Plusha chefsky. Sews Hens' Eyelids to Cure Them of Pecking Portland, Ore., Aug. 25.—Because she sewed shut the eyes of three hens to keep them from pecking their broods of new chicks, Mrs. Mary Loveland is the party of the first part In a warrant secured by Humane Offi cer Pitts. According to Mrs. Loveland, her hens acted all right while they were hatching their families, but when the chicks burst through their shells the mothers manifester their displeasure by trying to peck the down from the youngsters' bodies. Mrs. Loveland decided she wasn't going to have the helpless infants maltreated, so took a needle and thread and performed the operation which Pitts says is cruelty to animals. Woman, 84, Makes Hay and Cares For Garden Cooveville. Tenn., Aug. 25. Mrs. < Nellie France, 84, who lives near! Beaver Hill, mowed hay last week, j "Aunt Nellie' enjoys remarkably good ' health. She has a splendid garden | which she has made herself, doing all ;of the hoeing. While her hay was being mowed she went to the hay field and asked ; permission to drive the mower, which was being pulled by two large mules. | Her request being granted, she made [ several rounds in the large hay field, j She did the work with steady nerve 1 and insisted upon driving longer, but ' the overseer, fearing that she would ! overexert herself, prevailed upon her ! not to do so. The day following, how ever, she donned her sunbonnet and went back to the hay field and raked all day. She frequently rides horse back from her home to Monterey, a distance of eight miles. Peppered His Bed, Says Man Asking Divorce Toungstown, Ohio, Aug. 25. The | charge that his wife vented her spite on him by spattering cayenne pepper in his bed is one of the allegations in a divorce petition filed by David' IL. Lodwick against Jennie Lodwick. Other attentions which Lodwick | claims his wife showed him during their marital career of eight years were a blow on the head from a hatchet, a dash of acid in the face and a practice of burning his shoes! , and clothing. He declares she locked j him out of the house, and later caused i his arrest when he cut his way | through the screen door. I HARRISBURG TELEGRAPH BUT THIS IS HOW /OH (AUNEWPORT.. I KEPT TftINGS SURGED) > OP TOO ? BUT HOW'JBE PIP ITI EMBARGO OX U. S. GLASSWARE By Associated Press Pittsburgh, Pa., Aug. 25. QUu manufacturers in the Pittsburgh dis trict were notified to-day by their London agent* that an order In coun> cji had been loflugd alacln* an AUGUST 25, 1916. bargo upon American table glassware. Shipments leaving the United States before August 18, the cables stated, would be accepted. While the order was made to read table glassware, manufacturers were of the opinion that all kinds would be affected ex cept, possibly, lighting glassware of which England buys a considerable quantity in this country. Uncle's Million Dollar Estate Dwindles to $5 Los Angeles, Aug. 2 J. —After jour neying across the continent from her home in Monessen, Pa., to secure her deceased uncle's "fortune" of sl,- 000,000, Mrs. A. T. Blush has left for home, satisfied that tne fortune does not exist. Inquiries at a local bank where Edwin Kerns, the uncle, was sup posed to have had a safety deposit box containing the $1,000,000, re vealed the fact that Kerns had in September, 1915, withdrawn his valu ables. Mrs. Blush will receive, it is said, about $5 for her trouble. Joins British Army For Revenge; Is Slain Pottstown, Pa., Aug. 25. Having lost her sister, Mary, when the Lusi tania was torpedoed, Miss Allison Bu chanan has just received a cablegram telling that her brother, Robert, had been killed, July 2, while participating in a drive of the Allied armies in France. Filled with a spirit of revenge when his sister lost her life, Robert, who was 22 years old, left America and Joined the First Battalion, London Scottish volunteers. Missing Professor Reported With Allies Newberry, S. C„ Aug. 25.—-It is re ported In Newberry that Professor Fred D. Mac Lean, the young New CASTORIA For Infants and Children. The Kind You Hate Always Bought berry College instructor, who myste riously disappeared from this city, la now with the forces of the Allies in Europe. Angus Jones, another Newberrlan, has recently joined the Allies, and is now. located in Scotland, being con nected with the commissary depart ment. It is said that Professor Mac- Lean is in the same department with Jones, but no definite information can be obtained to that effect. Continued Quiet Results in Withdrawal of Tender From Mexican Waters By Associated Press Washington. Aug. 25. Continued quiet along both Mexican coasts re ducln gthe necessity of keeping a strong naval force there already has resulted in the withdrawal of the de stroyer tender Dixie, for the eastern coast and other vessels will be relieved soon. A plan Is being worked out by the navy department whereby reserve battleships will be used as soon as the ware games are ended, to maintain the usual peafe time naval strength in Mexican waters. TO ISSUE BONDS Jefferson City, Mo., Aug. 25. The State Public Service Corporation, up on application by the road officials to day granted authority for the St. Louis and San Francisco Railroad company, to issue bonds totalling $194,138,3X6 preferred stock to the amount of $9,452,026' and common stock aggregating $48,000,000. The application stated the road would have outstanding on July 2, 1917, in addition to those authorized to-day, obligations totalling $321,674,886. ARCHBISHOP SPALDING WEAKER Peoria, Ills., Aug. 25. Arch bishop John Lancaster Spalding who has been in failing health for the past two weeks, as the result of a heat attack, grew weaker during the night and t< ' ' ''as unable to converse with relatives. Bears tha _ 3
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers