2
IfINDENBURG LINE
BARRIER IN WAY
TO HUNCAPITAL
Germans Compare It to the
Chinese Wall; Broken Last
Year by the British
Washington, Sept. 13.—The celebra
ted Hindenburg line or Siegfried line,
barring the Allies' road to Berlin,
has been compared by the German
leaders to the great wall of China.
Until the British broke it in the
spring of 1917 they believed it im
pregnable to assault as was once
the Chinese wall and regarded it as
the eighth wonder of the world.
The Hindenburg line as generally
defined is about 60 miles long run
ning in a general north and south
direction across the Picardy Plains in
France. Its northern extremity was
guarded by the heavily fortified bas
tion of Vlmy Hidge and by the min
ing city of l.ens whose underground
corridors and chambers long have
barred the British. The southern end
of the Hindenburg line, proper, is in
the vicinity of aL Fere or haon. That
end is protected in. part by the for
est of St. Gobain and the fortifica
tions around laion.
Between Vitny Ridge on the north
and La Fere on the south the line
passes west of Cambrai and St.
Quentin so as to protect those two
important industrial and railway cen
ters which are routes for bringing up
supplies fpr the German Army.
Some war correspondent's describe
the German line as continuing south
eastward from La Fere to the (Aisne
river and Rheims following the line
of the Chemin des Dames. They call
that part of the line southeast of
La Fere the Albeeich line. This
would add about 45 miles, mak
ing a total length of more than 100 i
miles. Generally, however, the Hind- '
enburg line has been described as
running only from Vimy Ridge to |
, La Fere.
Switch Is Wotan I.tne
Fearing that the northern end of j
the line might be turned the Germans 1
established a "switch" line connect- ;
ing with the Hindenburg line at
Queant and running north about 25 ]
miles to Droeourt. They called this
switoh the Wotan line.
The northern end of the Hinden
burg line and the Wotan line both !
have been broken more than once by j
the British Armies and both are now ;
in possession of the British Armies.
Long ago the Germans lost Vimy ;
Ridge and have failed to retake it. j
The Hindenburg line is not a trench j
but a system of field fortifications, j
In places it is said to be ten miles
deep, consisting not only of the
trench system but of multiple lines |
of bar'oedwire entanglements, con
crete positions for artillery deep dug- 1
outs capable of housing a battalion
of troops, numerous pill-boxes for
machine guns and. in fact, every de- !
vice the Germans have been able to 1
assemble to block the way to Ger- !
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THE OFFICE TRAINING SCHOOL
KAUFMAN BUILDING, 121 MARKET ST. BELL Bp in
FRIDAY EVENING,
| many.
Tunnel Connects Trenefcfs
| Near Bullecourt was a formidable
; underground fortification known as
the "Tunnel Trench" which the Ger
| mans believed to be impregnable.
I This uinnel connecting the trenches
| was more than a mile long and was
1 mined for its whole length, lighted
with electricity and had entrances
|at short intervals. It was reinforced
■ 'by concrete pill-boxes and support
! trenches. The British captured it in
j November. 1917.
I Below Graiqcourt the British troops
found great catacombs along the Hin-
I denburg line. These were elaborately
. I fitted up as battalion headquarters.
i electrically lighted and protected by
' j concrete trenches In front of Cam
• | brai, the villages, behind the line had
i I beneath them great chambers which
i it would be a slander to call dugouts,
j i They were more like hotels, fitted
' j with electricity, water, sewers, dry
| j ing rooms and kitchens. They were
s j shell proof and bomb proof. The
' I trenches there were built along the
banks of the Canal Du Nord which
| runs north and south near Havrin
" I court.
Important German strong-holds
1 • protect the southern section of the
' I line near La Fere. The forest of St.
' j Gobain presents an almost irisuper-
J i able obstacle in attacking this end
j of the line.
' ; Laon. lying within the "Big Cor
' ! ner" where the line turns eastward
' | along the Chamin des Dames is re
| garded as the keystone of the whole
I German system. . Hundreds of Ger-
I man batteries were installed in the
| screened rapines around that city and
' ; in the forests of St. Gobain.
Massif Protects Town
j Southwest of Laon the town was
|. protected by Massif of Menampteuil
' [ behind whose crest are huge under
| groun<[ ravines and shelters some
\ big enough to hold a whole regiment,
i The forest west of Laon was crammed
j with a vast store of munitions and
J materials. Divisions of troops coqld
I concentrate in it unseen.
Recently the Germans discovered
I that the big dugouts along the Hin
denburg line were nothing but death ,
I traps. An order by the German Di- ;
! visional Commander forbade the Ger
man troops to occupy dugouts which
descend more than eight steps under
: ground.
j Behind the Hindenburg line the
i Germans are credited with three j
! other lines of defenses.
GERMANS CUT OFF
LITTLE BOYS' HANDS
■ [Continued from First Page.]
i each of the victims was photograph- j
| ed and the pictures are on record." j
j Captain Harris is invalided home
'as unfit for active duty, owing to
I riflfle and shrapnel wounds. His sub- j
I ject to-day was "Killing Germans" |
and after hearing some of the bru
talities of the Germans in France ts i
!he described them, his audience !
I ceased to wonder that he ascribed j
j particular virtue to the blotting out j
of as many German soldiers as pos
| sible. V j
Mr. Jennings Cheered
j President Andrew S. Patterson
called upon William Jennings, the
j head of the local committees on Pub- j
! lie Safety and Defense. Liberty Loans, j
I Red Cross and War Stamp activities. ,
I who has three sons in the army, to j
\ introduce Captain Harris and the |
j audience was so enthusiastic in its ,
j aqprovaP that Mr. Jennings felt call- !
Sed upon to thank his friends and !
( neighbors for their cordial reception. ;
| So great was the applause he was un.
able to make himself heard for sev- i
! eral minutes. It has been long since !
a presiding officer at a Chamber of'
| Commerce gathering got such an ,
■ ovation.
1 Captain Harris passed through Har
risburg on his way from Australia to j
France in 1914 and said he was happy
I to be back as he was in too great a
; hurry at that time to pay much at- j
I tention to local surroundings. Most |
' of his talk was devoted to personal j
experiences in France, Belgium and ,
| the eastern theaters of war. during
! which he went over the top six times j
• in big operations, acted as chief of j
j scouts where the lines were only
i thirty-five to one hundred yards
! apart in France, was gassed once and
; wounded four times.
Germans Treacherous
j The German soldier is a treacher-
I ous creature, the Captain said, will- i
j ing enough to surrender when caught '
| but ever ready to kill his captor if j
I the chance occurs. The Saxon, he |
! said, differs from the Prussian in j
' this, being a somewhat unoffensive
| creature who has been dragged intcL
j the war by the Prussian. As illus- I
| trating the point, he said when the |
| British troops were opposite Saxons !
: the lines were quiet and there was
| little fighting and when the Saxons ,
j were to be relieved by the Prussians
: the Saxons would send over a mes- |
' sage reading something like this: i
"Dear British —The Prussians are I
j going to take over our trenches to- !
• night. Give them hell."
; Cooties and rats, said Captain Har-
I ris, are the great enemies of the men
in the trenches.
"When a man is wounded," said !
Captain Harris, telling of his own :
the first thing he thinks |
i of is his mother. Before he goes over j
| the top he thinks of his mother, and*
his sister and perhaps of some other
: feilow's sister. Then he thinks of \
all the little things he did in his ;
i early days which he should not have
done. And he is sorry for the fel
lows who will fall in the fight, but
always he is perfectly certain in his
j own "mind that he will come through
j all right, and he is the most sur
i prised person in the world when he
j is hit."
Most Deadly Gas
"We are now experimenting with a
I gas so deadly that until we improve
our own gas masks we dare not use
j it," he said. "But when we get the
new masks ready we shall make
I Fritz wish he had never started the
j use of poison gas."
Smoking, the Captain said, is en
' couraged in the army to keep down
| the frightful odors of the front line
; trenches and to steady tho soldiers'
| nerves. The Germans cannot under-
I stand how the British Torpmy can
go into the fighting with a "fag' in
his mouth, he said.
Captain Harris made an earnest
plea for the next Liberty Loan, the
Y. M. C. A. funds and the other war
chest activities of the community as
absolutely necessary to back up the
boys over there. He will speak at
i the Laltnce-Grosjean plant at 10
o'clock to-morrow morning, to the
Pennsylvania railroad shopmen at
11.30 and at the Central Iran and
Steel plant at 1.30.
)WM. JENNINGS
,t IS VINDICATED
(
[Continued from First Page.]
| graph to-day the following letter
vindicating Mr. Jennings.
, New Bloomfleld, Pa.. September 11.
1 1918.
' To the Editor of the Telegraph:
1 Sir:
' The matter of the shipment of a
i ] carload of coal to Mr. William
i Jennings at Duncannon has re
, | ceived much undesirable pub
i licity. I have made a thorough
investigation of the transaction
and brought the witnesses face
to face. The facts are as follows:
Farly in the spring of 191S Mr.
. ! Jennings ordered a carload of
buckwheat coal tronj a wholesale
firm. The quantity ordered was
| within his reasonable requtre
j quirements and carried no sug-
I | gestion of hoarding. At the time
■ I of the order grade of coal
was subject to no Federal Fuel
, ( Administration ruling as to price,
but Mr. Jennings was advised by
| the coal company's representative
1 | that the company would prefer to
nfake the shipment through a
1 local dealer. The representative
himself secured a Duncannon
dealer's consent to receive the
i shipment and deliver it to Mr.
Jennings. All this was prior to
j the Fuel Administration's order of
| May 29 requiring that all ship
ments of coal be mule through a
j dealer. The coal company shipped •
the coal in June, after the order.
Whether the shipment was actu
ally made through the local dealer
or direct to Mr. Jennings is in dis
pute. The foul company's repre
sentative claims that the coal was
shipped in care of the dealer: the
Pennsylvania Railroad Company's
record shows the shipment direct
I to the consumer.
Mr. Jennings .received the coal
without knowledge of the re
quirements of the order of May
| 29. and without knoweledge that
! the coal had not been shipped
1 through the local coal man, as he
! had been assured it would be. He
is entirely without blame in the
i transaction. Whatever fault
, there may be lies with the coal
company, if in fact it shipped the
coal directly to a private con
sumer in violation of the order of
May 29.
. The published statement that
I officially approved the order be
fore the shipment was made is
false, as I knew nothing of it
until long after the coal had been
I delivered. This statement, made
1 by the coal company's represents- ,
tive. says that I was assured by
him that "the order would be
shipped in the regulation manner,
I in care of" a local coal dealer. If
it was so shipped, as Mr. Jennings
was told it would be and as the
coal company's representative
f claims it was, no regulation was
violated.
I am sending an identical letter
! to the Harrisburg Patriot, and
hope that tnis explanation may be
given the same degree of publicity
that was accorded the original '
tangle.
Very truly yours.
D. H. MECK.
j Fuel Administrator for Perry
County.
To Mr. Jennings
Mr. Meek at the same time sent
i to Mr. Jennings the following state
; ment completely vindicating him of
| the charges spread broadcast by the
' Patriot:
I beg to advise you that I
! have made a complete investiga
tion ot the shipment to you by
the M. A. Hanna Coal Company
of a carload of buckwheat coal,
delivered at Duncannon in June
last, and find you are entirely
i without fault in the transaction,
i Herbert Plimpton, assistant in the
! office of State Fuel Administrator:
| Potter, in Philadelphia, who was act-1
ling for Mr. Potter during Potter's!
| absence, says that while hjs letter to
; Mr. Meek of September 5 led the
Perry county administrator to believe
there might have been a violation,
on September 11. he specifically
I stated that there is no regulation on
I the sale of No. 2 buckwheat coal, j
This first "letter was ii "slip" on his
; part, he admits, and adds: 'No
I regulations at present cover the sale
or purchase fo No. 2 buckwheat, bar
-1 lev or culm." He erred in his letter
I to Mr. Meek and Meek erred in mak
ing the'letter public before the com
i pletion of his investigation. Meck's
1 letter was published at the solici
tation of the Patriot, which was hot
lon the trail of Mr. Jennings and ap
: parently intent upon proving him a
1 As verifying the stand taken by-
Fuel Administrator Hickok that "it
is a patriotic service to use No. 2
buckwheat coal." H. F. Quickel, of 1
this city, representing the Spencer
Heater Company, the apparatus of
| which burns this kinM of fuel, has
received a letter from headquarters
'saying: "The Fuel Administration
;at Washington are very anxious to
I have as rm.ch buckwheat coal as
, possible used for domestic purposes
to prevent shortage of domestic
! sizes," and urging all Spencer users
| to lay lu In fee supplies early, it hav
i ing a license to ship buckwheat to
' any vicinity for owners of this style >
of furnace. This letter is accom-.
panied by another from A. S. Lear
oyd, director of anthracite distribu
i tion. at saying: "No.
1. Buckwheat is not charged against
the allotment of any state."
Today the Patriot, faced with
facts it could not dodge, crawled out
of its untenable position with what
grace it could and was forced to
i admit Mr. Jennings entirely blame
' less in the purchase of his winter
| coal supply.
•MANY PRISONERS
ABLE TO WORK
[Continued from First Page.]
the county roads, but it was found
that the officials lacked legal author
ity to do so. Later the Directors of
the Poor said that they needed men
at the county almshouse and it was
arranged to transfer six of the jail
inmates to the county poor farm to
work during the summer.
These men helped on the farm, did
harvest work and at the present
time four of them are still employed
at the almshouse. A plan to use a
larger number could not be worked
out with the Directors of the Poor
as only a few additional men were
needed. Officials hope by next year
to have legislative authority to use I
prisoners serving jail sentences to
| do road or other repair jobs in the
! county.
There has been much agitation in
I favor of the plan especially for men
who are given short sentences of!
I from 10 to 30 days for violation of
i city ordinances.
—:
Prosecutor in Assault
Suit Was Treated Here;
Only Teeth Knocked Out
William Condren. a Lancaster man !
admitted to the Harrisburg Hospital j
last June for treatment of injuries'
inflicted by William Fox, a hoarding
housekeeper, of Lancaster, rrwist
share the costs of an assault and
battery suit with Fox. A jury at Lan
caster so decreed yesterday. C6ndren
testified that Fox called him harsh
names and then attacked him.
knocking out the only two teeth he
had and compelling him to come to
the local hospital for repairs. Fox
told the Jury Condren struck the first
blow after being ordered to leave the
boarding house. The jury returned a
verdict of not guilty and divided Jhe
costs. ,
Use McNeil's Pain Exterminator—Ad.
HARRISBURG TELEGRAPH
"SNOWBALL" SURE HAS BAD .
LUCK ON FRIDAY THE 13th
Working at Street Cleaning Is Hard on Familiar City Char
acter; Old Hoodoo Day Brings Woe to Bill the^Bodhe
Who said Friday the 13th was un
lucky?
Not the Girl Scouts at Third and
Walnut streets. Should say not!
Why. when that big brown limou
sine came shooting down the high
way anyone could guess something
would happen. And it did. B-r-u-p!
A loud explosion, some fancy vitriolic
language, and out leaped a stout
man to find that hehad "ripped the
stuffing" out of a S6O rubber tire.
"Here you are. girls; throw it on
the pile," he puffed, lugging over
the valuable junk, and Friday the
13th looked pretty good to the
Scoutesses.
"It's a has-been." declared police
headquarters. "There ain't no such
thing this year. Haven't had an
arrest toj-day; streak of good be-
AMERICANS REPULSE
HUN COUNTERATTACK
[Continued from First Page.]
the battle from the vantage point of
a French fort close behind the mid
dle of the line.
Try to Save Guns
The Germans last night and early
to-day were attempting to remoty
their artillery through the town of
Yigneulles, under the stress of the
American attack on the St. Mlhiel
salient. They were meeting with
the greatest difficulty. however
being hampered by airplanes as well
as by artillery fire.
The enemy already has lost a
number of cannon and trench mor
ters besides a huge number of ma
chine guns.
Brilliant Prelude to Drive
The front over which the attack
was made was so extended that the
brilliant bands of vivid light soon
stretched from far eastward to west
ward lighting up the clouds. Soon
there began to rise star shells signal
rockets and flares thrown up by the
enemy to betray the Americans
should they leave their trenches sud
denly to begin an infantry attack.
To this genera# color scheme there
soon was added a reddish glow as
ammunition dumps exploded and
buildings set on fire behind the en
emy lines began to blaze and an
ammunition giving oft this color ex
ploded about four o'clock.
Hun Star Shells Burst
The character of the artillery fire
changed slightly, lessened a little
in intensity and German star shells
burst with more frequency as five
o'clock approached as though the en
emy suspected that was the hour set
for the infantry attack. More and
more ammunition dumps exploded
just before live, the artillery bom
bardment suddenly resumed its or
iginal intensity and as the sky was
beginning to be tinged with dawn
it again took on a white look along
the horizon. Precisely at 5 o'clock
the thunder of the guns accompany
ing the glare of light stopped and
in the sudden silence the Americans
went over the top. All along the'
lines could be heard the chattering
of German machine guns and then
suddenly the thunder commenced
again when a barrage was laid down
to protect the soldiers as they ap
proached the German trenches.
' Bvery Element Engaged
"Into the battle has been brought
all the elemeifts of the army. While
the artillery was playing its role
the airmen aand the tank crews
worked over the machines prepara
tory to taking their part in the big
gest "show" the Americans have
given. There was no question of
aerial supremacy, or should not be.
French planes and French airmen
supplamented the American forces,
and daylight saw them already in
operation. It rained in the night,
and the early hours of the morning
did not afford the best opportunity
for the aviators, but despite the mist
the squadrons appeared with the
dawn, ready for observation o[ the
defense and for offensive combat.
There was a high wind during the
day. but the balloons were able to
remain up ' for observation. One
American balloon broke away and
drifted eastward. One of the German
balloons was aloft near St, Mlhiel.
but it remained up only about five
minutes.
I'u Smoke Screen
The smoke screen the American
gunners placed about Montsec ap
pears to have been successful in pre
venting the enemy observation from
that commanding point.
While the heavy attacks were be- 1
ing made on the north and south ]
lines of the St. Mihiel sector a force
around the point of the angle was
inaugurating a series of raids, rush
ing far into the sides of the German
body. The strength of the Germans
is not known but it is certain there
are at least divisions in the
salient. It has been learned that
the enemy had collected a quantity of
stores in the sector and will doubt
less attempt to remove them.
Yanks Are Everywhere
The front under attack was about
45 miles in length. The French were
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but because of its labor
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No Boiling
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Made instantly by placing
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of hot water, stirring, and
adding cream or milk.
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ed.
"There's a Reason"
havior must have struck us. Other
years we had y. drawer full of ra+i- j
bits' hind legs taken from unfortun- I
ates. To-day, nary a leg. Good luck ■
for the bunnies, too."
The toughest piece of misfortune :
that icame to notice was the inden-i
lure .of "Snowball," masco.t for the :
Steolton ball team and rooter eX- j
traordinary. The close of the base-!
ball season left "Snowball" without j
a job and he was corralled to work j
at street cleaning.
"Ah had mah rabbit's foot in mah j
hip pocket when the man come and
grabbed me." he wailed to-day*32!
with great effort he brandished a
shovel.
The general opinion seemed to be
that all the bad luck was being
saved for the Beast of Berlin.
in the line at allotted points, but the
[ forces was such that wherever the
Germans turned they faced American
troops.
Just how much the Germans were j
surprised by the offensive in a sec- |
tor so long inactive is uncertain. It!
seems imt improbable, however, that >
they had noticed the indications 1
given for many days past that some I
new plan was being adopted. The j
mobilization of the big force was ac- '
complished, however, almost wholly \
in night marches, the men slipping j
from other sectors into positions in
front of the enemy here, often times 1
without even the population of the I
districts through which they passed J
being aware of the movement.
The guns that opened the artillery !
preparations at one o'clock continued
for four hours to hammer the Ger- I
mans, not alone their nearby posi- ]
tions but nearly every crossroad, vil- ;
lage and town within range. The I
roads over which the enemy might |
bring up reinforcements or retreat .
were brqken up with high explosives, j
This Is the Birthday
of General Pershing
Washington. Sept. 13.—This is i
Pershing's birthday. General John
Joseph Pershing, commander-in- ;
chief of the American Army in j
France, who launched the first all- i
American drive on the German lines
yesterday, is tifty-eight years old to
day. He laughs at Friday the thir
teenth. He is a "show me" general.
He came into the world in Lirtn
county, Mo.. September 13, 1860.
Schools, industrial plants, depart
ment stores and shipyards will pause
for a time to-day to honor his name
in patriotic speech and song.
POSTOFFICE I'l.KliK RESIGNS
Marietta, Pa., Sept. 13.—John C.
Goodling, ior a number of months'
clerk in the Marietta postofflce. has!
resigned his position and accepted j
a position at the Marietta furnace.]
His position is being filled at the
postofflce by G. Luther Roath. i
Jm M L mmmBBW m N&dJm. St &§§ (r& Jf
Perry County Men 60 to
Army Camps For Training
New Blooinlleld, Pa.. Sept. 13.
Lewis Shearer who has (>een studying:
motor mechanics at the University of
Pittsburgh, has been selected to gi
11 H
II II
I , |j
II 28-30-32 TV. Third Street ||
I'j We've Exceeded All 2
U Previous Efforts 1
In Our Men's Shop
'PHE largest stocks we have ever carried
T are now at your disposal and they con- X
sist mainly of Fruhauf Clothes the only I'
HAND-TAILORED, ready-to-wear men's j /,
clothing made in America.
We have selected this line for its excellence
not only in fabric but in tailoring and
most emphatically state they represent the ' I
j j ) best possible in clothes.
When you inspect these clothes and try
them on you will quickly see why they
are better than any other.
At the left you see an in-
T5 i r-V , . . _, , . ... spfctor examining the fabric
Back of these clothes is the Schleisner high before shrinking. At the right
U s,andard " merchandising - recognized ISr'&SS
the Standard in our city. * LIGHT after it has been Lon
don shrunk. This is a sketch
from an actual photograph in
the Fruhauf plant.
H A
Schleisner s Men's Shop
28-30-32 N. Third St.
M ii
if * If
ii Pi
jjjll
SEPTEMBER 13, 1918
to an officers training camp for nih
chine gunners.
Edgar Garher who is studying mo
tor mechanics at State College, spent
Sunday at his home here.
Charles A. White and Hugh Bell,
of Rye township, will leave for the
University of Pittsburgh.
Edward Charles Hake goes to Le
high University next Thursday to
| study electrical engineering.
I MKKTIXG DAYS FIXED
Newport, Pa., Sept. 13.—Officials
of the Newport Red Cross Society
have issued announcements that their
meeting days henceforth will be on
Tuesday and Thursday of each week.