THE FULTON COUNTY NEWS. McCONNELLSBURO. PA. FLANDERS BATTLES SEEN IIS CLIMAX Constitute- Greatest Offensive Operation Undertaken by Allied Forces. GRIP OF TEUTONS IS BROKEN Ultimate Fate of Gorman Armies on West Front No Longer Open Question, Declares Military Authority. By JOHN LLOYD BALDERSTON. (Copyright, 1017, by the McCluro Kowspa-pi-r Kyrvllriite.) London. Tho desperate efforts tif tint kaiser's uutocracy to secure peace before winter, have been regarded Ihto h thcdiroct results of tin British vic tories In Flanders. It Is because those poch-innking successes reveul such comparatively lit tit movement on the map, iiml result In hauls of prisoners very small compared to tho standard set' in the campaigns 111 llus.!u, tlmt the general public here und nliroad bas failed to realize nil that Sir Doug las Hnig's aiituiiin offensive Implies for the future of the world. This great turning movement that begun In Flanders on July III, It may now he said, is regarded liy the allied (duffs ns the first major or decisive offensive operation undertaken by tho allies on the west front since the bat tle of the Mnrno. The Somme cam paign, lust year, with Its liulf-mllllou onsuultlos, more than double the num ber suffered In Flanders, was a sub sidiary operation. It was carried out In order to nmke the Ypres offensive possible. And the Ypres offensive 1ms trendy succeeded. This Is England's year. Nest year, at least in the dosing phases of the cumpnlgn, if it lasts so long, England may have to share the honors with America. France did her full shnro und more In 1011 lit the Marue, und In 191 when her desperate frontal as saults on tlie Gorman line wore down the enemy's manpower, In 1010 when ber glorious resistance ut Verdun broke the kaiser's last bid for n de cision. England took over the burden In the closing phases of the Somme bottle; the battle of Flanders over shudows everything else In the history of the present yenr. Seen as Climax of War. I uni able to give American readers brilliant analysis of the Flanders operations, prepared by a most com petent authority who must be name less. This expert makes clear why It is that the statements made above re true; be shows how the Flanders buttles which shove the German line buck, for the moment, only a fow miles, represent the climax of the war and constitute the main push, for which Loos und the Labyrinth und Champagne, the Soinme and Vliny und Arras, were only intended to pave the way. The statement follows: "When tho nllles passed tactlcnlly to the offensive on July 1 last year upon the Somme, the German front ftrsted on the Alps ut one extremity, and on the coast ut the other. And the front, while npparently It could not lie turned on either flank, was sup posed to have been made Impregnable to nssault. The effect of that state of things was tbnt the line, us a line, could be held with a minimum of troops, und that although the total en emy force might be of no more than moderate- dimensions, the fortllicd character of the front still made It pos sible to employ an Important percent age of that force, and the best of it in point of quality, as n movable re serve to be used either for a tacti cal coiin'ier-offenslve or to meet attack wherever attack might develop. Thus there were some one hundred and twenty German divisions on tho west front altogether, and yet there were such assaults as those upon Verdun. Front Found Not Impregnable. "Hut the battle of the Homme hav ing finally and conclusively demon strated that the front was not Im pregnable to assault, the state of things was radically changed. Tho Change did not come about all at once, but when the Soinme was followed by IU sequel, the loss of the Vlmy ridge, and that In turn by the loss of the Alsne ridge and the Champagne ridge, the position became this: the enemy bad at once to Increase the number of men holding his Hue, und found Ills resources in the form of movable re aerve cut down, lie increased his to tal force on the west by home thirty divisions, but, despite that, he hud fewer troops whom ho could play about. "Now a movuble reserve is a very Important part of the German defen sive, and that defensive, by noy change 'Which cuts down such u reserve, is muterlally weakened.. The change makes resistance to attack the more risky,' by mnklng It more diilieult to provide against uttuck. Further, the necessity of thickening the troops in the line has mennt, in the face of the superiority of the allied llres, a con sistently heavier rate of losses. "Evidently, us a mutter of plain com mon sense, these effects had to he brought about before the operation of attacking the enemy front with the object of turning it could he entered upon. Further, there had to bo the reasonable ussurauce that attack would be stronger than the strongest defense the enemy eonld put up. With ut some such reasonable ussurauce, the attempt would have been a court ing of failure. "As to the point of the front where tills operation was to be looked for, there wus never any mystery. The point was the sector east of Ypres. It lias nhvuys been manifest that the Germans violated the neutrality of Belgium because, without the roads and railways through Belgium, their expedition into France, dependent on the route through Aletz, could not have been on a larger scale than the attack f 1870. It hud, to bo on three times the scule at the very least. And the present oppllaition of these facta Is that for (ill essential supplies the Oer- mans on the went are absolutely re liant on the Belgian routes. "Now the question of whether they might continue to rely upon the Bel gian routes was in this utliick to tho east of.Yptvs to bo put. to the test. If they could defeat that tttluck, well and good. They might tln'n consider themselves secure, their hold on Bel gium secure, their armies in the west safe so fur us supplies were concerned, ami, what Is more, the German alliance or confederacy assured by tho effect of this success, und the wuy opened for peace negotiations more or less In uecordanee with their own views. "But If they could not defeat the attack, tlnn equally ull this wus.ul tered. They were Insecure; their hold upon Belgium must become precari ous; their entire force on the west must bo Jeopardized ; the effect of de feat undermining the faith of their al lies must undermine their confedera tion; and the hope of u peace upon anything like their own terms must be destroyed. More Than Fight for Territory. "It will be seen Unit tho battles east of Ypres are much more than u tight for a system of ridges; certainly much more than a fight to decide whether tho British or the enemy shall through the winter stand on wet ground or dry; much more even than a struggle for the const, or for presumed submit rlno buses; much more than the Im pressing of tier man public opinion. These battles decide whether or not a vital operation is possible; a vital operation, because to the whole Ger man force on the west It is a mutter of life und death, and u matter of life und death to the modern Prussianized und militarized German empire. "A test, when it conies to the shock of battle. Is tilwuys tactical. Let stra tegical schemes bo a sound und well conceived us they limy, If tho troops who ure to curry them out are not up to the work, tho plans cunnot bo real ized. With this tncticul test, so fur as it has gone, we have every reason to feel in the highest degree satlslled. So far wo have not missed u step. "Further, we knew that although there has been singularly little vicis situde of fortune, wo have compelled tho enemy to put forth and huve met his utmost effort. Five divisions huve been Identified east of Ypres as Just brought from Bussin and from Chum piigne. It Is telling evidence of the strain this defense lias Imposed. A stronger defense than that hitherto of fered may bo dismissed us wholly im probable. "In n case like tills, the. German command Is not nccustomed to lock the stable door after the horse lias been stolen, and It Is idle to suppose Unit we should have been iillowed to advance as far as the outskirts of Pusschendaele and the llouthulst wood If uny means of the enemy's command could have prevented it. The menus are not ut the enemy's command, and if they are not now, they never will be. Test Has Been 'Decisive. "In brief, this tncticul test has been decisive, und that decision Is the de cision of the war. The fate of the Germau armies on tho west is no open question. Before the assault on the Messlnes ridge it might huve been so regarded. It cunnot be so regarded now. "And what Is the authoritative Ger man view of the matter? Let us Judge as usual by ucts. First of nil there is the distribution of 'Fatherland Purty' pamphlets among the German sol diery. The morale of the German army needs to be re-inforced. The proced ure has no other meaning. Why does the morale need to be stiffened? Be cause of the effect of the repeated shocks It has undergone. Shocks ure not caused by victories. All the de tailed accounts agree that the morale of the German troops is patchy. Some light well; others fight badly. The morale of an army which Is sinking always dikes this form of rotten spots, which tend to spread. It leuves a force unreliable, for an urmy is a chain of linked units und unities, und if some of the links be rotten the chain will break to u certainty. The 'Fa therland' propaganda Is apparently an attempt ut cure. Know They Are Beaten. "Next there Is the official represent ation In the German newspapers of the resistance east of Ypres as a 'vic torious' resistance. Seemingly It is victorious because we do not accom plish everything ut one bound. There could not be u grosser military ab surdity, and of course the men who write bulletins of that kind know that such stuff Is nonsense. The fact thut they write it, und feel constrained to write it, discloses their reul opinion. They know that they ure beuten. "To pass on, there Is the reported conference c( enemy rulers at Sofiu. The military reverses of Germany on the west, the main and deciding thea ter of war, ure so niuny hammer blows at the confederacy. Will Germany's ullies follow Germany all the way to ruin? It Is doubtful. "Lastly there are the rumored furth er Impending pence offers on more 'lib eral' terms. Why should there be such offers if tho nillltnry situation Is 'excel lent?' Do not they arise out of the peril of the German army on the west, the German army, and the peril of the Prussianized German empire It In volves? If we tuko the defent of the German army us now foregone, these .proceedings nrc harmonious and con sistent with each other. On any other supposition they are Inconsistent und Inexplicable. There Is u theorem which fits them all. That theorem Is the truth." As Germans View It. To turn from this authoritative Eng lish view of the Flanders campaign, one of the most vivid pictures of what tho British attacks In Flanders mean to the unfortunate German soldiers crouching in tho mud under nn un precedented volume of fire has been written by n Germun correspondent, l'rofessor Wegener of the Cologne Ga zette. Desplto his cffuit to put the best fnce possible on the situation, it Is not necessary to read between the lines to nppreclute tho hopelessness with which tho enemy must look for ward to new and greater attacks In the spring, In which the American urmy will play Its part. "It was plain, above nil," wrote Pro fessor Wegener In describing tho hit out attack, "thut the enemy would con tinue to put Ms hope not In the mnrni superiority of Ids troops, but In ma terial superiority. . Tho Incomparable lighting strength of tho German sol dier wus to bo broken, and must be broken, by a tremendous development of iiieiiiniileal weapons und tho un heard of accumulation of guns, ammu nition, mines, gases, armored cars, und tho like. This Is all In accordance wlih the Fiigllsh way of thinking, for their battle Is fundamentally a battle of money. Recognize Bravery of British. "Tho natural dislike, mingled with contempt, which we Germans have for this way of thinking, must not pre vent us from understanding that the conception Is exceedingly serious. Any body who formerly followed English Coloulul wars, Kngllsh voyages of dis covery, and Kngllsh sport, knows how much of tho successes of the English In these spheres was always duo to brilliant preparation and equipment. Of course all depends upon whether there are behind the material and tho machines real men to use them. But wo all know that this Is tho cuse with the Kngllsh, ami we uro far from want- ; lug to deny It; on the contrary, wo should be diminishing tho achieve ments of our own men If wo did so. "Even enrller the fighting wus well described us a super-niiileriul battle, but since the end of August It has be come quite plain that the Kngllsh in tended to Incrense their efforts still further by still more gigantic guns und still more enormous musses of mu nitions and all the engines of war. On our maps of the ground behind the en emy front, upon which we murk from time to time his new rnmps, batteries, strategic railways, and so on, one sees how all of Belgium that remains un occupied, and especially the area of Ypres and Poperlnghs, has become really one enormous wiir camp, cross ed in every Erection by a close net work of strategic railways that have sprung out of the ground. Sees French Activity. "There was a further consldernbb expansion of ull this recently. Fever ish activity could he seen umong the Kngllsh. Bridge after bridge appeared ucross the Ypres cnnnl, new roads crossed the country, branch lines nd vuiiced further, the enemy artillery was brought closer to tho front, lind new bnttery positions were prepared. New munition dumps were laid down, new uerodromes, und new encamp ments, thickly sown though the en campments already were. As regards troops as well us material, the Eng lishmen hopes to get his results by tho employment of mnsses. "Huiing tho period of preparation the bombardment of our front was In cessant. From the methods of tho new artillery, it was realized that tho enemy had thought out n new tncticul scheme to meet the Hindonburg-Lu-dendorlt defensive tactics. This Is not the place to go into details about that. But a feature of the scheme was that the enemy tried constantly to broaden tho zone of his artillery destruction behind our front. The increasing fre quency of the bombardment, which often developed Into drum lire, and wns directed against our lines of ap proach and command positions, grad ually showed that Hie new attack was nenr. The drum lire nssaults on the whole battle front Increased so mucb In strength that they wore obviously preparing for the new Infantry storm Attacks Nerves of Defense. "The lruiu lire was different from former drum lire, not only in its more terrible mass effect, but also because of Its peculiar employment In the rear. It was not, as formerly, an almost un broken thunder, but a series of fire storms of tremendous violence but of limited duration, alternating with pe riods of comparatively small activity; both the fire storms and the pauses va ried, so that one could realize the in tention of destroying the nerves of the defense, by tho element of uncertainty. "Of airmen nlso the English had pre pared masses In excess of anything known before. This development wa? sudden, and It took some time before we hud caught up with the numerical superiority. The enemy airmen tried ; to advance in swarms over our lines, ; but the perfect bravery of our men . wus able to force them buck, and In : tho main to keep them behind their own lines." So much for l'rofessor Wegener. The Ilerr professor doubtless knows, If his reuders do not, that the "unheard of accumulation" of material, the "masses" of ulrmen in "excess of any thing known before," will next spring be still more unheard of, und still more In excess of anything known before. Stone Age Blotter. Instead of blotting paper we soon may be using a piece of stone to dry our letters. This Is not ns unreason able as It sounds, for there Is a kind of stone found at the bottom of cor tain hot springs which Is excellent for blotting purposes, observes un ex change. Tho stone is a sediment that has formed In tho bottom of the springs, and may be had In Inex haustible qunntltles. It is highly ab sorbent, though not soft In the or dinary meaning of the word. When placed on n sheet of paper that has been freshly written upon it will ab sorb the surplus Ink more quickly and satisfactorily than the usual blotter. The scarcity of ull kinds of paper euused by the war and the growing demand for varieties more Important than blotting paper makes it probable that we muy bo buying n yard of stone before long to use as u blotting pud. WITen one side becomes heavily Inked it can bo cut off with n knife and tho remainder of the stone used again. Hla Certificate. ' "President Wilson hutes kiiiserlsm as bitterly, and, by Jove, he raps It as bard and well, as wns the case of Whistler with the Boynl academy." The speaker was George Luke, the fashionable New York painter. "An American admirer of Whistler," ho went on, "once wrote to our great man In cere of the Itoyal academy lu London. The letter hnd a hard task tc find Whistler, but It did find him at last, and on tho envelope Whistler saw that the Itoyal academy people had maliciously written : "'Not known nt tho Koynl academy,' "Whistler enclosed the envelope to a newspaper with the comment: " 'Behold, ray certificate' of merit 1' " MORE LIVE STOCK, UNCLE SAM'S AIM Experts Consider Methods That May Be Used to Encour age Production. ACCESS TO MARKETS HEEBED Investigators Believe Co-Operatlve Shipping Organizations Aro of Greatest Aid to Small Producer. At this time above all others, It Is pointed out by, experts of Undo Sam's depart meat of agriculture, better mar keting facilities are essential to the In crease In live stock production, espe cially In the South, which Is desirable from every point of view. Various methods of Improving the present situation In this respect have boon tried out. Among themnst Im portant are the organization of co-operative shipping and marketing clubs mid of local live stock buying com panies, tho establishment of local pack ing houses, tho custom of holding live stock sales on advertised dates, and Hie use of local Ice plants in curing farm meat. . ' Co-operative Shipping Best.' Of these, In the opinion of experts of the department, co-operative ship ping Is one that Is being most gen erally adopted In the United States, nml the one most worthy of consider ation. Associations for this purpose huve, met with marked success In the middle West, and aro equally well adapted to conditions In some parts of the Smith. They enable the small pro ducer to ship his animals to central ized live stock markets at no greater cost of transportation than Is paid by the dealer who ships In carload lots. In this way the farmer Is made Inde pendent of local buyers. Another great advantage. It Is pointed out. of sneli associations Is that they tire sim ple in organization and require no cap ita! to do business. In one Mississippi city the board of trade bus created n somewhat more complex organization, In order to pro vide the farmers of the surrounding country with u good local market for their live stock throughout the year. A company has been organized with a pnld-ln capital of !?2,r00, provided by locnl business men. In th hope of In creasing production of live stock In the section. No dividends are paid und the oprntlne expenses of the company are reducoif to tho minimum. On two days of each week throughout the year th'? company buys live stock for cash la any sized lots, at prices which are the equivalent of those prevailing nt the large centralized markets, less the cost of sending the animals to these markets. Brings Higher Prices. The Immediate result of tills move ment. It Is said, has been higher prices paid by local butchers, and their will ingness lo pay cash for live stock. In stead of Insisting that payment be made by extending credit to the pro ducer. Incidentally, the operations of the company have shown that live stock can be bought and shipped to the large markets, and a number of private dealers have undertaken to compete with the company. Tills 1ms, naturally, stimulated live stock pro duction In the surrounding country. These and similar methods are de signed to afford the farmer easy ac cess to the largo outside markets. Without them he Is practically de pendent on the local butcher und the local dealer or shipper. In selling to the butcher frequently little or no at tention Is paid to market conditions. I logs and cattle are slaughtered on numerous farms when the weiKher turns cool, with the result that the market Is glutted. This means low prices, which the farmer must accept because the product Is perishable. To some extent, it Is suggested by the de partment's experts, a remedy for this situation may lie found In better meth ods of curing meat at home, and also by taking advantage of the refrigera tion facilities afforded by ' local Ice plants. NO POOR IN NEW ZEALAND Greater Demand for Appliances That Add to Comfortable Living Pre dicted by Uncle Sam. A more widespread use of electricity In New Zealand and n greater demand for the various appliances that add lo comfortable living nre predicted In a report on New Zealand's markets for electrical goods made public by Uncle Sam's bureau of foreign and domestic ?onuncrce. The standard of living Is good In the Island, says the report, and there is nn absence of u poor class, but there are Mime modern conveniences of which tho people hnve not generally taken advantage. In the electrical field this Is quite noticeable, a fact attributed In part to the rigid requirements of the lire underwriters and In part to the natural conservatism of the people. Of the total Imports of $2,300,000 ivorth of electrical goods In 1013, the United States supplied 15 per cent, England 05 per cent, Germany 5 per pent and Sweden about 5.4 per cent. In 1011, during which the war made Itself felt on shipping, the total Im ports were valued at $2,1:50,000, of which the United States "contributed 11.4 per cent. A Huge Shadow. Shadows, naturally enough are of various sizes, and one can Imagine that mountains throw very large shad ows Indeed. It Is said that the peak of TeneiilTe, on tho largest of the Canary Islands, throws such a huge shadow that It stretches as far us fiO miles across the water, partly over lapping yomc of the other Islands. Christian Science Monitor. Knows No Bound3. Wherever the tree of beneficence takes root. It sends forth brunches be rond the sky. Suadf". GIVES ARMY WEAPONS ! Ordnance Bureau Important Branch cf War Department. Intrusted With Duty of Providing Big Guns and Small Arms, With All Necessary Equipment. ' In common with other branches of Uiuio Sam's military service tho ord nance division of tho war department Is of Interest nt this time. The chief of the ordnance of tho army Is chnrged with the duty of procuring, by purchase or manufacture, and distri buting the necessary ordnance and ord nance stores for the army and Na tional Guard. , Ordnance and ordnance stores In clude cannon and artillery vehicles and equipment; apparatus and machines for the service and maneuver of ar tillery; small arms and ammunition, and accoutrements. Horse equip ments and harness for field artillery, and horse equipment for cavalry and other mounted men; tools, machinery and materials for ordnance service, and all property of whatever nature (Including specially equipped motor trucks, motorcycles, tractors ami rail road cars) supplied to the military es tablishment must be provided by the ordnance department. More 'than S00 students Installed on the campuses of eight American col leges have been taking the ' prepara tory course to fit them for ordnance work In the 1 enlisted reserve corps. These students have" been trained to become storekeepers In that branch of the service which will supply the new American armies with guns and mu nitions. In connection with those who have had some training and who wish com missions as cither captains or first lieutenants the department wishes to have mechanical engineers, cheinleai engineers specially qualified In explo sive chemistry, and metallurgical en gineers; also men with special knowl edge of the manufacture of leather goods and cloth material. In accept ing men for these commissions the de partment prefers graduates of n recog nized college or university, and also prefers those who have hud sufficient experience in the manufacture or In vestigation of ordnance material to qualify them to take up nt once such duties In the ordnance department. SPARE HOSPITALS AND CHURCHES WHEN THEY SHELL "ENEMY" CITIES Uncle Sam's marines are busy bombarding enemy cities mid the only buildings left standing after the terrific lire are churches and hospitals. They are only miniature cities, lo bo sure, and the build ings ure not more than a foot high. Cities in miniature are used as objectives by marine corps artillerymen In training at CJiiuntico, Ya., and the little buildings in them are plainly la beled "gun factory," "barracks," 'church," "hospital," etc. The marine gunners are careful In training to avoid hitting build ings marked "church" or "hos pital,'' and in practice they .show wonderful marksmanship In raz ing buildings adjacent. WAR BOOMS DYE INDUSTRY American Plants Not Only Supply Do mestic Needs, But Sell Large Quantities Abroad. The American dye Industry has not only grown big enough to supply prac tically all domestic needs, but Is now exporting Important quantities to other nations, Uncle Sam's bureau of commerce reports. Of all the Industries created or de veloped as a direct result of war con ditions, none has shown more rapid progress than American dyestulTs. From only seven establishments lo which f2S people were engaged in pro dining C.01D.72!) pounds of coal-tar eoloi's. valued at ?1.120.0W, In 1011. the Industry has developed until now It not only supplies the domestic de mand for colors, but bas even Invaded tho foreign market In European neu tral and allied countries, Canada, Mex ico, Argentina, Brazil, British India, and Japan. No other article of commerce more vitally affects a greater number of In dustries than do coal-tar dyes, and very few articles rival them In com plexity of manufacture. At the out break of the war the difficulties In the way of soon providing adequate do mestic supplies seemed Insurmount able; yet in the short space of three years scores of plants covering many acres of ground have been erected) numerous by-product coke ovens havo been equipped to furnish tho neces sary raw materials: thousands of workmen have been trained; special machinery hns been designed, built and Installed; hundreds of chemists and chemical engineers havo given their entire time to the unfamiliar work connected with color produc tion; experimental research has been Inaugurated for perfecting processes und machinery und tho possible dis covery of new colors; organization, consolidations, and alliances have been effected within the Industry to further Increase output ut decreased cost ; and It Is understood In the trade that plans are under way for entering foreign markets on a largo scale. Was In the Name. Tho strolling company were playing "Hamlet," but they were afraid that Shakespeare's great tragedy would not sulliclently attract, so they conceived tho bright Idea'of altering tho title to "How a Stepfather Wus Paid Out." The result was a crowded house. Lon don Tlt-BIti Bad Tasting River. In Colombin, South America, there is a river whoso waters aro so tainted with sulphuric acid that It has re ceived the name JUo du VlcAgre or Kiver of Vinegar. .frAMED Destroyed by ,(iERMANS ft ' 1 i " : w tt y4 Ruins of the Chateau do Coucy. TIIK Castle of the Sires of Coucy razed lo the ground, bombed by the fleeing enemy. This was the brief, bald lommiinlqiie which struck a blow to Trench hcarls second only In force to Jiat delivered by the shower of steel Mined for two years and a half on the 'anions cathedral at Helms, writes lllanche McMiiiius In the Chlcugo Her lid. It was the spring before that sum Jicr cloudburst of war. We had opened that day for the first reading the "Bal udes Franciilses" of that eccentric mil celebrated poet of the "quartler" legitimate successor of liim who pive iime to the long-departed Cafe l'ro ope Paul Fort; opened It, too, at his idorable musical tribute dedicated to this same grand old Chateau do Coucy. Unlit some GOO years ago by a naughty seigneur by the mime of F.n ;uerrund, third of the line of Coucy, It was handed down for two centuries. Then a royal Louis of the reigning Or leans family, who evidently had a pret ty taste lu castles, having Just built Its splendid rival, the neighboring Chateau de l'U rrefonlls (also In the zone lies arinees but not yet liberated), jought It for 100,000 Itvres toiirnols, n unit of reckoning comparable to the franc of today. After the usual martini vicissitudes of the times Cardinal Itlehelleu, in the seventeenth century, gave the fabric Its first hard knock by ordering it dis mantled as a fortress of the time. But Its mighty walls resisted well, although the Interior was gutted. Thereafter Its lebrls served as a quarry for all the neighborhood, and It Is easy to see that he solid houses of the little town hud Iling about the walls were built chlclly jf its stones. Some sixty years ago t entered Into the public domain ot the French government, who comuiis doiied ihe great French architect, Vio-ello-le-I'iie, master of modern (lothlc, to restore it to the extent of consoll laling Its stately shell against further Jlsintegrittlon; then, too, It came to lie illiclally classed ns a monument his :oiiqu" mid' remained the most splen lld feudal bastlle of ail Kurope and l Joy and a marvel to the eyes of all ,vho came within Us spell. Everything Within Its Walls. So much for history. Now for Its .cality. at least up to a few months igo. The Chateau of Coucy Is the jiost perfect example of the self-contained mode of existence on earth and lioulil make the commuting suburban ite blush for his wandering life. Every, thing for the requirements of tho hvellers wlihin was held also within ,ls mighty grip, surrounded by Its four toweling stories of defenses, taller 111 liiiir ensemble than many a cathedral spire. First the encircling outer wall, jehiiid which In the old days lived the crfs in their wooden huts, hut today Inclosing the sleepy little village so typical of northern France. There was a rampart promenade, along which we followed, punctuated with the thirty-two tours of other days, und with but three gateways, one leading lo Lnon, one to Solssons, one to liinuny, all of them towns which lire making rapid history at this moment. Here were psiiicred the tiny shops, :ho markets wiiere provisions were )rought from where they were grown in tho Holds below the walls. Next the second ring of walls, sur ounded by a deep moat opening only ut one musslve gateway. We crossed its drawbridge, slill bung by the rusty chains of other days. These Inclosed the working parts of the chateau, an orchard mid a quaint formal garden In which the family took their airings. Circled about were the stables, retain ers' quarters, guardhouses, armory, poultry yard, dairy, the falconry, cel lars, storerooms, kitchens and all the Stove-Heated Garden. Tho garden of .James Swortr. of Ilolter Dam, Mont., Is heated by a stove from the Inside, anil Is protected nn the outside by a curtain which Is lowered about It on n frame. The garden Is seven feet square and con sists of a series of lerruces built Ground u hollow center to n height of ten feet. Mr. Swart, believes this nrraugement will permit n longer rowing season. Strict Accounting. A business man requires those who handle money to account for all ex penditures, holds un employee respon sible for the full amount trusted to him and demands vouchers for all dis 'jursemcuts. Even then he may not lie satisfied without a cash nudit by nn accountant. Material i.bould be accounted J'or on exactly the same theory as cash Itself (although pos lbly less rigorously), sayj Stephen fjlluuiu, In Industrial Mann lenient. The king of Sium has 11 bodyguard if -100 trained and armed women do dig service In his cupltul. Chateau II attendant paraphernalia necessary to the care and comfort of the thousands of henchmen that rallied about the standard of Coucy. In the center rose n chapel the orig inal nucleus of the chateau. Founda tions and a grass plot are all that remain. The fourth defense was tho chateau proper, a great quadrangle us spacious us most chateaux In their ensemble. Each corner was crowned with a great cylindrical tower more than n hundred feet In height, their walls neurly five yards thick. Then came the final defense, the great donjon tower, the kernel of the impregnable nut which has never been racked, nearly 200 feet In height, 100 feet In diameter and nt the bnse .30 odd feet thick, the most nearly perfect example of the medieval architecture of defense. In 1014. u month after the opening .of hostilities, the gray wave of the Oeriiinii army of invasion hud swept over Coucy. Its grout towers com mand the greater part of the battle field over which wrlihe three iirinlfsi In their titanic struggle. . For this reason the enemy placed their anti aircraft guns and searchlights on tho topmost tower. When In tho middle of March they finally uprooted them-, selves for the first time since the be ginning from their trenches and bo gun their backward goosestep out ol France, it wus not likely that In the holocaust of destruction which lliej left in their way, which Included chil dren's toys, family photographs und the doghouse, they would forget the Chateau of Coucy. . As the horizon-blue lines of th French vugues of soldiery came within sight of the huge pile of their nation's proudest medieval monument, so long hidden from their sight, thunderoi:! explosions rent the fair sky of spring time above Coucy, and they saw with horror Its great towers totter und fall through the veil of smoke. With un almost human groan there came tc their ears the rending crash of the enormous fissure which broke through the stern heart of the great donjon. And so at last was cracked the kernel of the nut which had remained im pregnable for COO years. COAST LINE OF BELGIUM Nearly All of It, In Peace Time, Given Over to Seaside and Rest Resorts. Perhaps In no othcr'war In modern history have a few miles counted fot us inXieli fn the scales of victory ns In the present contest In west Flanders, says u bulletin of tho National nongraphic society. The distance which separates Hie allied forces from full control of the coast of Belgium is only thirty . miles. Possession of these thirty miles of const line wgjild not only wipe out tho German subma rine liases In Belgium, but It would also give the allies a new front upon which to nttuck In an effort to drive tho enemy out of Belgium und north ern Europe. Possession of this coast, therefore, would bo a double victory to the nllles, solely hampering the ene my's submarine opera lions, und nt the name time alTordlng nn opportunity lo roll up his right Hank on land. Nowhere else niny bo found n more striking . contrast between pence und war than that afforded by tho Belglun v'oast In 10115 ond 1917. Prnctlcully the entire const line In normal time Is given up to the pleasures of tho sea side cities and rest resorts. Ln Panne, Coxyde-Pluge, Oost-Diilnkorko, Nleu-port-Bnlns Westcnde, Middelkerke, L Coq sur-Mer. Wcnduyne-sur-Mer, Bluil kenberghe, lleyst-sur-Mer nud Knocke-sur-Mer aro all places which remind one of the seuslde cities of New Jer sey. Early Day Buttons. The ancients lacked buttons one wonders. Indeed, how they got nloilg without them but evidently they pos sessed studs of modern pattern, such as those with which wo fasten our cuffs and collars. And, In truth, they did even have 11 kind of button (though not sewn on), which fastened garments with a pin and hook exactly In the way our brooches and clasp pins oper ate. Exchange. Dream Makes Author. A well-known dream n which the facts ure vouched for is that of It. L. Stevenson. This popular writer could dream when he liked, and could com plete 1111 unfinished dream of the pre vious night. According to Mr. James I'ayn, himself it famous author, Ste venson had n nightmare of a dual per sonality, and on that basis wrote tho novel cf "Lr. Jekyll and .Mr. Hyde." Til-Bits. The cultivation of tvpary beans Is something new In the slate ot Califor nia. This legume came up from old Mexico.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers