INTERESTING WAR NOTES

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 1107, 21 November 1917, Page 7

INTERESTING WAR NOTES

j UNSHAVEN SOLDIERS. No anxiety about shavingiisSfelt by (the.French.conscript when he joins the larmy, for he. is encouraged by the authorities to grow a beard, and, indeed, it is from''.this fact that he has obtained his nickname of poilu, the French equivalent . for- '"Tommy Atkins," which literally means "shaggy" or "hairy." The beard was favoured in,the English Army during the Crimean War for the protection it gave from. the intense cold of the trenches before Sebastopol, and the apparition of so many bearded men 1 in England after, the war made beards for a long time fashionable in England. '

BODY ARMOUR. t lt was stated during the Boer War that a sufficiently resistant plate over the heart and another over the* abdomen would prevent nearly all fatal body wounds, says Edward «B: Poulton in the "Times." Sueh plates could be shaped so as to deflect even if they did not stop, a bullet at short ranged In an address on December 7 last year I drew, attention to some experiments on bullet-proof shields made by the late Rev. P. Jervoise, Smith, F.ft.S., and offered to explain the principle, which I believe to be hew, to the authorities. No inquiries were received. It is obvious."that the machine-gun is the one great l difficulty encountered by our men. It would seem to be possible

to equip men as special machine-gun fighters, reducing the weight of their loads in every other direction; and expecting no other duties from them. « Such men could not only attack on their own account but also signal the position of machine-gun emplacements to light artillery of the most suitable kind. The pom-pom may be suggested as likely to be helpful. Or it may be that better results could he obtained by heavier artillery. Specially armoured light guns could, alsb accom- : pany the machine-gun fighters; and ; here there would be no difficulty in the use of sufficiently thick steel.

CREAT WARS FROM TRIVIAL CAUSES. Many great wars in history have resulted from trivial causes, although it wanted to see his name figure largely in the gazettes. .• The Sepoys believed that cartridges served out to them were greased with the fat of animals unclean alike to Hindu and Mohammedan, and precipitated the Indian Mutiny. The RussbTurkish war was said to have been started through a Herzegovinian blacksmith killing a tax collector who ,had insulted his .daughter,'"while the stealing of a Castile lady's lace petticoat led to many -years of fierce fighting between .the Spaniards and the Moors. The emptying of a bucket on the head of a Milanese %y.. a Florentine 'started a civil war in Italy, andv borrowing a tobacco pipe and failing to return it caused a lengthy war hetween rival races in the Pamirs and Afghanistan. " '. . ,

FRANCE'S'FOREIGN LEGION.

There are about 600 Americans in the Foreign Legion of the French .Army,'so many of whom have petitioned to join the Flying Corps that a. squadron of Americans is being formed. It is an inspiring, sight to see a regiment of .the legion on the march ;J ! negroes and blond Swedes go side .by side with swarthy Italians. Men who have dined with kings and dfyelt;Jin. marble halls sink their, identity under a borrowed name and march with a Palish tailor or a cowboy from the Wild West. , • . / : / All sorts of famous men have fallen on the field of battle while fighting with the legion. Binet Valmer, from the Argentine; a Luxemburg writer, was characteristic German duplicity which led to the Franco-German war of 1870. The French' Ambassador went to n x_ «_j_ -ci irr.'ii: . T „~j. +«

Ems to ask Emperor William I. not to approve the ambition of Prince Leopold to become King of Spain. The German Emperor refused ; to/ give a definite | answer, but Prince' Leopold's father withdrew his son's candidacy. - , - :;> A report of the conference was sent j by telegram to: Count Bismarck, with authority to publish it, but"Bismarck"* altered the text in such a'way that the published report jvas unfavourable to France, and the international war with all its horrors followed. Years after Bismarck confessed the forgery. The Seven Years' War, it is said, was largely due to the vanity of Frederick the Great, who confessed that he— Sosthene ■ Kurth; the son of Maxim Gorky, Camilip'■:• Ramirez, from Vene-, -ziieja; a Colombian poet, Fernandez de Bengoecha'j another, from Ecuador, Rodolfo Seminario, and, »Sanchez Carero, all fell for France on the; battlefields of the Artois and Champagne. The poejb Ismail Urdometa. was killed in while, rushing .a ; Turkish- trench at the "point of ithe bayonet; and the son of the. Russian Ambassador at Paris, M. Isvolsky, was severely wounded while* fighting beside Lieutenant Alexis Comnepe, the greatgrandson of the Emperor of Trebizond. ''Bob" Scanlon, the negro boxer, is with the legion, ; and- Francois Faber, from Luxemburg, the professional cyclist, fell in action. So also-did-Alex Carter, the famous?steeplechase jockey. The pay of the'men of the legion is the same as that of the;other sqldiers. of France—five cents a day and an allowance of tobacco and wine. ,

WAR FORTUNES. Some Firms Make Gigantic Profits. "It's an .ill wind tbatvblows nobody good." The war is putting thousands' of pounds every day }nto> the pockets 'idf some people in the Such is, ;the demand for ships that a steamer which was soldi-justlbef ore the war for £II,OOO was re-sold early this year for £loo*ooo;''and has just/been sold again for £185,000. V .; :/■ ~" ; ,"■'.■' - Shipping companies are reaping exprofits. Only: a day or "two >ago the Ctthard Lin© published ;profitßneaW£4oojooo in. excess «f the ' pre-war standard. 'The" latest annual [report of the\:Oouft" Line-shows that;; on voyages, and dividends oh'investments have increased in twelve port affidfeSHolt) made a profit of-. £832f000 in the year, of whioh £200,000 was put to reserve; while 4 another shipping firni' last year,; after twelve : months;'of' War;'* to pay 25 per- cent.; dividend. Other striking figures are'those of

with excess profits ofj£l2£,ooo; the China Mutual; -.withl /£242,000; while Increases of £IOO,OOO v been the.;.rulev-rather, than the , exception. The Steamship \Company has. increased its diyiderids .this year from 20 ,%o 85 per- cent, and months from £42;0T3 to no less than Wm [woods v p|. OQQ'2ZZ& peirßooiro Line has/doubled its profits, the Moor Line has t increased its -• dividend from 17j to 25 per cent.; while the Isle of Man Packet Company has.made a profit of £24,000/ most' of ■: carrying, interned' Germans. ; Turning to other.- businesses, the curious Fact may be;, mentioned that button-making continues to be one of '.. ■the most profitable wair-time industries, , A Birmingham company which .makes a speciality of these articles paid a. dividend of 25 per cent., the net profit ' for 1915 being £63,297, compared with £38.880 in 1914. , . - The Barrow Haematite Steel Com- !> panvj like other undertakings of "its kind, has a good account to give ot itself for the year Whereas the; y! net earnings of the previous year were-i only £1,622. the profits for the last i, twelve months work out at no less than -1 '£69,682. : ■■'■.■■■'

In the dyeing industry extraordinary-, ,> profits have also been made. One Manchester firm of dye makers has in the last twelve, months made a profit of £BO,OOO on a capital.of £90 t OOO, enab- ; , ling it to distribute .a,, dividend ol 30 ;. per cent, on its ordinary shares. Auother Yorkshire dye . company has , raised its profit from £8,000,-in the year beforeythe war" to 630,000 during' the first year of war. ' x " It has "already ' been related how Spillers and Bakers, the South Wales (}§ millers,-increased their profits,from an average, of. £140,000 ,to £367,00.0 ; in 1 " r 1914-15, while the profits-of a firm of well-known Army caterers iave jumped . , from £26,000 to £125,000. Even.after setting aside money for excess; profits, tea companies are distributing 20, 40,and 45 per cent., while' the total net profits of some twenty odd coal and iron companies for the last year '. amounted to £6,180,000, ah increase of : - oyer £2,000,000 on the average - for three years preceding the war. ,\3?he* .' most, striking: among these latter are ■■ the Powell Duffryri, United.{ National: " Collieries, and "the United; Collieries,:, profits, after allowing for the war tax of 50 per cent., work out at' V £l32 i# 3so, £186,350, and £,105,000 respectively. . . ';',,'• - Among other miscellaneous concerns . whose profits have attracted special attention are the British Oil and Cake Mills, with excess profits of £864,000; -';-" the "Shell'-' Transport,' with £305,000;;<'.;. ; the Guinness Company, with £237,000the Union Cold Storage, with £115,000; Lever Brothers, with £882,000; ;Free- ( many Hardy, and Willis, with.excess; .profits of £72,300, showing perity of the boot and'shoe trade; and % the great Imperial Tobacco Company, with excess profits, of .'over; half a ( ; ' million.';' ■ '■■■•"'" ~ ; * ; "■■'■' '■'"'■ ■ ;V'ov '■*&"? ■•■■■ v ' '.•■.- ■ : ' p . "f* - '"■,.',

HONOURS OF WAR. .^vt 1 The expression, ''with ofi' war,"" which is sometimes used; in- ;con-;fe nectioh with the surrehder of tfobps—r "■ ■! such as when a besieged party eapitu-: i lates-f-is- usually construed; to include v;; the right to mardh with colours dis- -|: played, drums beating, bayonets fixed, and swords drawn; .but of actual details of such■ arrangement^are,; generally a matter of agreement before- J Sand between the victor and van-'f-quished. ■■.;':- ; • . In 'the Franco-German war the j?ar- ,: rison of Belfbrt, under Colonel DenfoPt- ; Rochereau, who surrendered under instructions from his Governments werfy ; in' recpgnition of their brave defence, 1 allowed free withdrawal with ! ■• the - honours of war,;" and they were; per*: Emitted to take their: eagles," colours, arms, horses, carriagesj the military telegraph apparatus, the bajgr*,' gage, ,of the. officers,; the kits of the;' ; men, and the archives of the* fortress'.

FRANCE'S LLOYD GEORGE

Making the' Munition Works Efficient. The fwb men.behind the men behiad the guns of France and Britain are both of humble birth and origin. Mr. Lloyd George, Minister of Mumtions, N rose from vijlage green to Downing; Street; . his confrere, M. Albert Thomas, who has; organised the armarvments of France, has risen from bakers boy to \ Cabinet rank. /,', As a schoolboy, M. Thomas, who' was born in 1878, displayed abnormal cleverness. He ■stood head % and shoulders above, his classmates intellectually',-• taking prizes for history and " philosophyi, and winning scholarships which'enabled him to teavel and widen Ms knowledge, in other 'countries. First he we'At through Siberia, then visited GermJ&y, where hag took a course' ;6f leetutqa at Berlin OTftyersities. Afterwaraslhe wont to Smyrna and Cohstajitinople, adding .largely tohis knowledge- , /af-menand;matters].':;.: ■• a}, ■. »- ' Returning to" France, M. Thomas settled down tojowrnailism, and scored a great success with a series -of'articles on legislation ior the working classes. ■■"' It wag these articles which Mtimately led him to take, up municipal and political woirk, and-in xlue coarse -he was elected -,a deputy. This was six years'agbj.aiid'his, great chanae «ajne . when v >war broke out. ' '"', * '' ; ■ Attached „to the state of a famous general,' he was asked, when it became obvious that there.was a.weak spot in the organisation of France's mUitajfy

resources, to endeavour'to remedy this, ■...,■. That'weak spot was the lack of mum- ... ition w or kers.' M. Thomas was given an absolutely free hand, and in a short time, as the r result of keen observation,. . - he "had organised the 'work of; thpu-w sands of Willing hands for making Shot , and 'shell, guns, and ;, '.Lloyd George'is doing. H? knew,that „ the man behind the gun depended on the man in the munition factory tor : support, and under his "push and go the output in French factories went up ,' ° "There cannot be two kinds of[terms L. | for Frenchmen to-day,''- be rej cently...""They;..are. all fitting, ,-* « . delicate-compliment implying that |ne makers of shot, and shell :.a're doing ;«■•..■■; much* in another-way as the men in 6 of h & berets of is-his cleverness incbopsmg - ; the heads of the various departments. • - He believes in the man who, like himself,'has won through by praotioal abilty A man has only,to prow> that ~ he knows his bus order, to be .- ! nniistM in the wonderful, munition -> i ■on the other-side of the GhaimeT; ? ""mT Lloyd George -is noW Secretary of State for War, in succession to L<ml Kitchener. * , i *i' - „. ■ r.;->"