CAPTURING GERMAN TRADE.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 16593, 17 January 1916, Page 3

CAPTURING GERMAN TRADE.

TOY-MAKING IN LONDON. | The blank in tho following extract from | a letter from a New Zealand soldier in London refers to a young lady who is a Duncdinito:—" has now quito a responsible and well-paid position, being head woman of the Lord Roberts toy-making factory for maimed soldiers. Tho original toy-making scheme til at she was in waa bought out by tho Lord Roberts Fund i people, and the original staff retained. They havo £85,000 hehind them, and tho works l are being enlarged every day, and branches i are t-o bo opened in most of tho largo towns I of England, Scotland, and Ireland. Many other manufacturers havo started making toys, trying to capturo tho trade from Germany. It requires a considerable outlay of capital and tho construction of very expensive machinery. Many of tho little toys that wo havo been in tho habit of buying requiro very complicated machines to make them, and the toys havo to be turned out in enormous quantities so that they can bo sold cheaply. Fortunately 's factory have this capital behind them, and so aro on a firm footing. They will be quito satisfied with only a sma.ll profit this year, and are at present working long hours to get enough toys made for tho Christmas season." THE DISTURBED MEETING IN LONDON. ' A NEW ZEALAND SOLDIER'S ACCOUNT. Tho following is an extract from a letter from a New Zealand soldier, invalided in London, relative to the meeting called by tho Union of Democratic Control, which was broken up:— " Tho other night a peace mooting was to bo held in London, run by Ramsay MacDonald and some other ' rotters.' but tho Anzacs, as wo aro jointly called. ' bust' it up and turned it into a recruiting meeting instead. About 9 o'clock on the morning some of tho sergeants in tho camp hero noticed advertisements, and on the spur of the moment decided to go to London. They sent up two men to reserve 20 scats. Later they called at the Times office and gave them five minutes to print some big posters:—'Victory Beforo Peace,' andtheeo they pasted over the notice of the meeting. There were a good many civilians in tho hall, and the gallery was full of ' Tommies.' Someone called out just as the meeting started, 'Come on, Anzac,' and the sergeants moved forward in a body joined by some Canadians. The women in the hall fled into a back room. The sergeants climbed up on to the platform, deaf to the protests of the speakers, and one by one the latter wore quietly carried out and dropped in the street. This was dono to an accompaniment of cheers from tho troops in the hall. A few chairs and a table collapsed in the process owing to the resistance of some of tho speakers. Next, a strong rope wae sent for, and with this the soldiers threatened to pull down ono of the pillars supporting the roof until the lessee of the hall promised not to lot it for any such purpose again. The crowd sang ' God Save the King ' and ' Tipperary,' and marched to Trafalgar square, and held a recruiting meeting there, getting about 40 recruits. All who were there thought it great sport. There was no hooliganism, but just a determined and strenuous stopping of the meeting. The papers all reported it, and gave our men a great hearing." SOME IMPRESSIONS OF AN ARTILLERYMAN. Although this war has been called an artillery war we have not heard much of what the guns and gunners did in the recent campaign in Gallipoli. In modern warfare infantry is useless without artillery, and vice versa, and the following is_ an interesting account of artillery operations on the peninsula, supplied to us by an artilleryman who recently returned from that quarter:— "Being a member of No. 3 Battery, which landed at Cape Helles, I have had the pleasure of seeing the regular soldier, and know what he is worth. In the fight ho is brave, and it was an honour for a New Zealand battery to support such men as the South Wales Borderers, the Scottish Borderers, the Dublin Fusiliers, the Munster Fusiliers, and the Inniskillens, and these men had nothing but praise for our shooting. On the 25th April, a day that will never be forgotten in history, I was awakened by the boom of big guns, and, dressing quickly, was soon on deck to see for the first time the British navy in action. It seemed like a picture show. We were right in the midst of the excitement, being close inshore, and could feel the concussion of the guns on the warships as they poured their hail of lead into the Turkisn trenches and big shells into the forte. Different to the picture show, however, it was the real thing—the vivid flash from the guns, the boom, and a cloud of smoke ana dust as the Turkish parapets crumple in or as part of a concrete wall gave way. Our ships gave the shore such a pounding that we were quite sure nothing could live through 'such an inferno. But something did, as we were soon to see. The landing party, the Lancashire Fusiliers, were the honoured regiment—a doubtful honour from a civilian's point of view—but a glorious honour for the regiment. A pinnace took in tow the pontoons, ! crammed with men, and towed them close inshore. None of these poor chaps were landed. The Turkish machine guns, carefully concealed in a cave and in pite, poured in deadly volleys. The next lot fared even worse, 'because when they jumped into the water they were caught in the barbwire entanglements and mowed down by the Turks. Now the big gun began to play. A warship came close inshore, and, with a few well-directed shots, soon silenced tho machine guns. Meantime the engineers and the Lancashire boys were busy cutting the barb-wire and making good their landing, and, though still under a heavy fire, they carried all before them. They "fought and died like heroes. Little praise has been given to these men, but they made a great name for themselves, and uphold the honour of their regiments. Later in the morning we steamed up the coast, and saw batches of our infantry going ashore. The Howitzer Battery was landed, and, with its high angle fire, did good work. Owing to the small front and hilly nature of the country there was no space for us, so we went back to Helles and landed at W Beach with the regulars. Under cover of darkness wo got our guns safely ashore, and slept that night, for the first time, actually under fire. " Early in the morning wo set out to take lip our first position, near the Y Beach, which was strongly held by tho Turks. It was a typical New Zealand morning—the birds were singing, the sun was shining brightly, and tho fields were a mass of red poppies. After being cramped up on the troopship it was grand to strctch

one's legs, «vcn on a foreign soil. If "t had not been for tho bursting of shells, soldiers' gear, and half-buried Turks lying about, ono could almost liavo imagined ho was walking ovor Flagstaff on a summer's morn. While digging in tho Turks started bursting shrapnel oyer us. At first it was a case of ' duck,' but wo soon realised that their shooting was not of, tho best. The water was very bad in this position and very ecarco, so you can quito imagine wo had many visitors— tho kind that stieketh closer than a brother. Our first meal of bully beef and biscuits was eaten by hungry men with great gusto. This is a good omorgenoy ration, but it should not bo tho chief item on tho menu, as it has been in this campaign. After tho big advance on May 8, in which tho New Zeal&ndere participated, wo moved forward, and took up a position on the cliff side, and at tho rear of Ghurica Bluff. Wo harassed tho Turks from .this position for quito a long time without boing spotted, and when we wero their shooting was very erratic. Sometimes, however, they would land shells very close, and then, just when it looked afi though wo wero in for a hot time, their shooting would go to pieces. In on« _ bombardment they sent us 170 shells without doing a particle of damage. The spell was broken one morning, however, when wo started a bombardment. A Turkish battery opened up on us and gave us a very warm tune. Sand bags were torn down and limber wheels smashed to splinters, _ and then wo realised that the Turks had either been superseded by German gunners or had had new guns supplied to them. After that there was a marked improvement in the Turkish shooting, and we could never open fire without getting a heavy shelling. Although our casualty list was comparatively small wo all had somo miraculous escapes.

Artillery is p!a; i:ig a big part in this war, and in many ways takes away tho glamour from even an infantry charge. For instance, there is to be .i general attack right along tho line. Each battery has its own set work. Ono battery will be used for cutting barb-wire entanglements by either low shrapnel bursts or percussion shell. Tho howitzers aro either pouring shrapnel into tho trenches or assisting the heavier guns to smash down tho Turkish parapets. After a bombardment of two hours or so of tho Turkish first line trenches there is a lull, and the infantry dash forward to hold or take the Turkish trenches. The field guns open up again, shells over our own men and into tho Turkish trenches. This is a very ticklish job, for a few yards may mean the killing of our own men, so every gunner is out to do his best. The major and observing officer, of course, have the most trying and difficult jobs, watching the effect and correcting any errors in our fire. An attack is always welcomed. It breaks the monotony of this dull trench warfare, and although you may bo getting a heavy shelling you never notice the shells bursting, so interested ar,o you in your work. It is when you aro ordered to stop firing and aro waiting for the next order that you have time to think, and as the shells burst near by you wonder whether they will get a direct hit on to your gun or who is to bo the next on the casualty list. Onco we had just had a scramble for some tea in tho gun pit when the order came down to stand by as tho Turks wero about to make a counterattack, and as they swarmed over their parapets wo mowed them down and drove them back. Any who escaped tho shrapnel were cut down by our infantry's machino gun and rifle fire. These trenches are now held, and the rifle fire quietens down to a bit of desultory sniping. A guard is set and the remainder of the gun team roll themselves in their blankets and lio down round tho gun as though they had been living this kind of life always. This is an artilleryman's life from day to day. GUNNER W. M. GIBBS. A cablegram has been received stating that Gunner Wilfrid Martin Gibbs, of tho Fifth Reinforcements, who was reported seriously ill in the 2nd General Hospital, London, is now improving. JOTTINGS. Mr C. S. Neville, stock inspector, and Mr A. M. Paterson, M.R.C.V.IS., have now completed tho purchase of 70 horses in South Canterbury on behalf of the Defence Department (says the Timaru Herald). The horses, taken on the whole, aro a very fine lot—much better than might have been expected in view of all that were bought before. In reply to its protest to tho Government against married men being enlisted when single men are available, the Wangiajiui Borough Council received a letter from the Minister of Defence, stating (says the Herald) that it was difficult to deal with such a matter, and it was one which must be left with the men themselves. In the case of married soldiers, tho Defence Department always arranged for an allotment of pay to their wives; but, if the men did not tell the department they had families, the department had no means of finding out. In cases where wives had objected to their husbands' enlistment without .leaving them sufficiently provided for, the department had in some instances handed the men their discharges. The Christmas cards sent by the officers of H.M.S. New Zealand to their friends are very attractive in design (says the Lyttelton Times). On the outside is a crown worked in gilt, and beneath it, on a dark blue >back|gound, the words, "H.M.S. New Zealand." At the bottom, in gilt lettering, are tho words, "Ake Ako, Ake, Kia Kaha." Inside is a clever sketch, printed in colours, and called "Ah Tag." It shows an officer and his signaller on tho lookout for anything that migh turn up. From a can of hot coffee rises a cloud of "steam, and a bulldog sits alongside. An officer, who sent a card to a looal friend, explained that the dog was meant to represent Pelorus Jaolc, 11, "the new bull-hound which we had given us about four months ago." "Gratitude" has been cynically described as "a lively sense of favours to come." One English "Tommy," however, evidently had a different idea of the meaning of the word. Since the war broke out, Mrs Owen, of Ghuznee street, Wellington, has sent to a nurse friend in Cairo large parcels of socks and balaclavas for the use of the men at the front, and to each she has attached her name and address. By the last mail (says the Post) she received a very handsome hand-woven table centre from a wounded soldier who had received ono of her parcels, and had woven the gift as an expression of his gratitude, while recovering from his wounds. "Money could not buy it," said Mrs Owen, who regards the gift as her greatest treasure. Tho secretary of the Y.M.0.A., Christchurch, has received somo jewellery, to be either sold or melted down and 1 turned into gold, the proceeds to be sent to Egypt to purchase comforts for the troops there (says the Lyttelton Times). The money will bo sent direct to Mr James L. Hay, the Christchurch representative in Cairo, to be used at his discretion in tho hospitals and convalescent homes for tho sick and wounded men needing a few home comforts. One association in the dominion has received quite'a large collection of old watches and pieces of jewollory—heirlooms in some cases,—which can bo molted down and tho gold turned into money. In two cases engagement rings were "turned in, one of the donors stating that she had her wedding ring and did not need two. Many persons are making real sacrifices of this kind. A report on the number of single men eligible for active service, and also the number of aliens, in the employ of the Manukau County Council was presented to the meeting of that body by its foreman on Tuqsday (says tho New Zealand Herald). It was stated that a careful watch had been kept in regard to this matter since the outbreak of war. With the exception of three, all the employees of the council were married men with dependents. The three in question were men who wore' over tho prescribed ago, who had been rejected for military service. _ Tt was stated that there were eases in which contractors were employing eligible men as drivers. Only one alion was employed, and he claimed to bo a Serbian by birth.