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Otago Daily Times, Issue 17502, 19 December 1918, Page 5

POISON GAS EXPERTS. UNNOTICED WAR HEROES. LONDON, December 17. Among the unnoticed war heroes aro the ! poison gas experts, -whose duty it was to ( test the various gases and masks daily, j They were shut in sealed chambers con- ( taining the gases, and it wa« inevitable ( that they should absorb some poison into ( their systems, for somotimes they were , shut in for hours at a time. Tho experts looked far .ahead, and found antidotes and protections against any possible gases in addition to those actually employed by the Germans. Phosgene was Germany's deadliest gas, but a protective helpiet was devised-four months before it "was required, and this amount of start was never lost. Twenty million small box-respirators were distributed. The head, of the Anti-gas Department, Colonel Harrison, who died of influenza recently, -was warned that ho could not live another week if he persevered with his work, and he swiftly succnmbed to influenza.—A. and N.Z. Cable. NOT IN VAIN. THE GALLIPOLI CAMPAIGN. ■ GENERAL BIRDWOOD'S TRIBUTE TO NEW ZEALAND EES. LONDON, December 17. Sir James Mills presided at the Aus-. traHan and New Zealand Clubs' luncheon to General Birdwood. Mr Winston Churchill was among those present. General _ Birdwood, responding to the toast of his health, said the future would do full justice to the Mediterranean expedition Although the Dardanelles had not been forced, the campaign accomplished the annihilation of the power of the Turkish army. No name stood higher in the world than that of the Australian and New Zealand soldiers; while in the whole army there was not any better organised or jnore efficient division than the New Zealanders. Mr Churchill said a mournful splendour played about the great operation on Gallipoli. It was launched without universal allied help. There were . scarcely any graves in the whole battlefield on which one could better write the words "Not in vain " than on those Anzac graves on Gallipoli. Sir lan Hamilton had been set a task which perhaps no human being could have achieved with the remnants left after the needs of the armies in France had been met. It now became our statesmen's duty to preserve the unity, of the Empire, and carry Imperial organisation a step forward. We must expect the overseas dominions to desire to keep in closer touch in the march of events confronting them in the future.—A. and N.Z. and Heuter. ITALIAN CASUALTIES. A MILLION AND A-HALF. NEW YORK, December 16. General Guglierate, the military attache to the Italian Embassy, states that Italy suffered 1,500,000 casualties in the war, including 500,000 killed and 500,000 permanently disabled. Fifteen thousand Italian officers were killed.—A. and N.Z. Cable. EAST AFRICA CAMPAIGN. SOMETHING ABOUT ITS DIFFICULTIES. LONDOa", December 17. A despatch from General Vandeventer, commanding the British forces in East Africa, graphically describes the tremendous difficulties under which the campaign was conducted: It says: "It may appear extraordinary that Colonels von Lettow's and von Beck's forces should so often have succeeded in evading thfe British and Portuguese converging columns; but the Germans were well guided. They generally avoided the regular tracks, and moved by native paths through the heart of the bush. There is a stretch of 1000 square miles of such bush between the Rovuma and Zambesi Rivers, and much of the country is a ■> terra incognita, while the natives inhabit- • ing it are unsubdued or openly rebellious. "The campaign of 1916-17 has shown that it is practically impossible to round up a mobile enemy in such a difficult terrain; and, from the character of the German commander, it appeared improbable that a general surrender would take place until his force had been reduced to a state of innocuousness. The campaign, therefore, was one of virtual extermination. These operations were even oon- , ducted through a heavy rainy season. , Some idea of the heavy obstacles encoun- ■ tered is shown by the fact that the troops . often had to force their way through [ tunnels through bamboo thickets and ele- [ phant grass."—Reuter.

MACKENSIifN'S REARGUARD INTKRNED.

'BUDAPEST, December 17.

SITUATION IN BULGARIA. BORIS STILL ON THE THRONE. LONDON, December 17. i (Received Dec. 18, at 7.30 p.m.) Telegraphic communication with Bulgaria has practically ceased for several weeks. News via Sofia shows that, the German reports of the abdication and flight of King Boris and the establishment of a republican form of government are quite untrue. Boris is still King, and concurred willingly in the formation of a democratic Ministry under M. Theodoroff. —Renter. ALLIED PRISONERS IN SILESIA. , STILL SUFFERING HARDSHIPS. WORSE OFF THAN BEFORE. VIENNA, December 17. (Received Dec. 18, at 8 p.m.) Several escaped French prisoners state that in Silesia British and French prisoners are still obliged to work in the mines uninterrupted eight-hour shifts under continued bad treatment, the only difference the armistice has made being that whereas previously they received a certain pittance of food daily, now they receive nothing.— Times.

Marshal Mackensen has been informed that.the rearguard of his army in Transylvania, comprising 2000 men and 180 officers, has been disarmed and interned by Rumanian troops. Mackensen has protested against this to Budapest.—A. and N.Z. Cable.

THE OLYMPIC:

HOW SHE SANK A U BOAT.

HALIFAX (Nova Scotia), Dec. 17.

Captain Hales, of the White Star liner Olympic, in receiving a , loving cup from the Halifax citizens, described how the Olympic sank a U boat a few months ago. The liner cut through the submarine without the propellers going slower by a single revolution.—A. and N.Z. Cable.

NEW RUMANIAN MINISTRY. JASSY, December 17.

M. Bratiano (former Romanian Premier) is forming a National Ministry.—A and N.Z. Cable.

COST OF AUSTRALIAN RECRUITING. MELBOURNE, December 18.

In the Senate Senator Pearce, Minister of Defence, stated the cost of recruiting from January, 1917, to October, 19ld! totalled £31,830.—Press Association.

BOYCOTTING ENEMY ALIENS.

ACTION BY LONDON HOTELKEEPERS.

LONDON, December 17. (Received Dec. 18, at--7.30 p.m.) The Hotelkeepers' Union has decided to neither employ nor accommodate a person of enemy origin for the next 10 years.—A. and N.Z. and Renter.

WOMEN'S POLITICAL EIGHTS.

AGITATION IN FRANCE.

LONDON, December 17. (Received Dec. 18, at 7.30 p.m.) Four great French feminist v groups bave demanded the recognition of woman's political rights before next election.—A. and N.Z. and Reuter.

MONARCHICAL PLOT IN AUSTRIA,

SEVERAL GENERALS INVOLVED,

COPENHAGEN, December 17. (Received Dec. 18, at 7.30 p.m.) Vienna advices report a monarchical meeting at which several generals nominated the Archduke Max, brother of the ex-Emperor, as Charles's successor. The Soviet is preparing the sharpest c&unter measures.—A. and N.Z. and Reuter.

THE HOUSEWIFE PLEASED. Naturally tho housewife is concerned when shifting becomes imperative, but by employing us she can have, an easy mind. Sho won't be put to undue trouble, nor will her furnituro b© mishandled. Our movers are real exports, and the work done invariably pleases—so miiok. careful, trad(femcnliko.—The New Zealand Express Company (Limited). —Advt. j

Bells ringing! Novr's time for a son's No. 10. Good whisky, worthy tho occasion.—Advt.