GENERAL WAR NEWS.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 1754, 20 November 1917, Page 1

GENERAL WAR NEWS.

U.S. SOLDIERS’ TOBACCO FREE. Tobacco sent to American soldiers henceforth will enter France free of duty. Similar arrangements already have been made as regards British, Belgian, Russian and Portuguese troops fighting in France, AND STILL GOING. Give us only two months of this kind of warfare, and wo shall end the war, and make peace within three months. — Herr Zimmerman (German Foreign Minister) to Mr Gerrard. And this was on January 31st. . THE SOUND OF THE GUNS. The Berlin Lokal-An/.eiger states that, the thundering of the guns around Verdun is clearly audible Jn the Rhine Palatinfite, 100 miles away, while the roaring of the heavy guns on the Tsonzo front is heard distinctly at various points in the Bavarian Alps, 150 miles off. WHITE APRONS A LUXURY. The prices for all kinds of laundry work have gone up to such an extent in Paris that housewives are seriously considering the question of whether the servant’s white apron will not have to go. The commonest kind of apron untrimmed, innocent of frills of any kind, costs flvepence to wash. The more elaborate varieties, that have lacetrimmed bibs and are pleated down the front, cost anything up to 2s 6d just now. A SINN FEIN DOCTOR. Ten doctors applied to the Guardians of the South Dublin Union for the position of medical officer of a dispensary district, and in the final poll Dr. Richard Hayes, who was sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment in connection with the rebellion, and was aranested with the other Irish prisoners, defeated his opponents by three voles, and was declared elected. BAREFOOTED GERMAN CHILDREN. Berlin’s public schools re-open-ed for the autumn term at the end of August. On the first day at the Kaiser Friedrich Gymnasium, which is the largest in Germany, the headmaster delivered an address to the pupils strongly recommending them to go barefooted until the winter as a means of saving leather for the more serious time ahead. SAMMIE’S OPINION OF ANZACS. An American soldier writes thus of his impressions of the Anzacs: The Australians arc a line body of: men —huge fellows. We nearly resemble the New Zealanders in uniforms. Gas attacks are harmless now when the new masks arc worn. We can laugh at the Bodies now and live in the gas for hours, provided the helmet is not broken. SERGEANT-MAJOR AT 72. According to the Liberie, the oldest sergeant-major in the French Army is Julien Jourdain, who formerly sang at the Paris Opera, and is now taking part, at the age of 72, in his second big war. He won the Medaille Militaire in 1870 on the battlefield of Froeschwiller, volunteered for service when the present war broke' out, and obtained the Croix de Guerre for conspicuous bravery during an attack in which his son was killed at his side. MACHINE-GUN STRETCHER. Writing of his experiences in France, an American soldier says; * —“One of the English soldiers told me of the latest German treachery —they carry a stretcher on the field and have a machine-gun under it. When they get near t-he English they open fire. Some of the Canadians told of finding their comrades crucified. No prisoners arc taken by Canadians now. ‘Mustard gas’ is the new gas the Germans use now. This is not deadly, but chokes one. The new gases are now harmless if one has time to put on the respmitors. Everyone is hoping, on the eve of our great adventure, and we all hope to be the lucky fellow to come back home. NORMAN BROOKES’ EXPERIENCE. The London Field states that Norman Brookes, the lawn (onnis champion in 3.914, was a passenger on an eastern-bound transport that was recently torpedoed. Boat* were lowered, and Brookes was among those who reached land in safety. For over a year he had served in the Australian Rod Cross in Egypt, with the honorary rank of lieutenant-co-lonel. He returned to Melbourne on r.hort leave last year, then came back to England, and at the time of his shipwreck was on the way out to Mesopotamia,