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Show NEWSPAPER MAN DESCRIBES VISIT TO HEADQUARTERS un equally unruffled manner. Ar. hour later it was learned that the Germans j had given up their attempt after being unmercifully flayed by the gruelling lire which our host had turned loose. I From time to time an officer would appear at the door and report the progress prog-ress of various movements under way,' -and throughout the evening there was, no letup iu the handling of business. The whole procedure of this work of directing armies seemed to operate as smoothly as the service at the dinner j table to which we were shown. When the meal was finished and we were comfortably seated in the main. ' room we heard from the lips of one of i the officers a story of the thoughts and feelings of a man dlrectiug an offensive. offen-sive. For the moment we saw a series of pictures thrown on the screen of our imagination. The officer asleep In his room. A servant calls him In the small hours. He dresses and walks slowly to his office, where a number of telegraph and telephone operators sit at keys and switchboards. A cup of coffee Is steaming at his desk, a broad, flat table, ta-ble, upon which is spread a great detail de-tail map with flags marking the line of attack. He drinks the coffee, lights his pipe and turns to greet his brother officers. Men Go Over the Top. The hour of the attack Is marked by a general glance at watches and then the phone rings. The men are over the top ! Several phones ring. A number of objectives have been reached. An S. O. S. signal from "A" section. All reports are marked upcra the big map by flags, and as each objective Is reached a new flag is added. As reports re-ports of trouble come from different points certain barrages are instructed to cut loose with everything they have. A "cut-in" shows the men lying by their guns, which are loaded and trained upon certain points. The S. O. S. signal comes to the gunner nearest near-est the string, who reaches out and gives It a yank while the other gun--ners jump into action. Before the first shell has reached its destination a second Is on Its way and the big show Is on In full swing. We see the men bombing the Germans out of dugouts dug-outs ; fighting hand to hand In the open ground with vicious thrusting of bayonets. Finally the picture reverts to headquarters, head-quarters, where we see the officer, tired eyed but smiling, reading the congratulations from all along the line and transmitting them to the victorious victori-ous men out In the shell holes and trenches. "I don't believe there's a one of as that wouldn't have given a great deal to be right down there with our men," he said. "That's the worst of having a staff job. One must take a distant view of things and stay out of the show, which Isn't a pleasant task, especially es-pecially for that young officer who just handed me this report. I'll venture to say that he'd yell with joy If he got orders to go back to his regiment tonight." to-night." Along toward midnight onr disabled car came limping up to headquarters for us and our farewells were said outside the door In the inky blackness of a rainy night. We shook hands there In the darkness with these men who had been our hosts. From the distance dis-tance came the deep-throated growl of heavy guns. "We never let up on them," said a voice from the steps. "It has been just as you hear It now for months, and we'll keep on until we finish the job. We are going to win." And that is the spirit that pervades not only the headquarters staff but every camp and every dugout on the British front. if- long ranks of filing' cases. It is pioneer pio-neer correspondence under the new order of things between Britain aud the United States. The following afternoon brought us by a lucky chance to Canadian headquarters, head-quarters, where we had the privilege of spending several hours with other men who are conducting operations. It was more than a lucky chance that brought us to Canadian headquarters almost at the same hour that the Germans Ger-mans begun an attack it was an act of providence. Lighted by Lamps and Candles. It can be set down here without further parley that two newspaper men were never treated more royally than we were by these men who at the moment we entered their quarters were directing a barrage against a strong German attack. In the midst of tea the door opened and for a few minutes we were under the impression that every general on the western front had been deluged into in-to our presence. It was a party of officers who had dropped in for tea aud a chat with the army commanders. command-ers. Instead they had a rather amusing amus-ing talk with two American correspondents, corre-spondents, who were found interesting interest-ing because they had been with the American army on the Mexican' border and in France and had some idea of what the United States troops could do. Their intense Interest In preparations prepara-tions of the United States for war was manifested in every question, and their friendliness toward everything American Ameri-can was more than evident. In two minutes the formality of introduction in-troduction was over with and for fully half an hour the Canadian general staff dropped their heavy responsibilities responsibili-ties and enjoyed the unique experience experi-ence of entertaining two Americnns. It was the first time that such a gathering gath-ering had ever assembled in this particular par-ticular building and all made the most of it. The staff captain who had introduced" intro-duced" us suggested that we get a little exercise, explaining that the staff officers offi-cers usually spent an hour in the evening eve-ning playing badminton or some other game just to keep In condition. We went out to a well constructed court similar to a tennis court and taped off in the same manner. For an hour we watched four officers bat the feathered feath-ered shuttlecock across the net with a display of skill and strategy that was worthy of men who used strategy In a greater and more deadly manner. We took a hand in the game for a time and then watched four others play off , the staff championship. Meet Famous Strategist. When the game broke up and we reentered re-entered the headquarters building we Were presented to a man whose name 1 is famous the length and breadth of the British front. His keen stratagems and forceful work have won for him the praise and admiration of every Canadian fighting in France and his record as a fighter would fill several books. Wre were fortunate in having an opportunity of talking with him, for he, like the late General Funston, is keenly interested in newspaper work and it gave us a good start on the right plane. We explained to him our reasons for coming to headquarters and how the car that was to meet us had broken down. "Well, I'm glad you're here, boys," he said. "I'll just arrange to have a couple of places set for you at dinner. How are things over in the U. S. A.J" We had been talking with him only a few minutes when an officer brought to him word that an S. O. S. signal had been received from a certain point indicating in-dicating that the Germans were preparing pre-paring to attack. There was no bluster. blus-ter. The information was given in a low, steady voice and the orders for certain counter-measures were given In Nerve Centers of British and Canadian Ca-nadian Armies Peaceful Even in Battle. IS LIKE BUSINESS HGliSE Function Calmly and Efficiently Without With-out Turmoil or Slightest Disorder Young Staff Officers Complain Com-plain Because They Must Stay Out of the Show. London. During the past three years of warfare there have been dally communications emanating from a mysterious place called general headquarters, head-quarters, whose location or surroundings surround-ings have never been mentioned. In fact ore not known to the average soldier sol-dier fighting in France, writes Hal O'Flaherty in the New York Sun. To the citizen unacquainted with the affairs of giant armies the mention of the term general headquarters brings up a picture of a building In the heart of the great army activities, wdth mud-splattered mud-splattered couriers dashing up on horse or cycle and with sentries pacing to and fro armed to the teeth, while worried wor-ried generals sit about great tables within tracing upon their maps the various positions In the front line. The fact of the matter Is that British Brit-ish general headquarters is perhaps the most peaceful and orderly place that one could imagine. The roads approaching ap-proaching the main buildings are not dined with troops and paraphernalia of war, nor Is there any of the much-talked-of dramatics of fighting. Guards Are Unarmed. It is a business house, conducted on the most advanced systems of efficiency. efficien-cy. The traffic coming up to the heart of the gigantic chain of fighting units Is regulated by military policemen who know their business and keep motors and pedestrians going in the right direction. di-rection. , The soldiers on duty in front of the building visited by the correspondent were unarmed and directed the arriving arriv-ing officers in a manner as courteous as that displayed by the commissionaire commission-aire at the war office in London. Within With-in there was nothing to indicate the presence of the greatest army chieftains. chief-tains. The furnishings were modest, almost homely, and the atmosphere of vhe whole place was that of a peaceful find well conducted business establishment. establish-ment. To secure an Interview with one of the men who conduct the affairs of the British armies was simplicity Itself. A telephone call sufficed to tell him of our coming and we were ushered into his office immediately upon our arrival. An officer of the United States army, known as a "liaison officer," had quarters quar-ters nearby. He has been working as hard as any man of affairs at home could work and his surroundings showed he wasn't in the habit of entertaining en-tertaining visitors. "Take that rocking chair over in the corner," he said as we entered, and one of the party went over as directed and sat on the wooden box that had held his typewriter. A wooden table, two chairs and a rack for books made up the furnishings of his office. On his table was a stack of correspondence corre-spondence a foot high, which if it could be read by the German high command would probably give them heart failure. fail-ure. There was something significant In that stack of letters. It was probably prob-ably the first nucleus of a correspondence correspond-ence between the directing officials of the American army and the British upon whom they are depending for advice ad-vice and Information. Some day that little pile will have grown into an entire en-tire library of documents that will fill |