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Show CLAIM OF GERMAN H 1 0 H ERCO M M AND Story of Retirement on the Marne as Part of Set Program Pro-gram Given the Lie. . (By tho Associated Press.) WITH THE BRITISH ARMY IN FRANCE, Tuesday, July 23. The claim of the German higher command tha the retirement on the Marne is a part of a set program is given the lie by an order of General Von Boehm, commander of the Seventh army. The Seventh army has borne the full weight of the Foch counter-offensive on the west, and its divisions around Soissons suffered heavily at the hands of the Americans, while those east of Chateau Thierry were thrown back across the Marne by the pressure of the French. General Bochm's Order. For this reason the order of General von Doehm, written a month prior to the beginning of tho battle, Is of unusual un-usual significance. He deplores the lack of discipline which resulted in the pillaging of stores in the back areas during the advance in May when all edible booty found in the wake of the retiring French spoedlly vanished, Instead of being distributed among the hungry troops in duo proportions. Tho order continues: j "It is necessary to depart from tho beaten track, which has been followed in the utilization of material and provisions pro-visions and stores from the occupied territory. Hopes of the utilization of captured food as rations and of tho distribution of a fixed portion of the. provisions to the fighting troops have been disappointed. The soldiers1 have taken these provisions themselves and eaten them, without treating them as a part of tho authorized scale of rations. ra-tions. Some Units Suffer Privations. "In this way some units which have chanced to have the opportunity to capture booty of this description, have lived in abundance, while others arc suffering privations. Further, it has not even been the troops in the front lino to whom this more abundant supply sup-ply of food has fallen, but second line troops, train echelons and especially, stragglers who are roaming about behind be-hind the army. ."It has even happened that men have taken food without authority and by force from the stores in the military mili-tary occupation and administration and, I regret to say, some officers have not been ashamed to Interfere with the guard In the execution of their duty and to insult the officials to whose charge' the provisions were entrusted. en-trusted. It appears to be necessary for the supply officials to follow the first line troops as closely as possible and to be accompanied by escorts ot cavalry or police, so that important stores and depots may at least be administered ad-ministered by them with as little delay de-lay as possible. Order Must Be Maintained. "If our progress results in the occupation oc-cupation of a new area this must be placed under a regular system of exploitation ex-ploitation as soon as possible. Order must be maintained in the villages by sentries and patrols. The troops must be prevented and prohibited from making requisitions in the fiolds and taking the crops. The people at home are so short of all provisions necessary neces-sary to life that enough can never bo done to diminish'1 the amount which they have to supply to the army In the field. "Rapid and complete seizure and economic use of provisions may prove of capital importance for the continuation continu-ation of the operations." Widespread Pillage. The pillaging in the back areas, of which von Boehm complains, appears to have become widespread. Recent orders Issued by the commanders of the Eighteenth and Second armies, opposite op-posite the British, have revealed losses which seem almost Incredible considering consid-ering that the German military machine ma-chine has been notorious for its iron discipline. Trains have been held up and the guards killed and provisions carried away by gangs of desperate soldiers intent upon satisfying their hunger even If they are shot for It. As a rule tho troops In tho front line are well fed and prisoners recently taken corroborate this, but in order to supply them with adequate provisions the rations of the divisions resting or training in the back areas are cut down to a minimum and the amount doled out to each man today is not I sufficient to satisfy his normal needs. Orders Issued In Mild Language. All the orders issued on the decacK enco of discipline have been couched in curiously mild language, being in effect more of an appeal than a threat, as though tho higher command realized real-ized that the men were in a dangerous mood and disciplined to submit to severe se-vere punishment. While too high hopes must not be based on theso reports of insubordination, insubordina-tion, it remains a fact that the discipline discip-line of the German army at least on the western front is in a bad way, and the present defeat on the Marne does not seem likely to improve IL ALLIED MARINE LOSSES. LONDON, July 24. The losses to British and allied shipping due to enemy ene-my action or marine risk for the month of June totalled 275,629 gross tons, this being the lowest record for any month since September, 1916. The British losses totalled 161,062 tons and allied and neutral losses 114,-567. 114,-567. The total losses for the quarter ending end-ing June 30 amounted to 946,578 tons which was tho lowest record for any quarter since the third quarter of 1916. Sailings continue at the high level of recent months. The tonnage of steamships steam-ships of 500 gross tns and over entering en-tering or clearing from United Kingdom King-dom ports, other than coastwise and cross channel vessels, totals 7,340,386 tons. The total sailings for the quarter quar-ter ending Juno 30, was considerably higher than the sailings of the two preceding quarters. on |