The Cambria Daily Leader

NOTES ON THE BATTLE. That was an excellent ,-interview which was obtained with a captured German officer, obviously a brave and intelligent man. Be declared that his men,, whom he spoke of generously and affectionately, were dazed" by the total collapse of all their hopes, that they had fought heroically in spite of losses past belief," and would doubtless fight heroically again if they could be rested and encouraged. THat is no doubt the literal truth as to the psychological state of the German army at the moment. It is 'dazed. It is certainly true that the German soldier has fought .heroically this year. He has been over-fought and over-driven, and no troops in the world could nave resisted suoii a strain without deep and dangerous j cracks developing in their mora l. But we must not believe all the stories we hear about one whole German army crackliia, It must be remembered that every army is feeliug the strain of this terrific year. Take our 31st Division; its history is typical. It was violently engaged in the March offensive, in the hottest corner of the Flanders break; then in severe fighting round Rheims, and just r- cently attacking ,'agsin at Arras. Our own 38th has been well en- gaged., The French h'ave also ben up to the neck" all through this year. But of course there is an essential difference. Just when the Allies might have been expected to be developing symptoms of moral and physical exhaustion the great tonic of vie ton7—hope-—advances, and a real feeling that at least we are "getting on with it" is ad- ministered, the most effective dojie possible. Above all they have the knowledge that a million fresh troops are ready to put the coping stone on their labours. The ques- tion of moral is very simple and very subtle. Hindenburg loiig ago declared ,that the side wifeh the strongest nerves would win. Well, his stra- tegy has brought it about that his side has had the worst strain, so that its nerves are raw and aching. The great question of the moment is "Shall we be able to prevent these nerves recovering?" One does not imagine that the Germans will perish with an hemic stoicism, but one is compelled to recognise that- the German, soldier possesses the elementary 'military virtues in the highest degree, tbat he is tough, resilient and amenable. As was to be expected, we are now having some cold water poured over our hopes. But--it is luke- warm stuff and directed by a hand, well-meaning but not too sincere We are suddenly informed of a! whole series of formidable lines be- ¡ hind the Hindenburg line. But i whoever doubted that they were there,? Surely one line is as hard to hold as another: if one cannot be ?eld aJl are useless. Their line may be shortened and divisions re- lieved, but J in one month more 1 Americans land, than the total number so relieved. It is how- ever, an inevitable characteristic' humanity to greet the, beginning of an. enemy's retreat with exultation and its finish with some gloom, even thùughi w always pre- ordained that the retreat would end on the precise line chosen. Cer- ¡ tainly the Germans are not beaten; certainly there is much to do, but who doubted that? Surely also they are 14 process of defeat; surely an immense amount has been done! The latest feat of the Americans at St. Mihiel is immense. General von Ludendorff is audacious enough to declare that the evacuation of the salient- had been under con- sideration -for years," and that the retirement" was commenced a few- days ago." The obvious answer, as the Times points out to-day, is that the German Higher Command must have been still in the stage (I'[ i consideration when the Ameri- can blow fell, for an early count of prisoners shows a total of 13,300,. and it is believed that the final re- turn of captures will reach a con- siderably higher figure, A further; interesting point is that the town of St. Mihiel and the many villages, recovered were very little damaged, which indicates that the enemy a no time to engage in their usual work of wanton destruction. The real marvel is that the Germans were able to retain possession of their "gat" for four years. After the strenuous attempts to oust them in the first year of the war, their occupation of the salient was never very seriously disturbed. Th'ey derived no great advantage | from it, but they were able to close i the railway line from Commcrcy to Verdun, and so deprived the French of a valuable means of communication during the struggle for Verdun in 1916. The American victory shortens the front by at least twenty miles, and the "Times" makes an inter- esting point when it shows thtt among other things it brings the Allies fiye .niIes nearer to Metz. They, are not more than a dozen, miles from the famous fortress, and j at Faguv they are practically touch- ing the German frontier, which lies just across the Moselle. "Metx has perhaps been shorn of iome ¡ õi t J

I I M" u Eights Ressrved.] j r??/?t'???eM/'?'ed.j j HOW SHALL WE THANK AMERICA? I-' BY I Right Rev. J. E. C. IVelldon, D.D., Dean of Durham. All Britons are eager at this time it" show their gratitude to the United States of America. But do the citizens of the' United States wish to be thanked ? They hav/er done their duty. They are playing a. splendid, perhaps a decisive, part iji the war. But the United States recognise the service done by Great Britain, as Great Britain recognises the service done by the United States. Even if the laurels at the end, of the war belong especially to the United States, did they not at the beginning belong to Great Britain ? But, apart from formal expressions of gratitude. there are many ways in which Great Britain and the Unite,t States may and will draw hear each to the other. Their armies' have fought in the same trenches. Their national flags fly side by side. If Great Britain can celebrate In- dependence Day, still more can the United States celebrate Empire Day. The community of sacrifice between them has sanctified the community of blood, of speech, of law and of faith. 4 I hope that English schoolboys and schoolgirls will be encouraged to study the history of the United States. They will learn there how the ancient prin- ciples of public life in Great Britain have been adapted to the circumstances of the great Republic with its population of a hundred million souls. They will find in the Constitution of the United States safeguards not recognised by tho Parlia- ment of the United Kingdom. It was my habit, when I was a schoolmaster, to tell my pupilg that they ought to read the lives of the of the United States. There has been no nobler line of Governors in any country. Some of them have been men, such as Washington and Lincoln, and may not I add Wilson? who have attained the highest rank among "the choice and master-spirits" of the ages. Is it impossible that at some not distant time a statue or bust of Washing- ton should be placed in Westminster Abbey ? I look forward to a greater intimacy between .the schools and the Universities of Great Britain and of the United States. They might well be linked together not only by correspondence between their pupils but by an interchange of visits paid for purposes whether athletic or in- lellectual, and by a reciprocity of honours. Nor .should tho historical sanc- i tuarieg of English-speaking Christendom, "uch ns Westminster Abbey and St. Paul's Cathedral, lose any opportunity of concentrating the relation between the two kindred peoples on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. It is necessary, as Pre- sident Wilson has said, b the present war to make the world a sa fe place for •democracy. The democracies of Great Britain and of the United States will, 1 hope, come to understand each other letter in the coming years. They will serve each other; they will, if need be, make some sacrifice each for the other. President Lincoln offered generous testi- mony to the unselfishness shown by the operatives of Lancashire in their loyalty to the cause of freedom during the Civil War in the United States. It was an fexample which has borne fruit already, and will bear more abundant fruit here- after. Inter-marriage -has not. seldom been a. tie between the two countries. But the marriages have been sometimes too much like bargains; for the husband has brought the rank, and the wife the money uito the union. It might, 1 think, be de- sirable that Euglisb peers should occas- ionally marry American girls who are not the daughters of millionaires, t There can be no reason why the Gov- ernment which sits in London should not, when the war is over, take the Govern- ment which sits in Washington into coun- cil upon such questions, industrial and social, as affect, the welfare both of Great britain and of the United States. The cause of justice, freedom, and progress would win its way more easily and rapidly all over t,he worold, ii the congress of the nations or States within the British Em- une should develop, under due limita- tions into a congress of the EnglishPspcak- ing race. The peoples of Great Britain and the United States have in the past shown too iittla insight into each other's character. It may be that their mutual criticisms have been evidences of a good feeling which Can afford to and fault. But the! war has shown that beneath the surface characteristics of both peoples lies the samo faith, courage, honour and devotion. Whatever Britons can do to show admir- ation and affection for their brothers lD., the United States ia well worth doing, for upon the alliance of Great Britain and of the United States, in peace as in war, depends thft promise of all that is most precious to humanity. I .„

In after years Sir Samuel Evans used to boa.st that when he became a barrister in 1891 40 had a capital of £100, a family to support, and no "backing" of any kind. But when he joined the South Irales Circuit his old friend^ rallied round him, L m imuiiuii in mi

I up SMDON. i I — THe ZIG-ZAG AND THE SADDLE; — Gorpliwysfa was full of men Wh6 looked I1 like mountain-climbers: I mean the sort oi men who go out with a eixvy-feet rope, talking of tho arete climb on the south buttress of Tryfaen, or the Idwal slaos and staircase 6n Olyder Fawr, or Twtl Du-the sort of men who think the Snowdon ascent very small beer unless it is do no over the wall 'of Lliwedd. Th »y looked this breed, but I don't know whether they were, or just mountain- talkers; for the maid at the inn said that all the rock-climbers were at the war. However, looking oier to where Crib Goch raised his head watching the dazz- ling veil that covered and uncovered the cone of Y AVyd-cffa, and viewing with con- cern the mists that tilled the bosom of the "mountain, I was concerned enough to seek their advice, for Snowdon upon this side, when the clouds are down, is no place for the unlearned amateur with little know- ledge of the'science of rock-work. j Whatever they were, men for whom the east buttress of Clydev Tach is a laughiílg matter, and the vanishing gully of Craig vr Yafa an ai'tornoon's relaxation, or men who do their climbing by imagination, i they looked frankly amused at my ques- tions. even politely contemptuous. Two II of them glanced over to the cloud-filled I scene in which, s-. mewhere, Y Wyddta raised its great bead, and then at the anxious eatechieer. And one epoke at.e,h words as these: "Safe to-day!! OW,:1 lor', yes. Why people go up the zig-zag at midnight for the purpose of seeing the sunrise! Safe as houses as long as you know the track the other side over the Saddle." Well, I knew the track, biit-bt;t-I pointed to the lad who had been dreaming for weeks of Snowdon—what about him And Fiid the pther of them with an easy laugh, i What about it! Did you ever hear of a boy who went wrong on Snowdon!" Come to think of it, I np-Vr b- but some had spoken the night before of the youth who, a month or so ago, strayed from the Zig-zag—and never returned. So, unconvinced but hopeful, we took the mountain track, just to see what would turn up, or more precisely, to 5(10 if tlip morning sun wilul-I beat the morning clouds. There is only one way to Snowdon, one royal and respectful one. To ascend by means of the road that climbs easily from Llanberis village is as if you entered a mansion by the back-door. The Llanberis path is tedious. It offers no thrill. It is plain, uninspiring- plod- ding three-fourths of the journey. Why the majority of people favour it <7ood. ness only knows; for one dtoes not climb mountains for the view alotie but '1' the fun and excitement en route. The Rhydd-du approach, on the other side, is. until you skirt the top of the Clogwyn- du-Arddu precipices and come to the Saddle, a poor-enough way; but better. You do stand the chance, that side, of dropping into a bog, and there is always before you the delicious fear of Bwlch-y- Lv But the royal, the respectful way of doing homage to Y Wyddfa's majesty is to come- near it along the rocky sides of Crib Goch and Crib-y-ddysgyll, bowing in the entrance hall to the lesser majesty of Lliwedd's noble wall, and then I entering into the heart of the mountain, where Glaslyn reflects the gloom of Y I. Wyddfa's giant precipice, and you climb e!owly up the xig-zag—with a resting-placo at every zig and every ag-until 6nally. with the mountain undr your feet, you f?I you have conquere d worthily. The sun smote for us a path into the loneliness. In an hour it had evaporated the mists that eddied over Glaslyn. Above us the cone of Y Wyddfa was uncapped by a hurtling wind that sent its youngsters tearing down ahng the rocks, That desecrated cone of our sacred Mount! We Welshmen are indeed eheep- like to permit the hotel-keeper to placo his ugly fthantias upon our noblest peak, to deform it, to'commereialise it. This monstrosity of haphazard sheds which hides the sharp peak of. the mountain arouses one's anger whenever he views it; but the sacrilege does not stand alone, for Llaneliy, alas, has driven the fairies from Llyn v Van and ha-s killed tho beauty of Cwm Sawdde! Do we iii(lped care so much as we protest we do for these earthly paradise^ of ours? But it is not the top of Y Wyddfa that counts for the man who loves mountains; I the top is a tea-house, a lodging-house, where one hears thq pots and pans all day. It is along the haunted shores of Llydaw, or upon the zig-zag, alone, feeling the immensity of the majestic wall of the mountain,^or looking to the ri.bt at the towering pinnae if* of the far-flung ridge which leads to the Pass. that one is gripped and possessed by thoughts too great for expression. How vain is man his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisht"th. the place thereof shall know it no more, But the mountains, silent, sent^iels of the eternal! Ours is a. viprld of change and decay. The young piltur-s are falling. The universe seems rattling to destruction.. In the heart of Snow- don, as upon the illimitable mporlands of the Van, you are PoTn into knowledge that there are thinga from everlasting to everlasting," that all that i gfX.ld nbid. that the eternal i&- the real and the immutable. The mountains give us a standard. Their srreat peaks tell us that there is hope Their etillneae quiets our querulous tongues, They were tea-d»inking, and snap-shot- ting, and postcard writing, and talking if the exploit of climbing from Llanberis, in and around the. sheds. The train was puffing up and whittling. Ugh! Let us get hence. The Saddle wa,s the battling ground of the winds. and the cause of two minutes' quailing; but the younfc-tcr passed tlirotigli hisnlouutaiii cliristenin,t, without billing an eye-lid. Presently wo eat in the shelter of 4 sheep-wall, and bad the glory of Y Wyddfa. of Lliwedd, and Aran before our eyes. We lingered thfre long, and many times in other cosy fastnesses before we made Pedrl. gelert, and although one of us had an adventure in a bog-hole as -a celebration of the day and bad to strctr-ii himself cut on a rock to drv, like a piece ,oç the family washing, what if. the use of a day on Snowdon unless you have an ad- venture oi IkíIUC sect I Q. W.

TOWN TALK. Lord Robson, whom Sir Samuel Evans succeeded as Solicitor-General, in 1908, predeceased him by a day. -:0;- The estimated produce of a penny rate in Greater Swansea will be: Poor rate, district rate, £ 2,685. A young Swansea soldier writes home to say that his instructor in camp is the same man who used to instruct him in school. —. o: — We do not note any acknowledgments on the part of our contemporary, of our assistance in a certain matter; but all the same it is very welcome :0: A noticeable feature in the military funeral to the late Mr. -George C-oombee 'at Swansea, Y&$terdav. was a young lady in- strumentalist with the band. -:0:- The rates of Swansea may rie-üur ex- penditure is going up considerably for reasons we cannot help—but the policy cf Greater Swansea" will not be the cause. o; A niost lamVmentable decision! ex- claimed a Swansea sport on hearing that owing to tho Government order the butchers' race meeting at Ciyne Valley had been stopped —:cy — To-day's article by Bishop Welldon is the first of a series we are to print from the pens of famous writers and politi- cians. Sir Robert Baden-Powell, JLC.V.O., writes the next. — o: — The special memoir we published yes- terday cf Sir Samuel Evans covered very largely his early days in Swansea. But very much more could be written, of ex- traordinary local interest, if the space were available. —:o: — Master John Edward Roberta, Trinity- place, Pontardulais, the winner of the third prize in the children's competition, at the National Eisteddfod, has already quite a record of eisteddfodic successec. He ie seven years of age. [ -iff In reference to the Dickens Fellowship meeting at Swansea yesterday, it will be interesting to know that Dickens visited Swansea in the early Sixties, and gave ono of his readings at the Assembly Rooms, which were at that period in Cambrian- place. — :0 Sir Samuel Evans wae an unconven- tional judge. A Leader man saw him a. month or two ago in the Strand, Lon- don, walking along from his court bare- headed and in his distinctive legal dress. But no one turned to look. If it had been Swansea now——! — o: The real great function which has been conducted for years beyond count by Mr. Charles Davies, who was 93 on Friday, ia that of seconding the vote of thanks at the Saturday evening temperance meeting (of old, in Back-street, and now in Pleagant- street), and the new joke he invariably evolves at each session. One of the strangest things remembered to the credit of Sir Samuel Evane is the amazing" impressment" with which he could play the villain-on the stage. So convincingly did he impersonate Iago that on one occasion his South Wales audience accorded him the rude but ap- preciative compliment of a hiss. — :0 Sir Samuel Evans was the hardeet of workers. In 1915 he ww knocked down by a motor-car outside the High Courts, and had his leg bioken. Before he re- covered he attended court on crutches, and held sittings in his eick room. On orio occasion he heard legal arguments in a case while travelling in an express train. Bit by bit we hope to cover the work' of the Welsh in France. The articles now appearing are from the pen of an officer who is a keen Welshman with a decided gift for description. We feel in giving the public these sketchewith which the censor, we are glad to say, is dealing with a lenient hand-tliat we are performing a public and a patriotic duty. -.0- Judging by appearances in the Swafla Market, on Friday, there should be no complaints this week-end about a shortage of meat. In the afternoon there were dozens upon dozens of fresh lambs piled, up on the street stalls in front of the but- chers' shops. Some observer declared that they had not seen so much meat siitbo rationing has been in force. -:0:- It is the usual thing every dinner hour for a small crowd of people to gather out- side the bank in Temple-street to watch a motor car being unloaded of its cargfO of coppers, but on Friday that email crowd quickly grew into a large one. The cause was that the proceedings were enlivened by one of the bags openin, and the coppers falling to the ground. Wonder- ful thing the attraction of m^ney! -0:- Both legal luminaries. Sir Sf T. Evans and Lord Alverstone (Sir Ri,; ,ard Web- ster), had one thing in com{ ;'n..Both were passionately fond of rof);c. The latter was a fine vocalist and ?.t member of one of the most select church choirs in London. Sir Samuel Evans was also a fair vocalist, and bad made his mark as a composer, several of his hymn-tunes being favourites at Welsh musical festivals. A Cardiff journal says that thirty years ago he was often called upon to conduct a Gymanfa Ganu in the Neath district, and had to refuse many invitations to go fur- ther afield. Greater Swansea will be interested in the fallowing population figures of the added area:— Llansamlet S,300 Part of Clase. 5,2tO Pn rt of Penderry 2,855 C-o e I-, c-tt 10,280 Brrnau 510 Oystermouth 6,950 34,115 ) This is to be added to Swansea's esti- mated (1918) 130,611. So Cardiff had bet- ter look out! -:0:- What are we going to do for cop" to the plaintive query of the housewife. Surely the outlook is far from cheering, with the cold, dark, and long evenings rapidly approaching- A couple more weeks, and then we shall reveyt to Green- wich time. when the cry will become more apparent to all of us. In mapy homes father is anxiously considering the recon- struction of the fire grates. Whatever some people thought of the sage saying: Early to bed,- early to rise. Makes man healthy, wealthy, and wise," it will, we be carried out more rigorously in the spirit and letter than ever it was before. 0: By reason of their historic importance, some of Sir Samuel Evans's decisions will rank in the records of -the law. Early in the war ho laid down tho fundamental bearings of the doctrine of continuous voyage. More recently he upheld, against the contention of neutral countries, the validity of British Orders in Council lay ing down tho right of reprisal for the German rink at sight policy. Others of his judgments also rank M precedents, and although his condemn a- tions of f-hips and cargoes involved more than £ 11.000.1X10, there is no r<xord of any of his decisions being up-set. His judg- ments were always marked wiiii ifrmness and simplicity of language, and they WeXe generally extempore. "t&:

-U "7- former menace as a fortress, for in the present war all fortresses have lost much of their old repute; but it remains a formidable obstacle, not to be lightly approached. The success of the United States First Army clears the way for further operations to the north and to the east when the right time arrives. Marshal Foeii, however, has a salutary habit of keeping his own counsel and his wise reticence .de- fiesbpkculatiun. He retains the initiative, .and in these days he does not tavry long.