charges by the wholesale use of artillery, batter into a pulp the trenches and fortifications the opposing armies have built up. That has to be done methodically, and is always the sign apprising the opposite side to get ready for it. Incidentally, that explains why the cavalry are playing almost no part whatever on the Russian front, because they are exposed to the constant machine-gun fire, which, of all the wickedness invented by man, is probably the worst, sending out bullets like a shower of hail. I was out over the battlefield the second time, months afterward, and I easily picked up my pocket full of shrapnel bullets that had been sent out over the field like hail.

"We approached a certain section of the battlefield, and here, I was told, the Germans left eight hundred of their men to defend a certain portion of their line until the last man was killed, and they held to the last man, and on the walls of a farmhouse in that area were the writings of some of the German soldiers who died there. Their ashes are mingled with Mother Earth where their bodies were burned, one of the varieties of the ten thousand of the horrible things of this mad war.

"Use of Aircraft

"Another factor almost equally as important is the fact that for the first time in any great way aircraft were made use of. I used to be a member of Congress and was considered a sort of crank on this whole subject of aviation for commercial purposes, and I happen to be the author of most every bill dealing with this subject. Congress was too stingy to make an appropriation of $50,000 to test out the possibility of carrying mails by aircraft, but now I am glad that the importance of these machines is realized. I make this statement, and it may seem rather exaggerated to some of you, but I believe that whichever of the opposing forces had, at the beginning of the war, been absolutely deprived of any form of aircraft, would have been conquered long ago.

If we read the history of the Civil War and its engagements, we would note that every few weeks there was some master stroke, every few weeks some cavalry engagement, and in those days ten thousand men could be massed for attack under the cover of some hill or sheltered wood, and the enemy could easily be taken by surprise. You will notice how few surprises are made in the European War, because both sides early learned that it was an absolute necessity of war to have men up four and five thousand feet in the air, and the more daring about three thousand feet, to take photographs, not only of every trench of the opposing army, but also to take photographs before and after bombardment to determine what destruction had been wrought by the cannonading. On the steamer on which I came to the United States from France one of our military officers informed me that he had taken one hundred and fifty photographs from the clouds. That is being constantly done, and the information that is secured from these observation flights is not held till the descent of the machine to earth, but is communicated by wireless. The contending army that plans a surprise in these days by the massing of ten thousand troops for attack would wake up to find that the enemy had ten thousand more waiting for them. This is a factor that prolongs the war, because it prevents any great onward rush or surprises on either side.

"On the East front, there is a different story to tell, here and there a great advance movement of one side or the other because of the open country. On the West front there are no surprises. These are the two factors that in my mind are very important in having brought the war to where it is to-day. The war has been running along for two years, with no serious advance on the West front.

"It was my pleasure nearly a year ago to visit some of the camps in France, particularly that in Lyons. I went down chiefly to visit the hospitals for the German civil prisoners, of which my Embassy has charge. I understand that my good friend, William Phillips, Third Assistant Secretary of State, spoke to you last night. He knows something of what the State Department had to do, the work it was performing on this side of the water. But all of you know that the American embassies were charged with not only looking after the ordinary routine of work consisting of the United States and the governments to which they are accredited, but the interests of some of the belligerent powers. The American Embassy in Paris is looking after the interests of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Turkey, all of the Central Powers with the exception of Bulgaria. A part of these duties have to do with keeping an eye on conditions, and from time to time to get better knowledge, and I have myself gone out over France to inspect some of the hospitals and civil camps. There are over one hundred and twenty-five of these camps scattered through France, and some in Corsica and Algeria.

"Our Embassy has made over five hundred trips to these camps through our agents; some of them have been visited four or five times, and if there is anything that needs reform in conditions as to the treatment of the prisoners, it is made known to the foreign office of the French Government. They have been very considerate, and endeavor to rectify any shortcomings that may be suggested to them by our Embassy. There has not been a large percentage of camps in which conditions have not been good or fairly good, It was upon one of my trips to Lyons that I visited the hospitals there. That night we called at one where all the inmates were invalids and incurables, or at least in such a stage of disease that they can no longer engage in the war. They are assembled at Lyons and are sent forward at stated intervals, and as a train goes out from Lyons, a train meets that from Germany, and the German prisoners are sent to Switzerland to recover their health.

"I was invited by the Mayor of Lyons to inspect a great industrial fair which has recently been inaugurated there, and at which there were more than seven hundred exhibits in many booths. I mention this fact because it has a bearing upon the question that I know interests. Boston people. At that fair they told me they did a volume of business, and it has a bearing upon the subject of discussion in the American papers as to the future of our trade, not only in France, but other belligerent countries.

"No Use for Prophecy

"It is beyond any man's power to predict the time when the war will come to an end, just as it was beyond any man's power to predict

We

the opening of hostilities, not a year ahead, but even a week ahead, because there was not a diplomat in Europe who thought that this war would come about, even up to within forty-eight hours of the declaration. We cannot prophesy just what will come out of this war. do not know how long it is going to last; we do not know what terms will be imposed, what reparation will be made. It is quite as much a guess of the economic conditions after this war. I have been asked a hundred times how long the war is going to last, and I invariably reply that the boy in the street could answer it as well as I can. I only pray the end may come soon, so that instead of killing off our fellow human beings at the rate of a million men a year, through the Divine Right of Providence some one will put it into men's minds to stop the war; when it will be done, we cannot tell.

"As to the economic conditions: We have every reason to believe that labor in the warring countries must be scarcer after the war, for you cannot take from thirty-five to fifty per cent of your working force, and then say that from an economic standpoint it does not make any difference in the cost of labor. These countries must be very much depleted, and there will have to be a rehabilitation, a re-peopling of the countries. That will have to be considered, all of these things reflecting their ability to compete successfully against the manufacturers of our own country. I must confess I have not been willing to take much stock in the prediction of the invasion of the products of the European countries, and it leads me to say that no one man can tell what he is talking about, it is so indefinite, so much depending on the outcome of this war; it is a guess, as I have said. What I want to impress upon your minds is that the outcome will depend on so many conditions that I am afraid we will have to meet some of these conditions, and therefore prepare for them in advance. There is one thing of value that will be on our side. In an economic contest with Europe, we will have the greatest quality ever known the greatest ability to compete against the world.

-

"What are the outward appearances in Paris? It is surprising that none of you have been over to Paris since the outbreak, and it may seem further surprising for me to stand here and say to you that, with the exception of the prevalence of mourning worn by women—and there is a great deal of it in Paris where the sad message has come into this house and that; beyond darkened streets in Paris, that the Zeppelins may have no guides; beyond the daily scene of ambulances clanging down the streets, and numbers of men on crutches, you would not know there was a war on in Europe of any kind. You would not know that three million men threatened the peace of Paris no further distant away from Boston than Worcester would be, and imagine that same three million men threatening our country, passing along the Canadian border.

"There are some of these evidences on the streets of Paris, but in the crowded boulevards on Saturday afternoon or Sunday, and in the parks, also crowded, you would think that entire Paris were out. In the crowded cafés, and the theaters so packed that it takes several days' reservation to secure seats, and apparently complete restoration of shop activities, Paris has taken on the normal aspects of the days before

the war. I am told that a million people evacuated Paris after the advance of the German army; that many of these have now returned. "In France there are bands of women who are performing notable work for the convalescent wounded of France, and it gives me a lot of pleasure to say that not only through financial aid, but through the presence of many of the people of your own great city of Boston, that work is being carried out not only in Paris but throughout France. I do not know of any city, possibly with the exception of New York, that has contributed more money, more of its people, to this noble cause of relieving the sufferings of the people of France than your own people of Boston. I have been brought daily in contact with their work; I know what they are doing, and I am glad to say that not a little of the splendid work, sacrificing their lives, doing a work of mercy, has been due to them.

"I believe something should be said in refutation of the stories I have seen printed in some American papers, purporting to show the indifference of the French people to the aid received from this country, and I feel compelled to assure you that the French nation is full of gratitude for what we have done for it."

ANNUAL CLUB ELECTION AND MEETING

Monday, November 20

On Monday, November 20, the annual election of officers and Club meeting will occur.

THE ANNUAL MEETING WILL OCCUR AT 8 O'CLOCK, when the report of the tellers will be made and such other business as may be in order will be transacted.

Official notice, and the annual financial report of the Club, will be mailed to each member previous to the meeting. The Board of Governors desires a full attendance of members on this occasion.

Report of Nominating Committee

JAMES E. DOWNEY, Secretary,

BOSTON CITY CLUB, BOSTON:

BOSTON, October 21, 1916.

Dear Sir, The Nominating Committee elected last year reports the following nominations to be voted upon at the annual election of 1916:

For the Board of Governors, for three years, the following sixteen members, the eight receiving the highest votes to be elected:

GEORGE H. ELLIS, George H. Ellis Co., Printers; former Representative and Senator. WILLIAM C. EWING, Engineer; Director Wells Memorial; Director Chamber of Com

merce.

JOHN H. FAHEY, Publisher; former Director Chamber of Commerce; former President Chamber of Commerce of U. S.

THOMAS M. FITZPATRICK, Director Brown Durrell Co.

EDWARD J. FROST, Vice-President and Director Wm. Filene's Sons Co.

ANDREW D. FULLER, Engineer; Andrew D. Fuller Co., Contractors.

HENRY I. HARRIMAN, Manager Connecticut River Power Co.; Vice-President Chamber of Commerce.

FRANK LEVERONI, Lawyer; Special Justice Juvenile Court.

ROBERT LUCE, Lawyer; President Luce Press Clipping Bureau; former Representative and Lieutenant-Governor of Massachusetts..

CLARENCE W. MCGUIRE, Certified Public Accountant; Treasurer W. H. McLaughlin Co.; member House Committee.

CLAUDE A. PALMER, Treasurer and Manager Eastern Clay Goods Co.

WILLIAM H. PEAR, General Agent, Boston Provident Association; Trustee; Director E. & R. Co.

WINFIELD S. QUINBY, Treasurer W. S. Quinby Co.

FRANK V. THOMPSON, Assistant Superintendent of Schools; original member and incorporator City Club; former member Executive Committee.

CHARLES H. THURBER, Director Ginn & Co.; former member Board of Governors and Executive Committee.

BERNARD M. WOLF, Merchant.

For the Nominating Committee for 1917, the following fourteen members, the seven receiving the highest votes to be elected:

Under the By-Laws, Article 5, Section 3, any time until within fifteen days prior to the annual meeting, any twenty-five (25) members may propose additional candidates for the Board of Governors.

The Secretary shall then send to each member the report of the Nominating Committee, and the names of any additional candidates and their respective proposers.

The polls will be open from 12 M. until 7.30 P.M.

MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE

Members proposing applicants for membership in the Club are earnestly requested to communicate with the Membership Committee in writing, giving FULL information regarding their candidate. Unless this information is in hand, the name proposed will not be considered by the committee. A letter from EACH endorser of an applicant is required.

Members having proposed applicants, whose names now appear upon the waiting list, and who have not complied with the above, are hereby requested to file the necessary letters with the Membership Committee at their earliest convenience.