"TOP DOC."

Oamaru Mail, Volume XL, Issue 12541, 12 May 1915, Page 3

"TOP DOC."

Frederick Palmer. in the Toronto "Globe," writing from the British headquarters in France on March 4, • sli y s l ;"' - The French are learning to say lop doc " That expression was the one. inoht often heard on my first day at the front from both officers and men "Top dog" says Tommy Atkins and the generals. , , , . ... You get it in broad Scotch, m Irish, and in Cockney accent, and m broken French. It expresses the opinion thai, the turn of the tide has come and the worst is behind them. The. British artillery hie, weaker carlv in the campaign, u- now stronger alfalong the lino than the Gerinan. , , ~ i , s Much has been heard of the hale ol German lor British, hut here at, the front, I have found no hate by the British, despite their determination to light to a. finish. "The German hates us because wo nru goin" to be top dog soon," says lliomas. Surprise at the excellence of the; aeroplane service when the corps is only three years old it> not explained by superior Hying, but by thoroughness of equipment m the mechanical department and prodigality of expenditure for all necessary ' assistance and resources. Everything I but the actual manufacture of the engines lis done at tbo front, The engines are | assembled and the wings are made in dilI (erent shops near the aeroplane base, i Successful reconnaissance by flying become a matter of mechanical care and organisation. The British aviator is I proud of the fact that whenever he starts I to chase a German, whether over Allied or enemy lines, the German goes, avoidJ iug risking his machine in combat, while the Briton is all for the sport of it. In the oltice of the Medical Corps 1 have been shown by charts that there is less sickness than among the troops at home, despite the strain when the men take their turn in the trenches. '.I his is due to giving them all the wholesome food they can'oat, plenty of exercise when they are out of the trenches, and enforcin«'" all sanitary regulations remorselessly "As Colonel" Gorgas met the health . problems of the Panama Canal, so we, have met and conquered tluw ol this kind of war." 1 was toid.