The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1914-12-01
African Allies Aids Are Bitter
Against French. Il
''BEEN TREATED LIKE DOGS"
This Is the Way One Senegalese
Expresses 1t.
And He's Going Back to Gun.
civilized Africa" Soon.
tBv william q. shepherd.)

Berne, Switzerland, Dec. Now
that there is no censor between me
and the United States, can write that
the allies are giving the newspaper
men all tho best of 1t. except when 1t
comes to censoring cables. There are
strict rules. it is true. about keeping
foo close to the scene of action. but
the punishments are not. severe and
any newspaperman who paints them
as such needs a sense of humor or
deliberately exaggerates.
Il was led into - chained to a
German prisoner, with the crowd boot
ing at me for spy" one war cor
respondent" told me. l suppose that
he published It that way, too. 1t just
happened that this occurred in the
town where I was being held myself
and 1 saw this young man led In.
AS a matter of fact he passed through
the town to headquarters walking be-
side a very courteous French officer,
who later requested him to take his
bicycle and leave the place.
Now that I can slip it by the CEN
sor, let me tip it off to Americas mil
lions, who. perhaps, are worrying
trifie about how terribly American
newspapermen are being treated.
Don't fret. Most Of us, will get
through somehow, thank you!"
If you. as an onlooker. want to get
out from behind one side in this con-
f1ict and get over behind the. other,
there's no use of trying to break
through the lines. You've got to go
out Of bounds and follow the sidehnes.
And this brings me to Switzerland,
with a railroad ticket in my pocket
for Vienna. I have swung around the
right end. .r
An African View. ..-.
The last soldier I talked to who
wore the uniform Of France was
black little Senegalese who had a bull
let in his right lung and had been sent
back home. His Jacket was still
bloody. Two other wounded Senegal
lese were with him. He was tough,
spoke Spanish and when he discov-
cred that I spoke Spanish. too. he cut
loose against the French in the pres
ence of a half dozen Frenchman, who
could not understand.
We've been treated like dogs" he
said. 1.-The food was scarce and
abominable. There was no Red Cross
to take care of us and we were all suf-
fering in the field from cold. That
man over there went crazy" he added,
pointing to comrade. The man
made some very unusual sounds, after
wards, but perhaps he was only speak
ing Arabic.
This little ''last soldier of the allies"
during our Talk opened MS SHIRT with
one hand and took off his fez with
the other. In one hand he held out a
charm of Christian creed. With the
other he grasped an odd little tuft of
hair on the back of his, otherwise,
we'll trimmed head.
my father is Mussulman," he
said, land if I came home without this
tuft of hair he'd say. My son has gone
back on his religion And if / didn't
wear this charm back my mother
would say, My son is no longer a
Christian So I wear them both"
But what are you really" 1 asked.
"Mussulman." he said II don't like
the way you Christians kill each
other"
He tucked the charm away, flatten-
ed out the tuft of hair, put on his fez.
said "adios" which in his Arabic is
''ahmselhair." and got off to take a
train for Marseilles, whence a boat
would carry him to his peaceful
Africa, where folks aren't civilized.