South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1914-11-28
BY Special Correspondent.


PARIS, Nov. 2S.-The great glory
of the French highway is it's trees.
They soar from its border like the
pillars of cathedral aisles, a definite
resemblance often completed by the
double row of columns on each side
and the tracery and vaulted arches or
the green roof high overhead. Where
now passed through the tortured
and desOlate countryside, me Il OF
those towering trunks were shattered
by shell-fire, and their pltltuI trag-
ments were scattered far over the
fields Lordly trees whose columns
were two feet thick had been struck
squarely in the middle and burst
asunder, so that the upper half mad
fallen by its own weight.
L was just little to the southwest
of the town of Vitry-le-Francols,
around which ragged the most critical
and strenuous of the later phases of
the battle of the Marine. Here the
final and fiercest German attempt to
break through the French lines was
made. For that struggle L claim the
title-now of general misapplcatlon
of the greatest in the worlds his
tory" for il marked the accomplish
ment of what had begun to look
hopeless-the arrest of the Teutonic
advance and the saving OF Europe
fairest city. Had the awful struggle
around Vitry ended in favor OF the
invader, the French army of Lorraine
would have been isolated and COM
PEELED to surrender, and the enemy
would have established new, snort
and alderman line of communlca-
ton, through Metz and StrassDurS 10
replace those long and perilOus Bel
gian lines which they are now so des-
perately defending.
And the mute, terrific evidence OF
that titanic struggle sWarmed about
me. The roadside bitches were
scooped with the hasty hOIiows of
honeycomb shelters for PROSTATE
rifemen. OF many things in those
trenches one does not care TO write
but l picked up several postcards,
written there, and couched IN terms
of tenderest affection, postcards IN
describab bly, obliterated. and never TO
be posted.
Village i'm Ruins.
Total disaster overlook the village
of Huineau. whose CHASTITY ruin l
found perched on the west bank of the
Marine just outside of Nitry. 1t had,
perhaps, 100 to $50 houses, factory
and a church. one cottage alone was
intact. OF the rest, only black and
gaunt walls reared themselves from q
chaos of bricks, furniture and charred
beams. In the church yard, notice
board still prOtruded from the noun
tain of consecrated debris with the
ironical legend: Rubbish must not
be dropped here"
a few old people were slowly raklnS
over the rubbish heaps in the houses
in sad and hopeless quest OF some
thing dear to them; and here l saw
dramatic picture that is burned Tor
ever on my memory. AS L led my
bicycle through the obstacles that stlll
Law about the road, an old, ol0 WON
an saw me approach, and with the
shreds of intelligence left her oy
horror and senility she recognized me
as a stranger-sOmeOne not French.
Inst behind here there still stood
the bIackened frame work of door
all that was left of her home. sun
responsive to a primeval and eternal
instinct. she backed hastily into the
empty doorway. leaned one arm on II,
and watched me pass with a dark mis-
trust born of the Prussian terror. Be
hind her only a heap of rubbish re-
manned of the sanctuary she had long
known and still claimed.
The few household effects that had
escaped the fire were being collected
into a cart; Huineau was no more. IL
was a common enough sight 10 me IN
the next few days-tOO common TO
bear epetition-but not, perhaps 10
quite the same last limit OF destruc-
ton.
You may imagine that I went
hungry hereabouts. At this morn
ing / had had coffee and crusts-
there was no butter At one or two
villages on the road they had laughed
ironically when l inquired for cafe
OF restaurant. 1t was now / O'Clock.
SentrieS Bar Way.
Several times I had TO dismount
and lead my bicycle round the edge
Of great yawning holes IN the road
caused BY big shells-hOles that
reached from side 10 side OF il; holes
IN which you could have buried