Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1914-10-17
HORRORS TO NoN.coun,r,Nrs

As the months go hy and this wa
81 the nine nations falls 10 show sign
,ef early peace, the lot OF the non
eombatnnt comes grewaomelN into tn,
foreground. Whatever may be th'
isunerinRs Of the soldiers. and HEAVIER
knows that their privatlons and sur
fcrings under modern methods ar,
almost unbelievable. they at least are
in action, their nerves are not sup.
pressed, ana above al they are men
trained for endurance picked for
hardship ana schooled for physical
suffering But with the non-combnt-
ant. the situation appears worse
70 have to seek shelter IN cellars.
not knowing what moment the build
ing may bury you in living grave
on burn you 10 u oinder, 10 have 10
hold your self together mentally with
shells exploding over your head and
without the satisfaction Of being able
"a reply. brutal ns that relief might
be. To- be- deprived of food ana med
teal assistance to have money one
day and be ponniless the next--these
are but part Of the burdens Of the
non-combatants that are borne. not
by the hardy soldiers but by terror
stricken women and children and de-
fenseless civilians, amenable To the
whim Of some petty military officer
al any moment Of the day or night
Let as take the following awful In
dictmcnt from the pen Of Mrs. Frank
r. Law In last Sundays issue Of the
New York Evening Post under the
title Of THE Last Witness
THE Judge called the last witness
woman. bent ana white, rose slow
IS.
"Ifer voice. although weaker than +
TINT Of any previous witness sound.
ed through the stiffness Ike the muir /
mur OF many ages. She spoke reluct- !
antly Az one who would forget rather
than remember
"'your Honor, saw my husband I
go cut 10 meet war--He never re- +
turned -My sons fell before war like I
pines before forest fire. MY daueh-
ters oh. my daughters were cap
Iured lay servants Of war and outrag-
ed tin double death was their lot
War annihlatcd my lahors. MS though
had never lived
Others have spoken Of destroyed
fields orchards and roads, Of burnt
bridges. Of ruined cities and sunk
ships found on wars pathway. They
have taved of lost treasures and
wasted fortunes charge war with
horrors attending and
following it. ! charge war with steal
ng the best men, leaving the old aud
Inferior to become fathers. thus with
ts bloody fingers stunting The growth,
mentally, and physically
II coming generations. charge war
sith being woman's arch enemy. the :
Grand adversary Of all mankind.
That "a the lot If the non-eombat-
mt under the worst conditions Lei y
az get some idea of the lot Of the
lon-comhatant under the best condi-
iona, as told recently by the Amcri-
AN consul general al Antwerp, as {
published IN the journal Just after
he fan Of that city.
lie SAYS that he went to the base
nent Of his house with his family !
md "erouched there all night, shells
allng every few minutes" And then /
as dawn came' his family utterly
collapsed from fright and strain
md they decided 20 try to escape, al
hough It meant they would be EEK
iosed every moment TO exploding =,
hels"
At this point the consul general =
lives a picture Of confusion and panic
Witch lasted four hours, but which
Ie put into single paragraph
with my wife. daughter. Two ser J.
ants and refugees child ! crossed
he pontoon bridge over the ScheldL A
took us four hours to do this, the
treet being a seethng mass OF every /,
ind Of vehicle and dense crowd of
ugitiVes The scene WINS lndcscribahlN
readful everybody being moved by
he same desire to get away from the !
wfnl horror"
outside Of Defoe's description of
he plague in London, 1t II at this
aoment difficult TO recall a more u
rlking scene Of all-reachlng fear II
: as il universal nightmare had
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