Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-03-23
GERMAN SPIES FOUND
EVEN AMONG FRENCH
SOLDIERS AT FRONT
Aged Woman Cider Seller
Betrays Countrymen for
Kaiser's Gold-Dog Car
ries Messages for Traitor
in Foreign Legion.
By PHIL RAIDER



LONDON. March 23-There was little
old woman OF French nationality whose
shot t-rddled cottage was about a mile be-
hind our trenches She had a huge sup
ply OF cider and when one Of US got
money. and a chance, we would sneak
through the trenches back to her little
house, knock on the battered window
until she opened It and handed out a big
cup full Of apple Juice, MY good old hus-
band" as she described him, was killed
in the cottage by a German bullet. we
buried the body for her and asked her
why she didn't move.
no, NO" she eXclaimd. This is my
home and II die anywhere die here.
one night we saw three little tlickers
Of light come from a chink of the smut
tered window on a hill, far away, IN
the German lines, we saw tiny light
blink three times. For three nights we
watched the sparkling chInk in the wild
ow's window blind We didn't want TO
believe she as Il spy. because, II she were
taken away We would miss our cider
But at last we had to act. We caught her
one night, in the deed and our officers
sent her away. don't know where. she
had sold her country for German gold
GERMAN SYSTEM THOROUGH
Hers was only one instance of the thor
oughness of the German spy system.
one day we found a telephone wire
running through the beet fields from the
German trenches to point far behind
our lines, II ended at poplar tree where
n German spy. hidden in the branches,
had been phoning the enemy all the de-
tails of our movements But Demielle
was the spy of all spies He lived with
us in our trenches. he shot at the Ger
mans and cursed them as we did. But all
the time he was sending messages to
them And when he was caught in the
act he keut silence like man. Our
officers took charge Of him and he dis
ppeared-eXecuted. we heard.
In those early days of the war, when
foreigners in Paris were forming for
eign legion, Demiells. splendd-looking
big man. with a beard that gave him
distinguished appearance and "A manner
that was the essence of courtesy, got his
name in the list and was accepted. He
had money in unlimited quantities and |
before we departed from Paris he gave |
parties right and left to little groups of
comrades. His profession was that of an |
engineer of a sugar making machine and |
he knew every inch Of the sugar-be |
country in which our regiment was finally |
stationed
CANINE PETS OF THE TRENCHES.
1t was collie dog that proved the un- |
doing of Demielle-a fine, long haired ami |
NAL which. of all the stray dogs which |
made their homes in the trenches, had the |
most fr ends among the men. But the |
collie liked Demielle best We found out |
afterward that Demielle used TO save his |
food and even go hungry himself in order |
to keep himself high in the colltes good
will.
How DemIelle ever trained the dog to
go to the German trenches from ours we
were never able to figure out, but we first
suspected Demiele when We saw him lift |
the dog to the edge of our trench and |
send him on his way by throwing stone |
toward the German lines, which were
only 80 feet distant.
When the dog came back that night a
sentry caught him and searched him
Under his collar was map which Demi-
ellie had drawn, with note written in
German, I'VE don't understand this map
Can't you make 1t palmer?
The sentry put the note back in place
and let the dog go to Demielle's subway |
hut. Two men We're watching Demielle
when the dog entered. Demielle put his
finger under the dogs collar, pulled out
the note and began to read II, when the
men jumped on him
Demlelle was very cool about II, but
he knew that his end had come. He was
taken away and sentenced TO death by a
was not chosen from among the men in
our trench, The officers paraded him be
fore " as an example. He kept his head |
high and seemed satisfied with what he |
had done for his country. Then they |
took him away somewhere to die.
But the next day We were forced to |
perform several executions that We're |
harder for some of the men, think, than |
shooting their old trench mate would have |
been.
XIII all of the dogs in your trenches" |
ran the new command. l think certain |
of the men who had made pets of some |
of their dogs wept the night the order |
came. One fellow | know slept with his |
dog that night We couldn't kill the dogs |
In cold blood; we We're acquainted with |
them, just as We're with each other, They |
had been the bright spots in our muddy |
drab lives NANCY and dirty as they |
were, we We're little cleaner; when there |
wasn't a smile left on our faces, during |
the rainy or extra dangerous days there |