Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-03-18
I11PALED BODIES FLAP
BEFORE SOLDIERS EYES


Continued from Page One
could do anything. Then Victor Chap
man, OF New York a Harvard man. who
| was studying architecture In Paris when
the war broke out, made lasso with
piece Of rope and before long he had
| dragged both bodies into the trench.
| Samuels was dead.
Experiences like this hardened us, and
finally we got to the place where II a
man was killed or wounded he was
blamed for carelessness When Vlscon-
cellos, n merchant of Paris, was killed
with rifle bullet through his head while
he was peeping above the trench, Leuten-
ant Francois, who conducted the funeral
ceremony, said to us as we stood over
the grave: This is n lesson for you
young men to take to heart You must
not be careless" Think Of that as part
OF funeral service.
Most Of the divisions OF infantrymen
who spent lve-day watches In the
trenches during the Al consecutive DAYS
that ! was there with the machine gun
squad buried their dead right in the
trenches. Sometimes they scooped out
grave In the side of the trench. Or
sometimes they would dig a grave In the
floor OF the trench. They would not
know of course, where other divisions
had buried their dead. SO I. was no un-
common thing TO come across a rotting
be polluted for days until the rain had
washed away the last traces OF the un-
speakable mess.
SLEEP WITH THE DEAD
There YOU are among the dead No
caveman ever lived SO terribly as you:
at least he buried his dead at a distant
point moved away from the grave. But
wo were prisoners with our dead, sleep
ing. as It were, alongside them as much
prisoners as they. You get to feel that
the only difference between yourself and |
n dead man is that your little bullet
hasn't found you yet
Looking death in the face In this way. |
a strange custom rose up among men |
In the trenches. There was little Greek
in our trench who was a fatalist. He .
used to say, 81 know I'll get II some |
of these days when my time comes"
Now, the minute you hear soldier talk
Ing that way YOU know he will get II.
The trench is no place for fatalist and
a fatalst, IN my experience. is not n
good soldier because he will grow i'm
patient over the delay in the coming of
death and will at last take foolish
chances that no sane man would take.
This Greek had very beautiful knife.
and all Of the men in the trench had their
eyes OH II, luI III All Tue lIfUtDNS II IL
the custom for the men of n division to
divide among themselves all the belong
ngs of dead man which will be Of use
In the trenches.
When the little Greek was finally shot
through the brain one day there was
dignifed rush for the knife, and we found
that it was missing. Somebody had
stolen it from him. 1t appears before he
vas dead had pair of field glasses
which were very expensive, and more
han one man asked me to promise him
hat, when | was killed. the glasses would
20 to him. Every valuable possession
" every man in the trenches that can be
egitmately claimed for trench service Is
marked by his comrades. It's just a cold
FLOODED custom that has grown out Of
he cold blooded and close acquaintance
With death.
II you think that heroism and fine
deals grow in the trenches you are
wrong. The life is too beastlike for such
luman things.