Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1915-01-25
DR.. CONNELL WRITES
FROM THE WAR ZONE
Omaha Boy VINO Is Administering
to the Wounded Sends Word
10 Parents.
VIEWS HORRORS OF CONTEST


DR.. Karl A Cornell. son Of Mr.. and
Mrs. w. J. Council q Omaha. who Is
serving with the American hospital corps
In connection with the military opera
tons OF the allies IN Flanders. wrote
from Paris to his mother on Christmas.
Since that time no letters have come
Through from him. although several times
he has cabied his safety to his parents
He has been In the front Of the fight
ing during the month Of January. and
has seen war IN its reddest and ravest
aspects
His last letter homo Is very INTEREST
ing, because Of some predictions he made.
and because OF tho intimate glimpse he
gives Of life in the war zone. He writes;
Lonesome IN Paris.
PARIS. Christmas Day, islA-Dearest
Mamma: ] am hungry for sight and
hug OF mamma on this Christmas day.
II f. lonesome. not that the world Is un-
kind. In fact, Il - too good-PaEis-
lcrowds--pleasant people all 20 unreal for
war time. and as q whole untrue TO our
misaion here.
''The French have big offensive un-
der way--ordevs to prepare for Soeoo
wounded. think that after Il has spent
lItsslf, a. IL must. on ths terrible trench
20 trench fighting. the Germans viii take
che offensive IN q last sweep at Paris.
providing all has gone we'll In the east.
1t ought 10 corne--the German trial.
when the ground freezes about the mid
die, 10 the end OF January. We VIII Be
worked to fun capacity. II the movement
comes; and with this Offensive. win Be
busy.
II have had for nearly q month q
service--my own-of 100 beds at the Amer
lean ambulance In Paris. WIN hold Il
until DIR. critic Of Cleveland arrives after
January /, when l viii go to the advance
whitney unit. DIR. Blake left me In
charge Of his service while he went on
tour OF the front. 30 for about a week
I had $50 beds. 1t Is very nice COM
pliment to have him pay me. as he Is
probably the best surgeon in the world,
He ana Mrs. Clarence Mackay were
married a couple Of weeks ago. dinsd
with them shortly thereafter, and have
called on them today. leaving beautiful
spray of pink plam blossoma-such Is
war.
THE Christmas cards I hope reached
America. A number of the letters APP
parently do mot. and It is difficult to
get q cable by the police and off, 30 I
sent merely a word to MT. Scott and he
VIII Distribute.
No Fishtfng 60 see.
There is no fighting for anyone to see
nothing spectacular since the trenches
faced one another two months ago
many bitter short sallies. but only seen
4 - f.4< IL L.. hA
neighborhood. Our hospital at Juilley II
In the military zone. We can hear the
heavy artillery. but save as one reads a
thrill into It, It is not alarming.
II recently saw q little speck Of a
Taube tGerman) appear over the French
lines. few spots OF white smoke be-
gan 70 appear beneath and around Il,
marking the bursting Of shells fired from
a mile beneath. Soon two OF the French
aeroplanes ctroled up after the Taube,
and Il took swifter flight off down the
French line. with the French machines
IN pursuit. After being lost TO view. II
reAppeared. having shaken off the pur-
suers. and lowered again over It's orig
inai field at q lower level and the target
of some rather wild fire. Soon q little
silyery vertical streak Of smoke ap-
peared beneath, it having dropped a
smoke bomb to give the German gunners
the Fange. Then 1t headed north and IN
4 few minutes was lost from view.
ut all looks 90 tiny. these little
glimpses which one gets We get only
\ fragments OF news. The wounded ars
the only real index OF the bitterness Of
the mechanical battle-the big guns. tbs
shraDnel and splitting machinery. with {
bravery unedualled In history.
Yet It has got the mems nerve. M
doubt on the other side as well. Not l
! wounded man have met hut hopes h
is<oat OF action for the war. I'm sur
II would be the same with myself. ON
feels "a II they were not given a chenc'
J to fight-Just moved down by an invisi
bic. sudden death. The trench life /
awful In the histories 1 have taken o
the various environments. which have
bearing on the subsequent cause Of tn
wounds. many men have not taken of
! or changed their clothes for two weeks
one for six weeks. They are lndescriba
bly, filthy. and IL not wen specialized q
such state OF. skin. by a long unwashe'
French ancestry. l don't think they coul
live. Many hardships; one man VIII
oame in wounded and with frosen fee
!, had been Ia water up to his waist In
trench for two days
Il AZ a Chrtstmas Dfnner.
n our Christmas party was last night {
a Fayot's restaurant. possibly a gay piae
|. ether yeara A Christmas eve dinner give
4 BY ox-Ambassador Bacon to the warrior
: members. doctors and nurses of the VIII
\ ney unit About twenty assembled. n
J. evening had just begun when the gem
q afrnes notified the house 20 Close a. uau
a ct 10 y. m. We started-about eight Of /
for midnight mass at the Hotre Dam
but both It and the Madeleine were close
holding no service OF Christmas Joy IN
year. 30 we rounded up AZ a large Chris
: mas tree for the aoldlery at one OF q
railway stations. after which there VI
:, nothing to do but 80 home. a most u
usual procedure Al such time In 9th
= years Of peace, Il Is said.
:, Yesterday afternoon and Until s
=. Christmas evening was up m the 10
= north OF Juilley II was the most pl
turesque scene I have seen over hsl
- Tho country is rolling. without faz
houses. but with quaint little villae
a., every two ana one-half miles or 90, fro
~ ..~al,h 49, r,an ranfrv ernerae 70 tlII I