The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1916-08-30
Not One Per Cent of the Crop
Can Be Saved.
Women TOiIing on Battlefield
of Marine.
CUTTING GRAIN WITH SCYTHES
German Shells Destroyed Mod
ern Implements of Peace.
Factories Making War NUM-
tiOns Instead of HarvesterS.
BY HERBERT FLINT.
Estate journal Correspondent.


Paris. Aug FL saw yesterday a
section of the battlefield of the Marine.
where in September, 1914. the German
advance on Paris was stopped and the
whole German army. in a six-day
battle. forced to withdraw to approx
imately the position it now occupies
in the northeast of France. This was
the best 1 could get from the authori-
ties: going to the actual front these
days is something that practically no
enc can do. This will oe my last
letter from Paris; I go to London
tomorrow.
The battlefield. 1 visited was the
critical ground of the whole fight or
course | saw but a small fraction of
the whole $50 mile front, and only a
small portion of the ground fought
ever by Won Kluck's army. but 1 COW
cred in a day the ground where the
fight began and where the Germans
we're started on a retreat which six
DAYS later had involved the whole Ger
man force. forcing it back some fifty
miles about to its present SITUATION
II is almost impossible to believe that
the Germans were as near to Paris as
Topeka is to Lawrence.
Rode Bicycle.
left Paris at Sis in the morning
ard at was in MeauX looking for
some means to see the battlefield.
had read up on the whole battle so
that | knew where to go; and finding
the rates of the guides to the field
excessive. l hired a bicycle and made
the trip by myself, III the broiling heat
of a regular old July or August day in
Kansas Fortunately for me the roads
in France are rocked, macadam, or
asphalt; so l had easy sailing. L
bought a map of the battlefield, got
in good with the local police Zone must
have a permit to go out of Paris. or
to go around the battlefield) and by
1920 was mounting the ridge OF the
northwest of MeauX where the battle
commenced.
| suppose the whole circuit L COW
cred was about fifteen miles, which L
did between 1890 and 4 in the after
room. My bike" cost me francs; L
got a beer at every inn along the
route; for other nourishment 1 ate
Hershey chocolate bars; l gathered
up lot of dust, but in that time 1
saw the section of country on which
the army of Won Kluck was defeated.
Almost Like Kansas.
Once l had climbed a long hill to
Gregg l had only to follow the crest of
a ridge clear to Marcilly. Then it
was down hill to Etripilly; and then
back to MeauX, it was first up and
then down. hot work, you bet, but
there were some stretches of fine ma
cadam and asphalt, ana sometimes
great lanes of trees shading the whole
road. You see, then. that this section
of the battle was mostly on a ridge
west of the Marine. But after all the
country l rode thru was not essentially
different from the country between
Topeka and Lawrence except that
there were perhaps fewer trees. just
thin lines of them now and then. 1t
was a beautiful rolling farm country.
filled with fine crops of wheat and
oats dead ripe for harvesting. You
know there are few farm houses in
France. the farmers living in these
little villages of stone houses about a
mile apart.
beautiful and you'll have to let me
dwell on that. 1t was another central
Kansas in harvest time, if that is ia
miliar to you. And the crops were
wonderfully fine. Indeed, the thing