New-York tribune., 1916-07-23
SECOND ARTICLE.


1 The order Of the day July %. cited the amer
can section, composed OF volunteers, tr'enO'
Of our country" Also, Edward Salisou,y
A fait preuve des meilleures quailtes u""'
In conduite dc sa section; infatgable, dune
volonte ferme ct r6solue, il donne leHenp''
du d6youement. de la bont6 ct du courage
! Here are half dozen impressions that
come 20 the men in the course Of their WORK
Il After bombardment, one OF them writes:
81 was specially anxious about the cars IN
the barn. One she'll falling in the midst OF
them would have crippled half, and II an at
tack in the Bots le Pretre had followed
/ "Underneath the soldiers surface gayety
one may see tho fatigue, the bored cynicai
Indifference caused by year of war, torn
from every human relationship. What can
be done 10 humanize his lot he does with
great skill"
i "The difficulty of making ears accustomed
to shrapnel take the sound OF motor norm
seriously" impresses a driver.
az counted one evening fifteen balls WITHIN
space OF dozen square yards by the door
way where was shetering.
4 "The dark houses, deserted streets, the dim
shape Of sentry, the night scents OF the
lfelds"-these are what the evening run re-
veals.
az overheard few words spoken between
brancardier and wounded man, who was
weeping:
"'You will be safe now. You are going to
your wife
l "'No, no, am dying"
/ Later as the sun was rising and liftlng
the blue mist in the holows of the NIL,
watched some shells bursting in field; a
brown splash Of earth, ball Of smoke which
drifted slowly away"
i "On the one hand are the trenches, where
men live in conditions which must resemble
those OF the cavemen; dug into the earth,
and with danger of death as daily habit; on
the other, within half an hours walk, most
of the comforts Of civilization. We come
down from the work OF carrying hundreds OF
mangled men, and in the evening sit eat
ing strawberries and cake in pretty drawing
room"
Rough roads: "Smal wonder that when
the stretcher s laid down its occupant is
occasionally found to be dead"
"Out Of the pocket Of 'cadavre' near to ne
saw protrudng common picture postcard,
thing of tinsel, strange possession for one
passed into the ages"
"The wounded had a curiously unconcerned
appearance as though, having been hit, al
ready they were immune"
Not Gentlemen Drivers"
"Our young heroes"-Yes, they are all OF
that, fearless and swift to act. But they are
such practical heroes good mechanicians,
ready to lend hand any lowly job OF
washing a stretcher or shifting furniture.
There is none of the tant Of the gentle
man driver about them. They are willing to
get dirty and tired. remember once working
with some gentlemen drivers They nad
paid chauffeurs for tho times when they were
tired or the going was wet. They went along
in a kind of managerial capacity. Ihey pro-
tested against going alone into shelled VII
lagos. for who would bring them out if they
were wounded? They were thoroughly brave
and useful, but they had the moth eaten
class idea that their personality was very
precious and that it must be preserved for
the future: above all. that it must not be
overstrained with lifting weights or dirtied
with mussing into grease boxes. They frat
ernized with officers. and brought US gossip
of big events. and in general cast an atmos-
phere of social distinction around us.
Hut like the roughneck way Of the Ameri-
can Ambulance better. There has been
suobbish attempt made to describe these
Young workers as belonging to our best fam
| lilies" representing the elite Of America
That is TO miss the point Of the work. 1t
Is democratic service Work hard, and you
are a popular member of the community
This Lorraine section is now at Verdun, and
Robert Toms, Of Marion, Iowa, writes me-
Every one has the right spirit and we are
all working together. We are living the real
army life-sleeping out of doors and eating
in a barn"
Working Under Aeroplane Bomb Fire.
One of the Verdun sections was sent TO
Barbecue recently, where bombardment
| by fourteen German aeroplanes was under
way. Forty persons were killed and 100 in
/ iured. The boys cruised around the streets
during the overhead shellng of forty-fve
minutes. picking up the dead and wounded
Almost all the cars were hit by fragments OF
she'll This prompt help under fire endeared
the American Ambulance to the inhabitants
of that town. Next day one Of the drivers
took his coat TO tailor for repair. The man
refused to accept any pay.
! A few of US were sitting around quietly
the other day, when French sous officer en-
tered in a condition of what seems to our
inarticulate northern stolidity as excitement,
but what in reality is merely clear expression
cf warm emotion. He said:
"The people of Barbecue are grateful for
what the Americans have done. Your work
was excellent, wonderful. We shall not for
get it,"
This work Of the American Ambulance field
service is the most brilliant, the most widely
known of any we are doing in France. As we
motored through Lorraine, Major Humbert,
brother of the commanding general of the
Sd Division, stopped three of US, Americans,
and said he wished to tell us as spokesman to
our country that the American Ambulance
service gave great satisfaction to the French
army. at is courageous and useful. We
thank you"
In the User Region.
4 Flanders section was sent out ten cars
st first They served at the second battle Of
the User, when gas used for the first
time by the enemy. 1t is a fiat country. and
they ran close to the battlefront They were
billcted at Alverdnigh till the village crum-
tled under shell fire. The record for March,
OF the section, was