New-York tribune., 1916-07-17

Now doesn't this show you, mother, that
war is no more the terrible thing it used
to be?
About casualties: OF all those who get hit
only to per cent die the others more
or less severely wounded. Only the other
day saw a report OF our surgeons work. Ac-
cording to that, 81 per cent Of the wounded
are completely healed, 8 per cent remain
crippled for life and only l per cent die of
their wounds You'll admit that our doctors
aren't so bad at their jobs
I'm writing you all this only so that you
may not worry needlessy, and TO counterbal-
ance the horrors some Of your American
newspapers dish up for you. / know their
tone well enough. because before | went into
training read them almost every day, I
did the English, French, Dutch Swiss and
Scandinavian papers. | assure you. mother,
for one who has seen things for himself and
has obtained first hand information, there is
deucedly little Of the horrible about the whole
business.
I'll continue sending you postcards every
day and letters, whenever | can shake of my
laziness during rest hours, as long as re-
main in Germany. When | get to the front
you'll hear less often from me, because in
the enemy's land the postal facilities aren't
quite what they are at home. Anyway, I'll
send you some sort of message, by hook or
crook after every engagement just 10 let
you know that I'm as well and whole as ever.
If you don't hear from me for a while, it
will be because the English are using my let
ters as fuel, to save coal
However, being a sensible fellow, I've spent
an afternoon talking business with my law
yer, who has orders TO inform you of nv
whereabouts in case l should no longer be
able to do so myself. But that's a most i'm
probable case; you know our old German say
ing: Weeds won't perish
Your wish, mother, that my service should
be confined to the Red Cross is all very nice.
but know you don't really mean it. know
you wouldn't want your son to shrk his duty
if he could. In this instance he can't. be-
cause the years have removed all the causes
which brought about his exemption in his
gddy, youthful days. Besides, those of the
Red Cross who do just what they should do
are as much exposed as the soldiers, and
sometimes more. Remember young s.
| can't help smiling when | think of his long
legs and arms-who was killed by q Belgian
snlper as ne went about his surgeons duty
OF course, it would be very nice if my COM
rades and | could get this period of mill
tary training without any personal risk; that
Is, II peace should come before we are sent
out. But 10 tell the honest truth, We hardly
think OF the possibility of peace. We are
Just waiting for England to make up her
mInd Tor a peace move. AS long as she
doesn't see that every advantage is on our
SIDE, that we can never be starved out, espe-
clally now we have a clear road to Bagdad.
all the cornfelds of Poland and Kurland, the
best part of industrial France and all Bel
gium, we'll have to go on hammering it into
her. The only pity is that meanwhile France
must continue 10 suffer.
We Germans, high and low, surely prefer
peace to war, but we know that Germany
cannot and will not beg for peace. So. what
ever price it may cost we shall continue to
tight and to win victories. You know Ger
man stubbornness, and you know that il gets
US where we want to go.
You have no idea what an event il is for
me when | get a letter from you or -
None of my other mail counts beside ,hosa
messages from lands beyond the sea- 7
wrote to --- not to be foolish and send mo
parcels, because | can get here all want
But Tll tell you in a whisper: there's moth.
ing like getting parcel when, you are a sol
dierl | sometimes get one from old friends
in things to eat, drink and smote
mostly. The JOY is not only in getting il and
making feast OF it with the other bows hut
in unwrapping the things, finding surnrises
in every corner of the box, and at last criti-
cising everything. can buy anything tbs,
takes my fancy right here in town. ',ut do
love to get parcels of things don't want .,
all suppose that's my old-fashioned Ger.
man sentimentality cropping out ANYWAY
I'm not ashamed of owning it to YOU. motbsr
well, here's to your health! A nobls dron
from the hills of our German Rhinel