Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-06-28

ter-attack that resulted in naught else save
the shedding of more German blood.
He spoke excellent English.
These French troops" he said "have
performed wonderful feat. They have
taken positions we thought untakable And
from the Guard Never in its history has
the Prussian Guard left so many men on
the field nor lost so many prisoners in pro-
portion to the round number engaged. And
these French are not young! Gott!"
There was a whole volume in the last
word. looked upon the speaker and could
not resist answering, (which Gott? Your
Boche Gott or ours?"
This whole battle Of the Asne is a series
Of small battles of concentrated attack by
France and England and OF vicious counter
attack of Germany. 1t has resulted in a
certain sure allied advance, at a cost of
lives, of course, but the loss has been less
by 100 per cent minimum in killed, wounded
and prisoners than the enemy suffered in a
futile resistance against the well-planned,
well-prepared, irresistible attack Of the
French and English. 1t has left the Hin
denburg line but a mass of tangled wire,
broken cement and bruised earth we'll
within the lines of a redeemed France. II
has left thousands of German dead, guam
titles of material Of siege gun of mortar.
Of mitralleuse, and In all thus far more
than 10000 prisoners since the ninth OF
May.
As vision of war, that which saw was
wonderful. All over the breadth of attack
l witnessed hand-to-hand combat, the re-
sistance coming out of deep abri. / saw
bayonet after bayonet pushed through
human flesh, withdrawn and pushed again
through other human flesh l saw a polu
pin a Boche through the throat and ere he
could complete the thrust die from a Boche
officers revolver. And instantly the officer
dropped a corpse with a French bullet
through the body. / saw rife flash and pis-
tol crack, hearing nothing. It was a stu
pendous silent tragedy. for our hill of obser-
walton was well behind. and II was but the
clarity of the atmosphere that made 1t pos
sible to see what happened, And I saw the
objective gained Gained glorously An
enemy shell from far rear battery burst
100 yards from where I stood, and its frag-
ments fell harmlessly about. never no.
ticed II nor looked to see the new formed
crater. My eyes were glued TO my glass,
visioning the tenth piece OF France re-
gained that I have been destined to see
And bow in a great admiration to these
soldiers Of France, these men no longer
| young, but with the heart of steel and the
ardor Of youth in their middle-aged bodies,
| They typify to me all that has been re-
| corded to the glory of the Tricolor these
last three years. They show me how the
| Boche did not pass at Verdun, how he was
driven at the Somme, how he was forced
back at the Marne. l feel every time see
poilu upon the streets OF Paris that I
should click heels together and raise hand
| TO hat; only It would keep me too busv
since the soldier Of France is constantly
coming and going en- permission.
We who have seen and we only can
fully understand. Nothing In words that
can be framed into sentences truly tells the
tale Nothing In eulogy, nothing in praise.
nothing within the art or ingenuity Of man
can genuinely depict two things:
First. The pure quality Of the po,Iu
his devotion. his spirit OF sacrifice. his
modesty, his fighting power as the ,rst
| soldier upon the globe
Second The inextinguishable debt tba
world viii ever owe 70 the land that gsve
him birth, that took him from The nio,,
and the field, the factory and the of1cs
the school and the forum.
Lest in the peace TO come. In its bsr,,...
OF happiness and liberty, we forget nIosS
we ever keep green in memory le pea poii,i