The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1917-07-16

try again some years later when condi-
tions had shaped themselves more ia
vorably for her. We must help prevent
that, and the sooner Uncle Sam shows
1.-THE world what a hustler he is the bet
ter
| Mr.. Nichols tells Of establishing a re- |
lief station near the front, at Noyon,
where the military requisitioned fine |
! orner store for his committee, and shows
how thoroughly the Germans damaged |
property before evacuating captured ter
ritory.
The Germans cleaned the houses out
pretty thoroughly he writes. They
took all kitchen utensils and mattresses,
and | saw a number Of stoves smashed
to pieces but left right where they were.
OF course, this is i'll cases where only
houses here and there were destroyed,
but ! have ridden for twenty miles along
q road where every house and village
was completely destroyed 1t is as II the
burned section of Salem extended all OF
1.-THE way to Boston, not a house standing,
lonly section of wall row and then.
we took with Us thousands of hitch
) en- articles, GOO mattresses and quantities
of clothing, shoes and supplies OF all
kinds, even rice, macaroni and 5000 cakes
of soap. We will continue to send sup
plies as these are given away.
The hotel where ! stopped was the
/ headquarters of the German staff during
: their occupancy Of the city and French
; aviators flew over and dropped bombs on
| it, completely wrecking two-thirds of the
hotel and there is not whole pane Of
glass left. They say that they killed
7 two German generals. There was no
e urniture left and the ,makeshifts' Ger
tainly had been through the war had
a tin basin to wash in and was obliged
! to 90 into the courtyard below to fill
Il and empty it. There were no toilet ar
Irangements, no gas, no electricity, only
2 a candle stuck III bottle. The hotel
r Keeper told me she often had been offered
twenty francs a night for one room she
f showed me. 1t contained an old bed
y spring on the floor and one chair There
!, was no bedstead or mattress, no pillow
p blankets or sheets and the window was
y broken, but, as she said, the soldier.
Il are not difficult and any room look,
i good to them.
- Il have seen two German cemeteric.
with high stone walls, walks and tomb
. lstones that would do credit to Mt An
II burn cemertery, and one would think tina
they expected to occupy France forever
i 1t seems odd to read on Il tombstone d
i, a German youth: Born July. 1897: ii
;; March, 1917 lin German. Of coursel an,
= to realize that only couple Of month
!. before | stood there the Germans wcr
in as complete control OF that colmtr,
- a. of their own and were burying thei
" dead sons in a Christian manner wit
III crosses and nice inscriptions such as II
~ my dear brother, Max Died for tn
" Fatherland, and all the time doing devi
ish things and deportng thousands an
thousands Of Belgians and French I
slavery queer mentality the German
have.
They took oil thousands of voun
French women from this section to wor
Id for them, they said Only the children
the intirm and the older women wei
left. When | asked one woman in
us pretty little village what She needJ
~ most She said that she did not care t,
1T anything for herself. All She wante
bv was TO get back her two daughters 81
re- said that at ten 0 clock on Saturda
no morning the Germans, who had prepar,
an Ia list OF the people they proposed To tax
Us notified them to assemble on the Vi
is lage square at three O'Clock that afte
noon, with parcel containing chan.
nd Of clothes and food for three DAYS Fl
oil girls were among thOse called ana We
are marched of before the German soldier
ties no one knows where, and that is the la
nv that she ever has heard of them s.
ING SAID: i never look down That 70.
She pointing to it but | see them disa
for pearing. and | never shall forget the IA
is away look in her eyes as She said
md Cant YOU Americans do something
try bring my girls back She sobbcd /
~ed tears streaming down her check
ing 1T is a curious coEccptio of civili7
IN ton that the Germans have kn,
Is that we Americans have no concept
ten or any intention Of living in such q 4
the ili2ation, but the trouble has been a
i'm still Is that Il great many America
z Is can't believe that such is the Germ
idea of civilization and therefore,
!, To lukewarm about the war
rds