Shoshone journal. [volume] (Shoshone, Idaho) 1884-1931, 1917-04-20
American and English Core
spondents Working Separate
Iy Agree in Reports Of Ruin.
BURN SUPPLIES FOR The POOR
Wells Poisoned and DefiIed-Fruit and
Shade Trees Cut DoWn-Houses
Burned and Contents Looted
and Wrecked.

able to believe the reports Of the al
soIute ruthIessness with which TIL
Germans are doing their best TO bio
out that part of France from which
they are retreating should cOmpar'
the following dispatches, written b,
correspondents at the front, which sup
plement the official announcements 0.
the British and French war Offices.
These dispatches were sent by diff
ferent correspondents, two American
and two English OF these one o.
EACH an American and an English
man. was with the British army, one
of each with the French army. What
they write about they saw with their
own eyes. These men are experienced
war correspondents and can differen-
tate between military damage, which
every army must infiict TO hamper
the enemy. and malicious pilIage.
A few of the things the Germans
have done and are doing in Picardy
and Artois, two of the loyeliest OF the
provinces Of France, are these: Burn
ing supplies furnished for the starving
population by the American relief
commission, supplies bought by Amer
lean gifts to help people impoverished
by German invasion; poisoning and
defiling with filth all the wells; cut
ting down all the fruit trees and shade
trees; burning every house, regard
less of its lack of military value !;
smashing pictures, crOckery, furniture
that they could not take of with them
from the homes of the peasants; leav-
Ing these peasants, women, old men.
children, with nothing to eat.
Looting Officially Ordered.
The first Of these dispatches is from
the Associated Press correspondent
who advanced through this scene of
desolation with the British troops. He
is an American. This correspondent
saw with his own eyes captured Ger
man orders for the footing. which or
dered among other things that filth
was to be assembled near all the wells
abandoned TO contaminate the water.
He refers TO the wantOn destruction Of
the trees. which is more fully de-
scribed in another dispatch. He
writes:
wherever the British troops pene-
trate territory formerly held by the
Germans they encounter the same
conditions of destruction and devasta-
ton as in Bapaume and Peronne. Only
a few villages have escaped. the Ger
mans in these instances having been
to leave before their plans
to lay waste could be carried out
'HThe use of cavalry by the British
and French seems TO have taken the
Germans by surprise, upsetting some
Of their calculations. In one village
supper, which had been laid out, was
abandoned. together with much am
and in other places newly
opened boxes of high explosives were
found. with which the Germans had
planned TO destroy the villages be
lore leaving. That the wholesale de-
;truction was systematized in a man
Ter characteristic OF German thorough
less was shown by captured orders on
he subject.
III houses. wells and cellars. except I
hose occupied by rear guard outposts. [
he rear guard being held responsible !
or making their shelters uninhabit- |
lble before falling back. Farming i'm /
dement's were ali burned OF destroyed. /
Wherever a building was spared. IT /
vas first rendered filthy. The orders /
lso directed the assembling OF filth in 4
he neighborhOod of all wells for the I
purpose of communicating the water
The destruction Of fruit trees now
covers the entire belt of
territory, even those cling
az to the walls having. been stripped
f."
Wanton Destruction of Trees
The wanton destruction OF the trees
) described also by the second Amer
,an correspondent. who represents the
.ssociated Press with the French
rmy. in describing the following
ouching incident:
Continuing our visit in ROye we
on the summit of the city
u CAG AL<AAs AeAAts WAlAA ANtA- anu
lustache. He waved his arms. being
lcapahle at first In his emotion of
aging a word. He lived in the last
ouse of the town. where he had spent
lie existence of savage for two
ears. deciding not TO see the Ger
ans. Two days ago. realizing that
,mething new was in preparation. he
ent up to the roof of his house and
ON afar saw masses of soldiers in
ne. their helmets scintillating in the
IN.
" I was waiting for the French he
I'D. I looked for their red trousers.
1t saw only men in unknown uni
rm. My blood turned. / said 10 my
If: Are they more Germans? But
Iddenly from the small groups NOV
g across the country came detona- |
ons. l understood they were the
rench warriors. the French clothed (,
blue, who had arrived