The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1917-05-29

, certainly sounded good to me after
having TO listen to many insults
against Old Glory during the last
year. Every one now talks about our
lighting cousins" Everybody Ia
arguing about how much money
America can throw into the contest
but the greatest question seems TO
be: s"Wili the United States land
troops in England or send them direct
to the western front In France?" IL
IL taken as . matter OF course that
United States troops will soon be
fighting alongside French and British
troops in France. II had my way
I'd send them right to France behind
the lines. where they can learn much
Of actual modern trench warfare by
being In the real positions that have
been taken and by mingling with the
, boys who have taken them. They
can learn more in this way than by
listening to lectures from instructors
for a year. All they need Is to learn
how to overcome the million and one
obstacles Fritz puts in their way: 10
win have q good moral effect for
them 10 see some Of the soIealled i'm
pregnable German trenches that have
been taken.
The unfurlinE Of Old Glory beside
the Union Jack. the French Tricolor.
and the Italian, Belgian. Russian, and
Serbian flags has had a wonderful
effect in encouraging the troops on
the western front.
That battle OF Vimy was surely an
earthquake. spoke to artiIlerynen
who fought at both Vimy and on the
somme and they all said the lombard
ment OF Vimy was far more terrific
than that OF tie .Somme. For nine
over an average of 1000 shells q min
ute. You could read q newspaper at
any time during the night from the
flashes Of the guns Our lombard.
ment certainly had the desired effect.
Rolls OF barbed wire in front OF the
German trenches were swept away
and the trenches were virtually blast
ed INTO smithereens.
MIstreat American Prisoners-
On the night Of April we were as
signed to the part of the front we
were to take. and that night we slept.
or tried to sleep, In q cave where the
French had gased 1000 Germans when
they sacrificed 5000 men In a fruit
ACoo 11oaull On lulH pO1lLlOu lA1L year.
We were all anxious for the zero
time to arrive. That's the time you
leap over top with the best Of luck"
You know its coming, but you never
know at what minute. II happened
at $50 q m. April Q. We went over
with the second wave and our object
was a German signal dug-out in their
third-line trenches. the location OF
which we had learned from German
prisoners- In fifteen minutes we had
established communications back to
the Cave of Death" where our re-
serves were waiting orders. The
reserves came over and relieved US
and we pushed on to Thelus Village. q
stronghold held by the Germans since
October. 1914. and established com
munications there in half an hour.
The Germans had a very comfort
able dugout. thirty feet deep, but they
had II registered and wneu hey got
ready to counter attack placed a large
shell right at the entrance and buried
US. Although we wers all stunned.
we were soon able to use our en-
trenching tools and help the buys who
were digging from the other end to
eNtrtcate ourselves. Thanks q the
ingenuity of the German engineers
,he dugout was 80 strongly built that
l. did not, cave in rn'irs:Y.
There Is a burning desire among the
Canadian troops that the United
States troops fight alonEsIde Of them.
Everywhere the hope is expressed
that they may stand shoulder to
shoulder with the man of Uncle Sans
army. but nowhere is the desire more
keenly felt than among what Is left
OF the boys OF the American Legion.
We have hear stories of EOw the
Germans treat American prisoners. II
the Americans happen to have the
Stars and Stripes tattooed on their
arms. the Germans cut out the tat
too marks.