Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-05-17
Recrucifying the Christ

Here, too every tree was cut down ar
dcath-hacked. A pedestal that from in
scriptIon had supported q iigure stood hare
the anchoring bolts stll visible Against
the wall Of the church rose "A great hIacl
wooden cross that had supported a gigantic
hgure Of the Christ The figure had hcan
displaced, an arm and a leg were missing
and the mutilated replica Of the SayiolIr
renailed to the lower part Of the cross with
the head down and the single leg reaching
up into the air.
From Combles We drove still to the north
to Bapaume. ON the fair long Journey no
tween these points the feroCity of destruc-
tion was the same, but upon the muddy
cratered ground was the debris of "A retreat
ing army, broken equipment, helmets belts
shoes, camp kitchen utensils, uneXplodcd
grenades and small Caliber she'll once
upon time | thought / would like a der
man helmet as souvenir / could have
had a dozen on this trip. but ! would az
soon own a murderer's knife. one helmet
that | saw had an inscription inside the
single word "kaput,' or done for" Here
was one BoChe at least who had forecast
as TO what is coming to his sacriegious
outfit of thieves and CutthrOatS in uniform.
| talked with many inhabitants through
out the sections visited. Most were old
people some very old, both men and women
They stood about in the mud, unmiudful Of
the rain, and told me of the terror Of it all
were hard and cruel and made life misery
for them, taking forcibly anything they
desired, searching and researChing the same
houses, striking women in the face and de-
liberately going into homes to befOul them
as they did in the church in Nesle. finally
taking away or destroying every portable
object before they left
Great numbers Of women. from sixteen to
forty-hve and in some cases TO even sixty
wears | was told, had been carried off to
work for the BoChe In field or factory-and
for other purposes. | heard hot words from
old lips words OF rage, anxiety and grief
Inns that trcmbled i'm the telling. And tears
nearly always, save when the face alone
smoke in a great silent cry. II would seem
they had been delivered but an hour. rather
than days.
one old man told me that his two daugh-
ters and two granddaughters had been
taken away from him, and that the Prus-
sian lieutenant said to him, you may deem
yourself lucky we leave you your eyes to
cry with" Another said he never before
knew how good white bread was, The first
he had tasted in over two years had been
given him few days before from supplies
sent Immediately following the Allied ad-
vance for the material relief Of these mar
1vred people. | asked him IL he had any to-
bacco for his pipe lie replied that he had
forgotten the taste Of tobacco, and when |
handed him package Of cigarettes his old
eyes glistened and his "Merci" was a whole
volume.
on the way back from Bapaume to Al
bert, along a road that led through the valley
where had been the forest of Aveluy. we
met train Of ambulances advancing. Each
car was loaded TO the wheels with food and
clothing, blankets and sabots for the re-
deemed French OF redeemed France This
road was very beautiful before the war.
During the last six months Il has been the
scene of constant fighting. the heart almost
OF the battle OF the Somme, shell cratered
\ and shell torn, entrenched and begraved
II had been fought for and won more than
once. And now. as 1 saw II close for the
first time In years, II seemed in All it's shat
tered surfaces and, despite It's dying pop
lars, sweet and holy piece Of France TO roe.