Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1917-11-28
Saw Poor Fellow in Hospital With
Half His Face Blown Away, From
Explosion From Fountain Pen.
ONE OF THE HUN TRICKS
PLAYED IN THIS WAR
Tells of Deeds Committed by the Hun
That Would Haunt Your Sleep
And Not One Word of
EXaggeratiOn.

~" YIN
Americans do not understand
what the war means, because they are
more than 5000 miles away and
cannot comprehend the frightfulness
OF the acts committed by the Huns.
When they shall have seen the trans
ports return to the United States and
| have watched the mutllated and
manned men hobble down the gang
way, the blind soldiers led by their
mates. and the paralyzed and she'll
shocked wrecks of humanity carried
on stretchers, then they will realize
what the war means to those who
have been through the fire.
Read all you can find AID look at
all the pictures obtainable of the hav-
oe that has been done by earthquake,
cyclone, and volcanic eruption in the
past and you will not find anything
that can compare with the destruc-
ton wrought by the Hun. 1t is SO
hellish that it outdoes the elements Of
God in the might of their wrath.
Do not think that the Americans are
going into this war for France or
for England. You are going into it
for yourselves and your wives and
families. There is no talk OF peace
among the soldiers fighting in France
AID Flanders. They talk of the push
No man asks or wonders when the
war will end. Their only thought is
what shall we do tomorrow. Five
transports landed troops from Amer
lea the day before l left my home,
and / saw $4,000 soldiers pass my
house; as fine body of men as the
sun ever shone upon.
n one of our hospitals ! saw a
poor fellow who had one eye and
half of his face blown away. and he
talked with his mouth twisted np
toward his ear. asked how he re-
ceived his frightful injuries, and he
replied that it was through picking
up q fountain pen in German dug
out just after it was captured. i was
one of the first over the top, said
this remnant of human, and as
fell forward in the dugout from
which the Germans had just fled
rather hurriedly, noticed fountain
pen on the floor and put it into my
pocket. Two days later 1 wanted to
write letter home to my wife and
children and took the pen out to use
it instead of pencil. AS I unscrew-
ed the cap there was a violent explo,
sion, and half of my face was blown
clean off as you see now
That is one of the tricks the Huns
have played us in this war. The
crimes committed by the enemy are
beyond description. There is only one
hope in the world for the destruc-
ton of this blighting force of evil
and that lies in the united effort OF
the English-speaking peoples. Whe1
the American soldiers go into the
trenches over there they are going to
meet an enemy whose motto is, 'Mer-
cy to none
l will try to give you faint idea
of what the destruction in France
means. You are riding in a military
Automobile along a road made all but
impossible by deep shell holes, pieces
Of charred wood, and loose stones.
The officer who is escorting you ex-
plains that you are passing over the
site on which three months ago there
was a thriving village of 5000 inhabi-
tants. All that remains are a few
curbstones that mark the former To-
cation of sidewalks. The town with
its people has been wiped out by the
Huns as il they had never been.
On my visits to the front ! saw
the men in the trenches, in the hos
pitfalls, In the rest camps at the rear
of tho fighting lines, under all condi-
lions, and never heard complaint.
They are all going to see it through,
because every man there knows that
Prussian militarism must be ended
before peace can come to the world
once more.
l have here a piece Of barbed wire
which was obtained from trench be-
fore Arras. 1t is 6 inches long and
has twenty-four barbs. which hold a
piece of tartan so firmly that 1t can
not be torn away except in threads.
That little shred of cloth is all that
remains of a Highland soldier who
was hit by a shell as he struck the
entanglements.
could tell you of deeds that !
have seen and heard OF committed
by the Hun that would haunt your
sleep. and not one word of exaggera-
ton. BY the memory of my boy who
laid down his life for the cause you
may rely upon it that ] would not
tell lie."