Mountain Home Republican. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1915-1946, 1917-08-11
French Expect Big
Things of Our Fighters

national defense by corroding the irol
OF our arms" was the way Comper,
Morel, one of the heads of the socialis
party In the chamber of deputies, sale
In conversation / had with him re
Gently. Authority must be used with
greatest ease, justice must be unwav.
ering. More than that, allowances
must be made for the duration of the
frightful strain under which soldiers
and folk at home alike are laboring.
discipline must be maintained, Of
course, but this Is not the time for
martinets.
without indicating the moral state
OF our troops, 1t would be nevertheless
vain to deny that those engaged in
this appalling conflict are morally and
physically tired. To pretend that we
are as strong spiritually as we were at
the time of the Marine is absurd. Dis
aster Is certain to follow a refusal to
recognize the wear and tear upon the
nerves OF men, and women, too, bear
ing the fearful burden of this war"
Little of the tremendous pressure
or the struggle upon individuals Is WIS.,
Idle to the casual observer. One might
travel through France from end to end
and never get a glimpse of 1t. The
soldiers one sees seem cheerful enough.
There is hustle and movement liz the
streets Of the cities. Even In the slums
the surface of things reveals no trag-
edy. Listen to the talk of "poilus"
among themselves, however, and sit !
alongside circle of gossiping house
wives OF the poorer class, and one will |
soon detect the tautness of their nerves
and the WEAKNESS pervading their
thoughts.
The newspapers are silent about all
this; firstly, because of the censorship,
and, secondly, because they necessar-
Ily are part Of the conscious or uncon-
scious propaganda for the maintenance
d morale. When incidents occur they
print only what they are told by the
omcial press bureau. A paragraph like
ms, Tor instance. means little to a
leader not familiar with such mat
ers:
Last night at seven o'clock on the {
3oulevard de la Vallette brawl start
d, for trifling reasons, among five SOL |
iers. Some Kabyles emerging from {
nearby factory and passersby were s
1ixed up In the scuffle. The police t
ltervened to re-establish order. Sew G
raj arrests were made" t
What really occurred, though not a @
ewspaper so much as limited at II, [
as rather more serious. The soldiers c
no were on leave from the front,
al heard that the Kabyles, who are O
rabs imported to clean the streets, r
ere to be used to repress disturb b
noes among the civilian population. O
hey had been told so by their wives,
ne OF whom had been ogled by n
abyle. When the "poilus" attacked o.
lem the Kabyles naturally resisted. q
al riot ensued In which a dozen >,
DSOHS "CiC ScNSitiy WUuHueus n
This ARRAY was preceded by an h
zen bloodier affair, In which num- 9,
'r Of Annamite soldiers were attack
by crowd of women and 'permis-
and several were killed. An
nnamite battalion was brought to ii
arts at time when the strikes were te
their height, and the rumor spread OF
It'll miraculous swiftness all through IL
g city that the Annamites had been CT
because the French garri- z,
n would refuse to fire upon the et
ovid In the event of riot. tn
That there was any truth in this
ny be doubted, but certainly the pres m
ce Of the Monaghan troops at SO in
'essful period was unfortunate. An br
mites are anathema to all Parisians m
wadays simply as result of the
mors and the really furious fight that 70
Dse out of them. Yet, beyond for ,s
Il communiQue no more communi. 40
tive than that about the Kabyles. ~
IRE has been no mention of the mat. no
In print. -,