Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-07-07

and others upon their Sides their backs,
their breasts.
Among them lay the dead Of France.
They were pitiably many, but nothing in
comparison to the number of the Boche.
And every one of them, / thought, some
mothers son. Every one.
Yet for the tree murderers, the Violators
of women, those that had sacrileged houses
of God and the humble homes of Gods wor-
shippers. l felt not an atom of pity. 1t was
only for the sons of France who, as mil
lions before them. had rendered the supreme
sacrifice that my heart filled with tears.
They were Of the Basque the Bearnais the
Gascon, whom | had witnessed take this
same ground in victorious attack but Few
days before. They had defended In equal
glory. mdts pas dVec Ia meme bonnie chance
Yet they have held, both the living and
the dead, in a common cause. Sanctihed
territory redeemed and re-redeemed God
save each Of their memories
Before noon, with my officer escort, had
notored to the English front. There in the
hot June sun preparations were under
way as, indeed, they are always. At every
point passed work was always visible, the
constant getting ready to die.
Under Fire in No Mans Ian
With the night we went forth into the
first line. There was but vigilance, since
nothing in the way of immediate attack
was planned In a party of four we treaded
No Mans Land with the patrol of England.
The German first line was hardly 500 me-
ters before us. And the moon shOne as
the night before. Suddenly a Boche mitrail
leuse began to spit lead. With the first
familiar crack we threw ourselves fiat, the
balls passing harmlessly over our heads.
And as suddenly as it began it ceased and
silence reigned, save for the far-off boom
Of heavy guns. 1t was nothing of impor-
tance" SO we arose and went on, quietly,
past the mark of battle and skirmish, past
German dead, some recent some that had
been dead for days. For it seems for
little time past the Boche does not gather
his dead as rapidly as of yore.
Now and then we passed an outpost. and
7 noted the English soldier was always
young-young and full of vi6or full of
enthusiasm, by no means stolid as the
poilu of France; less tired, perhaps since
the strain has been less long and the years
are less heavy.
We hac reganed the first line had
tramped over two miles upon the she'll
torn land that Is no mans and that is
destined soon to become again the land OF
France. 1t had been but a harmless inno-
cent little walk in the moonlight Just
walk in which nothing of importance"
had occurred save the ever-present always
ready always eager waiting for the hour.
And yet It seemed h. me as full of thrill
as the excitement of the fight had looked
upon the previous night, Not the excite
ment that grips the entrails, but that
calmer thing that sinks into the soul and
gives one time to think, to hold secret con-
verse I'm some tiny measure to fathom
upon the spot where it is being done that
which England and France are doing, that
which, please God, America has to do ere
Prussia and her III ideals are laid fiat upon
the ground. It's coming. But before fhe
day this blood soaked land of France will
drink new vintage, the blood of liberty's
sons across the sea.
with the thought something gripped me
by the throat held me as / walked. And
I stopped and looked up at the North Star
shining in a great calm and great beauty
far off in the heavens.
what is it?" asked my escort.
Nothing" l answered, nothing. l was
hut thinking Of other mothers and the
sorrows 10 come to them, mothers over
there across Atlantic's summer sea, moth
ers who will drink deep of understand
ing and sacrifice ere Right triumphs and
the world is Free"