The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1917-03-22
French Women Happy Amid
DesoIation When German
Spoilers Depart.
IN PAGEANT OF PITIFULNESS
Refugees, in Driving Rain and
Constantly Under Bonn
bardment, Are Joyous.
By HENRY WOOD.


man troops sacked even supply houses
OF the American relief commission Ia
leave the French civilian inhabitants
utterly without food.
They took every. vestige of every
metal in the French villages, and
marked practically every house in the
territory which they evacuated.
But il the Germans hoped by utter
devastation to stem the tide of The
French advance against them they
we're disappointed. The French ad-
vance has been 50 rapid that in many
eases they have arrived at towns and
villages hours before the Germans
lad planned to svacuate them.
French Advance Unchecked.
Nor is the French advance lacking
in methOdical ways. Behind the
screen of fast moving cavalry and in
fantry comes the engineer and road
builders to bridge the craters, and be-
hind them the artillery only waits
the construction of highways.
A few miles beyond Noyon today
I witnessed the rapidity with which
the French are overcoming every ef-
fort Of the enemy to check their ad-
vance. There the French columns en-
countered a fifty-foot hole-a crater
on the Noyon-Chauny road-exactly
at the spot best calculated to impede
the advance. The French infantry
and cavalry Immediately detoured to
adjoining fields and continued their
forward movement without Interrupt
tion. At the same moment engineers
Began filling the crater and bridging
il. Another detachment started at
work on a road winding around the
place.
Almost before the last shovel of
Sirt was throwkn and the last nail
driven, batteries of the famous Sol
zante Quinze guns went careening on,
while to one side munitions and sup
ply trains dashed forward likewise
The entire advance was resumed.
Smoke Marks Retreat.
Pushing forward with the army to-
day toward Chauny and Tergnier one
saw the entire horizon clouded with
the smoke of burning farms and viii
lagos. The pathway of the German
retreat was traceabIe for fifteen miles
by such pals of smoke.
Along the rOad back from Tcrgnier
and NOyon poured an unepding stream
OF refugees from these blazing farms
and villages. Nearly all were women
-pitiful in their restitution, a few
scunt pieces of clothing saved and
strapped on their backs, or pushing
baby carriages, or wheelbarrows,
with tiny tots tucked therein.
Younger children chung to their
skirts or themselves toddled along
under the weight of bundles.
This was pitiful appearing
stream. Pushing afoot along a road
stretching eighteen miles and con
stantly under bombardment, the refu-
gees faced a driving winter rain. AL
though they were homeless and hun
ger stricken, with only the clothing
on their backs or a few belongings
to call their own-despite all this,
they were supremacy, radiantIy
happy. They were returning to
Happy Amid DesOIatIOn.
I talked to many of these today
They declared it the happiest moment
OF their lives when French cavalry
dashed into their village and chased
out the Germans.
Their stories were all alike. For
weeks before the retreat started. the
Germans herded all inhabitants from
village to village. When the final
moment came for the Germans to
leave, they sacked the houses. The
soldiers carried off everything eat
able-and burned the villages before
the eyes of the refugees. Then they
departed, leaving the villagers home
less and foodless.
few hours of he
mans believed the French troops had
arrived, they began Smelling the VII
lagos they had pillaged and left,
despite their knowledge that thous-
ands of French inhabitants were
there.
Several hundred women and, chill
dren experienced this at Chauny,
alone.
Several villages were under bonn
bardment at the moment l arrived
The Red Cross crews with their lit
tiers, who had pushed forward afoot,
were carrying off women and chill
dren wounded during the shell fire.
Orgy of Destruction.
The German retreat has been mark
ed by insensate destruction. Aside
from the burning of farms and viii
lagos the Blowing up of church
doors and affairs and the like, their
wantOn destruction was carried to
such an extent that / walked through
twenty miles OF farms and fields
where every orchard tree had either
been hewn down OFF the French
arrived before this job OF destruction
could be compIeted-the trees were
sufficiently hacked TO insure their
death
The Germans stripped every village
Of all metal. They tore the tin gut
tiers and plumbing from az houses,
took off the metal roofs. pilfered the
churches Of clocks and bells. Not one
escaped. from the cathedral at Noyon
to the humblest Of wayside churches.
In the country districts all agricul-
tural implements and machinery were
either carried off or broken.
During the weeks preceding the re-
treat the Germans pursued a policy
OF forcing the inhabitants OF half a
dozen surrounding villages to gather
in some big town where the Ameri-
can commission had a distributing
center. Then the refugees would be
informed that the American commits
sion would supply their wants-and
the Germans would sack the town
At Noyon. owing to the concentra-
tion OF 10000 women and children,
the Germans promised to leave the