The Washington herald., 1917-06-07

lists, a captain Of the general stan. a
lieutenant who has published the
book of his .meditations in the
trenches and myself. That evening
one of the French common soldiers
said to US, such things we S can -
sleep. You don't wake them-there,s
no reasoning about that. To attack
the dead--why, II must bring mis-
fortune after. The Germans are mn
ished. Think what II puts into our
heart when we sec things like that. "
Benjamin Vallotton goes on: I'VE
fingered long In this cemetery OF
Champien-as II we were IN the very
heart of hell. And suddenly, in the
midst of the waste, there appeared
an old woman. sharp nosed and with
trembling chin poking about with g
stick in the rubbish OF the graves"
There she had laid away one after
the other parents ana children-and
now? She did not speak, but TO the
! neutral Swiss she seemed the troubl.
ed soul OF these mutilated tombs''
a sout that surely cannot yet cry for
peace.
story Of q French Girl.
This week, in a private apartment Of
Paris. a girl OF Lille, 20 years old, was
speaking slowly. She was still suffer
ing from six months of deportation
into slavery a year ago.
At 3 a. m. April q. 1915. ten German
house. The Feldwebel (under officerj
announced to the frightened family
which is one of the most honorable
of the great city of Lille-"The Rom.
mandantur requires young women for
the harvest in the Ardennes. Not
moiselle Is one of those named by. the
Commandant to go. Shc must follow
me-"
All but fainting. the young girl was
carried of by force from her weeping
and distracted mother and father and
young women. On the train there
were 500 men and women. all taken of
pell-mell together and forced hence.
forth to live together promiscuously.
They were OF all sorts and conditions
OF society. have the name of one
who Is the daughter of a man holding
a high position in a learned congress
Of the exposition of 1900. where distin-
guished Americans were proud to slI
beside him.
The German lieutenant in charge
was impatient at the continued sob
said, "Mademoiselle, you ought to be
proud. You belong now to the Sixth
Army Corps. commanded by the high
and mighty Crown Prince Ruprecht OF
Bavaria" On the Identification card
Of each of the deported, men and
women. this was written-"attached to
the Sixth Army Corps"
This first journey was tedious from
Its endless formalitjes and revolving
beyond measure TO the women's self
respect and modesty. from the SOCIAL
ed sanitary visits" These wanton
examinations to which rough men find
1t hard to be subjected when they en-
ter the army, were repeated ten times
in the next few months. American
women who are told that French
women cry for peace at any price
might remember that, in every part
of France. there are now some OF
these deported women-real French
women-to tell the ignominy Of their
treatment
Had to sleep In Henhouse.
For six months they were obliged
to live in a little village OF a few
hundred inhabitants, several miles
from any town. No lodgings had been
prepared and the young girl. who has
told her experience this week in Paris.
had to sleep in a henhouse. At 6
O'Clock in the morning, rain or shine.
they were marched out TO the fields,
to harvest and .thresh the wheat or
dig potatoes. Just as for the inhabit-
ants Of the village, their only food
was that received from the American
Relief Committee. These provisions
for some reason, stopped once for
twelve days, and the deported had to
starve as best they could. The young
girl OF Lille says she relieved her
hunger by eating the green fruit
which she found.
This. young French woman looked
around the little parlor of her brother
with whom she has taken refuge in
Paris only think" she said, "all
my six months deportation I slept in
my henhouse, next to the stable" And
with a sigh she added, I'VE have so
many accounts to settle with Germany
that all that can wait"