Trench and camp. ([Admiral, Md.) 1917-1919, 1917-12-26
BY Marshall M. bartholomew

was cheerful and he looked SO well
that as / went to his bedside / re-
marked:
"You don't seem to have much the
matter with. you"
81 haven't" he replied.
why don't you. then, come out
and enjoy the sunshine?"
81 can't" he said quietly.
In answer to my why mott" he
turned down the bed covering and
showed me that he had no feet.
He was a prisoner Of war in one
OF the camps abroad and he persona
fed the problem that confronts well
fare workers. There was something
of the spirit Of Nathan Hale in the
boy-for he was nothing more than
boy-as he said, 81 offered my
country my life and they have taken
only my feet"
A Humanitarian Task
Helping men like that who are
helpless themselves Is one Of the
great humanitarian tasks Of the war.
Unless one sees at nrst hand, he
finds 1t difficult to comprehend the
problem of the prisoners. We read
In news reports of 100000 captured
in q single battle. We admire the
genius Of the military leader who
accomplished the feat-and then we
forget.
One day I was in q railroad acct
dent. A moment before I had been
eating q quiet meal In the dining car.
Without any warning was plunged
into a chaos Of dead, dying and ter
ror-stricken people. That night has
left upon my memory an unforget-
table picture@the mangled corpses
lying in the snow, the cries Of the
wounded from under the wreckage;
the black, endless forest that
stretched ON both sides of the wreck
dream of it sometimes at night and
wake in a cold perspiration; every
detail Of that night has burned itself
into my memory in such a way that
I shall carry the picture wildly real
as long as l live And yet, in all,
there were only about eighty people
killed in this accident. A few days
later / was reading the newspaper
report on an action on the western
front, where it was estimated that
during few days fighting $4,000
men had been killed or badly
wounded. 1t came to me with Pc
culiar shock that this loss of $4,000
people meant infinitely less to me
personally than the eighty or ninety
whom l had seen with my own eyes.
In it lies . problem for all of US.
| 1t is almost impossible even partially
to visualize the meaning, and share
in the facts of what is going on in
Europe. Occasionally something hap
pens OF such staggering impor-
lance or such vivid intensity that it
refuses to be pigeonholed and re-
mains In the front Of our minds,
burning its way 50 holly that It
achieves a permanent place in our
memories and sways real influence
over our thought lives. And how
shall we visualize the statement that
there are somewhere In the neighbor-
hood of 100000 prisoners OF war
in the prison camps OF Europe today?
The Intending Line
! Have you ever watched columns of
marching men? Have you felt the
thrill in your throat as line after line
of strong men tramped rhythmically
by to the music OF drum and
trumpet? I remember the Dewey
parade in New York in celebration
of the battle OF Manila in 1899. That
was the first great parade that had
ever seen. From eight in the morn
ing until late in the afternoon regi-
ment after regiment marched past,
and yet less than 100000 men par
ticipated in that parade.
But If the prisoners Of war could
be mustered together and marched
past a given point and you had to
stand and watch this weary process
sion, how your eyes would ache and
your heart, too. before 1t had passed.
No music this time: no joy; NO excite
ment; but broken regiments Of weary
| veterans, muddy, ragged, wounded,
discouraged. Watch them from the
windows Of your Imagination, march
ing, marching. All day today un-
ceasingly they appear, boys and
young men in great number;
middle aged men In great num-
Der; old men, a few - French
men, Belgians, English, Russians,
Germans, Austrians, Hungarians,
Turks, Africans, Indians, Australians,
Italians. The march continues to-
morrow, and the next day. and on
through the week, and through the
next week, night and day. day and
night, for over q month before this
vast army has passed you by. What
a vast amount of man power Is rep
resented in this mass of human be-
ings?