Mohave County miner. [volume] (Mineral Park, A.T. [Ariz.]) 1882-1918, 1917-04-21


"Seigneur, l appeal to your kindness
for my husband, missing the 9th Of
September before Souchez."
A little girl wrote this letter: "Mon-
sieur, l have the honor to ask some
news of my brother. We are all in
agony, and my mother is very sick
and cannot be consoled. Will you give
US news? Here is his address"
Another wife wrote: "If at least 1
could only know that my husband liv-
ed. am the mother of little baby
girl that the father has never yet seen
and this baby-child pleads to your
good heart"
These appeals do not always follow
the niceties of diplomatic communica-
lions. Some of them are on rough
paper bought at the country store,
and are in trembling hand writing of
old persons. But the king does not
see these defects, and his greatest
satisfaction is in sending a personal
telegram to some mother or child tell
ing of the successful result of his
search. When a long telegram of
gratitude came recently the king him
self answered:
"Thank you for your Fluctuations.
1 am very happy that my efforts have
been satisfactory"
1t is not as easy to convey the news
when a son or father has been killed.
Usually the official report is brutal in
its brevity-"todt" on the German re-
ports and "decede" on the French.
But the king, to avoid a shock to the
family, has adopted the delicate for
mula of first sending notice of death
to the mayor of town, asking him to
adopt suitable means of conveying the
news to the family. The latter in that
case reads:
81 regret to inform you that, ac-
cording to a letter received from the
ambassador of his majesty at Berlin,
despite all efforts to gather infor-
nation concerning ---, they
have been able to learn only that he is
dead, in offering his life gloriously
for his country.
"Will you kindly convey this sad
news with all the delicacy possible to
- and at the same
time, in the name of the king, express
his most sincere coincidence and SYM
pathy."
There are some 10000 of these
dead and untracable missing in these
palace records-an army greater than
Napoleon's army at Waterloo. To
mark the solemnity of these 10000
cases, the king has placed above the
records a gold framed scroll, wreath
of laurel leaves entwining cross.
The king has attached to the staff
of the Spanish embassy at Berlin for
ty persons who are making these in
designations in all parts of Germany.
1t is growing so that another seven
teen will be added soon. The same
kind of inquiry is being made in Aus
tria, Italy and France and other coun-
tries.
There are two large maps of Ger
many and Austria which the king
comes in often to inspect. They tell
at glance by means of hyeroglyphics
the exact state of each of the many
prison camps. Those in Austria in
Dictated by a star are almost all good.
Many of those in Germany indicate by
a hollow square that the condition is
bad.
There are many notable names in
these records. One of them is Nine.
Carton de Wharf, wife of the Belgian
member of the ministry. She was de-
ported and imprisoned at Berlin, re-
fusing to accept any favor because of
her husbands high position. But
King Alfonso interviewed, and it was
through his efforts that she finally
was returned to her husband and chill
dren after months of Imprisonment.
One of the outgrowths of the sys-
tenn is the establishment of something
like bank at the palace, where many
thousands of francs have been sent
from families to civilian and military
prisoners. In all the details of this
extensive work King Alfonso takes a
personal interest, following up the
more urgent cases day by day, and
often framing the letters of inquiry
and information. While most of the
other rulers of Europe are devoting
their energies to the work of warfare,
King Alfonso rules over a country
at peace, and which he believes is
destined to remain at peace, and it is
his greatest satisfaction that this has
brought him the opportunity to direct
this extensive work of relieving some
of the misery which the war is caus-
inn