Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1917-07-13
WELLS
TO TELL OF WAR
Continued from first page)

strong, and Wells told him to &c
ahead and take off that arm. He
was too weak 10 be given chloroform
Wells spoke very highly of the
kindness of the Belgian nursing sis
tiers. One of them lavished nearly
all her attention on him, and it was
she who informed his mother that
he was alive after he had been re-
ported dead.
He had not the same good word
to say for the German doctors, many
of whom hated the sight of khaki.
Khaki to a German is like a red
flag to a bull, said Wells. One Ger
man doctor of Jewish extraction,
came over to him as he lay in pain
and weakness after the operation,
and addressed him as follows: You
are not brave, You are wounded.
You cry aid de time. We are nudt
vighting with Canada; Wy shouldt
you wight Wit uns? You are paid as
sassins. You are paid to Kill my
kamrades If had my way / would
take you ould undt shoot you You
p-e-e-g!' And, working himself up
into frenzy. he spit at and slapped
the helpless Wells in the face
subsequently, Wells was taken to
the German prison lager at Ohrdruff.
There he remained for two months.
And there he conceived the brilliant
and daring scheme of shamming in
sanity to get his exchange. He knew
that he was not eligible for exchange
with but one arm, for the Germans
rightly cOntended that he could be
used for Institutional purposes, so
day in and day out he acted the luna
tic, whose nerves were gone as a re-
suit of the war. He gibbered in fool
ish jargon. He grinned in a silly
sort of way. Every day he would go
out and pretend he was feeding or
riding horse. Some of his pals
were on to his game and helped him
along by soothing him before the
German guards, Finally, the great
test came. He was to be sent before
the German medical board at Aix-La-
Chapelle
There, a big bearded German spe-
cialist looked keonly at him. Asked
him if he was not a Canadian ser
geant (lOng ago h. had ripped off
his stripes. Wells looked at his
interrogation with a blank stare, and
suddenly grinned his foolish grin,
and stated that he was only farm
er who planted potatoes. 1t was
consummate acting, and his wonder
full self-eXpression had won, for he
was declared mentally defective.
Likely, in the prisoners archives in
Berlin, there is a statement to that
effect.
But the strain had been great and
Wells nearly collapsed when he
heard the good news, but he pulled
himself together and wore an express
sionless mask.
Soon he was in misty London town
and back among friendly faces. In
speaking of it all Wells said 1T was
easier to make the German doctors
believe | was crazy that to make the
English doctors understand that I
was not"
When questioned as to actual con-
dltions in Germany. Sergeant Wells
told of several instances that would
seem to point that the big men of
Germany were running a precarious
game of bluff.
"A German-American, a typical
broadway tough, who confided in me,
said that he would never fight
against the Canadians. Then he
went on as follows in his Broadway
talk said Wells: Il tell you, on the
side, that we guys are licked. Those
boobs fighting don't know it, but the
big guns must know that we can't
win"
Wells told, too, of a military order
that went forth in Ohrdruff COM
polling all the citizens to wear
wooden clogs instead of leather boots
or shoes. The reason given was that
all leather was needed so as to not
impair the military efficiency of the
Fatherland. Also. he observed that
when the British and Canadian pris-
oners received their parcels of food
that the German guards looked very
hungrily at the good things which
the Khaki Tommies were receiving.
NNSTROM IN EXTENSION WORK
Prof A b. Nystrom head Of the