Licking Valley courier., 1917-04-12
SCISSORS & PASTE|
:Good Things Clipped from
: Our Exchanges with an
; Occasional Comment
: By the Editor.
German Pride Broken.

~A Ae@@SA AASS SASe~
British headquarters in France,
via London, March 26. This is
the story of the Priest OF Voy-
ennes, Monsieur LIE Cure Caron,
who stood to-day in the shadow
Of the still hot walls of his church,
which bad been set alight by the
Germans the day they slipped
away from this plain little village
perched above the valley the
Somme. Flashes of passionate
protest mingled with a spirit
Of proud resignation in his
recital of the life at Voyennes
during the two and a half years
of German control--a civil i'm
prisonment which ended Monday
last when through field glasses
from the loft of his presbytery
the priest, who was also acting
Mayor, saw four khaki-clad
horsemen in the road and knew
that the Germans had gone and
British relief was at hand.
A few minutes later a French
cavalry patrol appeared and the
Allies had formed a new link in
the pursuit of the common foe.
To-day the booming Of the guns
in this pursuit could be heard
over a stretch of eighty battle
miles.
The cure told how a few mar
row scars in the earth, known as
German trenches, ribbons oi
barbed wire behind them and &
bit of shell-torn waste called "n(
mans land" had isolated a sec
ton of the French people from
their country as effectually as i
they had been suddenly trans
planted to another hemisphere
He told how in Voyennes women
children and old men lived ant
toiled for the invaders in ute
ignorance of what was going OF
in the world about them, just a
other thousands still shut within
the German lines are living, toll
ing and wondering to-day. The
were told long ago that thei
beautiful Paris was to fall an
2 would be pillaged and burned
Later they were told Paris i
Dead" and the Germans adde
insult to injury, the old prizes
: exclaimed, by pronouncing
Paris" instead of "Paree.
: The inhabitants of Voyenne
:. submitted to enemy dominatio
with heads erect and patier
calmness that the Germans coul
. not understand. I'VE woul
break your PRIDE" Prussian of
: cials declared, land make yo
q slaves. All France shall fall {
our feet"
Pale, drawn and old, as ws
D the cure, nevertheless he SCENE
r imbued with sudden, defar
e strength as he raised himself
: his full height and continued:
p 1T told them that never aga
= would France yield to such a fo
They taunted US and said the
{ would crush Europe in a fe
S month. We replied that Fran,
e would fight five years if necess
ry. Sometimes they laught
o scornfully at this, but lately the
q could not contain their fury tn
the war was lasting so long"
. And did the people suff'
u much?" he was asked.
: "Ah, yes" he replied. 20
food did not last long. Then v
IS had to work for the German
n and take what they gave u
Sometimes it was so bad tn
y even the cats refused to ca
o Then the Americans began
o feed us, and that saved thousan
of lives. Our people are We
r. grateful.
;. But let US not dwell on t
~ physical side to-day, but spe,
$ of the mental and moral angui
70 we endured, for it seemed Ii
r the span of a hundred years.
le has left US all but imbicilic.
# scarce can keep my vagra
- thoughts together. "
y Last Sunday when early ma
le was over, the German comman
ant at Voyennes appeared at t
4 church with a party of soldie
IS bearing petrol cans. He blunt
-. told the priest that he was fir