The Dickson County herald. (Dickson, Tenn.) 1907-1979, 1917-08-03
French Expect Big
Things of Our Fighters


martlnefs.
Without indicating the moral state
OF our troops. II would be nevertheless.
vain 80 aeny that those engaged IN
Tits appalling conflict are morally and
physically tired. To pretend that we
are ~ StrsAls spiritually as We were MT
the titne Of the Marine Is absurd. DIS
aster IL certain 10 follow refusal to
recognize the wear and tear upon the
nerves Ut men. and wonleis. too. bear
Ing the fearful burden Of this war"
Little of the tremendous pressure
Of the struggle upon individuals Is yls-
tble TO the casual observer. One might
travel through France from end 10 end
and never get q glimpse Of II. The
soldiers one sees seem cheerful enough.
There IL hustle and movement In the
streets Ut the cities. Even tn the sluins
the surface Of things reyeuis ~ trag'
cdy. Listen to the :a!s os 'polins"
among themselves, however, and sit
alongside circle Of gcssiptng house
wives Of the poorer class, and one viii
soon detect the iaufness VI their nerves
ahi the weatne.s rervading their
thoughts.
The newspapers are silent about all
this; firstly. because of the censorship,
and, secondly, because they neccs&ur-
lily are part Of the conscious or unsln-
scious propaganda for The malntenaa<.
Ut morale, When incidents occur they
print Only what they are told by tie
official press bureau. A paragraph like
this, for instance taeans little 10 a
reader not familiar with such mat
tiers:
Last Might at seven O'Clock % the
kssss3sssg,4 fss&,ss @sg.<ssa.,,s .sssSA s'ag!tt.
ed, for tfitllhg reasons, among itye sol
oilers. Some Kabyi,s emerging from
a nearby factory and passyrSby were
mixed up Ia the Scuiie, The police
interviewed to rc-establish order. Sey.
FtNt HlEtstS were NlAut.
What really occurred. though not u
newspaper so much ny limited NJ II,
was rather aorc serious, The soldiers
who We're oa leave from the front,
had heard hat the kahsles, who are
Arabs imported to clean the streets,
were 70 be- used to repress disturb
ances among the civilian population,
They had been told so by their wives,
one Of whom had been ogied by Il
kahyle When the ''poilus" attacked
them the kabyles naturally resisted.
and riot ensucd In which dozen
persons were severely wounded.
This ARRAY was preceded By an
fvcn bloodIer affair, In which mum
Der OF Annamite soldiers were attack
ed by crowd Of women and permits
slonntres" and several were Killed. An
Annatnite batialitx was brought 10
Paris ut time when the strilses were
At their height, and the rumor spread
with miraculous swiftness NIL through
he city that the Annamites had been
summoned because the French garri-
son would refuse To fire upon the
'rowd Ia the event Of e riot.
Depressing Rumors Flood City.
That there was any truth In this
maybe doubted but certainly the pres
nee OF the Monaghan troops Mt so
'tressful n period was unfortunate An
lamiteS are annthema to all paris!ans
iowadays. simply ms Il result Of the
'umors aud the really furious fight that
arose out Of them. Yet. beyond n for
nal communicate no more communl-
'atlve than that about the Kabyles.
here has been no mention OF the mat.
er In print.
Paris IL flooded with rumors these
lays. as Il has never been since the
irst weeks ~ the war Most OF them
re depressing and doubtless con
itieruhse percentage ace deliberately
aspirrd by pac!tlsts and pro-Gernans,
t whom there are u good many to I've
ound In the Greek and Spanish colo
lies. Whether they are true Is of lit
le consequence me important thing
) they are believed to a large extent,
ven hy persons we'll Informed about
he situation as whole
uue ot the minor problems con-
ectpd with the "pcrmiSslanaires,"
,ho, released FOR the time being from
jroet discipline. have a tendency 10
eceme unruly is the evil that lies IN
watt fer them NJ the railroad stations
y Paris, AImust all of them pass
hypHgh the casGfal on their way 10
nd from the front, and AZ the sta
ions they are pr2ycd upon not only
y merchants OF vice, but by the
GeutS q anarchy and prnGer'nanS as
veil. who Seek te iaculeate pence-at-
ny-price Ideas, and the desire To re
OF! by spreading stories IT the terri.
lie conditions prevailing In the rear.
he "poilu>" lsarn In their own homes
hat mest uFThesa yarns an, act true,
ut IN the either hand they hear ,aaSs
( runners which have ai,Dest the same
fee. upon weaker characters, and
hey believe them all the mere really
,eeause they come from their own
y,ses or relatives
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