The broad ax. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1895-19??, 1918-12-14
By Ralph w. Tyler
ACCREDITED RAPPRESENTIVE
OF THE COMMITTEE ON
PUBLIC INFORMATION.
ARTICLE VIII.

| ARTICLE VIII.
Somewhere in France, November
10. - In the battle raging today in
the American advance towards Metz,
the 92nd Division, one of the Colored
combatant division over here, played
a big role. Not only was its black
infantry and machine gun units up
at the front-in the thickest of it,
but its artillery, the 167th Brigade
of field artillery was on the line,
behaving like veterans, laying down
a barrage for the infantry that was
marvelously effective, and they esta-
blished a reputation which has been
made by but few, among French, Bri-
fish or Americans, of laying down a
barrage that did not entrap, and
fatally so, their own men.
This has been a glorious day for
the black soldiers. The fighting is
still on, and / have just received the
intimation that the casualty toll may
be heavy by the Germans, and resis-
lance determined. Metz is considered
by experts to be the strongest fort
| flied city in the world, almost, if not
so, as impregnable as the fortiffca-
tons of the Dardanelles. But the
Americans are hammering away at
it, and only the singning of the armis-
tice terms, by the Germans, by eleven
o'clock tomorrow, will save Metz
from falling. Even as it is, Colored
soldiers are now on German soil.
The husky invaders include the
Colored soldiers of the 92nd Division,
embracing the "Buffales" or S67th,
the 365th and 366th regiments of
Infantry and the 10th Brigade of
Field Artillery, composed of the
549th, 350th and 351st regiments and
the 317th Trench Mortar Battery,
and all are conducting themselves
with a fortitude and valor that have
won for them high praise from their
commanding officers every time they
have been put to any test.
FREIGHT-cAR LOOK LIKE PULL
MAN PARLoR COACHES" ON
WAR FRONT.
Somewhere in France. - To many
of our people back in the States who
saw our boys embark on fine Ameri-
can railroad coaches and Pullman
sleepers to cover the first lap of their
hoped-for pilgrimage to Berlin, the
coaches they must ride on over here
would arouse a mild protest. i stood
at the station at Vierzon, one of
Frances many quaint old towns, re-
Gently, and saw long train of freight
cars roll in enroute to some point
further distant. In these cars, with
but a limited number of boxes to sit
upon, and just the floors to stand up
on, were crowded some one thausand
of our own Colored soldiers from
''The States. But a jollier crowd
never rode through American cities
in Pullman sleepers and diners than
these one thousand Colored troopers.
They accepted passage on these rude
box freight cars cheerfully, for they
knew they were now in wSF, and pa
lace cars, downy coaches and the
usual American railroad eonveniences
were neither available nor beside
rable.
The point i wish to convey to the
people home is that did they but
know how cheerfully-eyen eagerly,
our boys over here accept war time
convenienees, they would not worry
quite so much about how the boys
are faring. They are being whole
somely and plenteously fed; they are
warmly clothed; they are cheerful
and accomplishing. To a soldier,
who must at times sleep with but the
canopy of heaven as a covering, and
the earth as a mattress, box freight
car that shields him from the rain
and wind is a real luxury, and he ac-
cepts it as such. There need not be
worry hack home as to the mainte-