The Democratic banner. (Mt. Vernon, Ohio) 1898-192?, 1918-06-25
WAR MOST BRUTAL IN
WORLDS HISTORY PIERCE TELLS
HIS AUDIENCE IN ADDRESS HERE
BURN MAN ALIVE

A spark OF life still being left. she re-
vived him. only to have the brutes
cover him with kerosene and burn
him alive One town which offered
stubborn resistance with only few
men so enraged the commanding Off
Ger of the Huns that he had practical
ly the whole population killed. claim.
ing that all had participated In the
towns defense. t,.
Although the Red Cross, like all
other organizations, Is not perfect,
its work Is far greater than words
can express. said DIR. Peirce, and any
one who allows himself to criticize
II is speaking falsely and he who does
not do all he can to further the cause
is not fit TO be q citizen of the United
States.
The Red Cross is now one of the
mainstays Of France, fighting infant
mortality, taking care OF the refu-
gees. operating the hospitals. and
looking after and studying the hygi-
enic welfare Of the nation, said Dr.
Peirce. II is also the backbone of
American diplomacy, he added.
WORKS WITH PRivATEs
Completing his tour of inspection
DR.. Peirce felt that 1t WAS his duty
to repay In some fitting way for the
chance he had been given TO visit the
firing line and for his excellent treat
ment while there, and decided that
the French private soldier was the
man with whom he would like to
work.
Attending an entertainment for the
soldiers In the basement OF d railway
station on the outskirts OF Paris one
evening, Dr. PIERCE described the Joy
the soldiers got from these little per.
fOrmances. After the program the
soldiers were given Red Cross boxes
which had been made mp by. the
Americans. or course, practically ey-
cry box contained note OF some
kind, the boxes originally being in
tended for American soldiers. DR..
Peirce was kept busy trnnslating
these notes, some Of which Of course
had to be translated very freely so
that there would not be any misun-
derstandlng or hard feelings. One
young man received no note In his
box and being badly disappointed was
given the address Of q prominent Red
Cross worker In this country.
ENLlsTS FOR SIX MONTHS
This increased DR.. Peirces desire
to do something worth while. so he
persuaded the authorities to let him
enlist for six months, spending only
six weeks ut the front and the rest
here in the United States. lie was
commissioned q first lieutenant and
sent to open canteen back of the
first line at Verdun.
Verdun IL n very historic town. dat
ing back as far as the time OF Rome
and has always been point OF great
vantage in q military way and, there
fore, has always been heavily fortl
fed. II was in little suburb of this
ruined city that DR.. Peircs pieced VI
the best room OF part OF q house
that was still standing and opened
a rolling canteen, No. 16. Furniture
was taken from the wreckage near by
and rolling kitchen was secured
upon which to prepare his food ant
especially hot coffee and chocolate
for the soldiers on their way II
"blighty" from the trenches, One o
the appreciable things Of the cantecn
DIR. Peirce said, was the odor ant
noise arising from the stable In tn
cellar beneath 1t.
, cANIEEN ON MAIN ROAD
) The canteen was on one OF th
main roads running along the bank
OF the Meuse river and so was On
, direct route OF the soldiers passin
to and from the front line trenches
The movement OF troops as we'll q
} supplies IL all done at night.
The troops begin moving towar
! the front about dark and arrive ther
around midnight, while the troop
coming from the trenches. fatigue
and sometimes their spirits At ebl
= arrive al the csntaen from 3 o'cloc
| In the morning until Z In the morl
. ing. Here the men are allowed
! rest for II or 90 minutes aud are gi'
7 en- hot drinks and cigsrets and swim
g ing their heavy G0pound haversack
> over their shoulders, they proceed o
!. their way, much happier for thel
@ stop and also IL much more etficier
+ lighting factor. Between 800 and 80
troops stop AT the canteeu each da!
40 II can he seen the amount OF wor
y It takes to operate one OF the cal
l. teens 80 near the front. All the cal
!, teens are under the supervision {
h the French and American Red Cros
y combined,