The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1918-09-03
JOHN SPARG0
WRITES FROM FRANCE
interesting Letter Which Gives Many
Side Lights on Progress of Az
fairs at Front.

John Spargo, who has been travelling
in England and France, was received
recently by Guy b. Johnson
Paris, France, Aug, 1, 1918.
Dear Mr. Johnson
have tried for a long
time to find a little free time in which
ITO write you but each day has been
so crowded that have had to put it
OFF Just as an example, on one day,
last Saturday, ! had important confer
ences with Premier Clemenceau, with
Kerensky, former head of the Rus.
sian government. and NJ, Albert Thorn
as, the man who as minister of mun-
tions did so much to save France the
Lloyd George of France as people love
to call him.
The conferences with Kerensky and
Thomas occupied many hours. Neith-
er speaks English, and my French is
only adequate to the needs of shop
ping and the like; it is not possible
for me to carry on Il serious discus
sion in French. NJ. Clemenceau, of
course, speaks English perfectly.
You may know that he was once a
school teacher in New Haven and that
he married an American wife. He is
in many respects wonderful man.
Although he is seyenty-eight he looks
not a day over sixty lie is very
strong and active and gives the I'M
preston of remarkable virility and
'power.
NJ. Clemenceau spoke with great feel
in ha Of In. h.,
both military and economic. He had
just returned from Chateau Thierry
scene OF the big American offensive
and was very loud in praises of our
/ troops. understand ,hat many New
England boys We're engaged. We
know very little about it here, but
saw many trainloads of wounded and
suppose that the cost OF the war In
this way has been brought home tC
our New England village
am going on the day after TO
morrow to the American front. in
Guiding Chateau Thie'r or course
il is not permissible to diyulge anv
thing about what ole learns, and
don't want to do so either ! hope
when | return to lie able TO tell you
something of the actual conditions.
shall probably visit the French, lei
gian and Italian battle fronts before re
turning. | Leave for lialy OF the Sth
AS the Minister of WA
there is an old col
league, expect there will be ne
trouble about seeing the Italian front
gs ! have Just come from the American
hospital at Nieuiiy, where The wors
cases among the gonudcd soldiers are
treated They 2re raally pcr.Ormin,
miracles there, and | hope that on
old town will find il possible to con
tribute to il in some way.
This hospital was started at the be
ginning of the war. in 1914 by som,
American ladies' The French Govern
: ment turned over to them an untinish
ed school or college and this they hay,
made into great modern hospital
AT first the patients were nearly al
! French and German. Now, of course
there are mere Americans. Their
. were over fifteen hundred patient
J there today and many were pitiable 4
see. Yet strangely enough, il wa
one of the most cheerful places | hav
, ever visited.
Madame Munroe took ms colleague
and me through the entire place. W
saw tile great kitchens, the receivin
rooms where the wounded meu ar
first brought the operating rooms. an
50 on. We saw the photograph
histories of many wonderful cases q
!. building up new faces for men, Poo
/ fellows horribly disfigured. so tha
S 1t is not possible to look upon then
a are sent out looking fairly normal. $
! that they would pass in a crowd uI
e noticed saw one poor fellow bein
@ patched up. His chin. all his rigl
o jaw and half his face were MISSING
q He will come out with good lootin
face! Truly. in that place we witne
sed work which made us all as prOu
Of mankind as the war itself makes L
ashamed of mankind sometimes.
/. made point OF talking with man
$ of the soldiers. They came from a
d parts of America, there were son
e from Massachusetts,, some from Ne
f. York, some from Texas, some fro
/. Minnesota, and so on | wish thi
Al 'all our people could have heard II
stories Of German fiendishness son
of the boys told
For example, there was one you.
fellow from Florida, who was wouu
ed yesterday and brought In this q
ternoon, shot through the leg. /
was much less injured shan man
a Accordingly he was better able to tai
He had at least got one Boche,
said, and was only anxioI
81 TO get back to get MOI
"a He had come to hate the Germans as
H. result of the things he saw aroui
X Chateau Thierry I'm the presence
Madame Munroe, the gracious Amc
in can lady who was in charge. at Il
IL place he was fighting, just beyoi
x Chateau Thierry, the Americans h
In found that the German had tied -
al gian and French women to the n
d. chino guns. This young Americ
ro had seen This with his own eyes r
Ir. poor women were killed when I
a Americans took the guns -kilC
,t. doubtless. by our fire, What hondi
ic. brutes they must be to do such
ve abolical deeds
es The same young man told as Il
ar. the Germans had locked a lot
nj French women, old and yAung, in
hc old house and then shelled and
'ai fire to the village. He himself h
.rs taken the heavy rocks off from
still warm corpse of an old woma
a. The Germans, further, had camoun
10 ed their machine guns with the
ters and flags Of the Red Cross. WI
NE Lnnt rnIhLnrr nht.nrnna ln,,.nrI ~, Il.