Bisbee daily review., 1918-09-18

the battle of the Marne. On that occa- sion they got no further than St. Mi hiel In the subsequent fighting there, after the battle of the Marne, the town was half destroyed. It remains in that condition today.
 That portion nearest the river Is entirely demolished. Nearly all the other buildings were found on exam ination to have been hit somewhere and the wonder Is where were lodged the 2,500 inhabitants that remained out of total of 5000 in the town through the four years under German yoke.
 So far as can be learned the Ger mans appear to have been on their best war behavior here. They are credited with committing no atrocities and they took few hostages and treat ed them with far less brutality than elsewhere.
 They contented themselves with pil- laging houses and purses. Half mil lion francs was demanded immediate ly after the occupation as ransom for the safety of the town. It was paid after great effort by collecting all the money and securities that could bd found Another half million francs was demanded later and was raised on bonds of the commune All the gold the Germans found after that was seized in exchange for other bonds of the commune, making the pillaging a collective, rather than an individual affair.
 Nothing much remained in the houses except woodwork that could not be removed. Every copper kitch en utensil had long ago been shipped to Germany. The fine old furniture of the well to do families had gone to furnish comfort in the trenches and dugouts. Beds and bedclothing were requisitioned, a mattress even being taken from under sick man, 64 years of age.
 With these exceptions, and overlook ing the fact that they appropriated part of the provisions provided for tho inhabitants by the international com mission, the conduct of the. troops of occupation was above the average. For the greater part of four years the peo- pie remaining in St. Mihiel lived on three-fifths of pound of bread a day, while the soldiers of the garrison were well fed.
 All the 2,500 inhabitants who re- mained until the day of deliyerance were out today to welcome President Poincare, who came to greet them not only as their president, but as their neighbor. His own villa, only a few miles away at Sampigny, shows to passers by on the road to Toul a gap ing shell hole where there once was a salon. There are smaller shell holes in other parts of the building, al- though the walls still are standing.
 Almost every resident of St. Mihiel greeted the president carrying a French flag, although no one seemed | to know exactly where the colors | came from. Their demeanor was that | of a person who had been awakened | suddenly from a horrible nightmare.
 St. Mihiel was taken almost with out a struggle. Turned from the north, | south and east by the French contin- ] gent of General Pershing's forces, the Germans made no show of defense be- l yond firing a few rounds from ma chine guns in the outskirts of thei town. When the enemy retired, how ever, they took with them seventy nine boys and men ranging in age from IT to 45 the only ones of those | ages remaining. Elsewhere in the sali- | ent the Germans tried unsuccessfully | to repeat the destruction wrought in | other places during their retreat.
 All the villages they abandoned were set afire but not the usual thor oughness of the Germans because oT the short time at their disposal. Many houses coated with tar were saved from the flames and the damage is as nothing compared with the destruc- tion along the Aisne and in the region of the Avre.