The independent-reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1909-1955, 1918-05-02
lover the Top
By An American Soldier
Who Went
ARTHUR GUY EMPEY
Machine Gunner Serping IN France
eCopyright, 1917, BY Arthur Guy Hmpey)
Machine Gunner Seroing IN France

stretcher bearers went out to look for
killed and wounded. Next day we
learned that 81 of our men had been
killed and 81 wounded. Five men were
missing; lost in the darkness, they
must have wandered over into the Geg-
man lines, where they were either
killed or captured.
Speaking of stretcher bearers and
wounded. 1t is very hard for the aver
age civilian to comprehend the enor-
nous cost of taking care of wounded
and the war in general. He or she gets
so accustomed TO seeing billions of dol
lars In print that the significance of
the amount is passed over without
thought.
From an official statement published
in one of the London papers. 1t Is
stated that it costs between six and
seven thousand pounds ($30,00O to $50,
000) to kill or wound soldier. This
result was attained by taking the cost
of the war to date and dividing 1t by
the killed and wounded.
1t may sound heartless and inhuman.
but 1t Is fact, nevertheless, that from
military standpoint it is better for
man to be killed than wounded
If a man is killed he is buried, and
the responsibility of the government
ceases, excepting for the fact that his
| people receive pension. But If man
is wounded 1t takes three men from
the firing line, the wounded man and
two men to carry him to the rear to
the advanced firSt-aid post. Here he is
attended by q doctor, perhaps assist
ed by two r. A. NJ. c. men. Then he Is
put into q motor ambulance, manned
by crew of two or three. AT the field
hospital, where he generally goes I'M
der an anesthetic, either to have his
wounds cleaned or to be operated on,
he requires the services of about three
to five persons. From this point an
other ambulance ride impresses more
men in his service, and then at the am
bulance train, another corps of doc
tors, r. A. NJ. c. men, Red Cross nurses
and the trains crew. From the train
he enters the base hospital or casualty
clearing station, where a good-sized
corps of doctors, nurses, etc, are kept
busy. Another ambulance journey is
next in Order-thls time to the hospital
ship. He crosses the channel, arrives
in Blighty-more ambulances and per-
haps ride for five hours on an Eng
fish Red Cross train with its crew of
Red Cross workers, and at last he
reaches the hospital. Generally he
stays from two to six months or long
er, in this hospital. From here he is
sent to a convalescent home for six
weeks.
If by wounds he Is untitled for fur
Their service, he Is discharged. given
pension, or committed to soldiers
home for the rest of his life-and still
the expense piles up. When you real
ize that all the ambulances. trains and
ships, not to mention the man power,
used in transporting wounded man,
could be used for supplies, ammunition
and e-enforcemcnts for the troops at
the front, 1t will not appear strange
that from a strictly military stand
point, dead man is sometimes better
than live one Of wounded).
Not long after the first digging party,
our general decided, after a careful
tour of inspection of the communica-
ton trenches, upon ian Ideal spot" as
he termed It, for machine-gun EN-
placement; took his map, made n dot
on 1t. and as he was wont, wrote "dig
here" and the next night we dug.
There were twenty in the party, my
cole InpII1nI Arf1,aH with niplG
shovels and empty sandbags we ar
rived ut the "ldeM spot" and started
digging. The moon was very bright,
but we did not care as we were well
out of sight of the German lines.
We had gotten about three feet
down, when the fellow next to me, aft
er mighty stroke with his pick, let go
of the handle, and pinched his nose
with his thumb and forefinger at the
same time letting out the explosion,
"Gott strafe me pink, I'm bloody well
gassed. not 'alf | amt" l quickly
turned in his direction with an inquir
ing look at the same instant reaching
for my gas bag. / soon found out what
was alling him. One Whit was enough
and lost no time in also pinchlng my
nose. The stencil was awful. The rest
of the digging party dropped their
picks and shOvels and beat it for the
weather side of that solitary pick. The
officer came over and inquired why the
work had suddenly ceased, holding our
noses, we simply pointed in the dlrec-
ton of the smell. He went over to the
pick, Immediately clapped his hand
over his nose, made an "abOut turn"
and came back. Just then our cap
tain came along and investigated, but
after about a minute said we had bet
ter carry on with the digging, that he
did not see why we should have
stopped as the odor was very faint,
| but If necessary he would allow us our
gas helmets while digging. He would
stay and see the thing through, but he
had to report back to brigade head
quarters Immediately. We wished that
we were captains and also had date
at brigade headquarters. With our gas
helmets on we again attacked that hole
and uncovered the decOmpoSed body of
a German the pick was stitching In his
/ chest. One of the men tainted. l was
that one. Upon this our lieutenant