The sun., 1918-07-21
M NC h I'm pressed
With Their Spirit,
and Says Germany
Soon May Sue for
a Real Peace
OVOU ask what impressed me most


while visiting the American Expedition
airy Forces in France. I reply that 1 was
most impressed by The spirit of the Ameri-
can soldiers now on duty there and by
the preparations that are being made for
the reception of still greater American
Army"
The speaker was Judge William 81.
Wadhams of the Court of General Ses-
sions, who lately returned from a three
months visit to England and France, dur
ing which he spent five days in one Sec
ton of the American front, visited the
front line trenches on sector held by
the old Fighting Sixty-ninth, now the
165th; talked with Premier Clemenceau,
crossed No Mans Land to visit an Ameri-
can observation post, travelled in motor
ear over shell swept road with Major
Gen. Clarence R. Edwards, commander of
the Twenty-sixth Division, for distance
of half mile or more; made an airplane
flight with one of the most famous of
Canadian aviators; visited hospitals and
Listened first hand to accounts of the fight
ing from the pioneers Of the American
Army and finally fired French IS at
the German trenches and then crept for
ward to examine the damage he had done.
Expects an Early Offer of Peace.
Incidentally Judge Wadhams would not
he surprised to learn of a very definite
peace offer from Germany, one that will
at least demand serious consideration, be-
fore the end of the present year. The
Judge had consented to tell representa-
tive of THE SUN something of what he
had seen and been through, and at the
same time describe the conditions among
the American soldiers as he found them.
But at the outset he interrupted himself
long enough to ask his interviewer what
the attitude of the American people might
be in the event of genuine peace offer
being made by Germany in the near
future.
"That is what am concerned about"
continued the Judge. "If Germany should
exhibit a willingness to make peace, will
the American people be content to cry
quits or will they fight, not necessarily
until Germany is annihilated but until we
can impose peace on our own termsf
"But 1 suppose the Judge continued,
answering his own question, "that will be
largely question of politics.
"Much-to a person who has not been
there to see for himself, an incredible
amount-has been done by the United
States already toward terminating the
war. We are new in this modern var
fare and at the beginning had much to
learn. Naturally mistakes have been
made, but they have been rapidly recti-
fed and the spirit of cooperation between
the staffs of the American and French
armies is such that there is no doubt of
the ultimate outcome. Besides that the
fighting qualities of the American boys, as
demonstrated at Seicheprey, are such as to
. win the admiration and respect of all the
European armies"
Relate. Intimate Experiences.
Here are a few individual and intimate
instances in the experience Of the Amer
lean soldiers as related to or observed by
Judge Wadhams and put down here just
as he recorded them In his notebook at
the time.
Before the Seicheprey engagement
Lieut.. Charles E. Lockhart with thirty
seven men was doing outpost duty with
machine guns. Twelve hours after the
fight Lieut.. Lockhart with eight Of his
men turned up in his own lines, and salut
ing his commanding officer said:
Il beg your pardon, sir, for not being
shaved These are all the men l have.
The rest have been left at their posts
The bodies of Lockhart's machine gunners
lo,.nnnt,I Of