The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1918-08-23

IA EY AUGBs'
and from there to New York. BY. the
time he reached New York ne had
S85 in wages in his pocket.
He knew some English. and with
true Russian facility, soon picked up
more. He went to Coney Island one
day about a week after landing.
acquaintance with two soldiers Of
our regular army.
Chow Tempted "jsFf."
why not enlist?" they suggested,
and Jeff, who was tired enough by
this time TO be tempted by an easy
life and plenty to eat, consented.
This was before we entered the war.
When the war came, however. Jeff
was quite rested and perfectly game.
He went to France with one of the
first divisions, and is now In the ar
tillery, which is showing the Huns
something new and interesting, and
thereby earning the admiration Of
France and England.
AS a matter of fact, when I met
him he was acting as instructor in
one of our big artillery camps. But
he ached to get to the front, and by
this time he must be there.
why were you willing to fight for
America, when you were not ready
to. go on fighting for Russia ?"s~
asked him. ~
IN Russia the soldiers never got
my they do" was the reply. But
that is not the only reason. There's
something about America that makes
you willing to do anything that is
necessary. guess it's because ev-
erybody feels free"
But our army was drafted" I
suggested. Some people think that
was an offense against individual
freedom"
DRAFTED, yes" said this real Am
ertcan, "but drafted to defend their
individual freedom. Can't they see
jeff would be perfectly happy
Fighting for freedom II he only knew
mother since the Russian upheaval.
He has had no word from them since
then, and he fears they have fallen
victims to the bloody handed Boil
sheviki. His fine gray eyes filled
with tears when he spoke Of his
mother, whom he left when he was
little more than a boy. The chances
are that he will never see her again.
Thousands of Italians
We have thousands Of Italian
youths in our army. talked with a
handsome Italian sergeant, a we'll
educated young man who had been
2 teller in an italian bank in New
YORK..
the happiest man in the world?" he
asked. me. ut would be to be trans
ferred to the italian front with my
whole company. I am a great ad-
nirer of the French and English, but
Of course love Italy, and it would
be- great If we could 20 there, and in
uniforms, under the Am
erican flag, help to win back our
Italia Irredenta, our Alsace~Lor-
ratne.
There are only four men in my
company who were not born in Italy.
Some Of them were born in the lost
provinces, and were naturalized as
But they hate Austria
Think what 1t would mean to Italy
to see her sons, who left her because
they were poor, come back with the
American army to fight for freedom
on her soil"
sincerely hope that these soldiers
will be given a chance to fight in the
land Of their birth, under the flag
that means freedom wherever 1t
waves. Nothing would put more en-
thusiasm into the Italian army, In
my opinion. Rightly or wrongly, the
or some Of them, have felt
that the allies have neglected them
a bit, OF course German propa-
ganda has worked overtime to make
at one time, slight basis for the
feeling. want to see American
troops in Italy.
want to see American troops on
every front and I particularly wantl
to see the CzechS, the Bohemians,
Of whom we have great numbers
In our army, fighting the Austrians.
saw some Of these men, and they
were magnificent soldiers.
Poles Are Happy.
think the most uproariously hap
py men I saw in France were the
Poles in our army. On the night
at "a port in France" an
American transport came in carry
ing, besides our khaki clad men, the
Polish regiment recruited here last
winter. They looked like the Choir
us Of a musical comedy, but if
they can fight as well as they can
yell, they will add a chapter to the
history Of the war. They began to
howl for joy when the ship came
into the harbor, and they streamed
down the gangpIank singing and
cheering like mad. I suppose their
blue and scarlet uniforms have been
put in moth balls by now.
We have often called America the
melting pot, but, seeing the great
multitude Of the foreign-born Am
that we had not in former years,
kept a good enough fire burning I'M
der that pot. We don't try hard
enough to melt that mass, to ANAL
gamate it with our Mayflower and
Puritan descendants. Why is it that
so many naturalized American citi-
zens, fighting under the Stars and
Stripes, speak no English, or very
little? What have our public schools
been. doing all these years? Why
haven't they extended their night
school work to include these young
men?
= Names Tell the Story.
Russians, Austrians, Greeks, Ital-
ians, Chinese, Syrians, Turks, Afri-
cans (the American negro Is just an
other immigrant), we have no right
to keep America away from them.
We do wrong. to consider them only
as Tabor" They are American citi-
zens, and for many Of them the draft
was the first time Uncle Sam ever
called them son. The training camp
was the real melting pot for them.
In coin more precious than gold,
those immigrant sons of America are
paying us for our indifference. They
are giving their lives for American
ideals. -
Read the names in the casualty
lists: KILLED in action. Private Alex