The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1918-09-10
CAPT. LINsTAD WRITES
HITS THE PRO-GERMAN ELE.
MENT AT HOME AND TELLS
OF THE CARNAGE OF
BATTLE.

My thoughts often 60 homeward and
during the past "a hours I've been
thinking of home so much, and espe-
eially of matters political, that | feel
l must write to somebody, hence this
letter.
Yesterday, for diversion, | read
over some of our home campaign lit
erature and saw much that stung me
to fury. How the folks at home can
be duped by some Of that raw Town
~ley-Duncan stuff gets me, when ven
from this distance I can detect its hy-
pocrisy and its cheap trading in the
un-American sentiment secreted
within some of our states pro-Ger-
man element. IL is plainly evident
that not only here abroad, but right
at home in South Dakota, we are
fighting this war, and / am hoping so
much that all the sane people who
are left in the grand old state will
come to the realization that this crit
zeal moment is not the time to give
those mere hungry office seekers
preferment, but will stay by the 10y
atty ticket and permit the state to
continue the fine record that makes
every last mothers son of us over
here SO proud we hale from South
Dakota. The state has been so hero
lie! The special session enacted laws
that at once put US on the topmost
plane in the union. Our women have
rallied wonderfully, just as we knew
they would. Our bond sales and war
contributions have been so much
above what was thought possible.
fort to make the states weight de-
~cisive, unmistakable and promptly
effective. Now if the people will
continue to stand by Gov. Norbeck in
this crisis, and shelve this new, un-
tried cult until sometime when we
can with more safety trust ourselves
to experiments, South Dakota will
prove that it is truly at heart trying
to win this war. Gee, If l could only
cast my vote this fall! Won't you
please show the foregoing part OF
this letter to some wavering voter In
the hope that 1t will bring him to his
senses so that my inability to vote
this fall will not be a vote lost in
support of those finer sentiments and
genuine principles that simply must
continue to prevail in South Dakota?
In more personal vein, I am we'll,
more skinny and bald than l ever
was. and am working hard, never less
than IA hours each day. / am often
awfully tired, have been wet. cold,
hungry, exposed to griiling fire, and
am still alive and hard as nails. My
work Is observing for heavy artillery
and requires crawling frontwards
and signalling back the effect of ouI
fire. We started in this advance
July 3 and have been fighting and
moving forward every day since. Al
B farm, / had a morrow escape
| lost my companion right at my side
AS he fell I grabbed him. but it was
too late for the soul had fled.
dropped him off to the side In a heap
for there was more important bust.
ness going on than bothering with
the remains of even a friend. The
ground was taken by the boche and
to get away l joined the 60th u. S
infantry. They counter attacked un.
der machine gun fire and the losses
were heavy. AS we neared the
trenches in the charge. the dogs
threw up their hands and yelled
"Kamerad," but the frenzied Yanks
had to avenge the killing of Their
pals, sc they took no prisoners.
saw some wicked bayonet work and
was unable to eat meat for more than
a week. Our boys are desperate. fur
ious and courageous fighters, and
have amazed and startled our Allies
by their methods. They are the
hardest things to make quit. They
snap and tease the enemy. making
him come out, much as. I've seen
hounds harrass the coyotes with
their snarl and snap. Everyone here
is enthusiastically endorsing the de-
termination of our government to ac-
cept nc compromised peace. The is
sue between the German military au-
tocracy and civilization is to be set
tied for all time and soon.
The boches are plainly fighting a
rear guard action and as we push
them back, we wonder where their
line of resistance is forming. When
We strike 1t, the slaughter on both
sides necessarily must be terrible. II
was the guns of my regiment that
blew the bridges and pontoons ou,
below c. T., preventing the
1900 from recrossing the Marine in
their retreat. The smaller artillery
meanwhile kept up a curtain OF fire
and the American infantry took Ia
900 prisoners. ! was observing and
controlling our fire that day, but re.
greet to have to confess that I went
inf dutv ahout two hours hofora fhf