Montpelier examiner. [volume] (Montpelier, Idaho) 1895-1937, 1918-07-12
BOMBING WOMEN AND
CHILDREN AT ANdIENS
(euo a9vd moIJ penuIluoo)

sank by the roadside and Rugged the
babe close to her breast.
And the German Kaiser calls on
God and man to witness the glory of
his arms.
We went back to our train but
found 1t had gone. Again we hurried
through the scenes of terror and de-
vastation to the station, three miles,
hoping to catch train there.
Two weeks before, when wanted
TO enter the station and take a train
for Paris had to show my American
passport, my British white pass, have
an officer voueh for me and give the
ticket agent the exact fare. This time
the ticket agent had left, the guard
and porters were missing; little re-
manned but chaos.
The only thing systematic about
the whole place was the orderly man
ner in which men were carrying In
stretchers bearing the wounded from
the front and placing them on Red
Cross train in the station.
We soon guessed that our train had
not been able to pass through the
station and walked through the sta
ton and along about two miles OF
tracks to find it. There were six
or eight tracks in the yards and we
passed from one to another, climbing
over trains and through cars to make
sure we were not missing ours. The
glass was shattered in every car we
saw bombs thrown over the area had
worked the havoc.
Many refugees had come into the
yard and had piled on cars to which
no engine was attached, as If hoping
by some chance an engine would come
along and take them somewhere, any
where, to safety. There were old wo-
men and young women, old men and
children, huddled together, fearful
lest the wrath OF the German hordes
should overtake them. We went
through these scenes for more than
two miles and found our train about
a half mile from where we had left 1t.
With war on, the Germans had a
perfect right, according to the rules
OF international warfare, to bomb that
railway station, to blow up the tracks,
for 1t was through that station and on
those tracks that men, munitions and
food were sent from the south to sup
ply the army of the north, and an ar
my has a right to cut off the rein
f0rcements and supplies of an enemy
army; but there can be no rule of
humanity or decency, no right of any
kind in law or precedent that would
permit the Germans to send over air
planes, and with them bomb women,
children, old men, wounded soldiers
and nurses who were in Amiens that
night.
When the Germans withdrew from
one city after the first battle OF the
-
buildingR with system and thorough
ness.
It appeared as though some one
had come along with huge cleaver,
trying TO chop Off the front half of
each building.
After the battle, the Germans
possessed this city, and, while some
OF the buildings showed the result OF
she'll fire in battle, there was plenty of
evidence OF deliberate wrecking, of
explosives having been placed in an
entire row Of three-story stone build
ings-used for stores on the first
floors, and dwellings on the second
and third floors-and discharged with
rninous effect. This was done Just be-
fore Hindenburg's famous voluntary
retreat, after which the French came
back to their city.
They found one building intact. II
was their city hail. OF course, they
conjeetured, and were even generous
enough to ascribe to the German gen
erals some fine sentiment for having
left their public building, even when
they wrought ruin all about it. The
mayor and others gathered to cele.
brate.
They opened the door and stepped
onto the Threshold There was a ter.
rifle explosion, and people and build
ingB were blown to pieces. There was
very little even OF the cellar walll
left. Bombs had been placed in this
building and wire attached to the
khreshold with the result seen.
In residence a bouquet of flowers
was left for those who returned. Tt
Il string was attached, and wheI
the bouquet was lifted there was al
sexploaion with death and wreckag'
following.
In another building a bust of thu
kaiser was left; that to prove a Ger
man Joke on the British. The retreat
Ing foe must have felt certain tina
when English troops saw that bus
some soldier would grab it and dasl
1t to the floor. But the British hat
become cautious by this time. The.
had a German prisoner who was ia
miliar with the city, and they toll
him to go in first and pick up tn
bust. He refused. Then they retirel
to distance and took shot at tn
Kaiser. The bust flew off the pedes
tai and with IL came the explOaiol