Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-11-19
Pershing at Edge
of Lureniburg
Continued from Pare One

Inc teeIng OF America army OF lib
erty was even more kindly toward the
Belgians when released American
coming into our lines told how the civil.
ians had freely given of their small stock
Of food to weary doughboys. Chickens
hidden from the Germans had been
brought out, wine dug up from back
yarde, where II had been four years
all for the Americans. Americans saw
they were treated fairly we'll by the
Germans, except they were underfed
Numbers Of Germans were stiil enter.
ing our lines yesterday, having fingered
behind when the army withdrew They
were in all cases turned back at the
bayonet point. At one place 200 Ger
mans who had been on the eastern front
and had fraternized with the BolshevilI
were left behind, being told that the
Americans would take them prisoners
They were sent scurrying up the roao
by our men, with sharp instructions to
overtake their command, or, at least, not
let the Americans overtake them again
The strictest orders have been issued
| TO American soldiers against fraterniz-
ing with Germans. Our commanders
are growing suspicious of the growing
number of Germans seeking to be taken
prisoners.
Germans Continue Lootins
In connection with the withdrawal OF
the Germans. II Is interesting TO note
that the officers are trying to prevent
looting, but cannot. The Mayor of Carl
gan told the Americans that a German
lieutenant, who demonstrated with his
men for pillaging before they left, was
| set upon.
Another noteworthy fact is that pris.
| oners released by the Germans are left
without food and are dependent upon
the Kindness Of civilians to prevent
their starving. In Montmedy the Ger
mans found that they could not carry
away warehouse filled with cabbages,
30 they burned the warehouse and its
contents.
Returning Americans say that
wounded soldiers taken by the Germans
suffered tortures., There was a great
shortage of medical supplies
Four divisions have Joined the six
that started first, so the army of occu.
patton comprises the First Second
| Third, Fourth, Fifth, Twenty-siX, Thirty.
second Forty-second, Eighteenth and
! Nineteenth Divisions.
Nov. 17.-With their faces turned to-
| ward the Rhine American patrols are
pacing back and forth along a fifty-mile
front from near Florenville down to
beyond Contains. All is quiet. on at
distance now and then a flare tells
the story of the Germans destroying
ammunition and supplies that they can
not lake home with them. But should
the German army turn around and start
to fight again 1t would find more than
1000 of the best ighting men on tip-
toe to meet them.
Up the road Just outside Montmedy this
m "a ~ m nv 90 4 tl,zN Ctxr.l
was marching to the tune OF a mouth
organ. played by six-foot-two soldier
from Brooklyn, when around the corner
came one more group of released prison
ers. He who played the mouth organ
looked at the men bound the other way,
squinted again. dropped his mouth organ
and leaped forward to knock German
prison cap off the head of returning
and weary doughboy. and swung both
arms about him. 1t was his sergeant
whom he thought killed two months ago
There were h,.dred doughboys in
the group.u and a nondescript lot they
were. underfed and showing 1t, and
wearing anything that would keep them
warm. Jus: to show how many divi-
sions OF American doughboys the enemy
had to fight to get 90 prisoners. I took
pains to find what divisions this hundred
came from. Here they are:
First. Second. Third. Fourth, Fifth
Twenty-sixth. Thirty-third. Forty-sec-
ond Sevepty-seventh. Seventy-eighth
Seventy-ninth. Eightieth. EiShty-first.
Eighty-second Eiehty-ninth and Nine
ticth Divisions. First Army Ordnance,
and Fifty-sixth Engineers
Two doughboys. exhausted from lack
of food. were lying in an old carry-all
with wobbly wheels. Four other dough-
boys were pulling It. Asked how far
| they had come. the reply of a man
| who had counted tho kilometef posts was
! that they had trekked forty-two klo-
meters (twenty-five miles). An am
bulance relieved them OF the load and
took all six back to American head
quarters.
All escaped prisoners and returning
civilians are being subjected to the
closest scrutiny and examination be-
cause there Ia good reason to suppose
the Germans have plan to get a certain
| element back Of American lines Details
of this cannot he given at this time.
Evidence is accumulating that the Ger
mans are stripping the land as they
go back. Even food distributed by the
American relief Is "requisitioned."
/ Incidentally, one would never form an
idea of the scope of American relief
work unless he could make the trip ]
took today. I asked civilians In villag