The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1918-08-15

when the snip entered the one Inc
horrors of that night when he was for
hidden to undress and compelled to
wear a life-saver, were almost beyond
endurance. In the grey of the early
morning came orders for all hands to
go to the upper decks and the rumor
spread that a submarine attack was
imminent. Two companions who
cursed him rOundly assisted him out
Of the hold. Later the coast of France
was sighted, and that afternoon the
ship nOsed into a harbor. A middle
aged man with a red triangle on his
a rousing welcome to the ~"virile,
fighting men from the United States"
When these words cracked upon the
ears of the man who was afraid he
Strengthened up a bit and the sickness
went out of his middle. AS he march
ed through the city he noted the
streets were thronged with the French
populace. Cheer upon cheer greeted
the marching soldiers from across the
lined the streets, their little arms
waving in salute, making the air 70
cal with their glad welcome. Widow
ed mothers fell on their knees and
thanked God for their deliveries.
Cad" exclaimed an Irish lad
marching at Smiths side, these
French folk sure do believe in US"
Again John Smith Strengthened a
bit. If somebody believed in him
somebody ought not to be disappoint-
ed-and the load on his back and the
load on his soul were both lightened.
In Analysing John Smiths mental
attitude during his evolution from a
silk-stockinged counter jumper from
Iowa into q khaki-clad trench fighter
in France, estimate must be made
of the sudden, tremendous change in
his environments. Darwin used cons
of time behind the record for his
evolution OF man, whereas we
have but a few months for the evolu-
ton of John Smith. It's not a much
farther cry from the mammal to the
monkey, or from the monkey to the
man, than it is from measuring rib
bons for beautifully-gowned women to
sticking bayonets into the bellies of
the Boche. It's a long distance from
a pink tea to a bloody battlefield.
There's quite a difference between a
tennis racket and a hand grenade. All
the common values of life that John
Smith cherished were dissipated. Ma
a piece Of china that falls to the
floor. Sixty million men had left the
common walks of life and become eX-
perts in the science of killing. The
deep currents of life no longer flowed
in the usual channels. Chaos reigned
supreme and almost "the earth was
without form, and void"
Into this hell from the peaceful
p~rairies of Iowa came this boy of the
Sunday school and the ribbon coun-
ter.
During the months that Smith was
billited in French villages there fl
tered back through the lines stories
Of German atrocities. A French sol
der who had lost an arm told how
he had covered a Boche with his rifle,
and how the Boche threw up his
hands and pleaded "kamarad." Then
when the Frenchman lowered his rifle
how the rascal had hurled a bomb
concealed in mis- hand which tore off
the ~Frenchman's arm. He learned
that every morning for the past six
months a German train had come out
of northern France into the little
Swiss village of Evaine and dumped
1000 French folk-old men, manned
soldiers, women and children-and
left them there. And every evening
of every day during that time anoth-
eT train Udu Drought Il ike hummer
to the same village. Some of these
people had come into France and had
reached the village where Smith was
billeted. The stories they told were
incredible-stories of rape and MUIR
der, of the burning of homes, Of the
enslavement of human beings. Nor
did they need to tell stories-their
very appearance, naked, hungry, ema-
ciated, pore sufficient evidence of the
wal of frightfulness. He knew Ger
many had started the war to steal
the territory of her n%eighbors. From
the daily papers he learned how the
Germans were dropping bombs on I'M
fortified cities, killing d~efenseless
women and helpless children; how
they were attacking hospitals, killing
the sick and wounded and shooting
Red Cross nurses. He recalled the