The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1918-08-09
MEETS U. S. TROOPS COMING
FROM THEIR BAPTISM OF fire.
They Were Tired, Dirty With Mud and Stains of Battle, but Full OF
HPep"-No Illusions Either as to Glory or Pageantry
of War, or the End They Were Pursuing
or the Price to Be Paid.

persons on other sectors of the front.
What matter? Heaven bless the an
ecd0tai exchange which indicates a
common point OF view between all the
allies on the western front. Even
by now, / stake my life, there are
plenty of exclusive American war
stories for men to tell In later days
at the gathering together of Ameri-
can branches of the veteran societies
of the great world war.
OF a sudden we drew up in the out
skirts of a village. In front of us,
about a hundred yards away, we saw
n double line OF troops far as the
eye could see, drawn up as IL for in
spection by a little group of officers
clustered round a clearing on the
right. Our cars came to Il stand-still
by a group of women dressed In
nurses uniforms, who looked up with
a smile as we alighted. l thought
at first that they were French, but a
second glance detected some rather
extra trimness of costume, and In a
minute we were In conversation with
some bright American girls. taking
a minutes rest after several long
hours in the local casualty station.
They amplified what our host, the
colonel, had predicted, and we
learned that We were face to face
with United States troops straight
from the firing line. It appeared that
they had passed a stormy night i'm
the trenches, been attacked, had beat
EN- off attacks, suffered casualties, and
been relieved when all was once more
quiet.
Straight From the Firing Line.
1t was q moving instant when we
passed into the presence of the troops
and saw them straight from their bap-
tism of fire. The commanding officer
received us warmly, but begged us to
go down among the men and make
their acquaintance face to face. The
men were very tired. dirty with the
mud and stains of battle. but full of
pep" and only anxious to get a come
back ut the enemy. They said they
got their mail regularly, and that the
food was good.
Secretary Baker seemed to have won
laurels on his tour In France. More
than one man mentioned his visit as a
real visit from WY back home, and
an incident that made home nearer.
One man sent a message of thanks to
the New York Sun for cigarettes. Sew
eral sent their messages to relatives
and friends. Very brave and uncom-
planning were these men who had that
morning stared death out CT counte-
nance. Like other seasoned troops of
other armies, they had no illusions as
to the glory or the pageantry of war;
but they We're men, too, with no illu-
sions as to the end they were pursuing
or the price they were prepared to pay
for It. That, / think, was the spirit
that animated them within. Outward
ly one only noticed their friendliness,
their patience and their soldierly ap-
p~earance.
The "Mediatory Sacrifice"
Il Wdikeu DuGk W our WdllluS uuOtOE
with a Roman Catholic chaplain. The
experience which / had just passed
through made talk seem incongruous,
on my side at any rate. and we walked
I'm silence. We passed the village
church, q typical building of no inter
est at all, with a large notice announc-
ing special masses, with an English
sermon for the Catholic United States
soldiers.
Not very easy to put your feelings
into words, Is It'll" said my companion,
interpreting my thoughts. TT Is only
In very old language and In very old
conceptions that we can find an equa-
tion able to express at all what the
world is going through, and what we
see around us at the 'front.'"
"You meanT / answered, puzzled.
"The world is learning a new lesson
as to the meaning of a mediatory sac
rificei |"
Catholic or non-Catholic, Christian
or Freethinker, who is there that will
xav him uav2