Evening star., 1918-04-12
deal
FOREIGN ! LEGION
bllateers Give New Char
after to Ancient French
Regiments.
sARToRIs-TELLs INCIDENTS
"a ny ALCERNoN sARTORIs.
E0rrespondence Of The Evening Stal
IL and Chicago Daily News.)

Correspondence Of The Evening Star
and Chicago Daily News.)
WITH THE FOREIGN LEGION,
March 81 have endeavored to show
clearly and without injustice the great
dividing line between the legion Of
yssterday and today. 1 propose to de-
yete a few lines to the volunteer"
q many cases his lot is a hard one
md his road is difficult one to travel.
ypr the most part he has borne his
sfoss bravely and well; the roll of
Honor, in which our countrymen figure
senspicuously. for their numbers, bears
3itness to this. These high-spirited
men have left, generally speaking. COM
drtable homes. where they worked
tanquilly and enjoyed independence.
rtley naturally expect certain amount
q consideration and are surprised when
Rey do not get it, and it must be ad-
ndtted that they do not. Some of them,
d course, have left absolute luxury. To
te transported. say. from some pleasant
Hrm In Switzerland, where the good
women of your house have seen to your
.emfort, after the daily work is DONE
% the depot of the regiment at Lyons
y yeritable transformation. and not
i tucOuTdglnS. 1Ou ma yourself III d
arge building, in dirty part Of the
pwn. All sorts of soldiers are there.
Many of them are old legionnaires.
fou are made the butt of their wit,
! and that wit is often biting, and il
&ou are of a sensitive nature you suf-
SSr keeniy.
1.-THE bedroom. in which you sleep on
he fioor,; is anything but inviting. A
ransient multitude of the citizens of
very nation have slept there before
apodly quantity. You will miss, too,
seenly at first, the good food and the
bme cooking. Breakfast is entirely
ackfng, except for a cup of tepid and
fatigue duty) all day long-sweeping
he courtyard, scrubbing floors and
shat not. To the imaginative youth
yho had pictured himself in a hand
Dme uniform. swaggering about the
Directs of Lyons. this is a great disap-
,ointment. He has an ill-fittipg, war
worn, CASTOR French uniform, and he
1oks more Ike an Italian organ grind
afs monkey than a soldier Of the first
egiment of France. The blue coat
md KEPT at once tell the good people
r. the city that this man has not yet
I zone to the 'front.' and so he gets no
mearned glory and can in no way
swagger. He is cooped up in the depot
Until Pm, whenl he is free to walk
ybout until p.m., II he SO chooses.
eife seems hard and dull to him and
4nry different to the mental picture he
rs made from a study OF the Illus
fated papers.
ssome are 50 shocked by what they
teem their Ill treatment that they de-
Art at once, and sometimes get away.
lore often they are caught, and then
IL stun harder. They begin with a
rsry black mark. Some lose all inter-
.lod on, hoping against hope that the
var will soon finish. These are per-
laps the saddest cases Of all
How Legion crushes Men.
The legion either makes or breaks a |
nan know one young man at the |
iepot who ARRIVED there full of hopes
ind spirit i saw him lately. He had |
,een through some heavy fighting: he
lad the "croix de guerre," but he was a |
wreck OF his former self. Homesick-
been too much for him. Drink and the |
old legionnaries had got hold OF him.
He simply did not care any more for
anything. He had even lost interest
letters. He waited anxiously for his
weekly allowance, and on the arrival OF
that got q few companions together and
Or SO had drunk It t ali up. I once re- re-
monstrated with him. and recalled the
nrst days of our meeting. when he con-
fided to me that. with his good edu-
stripes. and end up acommissioned oni-
aoh. don't talk of that" he said. 81
want to forget it all. and drink is the
only thing that makes one forget"
The legion has crushed that man. I
yeritabIy believe that the first days at
Lyons and La Valbonne have been the
1rst step in the undoing of men mace
for better things. In contrast to this.
] knew a fine young Swede. He, too,
had been dreadfully disappointed at
sffsnses against discipiine and had been
N prison more than once. and he seem
I'd to be on the downward road. This
man. however. made good at the front
yerdun. "Well." said. how is 1t go
It's the nnest 1ife in the world. boy"
He 10 q man that the legion has made.
! remember. too. fine looking young
1ishman- He arrived full Of heart.
aever quite knew the reason of his en-
English army. but believe he had been
guilty of some indiscreet remarks about
tie king. He hated England and the
royal family with an intensity I have
ne that he had enlisted In the legion
because he would not be seen in the
Sings uniform. But he must have
DANCED his mind, for he bears his
nan was very wen OF and had as much
money as he wanted We used to dine
together sometimes. When he first came
re threw his money to right and left.
Very soon he was surrounded by all
that was low and bad in the troops in
training at La va1bonne. He became
sdisgusted with the tricks played upon
him. and let his reckless Irish nature
10. He drank champagns in the most
Expensive cafe in the village, while the
officers were drinking beer. He also
annoyed his superfors by driving about
with girls In an automobile. He stood
well with the non-commissioned ofi-
GERS because he was free with his
money. and I put him down as another
man lost I was wrong. He missed
She roll call once and was reported, and
his captain, sei4ing the opportunity.
III -ses Bts and See Better I'LL