The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1918-07-12
Admit Quality Of Our Fighters

Admit Quality Of Our Fighters
The German army officially has changed its
opinion regarding the prowess of American
fighters.
The kaiser's press bureau and the subsidized
press of Germany may deceive the people with
stories about the poor fighting abilities of
Americans, but the army, which has tasted the
cold steel of American bayonets and felt the i'm.
pact of our bullets and Shells has quite differ.
ent story to tell
In an official German army report captured
by the Allies, recognition is paid not only tc
the bravery Of the American soldier but also to
his refusal to impart military information that
might benefit the enemy.
The report proves that the melting pot OF
America has done its work WELL for it pays this
tribute to the soldiers of foreign extraction:
"Only few Of the men are pure Americans
by race. The majority Of them are sons Of for.
eign parents. These f-Americans, however
most Of whom were born in America and have
never been in Europe, express without hesitation
purely American sentiments"
A correspondent Of the New York Times says
that some Of the prisoners referred to were OF
German-American extraction.
This is as 1t should be- It is a healthy sign
and disproves the fears Of sociologsts, expressed
in many learned volume before the war, that
the influx of slavic and germanic races would
prevent coalescence of American citizenship
The error of these learned men may be attributed
to the fact that they did not understand the
spirit Of the men who had left Europe for Ameri-
ca and often were misguided by some of the
coarser manifestations of their racial traits
which undoubtedly made us believe that they
would never enter fully into the spirit of Ameri-
can institutions.
casual survey Of the casualty list will con-
vince the most doubling skeptic that the men of
foreign lineage make devoted Americans and
good fighters. Their quick absorption by Ameri-
ca has been surprise to the Germans who mar
vel at the purely American sentiments" which
their prisoners express.
Speaking of the morale of the captured
Americans, the secret German army report says
I'm general, the prisoners make good i'm
preston. Their manner is alert. At present
they still consider the from the point of view
of big brother who is coming to the assistance
OF his oppressed brothers and sisters, and who
is received everywhere in friendly manner
Their opinions have certain moral basis Most
OF the prisoners express themselves with an un-
derstandabe naivete, and declare that they came
to Europe to defend their country
glowing tribute is paid to the fighting abil-
ity of the Americans in these words:
"The nerves of the Americans are not vet
shaken. The quality of the men must be char.
acterized as remarkable. They carry themselves
well, are well developed physically, and from Is
to 20 years of age. At the present time they
only require proper training to make them form
liable adversaries. The spirit of the men is
fresh and full of naive confidence The follow
ing statement by prisoner is characteristic
We kill or we are killed."
The foregoing reveals two important points
First, the Americans know what they are fight
ing for; secondly, they fighting to kill or to
be be killed. If the German high command or
iginally believed that our American boys were
over there against their own wish and conse-
quently would put up only half-hearted fight.
the bloody punishment inflicted upon some of
the German crack troops has taught them the
folly of their impression United States marines
did not win the title of devil dogs" from the
Germans without showing their fighting capacity.
AT home and abroad our boys were taught
that they are not at picnic or sitting down to
friendly game of cards. They were told to get
the kaiser and informed that the road to Berlin