Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1918-10-15


in Their Everyday lives-Immoral-
ity of the French Is Nothing but
Sander.
UasScd by the CcnSorJ.
Correspondence Of The Yorkville Enquirer
Camp SEWER. oct 3-During the
past week or so "a number al Officers
and non commissioned offers Who
during the past several months have
been in the fighting on the Other side,
hay" arrived at Camp SEWER. they
have been sen, back TO this county to
act as instructor To tn" troops now III
training. to show soldiers IN In" max
ing, war as ii is being wascd. Most
of these officers and non CONS VINO
have been assigned To this camp "ie
men who went over with tn" Thirticth
Division. had quite an acquaintance
Throughout the Thirticth and rhonS
these men who hav" come back
aS teachers are several who "a"
well known to me. | have run across
- half :; dozen | guess. III tn" past
week, and they have told me many
things about France and Belgium ana
the Allies and the whole works that |
never knew before. one youngStcr
let himself out the other afternoon
over twcnty-tv" cent cigar and a
bottle OF Bcvo Refreshments furnished
hy me for th" story and while he said
u lot that would make most interest
ing reading, newspaper intuition tells
me that his honor. the censor. would
never let mc see daylight. Still. he
also told me things that will get by
without any trouble and oi thoS" 1
will write. Here goes:
"You have heard and read h" said
that the French are the most alice
tionatc people in the world. Well, 1
know now from actual experience anu
observation that il is So We in Amer
lea love our country Of course; but we
are a folk who don't carry on much
about il. The French are different.
France means TO the French hut on"
city. That is Paris. To them that is
heaven All that is interesting ana
good and great and glorious and real
Is worth while. according to the
French mind is To bc seen and had
and found in Paris. They almost
worship that city. | am sure from
what observed and from what
those Frcnchmcn and other Europeans
with whom talked, tell me that II
Paris had fallen TO the Germans when
the Buchcs were so close. all the heart
and pep would have been taken out oil
the French long ago and they
would now he out of the lighting NoI
matter what hardshipS the people
throughout their land suffer at
the hands of the Germans, no matter
how much drSolation and misery the!
experience. so long as their loved Paris
is French and the seat of the French
government, their spirit is unconquera-
bic. The Germans knew that and know
IL now. That is why they did their
damncst to take the town. But boy.
so long aS there is II God in heaven
and Il Frcnchman in France. Paris VIII
never bc occupied 10y the German.
Even though they were once within
few miles of the great capital. as We
Of America mcaSur" distance. the great
German army was really thousands 81
miles away. They could com" so cloSc
but not an inch closer WAS in
America and here at Sewer at the
time the Germans were marching on
the city As | read the headlines in the
papers every morning and afternoon
IL looked tu me Gs though the city
must fall To the Huns every moment
hut since ! have been over and have
felt the pulse of IN" French and har"
learned uf their devotion To their city
and have seen them fight know
that the capital WAS never in any
great danger.
You know how you-frcl when the
flag goes by" Well when those French
were lighting the German advance
ON the only" town the word would
I've PASSED up and down tn" trenches
for miles and miles. shall the Boche
walk in Farce" The thought OF such
n thing would ill every one of them
with superhuman strength and deter
mination and what you might call un-
natural confidence. and the pile of Ger
man dead would grow higher and
higher have seen men and dogs
and bulls and snakes and Il few other
things fight and have mad some real
stiff encounters myself since left
South Carolina Il few months ago. But
lad, II is all piker stun and even the
scrapping going on now is pikcr stun
compared with the way those French
fought when old Hindv took Il look at
Paree wasn't there, understand. but
/ have talked to hundreds Of soldiers
who were. II was the most terrible
slaughter the world has ever known.
Hannibal and Caesar and Darius and
Alexander and Il few other birds 10 the
contrary Notwithstanding.
Yes, Parce Is still gay despite the
rayagCs Of war. The lights ARE out 1T
night on the streets because the Roche
is constantly dropping his Internal
bombs on the town. killing few and
tearing up lHlnSs Hel' anu ''S'N' ~"
the restaurants are gay, the vaude-
willie and hurlcsQuc shows hold forth.
the girls are there and after an alb
scncc OF five or six years from the
town couldn't tell much difference
when | got my first leave to visit the
city after had hccn ordered 10 return
TO this country.
There's another notion and idea
which has perhaps gotten into YOU
like 1t has into thousands of other
folks and which Is all wrong. The
French are not wicked people. There
Is moro God and religion in the aver
age French man and woman than
there Is In the average American.
That's fact don't care what they
say. Go into any French village and