The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1918-08-01

it at once, following all directions CT
digestion with belching, heart pres
stupor, headache, backache and cons1
Appetite, energy and cheerfulness wi
ment today. Ask your dealer for tn
LIE. Medicine Co., Portland, Me.
compelled to take he eleven o'clock
train. It was a mighty good thing for
me that took that eleven o'clock train
because l found that the seven O'Clock
train was bombed. Some of the coaches
were completely destroyed and thu pas
sengers in them, great many OF them,
were killed and a good many were hurt
by flying glass When we arrived up at
Longuea, which is only short distance
from Amiens, this train was on the track
ahead of US, shattered mass.
| We learned that we were to stay at
Longuea for some time. How long you
never know. You don't get any informa-
ton on French trains. Things happen or
don't happen l used to say that an
American ticket Office was the center of
misinformation of the universe, but it
isn't There isn't any information what
ever offered in France Nobody knows
whether there is ever going to be another
train or whether you ever move II you
are on train or what will happen. We
had been on this journey for long time
when commenced to lock out the win
dow and l said: "Why, what is happen
ing away over there?" We were on
high elevation Of ground. | had pair
of field glasses and searched the land
scape and then l saw most unusual
sight.
We were at Amiens and, as you know,
Amiens is the center of this great often
siye. This was the 7th day of the often
sive and the night before 60 German
planes had flown over Amiens and had
dropped over 200 bombs until they had
literally wrecked the town. In most of
the larger towns they keep up barrage
of fire so that it is impossible for the air
planes unless they fly very high to drop
many bombs over the town, but Amiens
is not big enough to be protected in that
way or at least was not protected. The
result was that the military authorities
had ordered the city evacuated. We saw
great train loads of troops going to the
front, thousands of guns and all the uten-
sils and equipments of war, but we didn't
see ANYTHING moving the other way. 1t
was about noon and we decided to go out
and see if we couldn't get something to
eat
So we left our young lieutenent in
charge of the baggage and three of us
started out for the town of Amiens, which
was about three miles distant. AS we
got out of the compartment we saw that
the track itself had been hit the night be-
fore and that great, big pit had been
dug in it and part of the rails were broken
away. There were four tracks side by
side and the trains were moving towards
the front all day long, but as far as we
could see down the track, a solid line of
trains were being held up. Nothing
was moving in the other direction and it
looked as though we might not get out of
Amiens for some time We began then
the most memorable walk that had ever
taken in my life.
The roadways were crowded full of
people that were seeking places in the in
terror. They all had been ordered to
evacuate their homes. Just imagine
what that means. You would say: "Oh,
that will be all right, l would get my
automobile and would load it full of the
things l wanted most and l would just
drive away" There is nothing of that
kind going on in France. No pleasure
automobiles are being driven in France
today. l could tell you some stories
about that. The Lafayette Escadrille
have for their transportation services an
allowance of only IL gallons of gasoline
day. That is the entire allowance for
transportation for that squadron every
day. Think of it! Such is the shortage
of gasoline in France. 1t all goes back
again to the question of ships, my friends.
We can't win this war without ships.
We need them in constantly increas-
ing numbers. The U-boats are sinking
from Is to 80 ships every week. We
don't hear much about it. We think the
U-boat menace has been overcome and
we are gaining on them, but we are not
gaining on them yet. We have not reach
ed that period. They are sinking more
ships than we are building. So far we
have not obtained the supremacy of the
U. boats. We won't until some time
next spring. Last year Germany sunk
over 6, 1000, 600 tons of shipping and there
was only 80, 900, 600 tons at the beginning
of the year. So she sunk one-fifth of
the tonnage of the world. To get back
to my subject, that was the saddest walk
l ever took in my life because each
threshold was the scene of parting. These
people had to get out. They could only
take what they could carry in their
hands, or if they were fortunate enough
to own little donkey, what they could
pile on the little donkey's back. Some
of these scenes are engraved on my MEM
ory and will live for me always.
want to tell you of one scene. saw
many things that Just pulled the muscles
of my heart that day. l saw, for in
stance, great hospital that had been
bombed the night before. They tell you
they don't bomb hospitals. They lie.
They do every devilish thing that you
ever heard that they did. There has not
been any overstating OF exaggeration tof
anything that you have heard the Ger
mans have done. There has not been
any overstatement of any of the things
that l had heard in America about the
Huns dastardliness and devilishness.
He is the most damnable foe, the most
treacherous foe, the most despicable foe
that the world has any record of. All
that has been said about him, my friends,
is true. This hospital here had been
bombed the night before, killing many of
the inmates l saw 100 of these con-
valescents there on the roadside waiting
for the trucks, waiting for them to take
them away. talked with some of these
men, many of them in agony. They