Shoshone journal. [volume] (Shoshone, Idaho) 1884-1931, 1918-09-27
CHAPTER II.-continued.


week Of being launched we broke
through their lines on a slope 5000
feet high, covered with snow, where
they couldn't bring up their reserves
or new guns. and we surrounded
them!
'We took practically everything they
possessed-food enough to feed our
entire army without calling upon our
own supplies at all. Never before had
our armies seen such an accumulation
Of ammunition. l must certainly go
down to see it.
"We cut off their northern retreat
and, as they swung their army to the
south, we captured 10000 of them up
to their knees in the rice fields. One
of the great mistakes they made was
in carrying their civilian refugees with
theD-clogging their narrow roads and
impeding the retreat of their soldiers.
We had taken possession of their most
productive regions, and their retreat
was through territory which yielded
them nothing. Just think of that re-
treating army thrown upon the already
impoverished inhabitants of that sec
ton. Why, they'll starve to death
Everywhere we went we found
their big guns abandoned. In one
small village we came upon a gun dec
grated with flowers and surmOunted
with a portrait of Emperor Franz JO-
sef. 1t had been put there by the Ital-
ian inhabitants of the village to show
their happiness at being released at
last from the yoke of the intolerable
italian lawyer government How ter
ribly the Italians must have treated
them Italy will never get over this
defeat. This was real help from God
Now, we've got the alliesl" and he
struck his left hand with his right with
great force to emphasize his apparent
conviction that the turning point in
the war had been reached with Italy's
collapse.
That the kaiser now regarded him
self and his armies as invincible 1 felt,
and I feared that the success in Italy
would be followed at the first favora-
bic opportunity by a gigantic offensive
on the western front.
Indeed, on a subsequent occasion,
when he called at my office for further
treatment. and again referred TO the
Italian. triumph, he remarked: IF our
armies could capture 100000 Italians
and those 100000 might just as well be
dead as far as Italy is concerned-we
can do the same thing against our
enemies on the west l'
This was one of the interviews was
so anxious to report to the representa-
tives of the American intelligence de-
partment at our legation in Copen- |
hagen and, later on, when finally ar
rived in that city, l related it in great |
detail to them. I remained in Copen- |
hagen eleven days and during the |
greater part of that time 1 was being |
interviewed by one or another of the |
of our intelligence de-
partment. Exactly two months later, |
on March p, the western offensive |
broke out as had feared
1 called at Potsdam a day or two Ia
ter to attend the kaiser again, and |
found him still in the same triumphant |
mood, and so anxious was he to get |
down to Italy that he called at my Of
ice three times that week to enable
ne to complete my work on his affect
I'd tooth.
On November 20 the kaiser called at
ny office forI what proved to be his
asst sitting. 1 had received word on
he Goth that my pass for America had
been granted and that / could leave
IN the Both, and 1 accordingly told the
kaiser that it was my intention to leave
or Copenhagen on that day.
I explained that I was completely
.un down-and I certainly looked it
md that it was necessary for me to
ret TO Copenhagen anyway, so that l
Gould get in touch with America re-
.arding porcelain tooth patent which
lad been granted TO me in July, 1915,
nut which large dental company was
eeking to wrest from me. The patent
authorities had delayed action because
# the fact that resided in an enemy
ountry.
On the 2Sth I received letter from
he court chamberlain stating that the
resident of police had made it known
o the kaiser that had applied for a
ass to America and demanding an ex-
lanation as to why had told the kali !
er that / had planned to go TO Copen-
acen and had u { mentioned Amer
"a.
I at once rep ID that it was indeed
Nv intention, g., had told the kaiser,
D go to Copenhagen, but that l had :
pplied for the pass to America be
ause wanted TO be in position TO
o there if my patent affairs demand
a it and l expressed the hope that
othing would be done to interfere q
18th the pass which had been prom I
led me for the S0th. [
Nevertheless, the 30th came around
nd the pass didn't. and the boat which [
Tiled from Copenhagen on December /
wr.lch had planned TO take, sailed q
ithout me.
Again the weary weeks followed {