The Cordova daily times., 1918-04-10

and their machine-gun and rife ire
suddenly ceased.
Upon the cessation Of this fire,
stretcher bearers went out to look for
killed and wounded. Next day we
learned that 81 of our men had been
killed and 81 wounded. Five men were
missing; lost in the darkness, they
must have wandered over into the Ger
man lines where they were either
killed or captured.
Speaking of stretcher bearers and
wounded, it is very hard for the aver
age civilian to comprehend the enor-
nous cost of taking care of wounded
and the war in general. He or she gets
so accustomed to seeing billions of dol
lars in print that the significance of
the amount is passed over without
thought.
From an official statement published
in one of the London papers, ii is
stated that it costs between six and
seven thousand pounds ($3O,OOO to $780,
000) to kill or wound a soldier. This
result was attained by taking the cost
| of the war to date and dividing it by
the killed and wounded
1t may sound heartless and inhuman.
but it is a fact, nevertheless, that from
military standpoint 1t is better for q
man to be killed than wounded.
| If man is killed he Is buried, and
the responsibility of the government
: ceases, excepting for the fact that his
people receive pension. But II a man
Is wounded 1t takes three men from
| the firing line, the wounded man and
two men to carry him to the rear to
the advanced first-aid post. Here he is
attended by a doctor, perhaps assist
ed by two r. A. NJ. G. men. Then he is
put into a motor ambulance, manned
by crew of two or three. At the field
hospital, where he generally goes I'M
der an anesthetic either to have his
wounds cleaned or to be operated on,
he requires the services of about three
to five persons. From this point an
other ambulance ride impresses more
men In his service, and then at the am
bulanCe train, another corps of doc
tors, r. A. NJ. G. men, Red Cross nurses
and the trains crew. From the train
he enters the base hospital or casualty
clearing station, where a gOod-sized
corps of doctors, nurses, etc, are kept
busy. Another ambulance journey is
next in Order-this time to the hospital
ship. He crosses the channel, arrives
in Blighty-mOre ambulances and per
haps a ride for five hours on an Eng
fish Red Cross train with its crew o.
Red Cross workers, and at last HI
reaches the hospital. Generally HI
e stays from two to six months, or long
: er, in this hospital. From here he Il
sent to a convalescent home for 81,
) weeks
If by wounds he is untitled for fur
{ Their service he is discharged, given
pension, or committed to a soldiers
! home for the rest of his life-and still
: the expense piles up. When you real
. ize that all the ambulanCes, trains an
C ships, not to mention the man power
used In transporting q wounded maj
a could be used For supplies, ammunitio
/; and re-enfOrcements for the troops q
the front, 1t will not appear strang
o that from a strictly military stant
0 point dead man is sometimes bette
+ than live one If wOundeD.
$ Not long after the first digging part!
Y our general decided, after a Garrett
Y tour of inspection Of the communica
- ton trenches, upon IAN ideal spot" a
he termed 1t, for a machine-gun en-
+ placement; took his map, made a do
e on it, and as he was wont, wrote ''di
!, here" and the next night we dug.
v There were twenty in the party, my
self included. Armed with pick
4 shovels and empty sandbags we al
+ rived at the Ideal spot" and starte
digging. The moon was very brigh
,, but we did not care as we were we
{ out of sight Of the German lines.