Evening star., 1918-04-14
IDEpICTS BRUTALITY OF HUNS
TOWARD THEIR WOUNDED FOES
Former Washington Newspaper Man Tells Of
German Attack on Red Gross Ambu-
lance-Conditions at the Front

in the mud, and although we have been
cold at times. that's all you can expect
when you sleep outdoors in severely
cold weather. There is nothing like
the army life to make you tough. Out
of 1900 men in my regiment there have
been but three deaths from natural
causes since the regiment was organ
lied last June at Fort Totten. and one
of these died at the fort. We've been
over here nearly year and are SO
tough we can crack looking glass by
just looking at it. Since we got our
service stripes for being six months in
the front line. our chest expansion has
also increased. but you can't blame us.
as we were among the first to get over
here and get into the fight against
'kaiserism.
covering almost a year of warfare. /
find that l have four distinct impress
sions which may interest YOU. First OF
all. l was struck with the wonderful
spirit of the French people-soldiers
and civilians. With the Hun for three
years at their very door. and with al
most every family mourning some lost
relative who has gone west, they
show no signs Of weakening. no com
plant comes from their lips, and they
are ready to fight on until right tri-
umphs over might and Justice rules
in the world. l also was impressed
with the true democracy of the French
as is continually manifested between
officers and the enlisted personnel. In
England private soldiers are not al
lowed 10 ride first class. but nothing
like that is found in sunny France
Without a doubt one of the biggest
surprises of my life was to learn just
how much hardship human beings can
endure and still live. With a proper
amount of sleep and good food no
spirit will break, no matter what the
load. and sunshine appears to brighten
every cloud.
"Everywhere in England and France
we boys found false impressions of
America rooted in the minds of the
people, but we were received in both
lands with opens arms, and the people of
both countries seemed struck with our
youthful, clean-cut look and our un-
usual size. for both the English Tom
me and his French brother are small
compared to the "Yanks." With the
English Tommie getting a shilling or
"a cents day. and the French soldier
getting IS centimes cents a day
all the inhabitants think the Yankee
soldiers are sons of millionaire brew
ers or toothpick manufacturers. for
our S1.10 per day looks like small
| fortune to them. and they can't COM
prehend why all the male population
| Of the United States doesn't break its
neck getting into the Army. Whenever
possible we always have our washing
done by the French people who live
near US. They have no system for keep
! ing the wash separate SO that when
| you go back for your laundry you just
| take your pick. Some time ago when we
got orders to move suddenly several
| fellows who procrastinated found that
some one else had relieved them of the
trouble of calling for their wash, and
had to go away with shirts too small
and two or three qdd socks.
Calls It Gun" to Move
Speaking of moving. its hellish fun
when you get used to it. The last time
we moved we Travelled $40 miles in box
cars, in which we made our home for
| two days and one night. that being the
time it took us to make the trip. Each
box car held five squads, or forty men
| and one smoking stove. AS we went
along we salvaged our wood, and the
train stopped three times day while
we ate our meals. All our cooking
was done in one Of the box cars, and
when the old train would come to a
i standstill we would rush out, get in
line and get our grub. When all were
fed. off we would 60 At night we laid
down on the floor, closed the doors. put
a few extra logs on the fire and went
to sleep. When we move it always re-
minds me of travelling with circus
We're so clever at moving rapidly
since the battle of Cambria that it's
second nature to US.
The winter which is just leaving us