The Washington times., 1918-11-24

soldiers thrown about the cemetery and bayonets
held back the crowds Officers gathered and watched
the proceedings with desire to that prOms
ing grave escaped others with frank amusement In the
novelty of the occasion.
Perhaps the basic purpose of the raid on the graves
was to procure the metal in the caskts themselves their
handles and fastenings and In the interior equipment OF
the vaults But the desecraton at once resolved itself
into plunder raid.
Among all Latin peoples and especially in the norths
ern section of France it is customary for tnket
jewel perhaps babys fayorite toy, which was most
fondly associated with the living be buried with them
The gold cross which old had treasured since
her bridal days, the wedding ring which had brought
happiness in life the little train of which the baby
had played with rainy afternoons is put into the grave
with the corpse.
The Germans went systematically at their work The
vault grave first broken into. Then the easket
found in it raised to the ground. squad leader
supervised the dumping out of the bones If there was
metal on the casket it was stripped off and carefully piled
Then the soldiers with the permission Of their squad lead
ers ransacked the cofns for treasure The finder Of
gold wedding ring fortunate Those who found
jewel necklace, eardrops watch chain, shouted
aloud their good luck. When shining bit of tin or
brass turned out to be toy, they grumbled.
Nothing overlooked. Teeth with gold filings
twisted out of jaws-if the teeth were too firmly
implanted to be easily worked loose the whole jaw
tossed into the sack
In the vaults silver chaces eagerly seized-some
Of them having done their sacred duty for generations
Now and then gold crucifx was found In marble vault
where the dead of the rich buried. Frequently
quarres developed the claim of these precious finds
And while the quarrels proceeded old woman or
tering man-sometimes ehid-sereamed aloud at the
horror of this desecration of grandmother sons or
fathers last repOse.
At sundown the soldiers were lined up and marched
back the town. Outside the Gordon Of guards hun
dreds of old people, children and their fathers and moth
ers and daughters had gathered to watehsome
hysteriea throughout the day. others dumb with their
heart agOnies spent the afternoon going among them
comforting those whose grief seemed the most poignant
best could When the soldiers marched away the
spectators driven before them no but the in
vaders allowed of dOOrs after sundown without
pass
Three days took the soldiers thoroughly ransack
the cemetery During all that time those whose relatives
had been buried there could only watch during the day and
greve through the night On the fourth day the Job had
been completed. Then the townspeope and those from
the countryside we're permitted to go to the emptied
graves. For days relatives hunted through the bones
for relic which would identify the remains of their
dead An old woman whose husband had died after half
century of eompanionshp poked here and there hop.
ing to find the wedding franc which they had treas
ured through fifty years. and which had been buried with
him. If she found the franc she gathered the bones that
were nearest and lovingly dropped them into the grave
where ne had been laid If she could not find the franc
piece the grave remained open-and empty. Old men
searched for something that would make them believe
they had found the bones which had been torn from the
graves of their wves-and searched for many DAYS some
of them, hoping against hope