The evening herald. [volume] (Albuquerque, New Mexico) 1914-1922, 1918-09-17
Faces of Soldiers Show Marked characteristics
Some Are Lopsided-Others Have Webbed
Fingers and Toes-Believed Germany Has Sent
Men From Institutions to Front.
BY HERBERT COREY

tho world siill rcfusos 20 accent the
Irusdan rule. The other day "a i'rua-
sian officer came TO an American
hospital He had been slightly
wounded. With hin came an officer
from snNony. WHO was dying
we know there are hundreds OF
thousands Of Americans IN france"
said the prussian stiffly. but what
[ do We care We are harder and
Drawer than Won are BESIDES That,
you cannot get as many men over us
we have unused and In reserve
That statement WAS repeated 90 the
DIVING man.
1T Is . lie" he said weakly. Vow
! tell the truth. our reserves are
wasted
II II IL urged that Tie conclusion
that the morale OF the German army
IL decidedly low is based on slender
evidence the reply may bc made that
the prisoner assays fairly well dis
close the mettlc OF the whole army.
Nino enemy divisions were used
against the Americans on the Marine
front and eight of them were Of eN-
cellcnt quality. two or three arc of
the first quality ard only one IL u
marked second rater. These FIRST line
troops are the ones who have gladly
quit fighting and who laugh and nod
10 their captors when thoy come in.
Pr1issianS' Iron Discipline.
u Is likewise true that there rs a
large proportion of Poles mixed IN he
German army today, and that the dis
position OF the AlsaCc-Lorraincrs in II
~ 80 aVcrsc 20 a continuance OF he
war that special punitive measures
have been prepared FOR them " they
desert or refuse duty. Their aged
parents and their helpless wiVca are
10 De punished. Even this evidence
OF German efficiency has been 80 FAR
powcrless that an order was recently
issued that no moro than four Alsacc-
I.orraincrs be kept In any one cOm-
pany. In three days lately three Al
satinns and "a Pole have como INTO
the American lines MS dcsertcrs.
The prissian discipline OF the Ger
man army is such that v these
men can he and are forced to fight.
The officers stand behind their battle
( limo and their machine gun positions
, pistols In hand. and the first man who
runs is shot down. Recently four Ger
mans wer, seen 10 burst from a wool.
The :.rst dropped IN bis tracks. Tho
other three returned TO the Woodland
shelter. The Americans had not fired
en- them. but they knew perfectly
well what had happened. The nearest
officer had stopped a runaway IN the
ruthless Prussian way,
Even the Prussian cannot make
good soldiers OF some OF these. |
do not pretend g. say That the three
hundred ! saw today are typical Of
the army Of Germany today, for
many lots OF prisoners ! have seen
recently are strong. upstandtng men.
But it seems To me, ia looking back.
that al least every other lot | nuNc
seen in the last few months "a been
composed Of mon who how every cVi-
dencc OF Cangcnitnl deficiency OF some
sort.
Dcgcncpaics Among Germans.
"Thc faces OF some Of these men,
said my companion this morning Odd
not seem larger than an apple
The faces OF many are lop-sidcd.
they "A foNc1rs. their toes and
: sngers are wcbbed aud they have the
/ other stigmata' OF d~crencrnCy. The
conclusion - inevitable that IN tho
fina! hour of stress Germany has
opened her asylums and prisons and
taken from them every mar who can
be cuaNcd or bodcvilcd into using a
gun Her army has beer diluted by
young blood, too. Youth rs an eN
Ceilont thing IN a soldier. but boys o.
seventeen dc NOT make good fighting
men. Yet the German army n packed
with these mere children.