Evening star., 1918-07-07
WITH THE BIG GUNS
ON FRENCH FRONT
Judge Ben. B. Lindsey Tells
OF Ruin Wrought and
Praises Heroic PoiIus.
VISITS SHELL SWEPT LAND
BY JUDGE BEN. B. LINDSEY


PARIS, May 25.-I returned yester-
day from the front, where had been
the guest of the French government.
We had visited the line held by the
French for about eighty or one hun
dred miles. from few miles south
and west of Amiens to point beyond
ishelms on the south. The command
er in charge spoke beautiful Eng
lish- His explanations Of the battle
fields we were passing were an edu-
| cation in themselves.
l have visited Gettysburg and other
great battlefields of our civil war,
and they We're thrilling enough. But
here shells scream overhead, and the
earth fairly shakes under your feet.
One Is SO full of 1t that his brain
seems to whirl
1t is like a dream. or like one of
those great panoramas of THE Battle
OF Sedan" OR The Battle of Gcttys-
years ago in great round, red build
ing. You may remember how they
used to try and fool you. SO that you
kept guessing where the real stage
scenery began and the painting ended,
or where the two Joined.
The Soldiers Best Friends.
Once We were coming down the long
road to battle front when we passed
thousands of soldiers - marching.
marching. plodding with set faces.
Reaching out of the auto window l
was about to hand them handful of
cigarettes. Immediately our non-com-
missioned officer gave me the sign to
halt. DO You want to disrupt the
French army and get us all court
martialed?' he exploded. why. don't
you see the confusion you might
soldiers best friend" So 1 left off
till more opportune time. when we
reached the cave entrance by the deep
green wood.
Here. under the great trees. huge for
France. beyond the shell-torn area.
We vivaed" and attempted our
French. to the delight of the boys.
Yet. who knew at what minute shell
might fall among us and blow the
whole crowd to bits. For there were
the wild shrieks of some fiends from
hell, which shattered and rent the
trees. But the poilus only smiled and
wondered how these three .'seevee
among them. Then there came a
wierd. horrible screeching. and these
laughing boys scurried for cover like
flock of chickens before a hawk.
The commander looked up quietly to
tell US that we were under fire."
At Dead Mans Curve.
Had the boche caught sight of our
autos? There were seven ''sausages"
in the air beyond the hills, and from
'.sausages" they can see a long way.
Anyhow, in the good kiddery of the
U. S. A. I'VE beat it, And down the
hill we came. expecting that We might
have to dodge the shells. Now, that
| sounds foolish. doesn't it? Yet when
a story all by itself that / can't tell
here) the fine Brooklyn boy at the wheel
did exactly that. Down from the height
Of Beaumont We had come from near
iSeicheprey. and as we approached dead
mans curve" there came the scream of
the shell reaching for the road just
ahead OF US. Frankly. held my breath
not SO much in fear, for no one seems
to feel that-but wondering where il
would hit. Then there came a chug of
the auto, a sudden halt-and bang! in
the road beyond the fresh earth sprayed
in the air.
Then the boy got busy with the auto
a sudden jerk-almost lurch forward
and as though the devil was after US
we tore down that road at a speed I
never felt over wheels before.
"I Die for France"
When at another point of the bat
tie line we came to the French bat
teries of a smaller caliber opposing
| the German batteries in the neigh
| borhood of their great guns. had
my first fighting part in the war.
had seen what those long-range guns
had done to the Church of St. Gervai
on that quiet Good Friday afternoon.
More, I had been to that church with
Mile. Roche, well known French
art critic and teacher. She had told
me the story of the nine-year-old
boy who sat near her on that day
with his mother. A falling stone had
crushed the lower part Of his little
body. Unable to lift himself he was
|. gathered in the arms of his mother,
who hurried him to side altar.
where a hasty examination disclosed
that he was past all hope. The fran
tic mother laid the mangled little