El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1918-04-06

] 700 MUCH
AND then, It suddenly came TO me,
7 as il IN a revelation, that ] had not
I made use OF something In which j
had always believed All this tine
/ while had been raging against tne
| cruel fates which had taken my SON.
there had been comfort and peace in
] store for me- and I had not known
! It. And that comfort and peace lay
in my belief in God, and future life
! beyond this earthly sphere.
While the pain and grief had been
! binding my eyes, God had been wait
! ing patiently for the first sharp
I agony to pass away, ana when Il did,
] He gently lifted the veil from my
/ eyes and suddenly I realized that /
had not seen the last OF John, and
that We were sure to meet in smother
/ world
on, that I could convey to you the
healing balm that tina thought was
! to my SOUL I would that could pic
ture 70 you the Joy Of the thought
/ that I was TO see my John again AZ
] some future date, just as II ne nal
| simply gone on a long journey, and
I was waiting for his mother and ne
] TO come to him.
And that IS what every father and
/ mother who loses son must do
I rave strong unLreakable faitn IN the
] future llfs N The world beyond,
where YOU viii see your son once
l again Do not give way 10 grlef IS
I did Instead, keep your gaze and
your faith firmly fixed on the world
beyond. and regard your boys alb
/ sence as though he we're but on
Z long journey. By keeping your faith
you viii help TO win this war For
I II you lose It. the war and your own
] personal self-are lost
Do not think that I am bitter that
my son was called by God TO make
[ the supreme sacrifice. killed in any
other manner, In times OF peace
think my life would have soured, and
I 2 p q a
against the world. but dying as John
Lauder did, can only say that even
with the knowledge OF what pain his
death has cost me, I would send him
TO France again 10 risk his lie anew
were IL possible today to resurrect
him from the ground
For, unless you have been to
France. you cannot realize what IS
happening to that gentle country
was riding in q motor car one day on
what seemed to be q country road.
to be seen, and the road itself was
wrecked with shells and filled with
rocks and bits OF wood Then sudden
~ orr car happened to hit some OBJ
structlon. and gazing over the side
OF the machine saw what seemed 70
me 70 be a kerbstone sticking up from
beneath a pile Of rubbish.
called an officers attention 10
-
side o. the car. he said.
Yes, that's about all that IS lett
OF the town OF x. It was here
about two months ago. but the Huns
Inhabitants, and they made damn
thorough Job Of IT."
Ny blood froze as he spoke. for up
on gazing around me ] could not even
VI, Elslailze me ouLines o. toen,
There was not ruin 70 be seen, not
a wrecked house or church in sight.
II was as n the place had never ex-
listed. for the people-homes. church
es eVerythins-had been completely
destroyed by shell fire That IS what
the Germans do to town they bonn
bard OF pass through when on re-
treat
IN the days before the war. young
English and French men were lending
gay, careless lives with hardly z
thought for the morrow or for such
shadow things as death OF a future
lie Let us live and be merryl" was
the cry then, but now II IS all differ
enL Because when men know that az
any moment a shell may explode IN I
their midst and blow them to shreds, |
OF that an order may come during the
night for certain regiments, TO make !
ready TO 60 over the top az dawn, !
their thoughts are mostly on their I
God and on their life 70 come.
When I see the men this way. I !
sometimes wonder II this war was /
not brought about by God as the only /
means OF making the world think OF 4
Him and His laws more oftenl
heard and saw many examples OF I
the Iiendlshness OF the Germans. Here I
Is one about 60 Highlanders OF the ]
gallant Black Watch regiment.
These so men we're captured BY the I
Germans one night They neither ex- !
pected mercy nor wanted II, but, 20 /
their great surprise instead OF killing /
them at once the Germans harshly or /
clothes from their bodies. Then they Z
left them, all night, shivering and /
naked. up 70 their waists in mud IN I
one Of the trenches
Toward morning. an officer ap-
preached the HiGhlanders, and told !
them that they might 90 back to their /
own trenches. The men could not be- ]
leve te words they heard. but over !
1oyed at e their unexpected liberty, /
they started forth across NO Mans 4
Land" telling one another that they 4
must have -nis5ucged these Germans,
fter all
But they hadn't. For. when the
Iighlanders were 50 yards out on /
ermans laughing and ieering, and I
he next second q machine gun I
-hined. viciously and sprayed these /
o. Highlanders, moving them down /
l.
he Huns IN the trenches.
only one man was not killed out
lght, and when he was brought in /
~ an ambulance man he told the Of
icers what had happened.
The Huns do not know OF such a
word as mercy. In one Of or hOspi-
ais, 7 found a poor fellow who had
me eye and a half OF his face blown
way. When he talked. his mouth
vas so hideous It was difficult 70 look
pom him. II was sickening to gaze I
Il that poor creature.
Yet. when I asked him how he had
received his injuries. he tried TO
smile as he told me the story.
1T was a fountain pen that did I
sor me" he said 4 was one OF the
irst to reach a trench that the Huns
ad, Just vacated. and looking down
- the floor OF the dugout happened
% see a fountain pen Thinking to
write TO my wife and children with
II, stuck IL In my pocket A few
DAYS later, having a minutes time. I
pulled Il out and unscrewed the cap
and when 7 woke up. ] vas as
you see me now II was filled with
ust another trick OF ths Huns to
~ound and cripple our men. But I'm
eighty glad. sir. that they were
sooled in one respect. at least They
probably expected TO bag half a dozen
f our boys. but all they got was just
ne"
Crippled beyond description. suffer
ing the agonies OF the damned. his
7ne consoling thought was "ali they !
Eot was just mer
d