Sioux County pioneer. (Fort Yates, Sioux County, N.D.) 1914-1929, 1919-05-15

RSCUVuS VII VIuSE 00CVOG0 "a Sss0 4sVessa
What matter3 Heaven bless the an.
ecdotal exchange which indicates q
common point Of view between all the
allies on the western front. Even
by now, stake my life, there are
plenty Of exclusive American war
stories for men to tell in later days
ut the gathering together cf Ameri-
can branches Of the veteran societies
of the great world war.
OF 4 sudden we drew up In the out
skirts of village. In front Of us.
abo:t q hundred yards away, we saw
a double line Of troops far as the
eye could see. drawn up as IL for in
spectlon by little group Of officers
clustered round a clearing on the
right. Our cars came to a stand-still
by a group Of women dressed In
nurses uniforms, who looked up with
smile as we alighted. thought
at first that they were French, but a
second glance detected some rather
extra trimness Of costume. and in a
minute we were in conversation with
some bright American girls. taking
minutes rest after several long
hours in the local casualty station.
They amplifled what our host, the
colonel. had predicted, and we
learned that we were face to face
with United States troops straight
from the firing line. It appeared that
they had passed a stormy night in
the trenches. been attacked, had beat
en- off attacks, suffered casualties, and
been relieved when all was once more
quiet.
Straight From the Firing Line.
It was a moving instant when we
passed into the presence Of the troops
and saw them straight from their bap-
tism Of fire. The commanding officer
received US warmly, but begged US to
60, down among the men and make
their acquaintance face to face. The
men were very tired, dirty with the
mud and stains Of battle. but full Of
''pep" and only anxious to get a come
back at the enemy. They said they
got their mail regularly, and that the
food was good.
Secretary Baker seemed to have won
laurels on his tour In France. More
than one man mentioned his visit as a
real visit from way back home, and
an incident that made home nearer.
One man sent a message Of thanks to
the New York. Sun for cigarettes. Sew
eral sent their messages to relatives
and friends. Very brave and uncom-
planning were these men who had that
morning stared death out of counte-
nance. Like other seasoned troops Of
other armies. they had no Illusions as
to the glory or the pageantry of war (;
but they were men, too, with no flu
sions as to the end they were pursuing
or the price they were prepared to pay
for 1t. That, think, was the spirit
that animated them within. Outward
~ one only noticed their friendllness,
their patience and their soldierly APP
pearance.
The "MedIatory Sacrifice"
I walked back to our waiting motor
with Roman Catholic chaplain. The
experience which I had Just passed
through made talk seem incongruous,
on my side at any rate, and we walked
in silence. We passed the village
church, typical building Of no inter-
est at all, with large notice announc-
ing special masses, with an English
sermon for the Catholic United States
soldiers.
"Not very easy to put your feelings
into words, is IT." said my companion,
interpreting my thoughts. ut is only
IN very old language and In very old
cone that we can find an equa.
Aen able t9 express ct FL what the
weFid Ia going through, end what we
sea around ~ at the fronts
"Y6u ueanF I answered, pushed.
'sThe world II learning new lesson
10 to the meaning Of q mediatory sac.
riacel"
Catholic or non-C Catholic. Christian
,r Freethinker. who Is there that will
say him nay7