Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1919-07-13

She could talk about those years
now. because they were gone and
the slavery was over. And the wine
that was too good for the Germans
and the hospitality that the Ger
mans demanded with threatening
bayonets (and thought they were
getting came up from the caves
that the Americans might make
merry and teach Belgium to laugh
again.
That is what the Rainbow division
did in the beautiful old city of Ar
lon-it retaught Belgium how to
laugh.
First, though, let me tell of the
city of Virton, Belgium, close to the
border between France and Bel
GUM, which was the first city in
Belgium the Rainbow division saw
on its march to the Rhine. In Vir-
ton it came upon the last of the Ger
man army in Belgium-400 wounded
German soldiers in the hospital
there, with the hospitals full COM
plement of German medical officers
and German nurses.
They were the first Germans to
live under the flags of the allies.
From the tower of the big hospital
were flying on the day the Rainbow
division was in and around Virton
the flags of France. Great Britain,
Belgium and America.
Germans Quiet and Self Possessed.
In the streets the men of the
Rainbow division met German med
ical officers. The situation seemed
to produce queer, sudden mixture
of emotion in both Americans and
Germans, and the Germans seemed
to be surer of themselves, than the
Americans. Probably the Germans
were more certain of this defeat
than the Americans were that they
believed they were defeated. At
any rate, the Germans bowed and
the Americans simply stared.
Heaven knows the men of the
Rainbow division had seen enough
Germans. They knew what Ger
man soldiers looked like, dead and
alive-or, rather. first alive and then
dead. Their ideas of what to do
when they saw German soldier
who was neither wounded nor a
prisoner included most of the things
the world puts under the heading
of Decisive action except polite
bows. But until Virton they had
seen German soldiers only on bat
tlehelds-most of the battlehelds of
the four years of the war They had
never seen them shopping in the
streets of quiet city and carrying
bundles in their arms.
Ignored Germans Bows.
So that it was a queer thing to
watch the progress of the young
German soldier l saw walking from
shop to shop in Virton, and finally
striking off up the broad, tree-aisled
street to the hospital honey,
comfortable street like a shady ave-
nue. in an American college town.
He wore a neat-htting uniform of
feld-gray and gray cap like our
fatigue cap, with a black patent
leather visor. He was young and
slim, with a fresh pink face and very
erect.
Group after group of our American
doughboys he passed strolling along
on their way to the regular after
noon party" with French shopkeep-
ers-tall, lean boys from the west
and south; short, stout, snappy little
fellows from the east; Americans
from all over the United States, talk
ing about home. old fights, the COM
ing arrivals in Germany, how much
money they had. what the cooks
were coming across with" how
they had balwled out the sergeant
that morning and would do it again
if he got gay, and what they were
going to buy.
And whatever they were talking
about they stopped it when they saw
the young German soldier with the
bundles.
His head was up and his eyes
ahead like man on parade, but as
he passed the American groups he
turned his eyes toward them, in
clined his head slightly with a MUIR
muir that was unintelligible and
passed on.
Now, apparently those groups of
Americans thought no more of re-
turning that bow than they would
have thought of returning the bow
of one of the camels in circus
parade.
Thoughts Revert To Beer.
For Pete's sake, did you see that
bi-G bow his head?"
Yeah whadd've know about that.
Mus think he knows usw
He prob'ly knows ole Slim here.