Evening star., 1919-04-06
BY GEORGE H. sELDEs.

SVh SAOutouo pOluteu long
IL finger and said: "We've fought
all over them. We've captured
every one Of them. We've defended
every one Of them."
Then his face hardened.
Il don't care much for a defensive"
he continued. "If the war resumes
we're prepared to go ahead"
And there you have the real spirit
Of the Terrible" Division.
For the name which Gen. Mangin's
army gave the 32d proudly remains.
and the gentle sons of Michigan and
Wisconsin,. once more dreaming of
peaceful pursuits In the coming
spring. are still LES Terribles" and
lies Sauvages' when the alert comes
over the wires from headquarters. and
they take up their positions here at
the extreme limit OF the occupied ter
ritory and stand ready to attack the
enemy.
They are prepared. OF that there
is no doubht But 1t Is a sort of hidden
or the Germans on the Belgian bor-
der in 1914, although. of course, there
is nothing sinister about it, The
preparations are all within our zone
and on line of German villages and
farms where all the inhabitants en-
JOY full liberties and where every
German who wants to mey find the
external evidences.
They can see. for instance. what I
was shown yesterday by two lieu
sitions." There are little red artil-
lery markers in very innocent places.
There are some heavy gun emplace-
ments in the woods. There are sur
,l1l. -
all to most men. but are in reality the
trench lines which will be dug IL we
ever have to dig in. There are
patrols and there are sentries on all
the avenues of communication. But.
goodly number of thousands of Michi-
gan and Wisconsin lads around who
know where to go the moment the
call Is given and know not only how
to fight Germans. but how to break
ter how "impregnable" they may seem
Back in Rengsdorf there Is Maj.
Gen. William Lassiter. our former
military attache in Great Britain, sue
cessor to Mai Gen. w: G. Ham and
to Maj. Gen. James Parker. With Gen:
Lassiter is Col. Paul g. Clemens of
Superior. Wis. chief Of G-2 and other
officers Of G-2 and G-3. and In their
hands is the plan for battle. They
have studied out the center Of resist
ance. They have ordered the emplace-
ments of the guns and the machine
guns. They have completed their fire
data. They know their lines of bar
rage and interdiction fre. and each
time they send an alert to the front
and inspectors to see that the ma
neuvers are perfect 1t may mean only
a lot of hiking and exhaustive work
for the doughboys Of the 32d, but 1t is
the test of the plan for the renewal
of hostilities and Of utmost import
ance.
OF course. the doughboys on this
outer curve Of the American fist which
Is pressed against the heart of Ger
many may laugh at the thought of any
coming trouble, but one reason that
trouble will not como Is because the
laughing doughboy nevertheless Is a
prepared doughboy and because he
goes into his maneuvers with a great
deal Of the spirit with which he went
into the battle of Juvigny plateau.
Fismes and the Kriemhilde Stellung.
And IL these same doughboys could
have heard Herr Erzberger at the
armistice meeting in Trier the other
day cogitate aloud about what would
happen If we refused to accept these
terms and told Foch it's your next
move" pehaps they would not be so
cocksure that they will never fire q
rife again and hear hostile she'll
bursts
X
Life having lost most of it's uncer-
tainty since the armistice. Is still not
dull, because Of these frequent alert
ings" of the advanced zone of the
army of occupation, but were 1t not
for the fact that the boys have become
good soldiers there would be a deal
of unrest and grousing. l found none
Of that visible. so I asked the meE
themselves and the officers who live
with them in the dreary little viii
lagos. ] asked Col. Clemens In Rengs-
dorf and Maj Guy NJ. Wilson (called
by his men the best soldier Michigan
senO in Unbach Kirschdorf and Col
Mollison in Weis and a host Of second
lieutenants They summed up the at.
titude of the division in two asser"'
tons:
I. The men do not complain.
2. The men do not fraternize.
Now determination is taboo under the
general orders, but it is the privilege Q
of a soldier to grouse. Every soldier
does 1t to some extent and so do the
boys Of the 32d but assertion No. 1
stands. because they are accepting
stoically their enforced stay in Ger
many and they are not complaining
bitterly about not being sent hcme
first.
AS for determination. the officers as