The Chattanooga news. [volume] (Chattanooga, Tenn.) 1891-1939, 1919-06-20

Cologne and down the Rhine: 49,.
second Letter from Colonel.
"A d Z !'M SPECIAL s,'
I'VE spent two days at Chaumont.
where all the G.'s that are lectured TO
us on how we won the war. There was
g.. 1. who claimed to be In the whole
troops and material to Europe. II He
DIDN'T win the war II wasn't his
fault
"There was G. .. who claims inteili.
gence as his speciality. He found out
all about what the boche was up to and
told the chief of STAFF about II.
There was G. s. who took charge OF
the troops. after G., brought them
overlook charge OF them and actual
ly conducted the hghtlng OF course
he is the one who won the war.
&c. 4 runs the distribution OF sup
plies Of men and material, and ! want
share toward winning the war and did
1t with big lot of credit to all con-
cerned. II has always been deficiency
in our army. and II was accomplished
here with remarkable efficiency.
&c. Is he who trained the trops.
I'm addition. II is admitted that there
Is a chief of staff. but we were not told
what he didt o win the war except act
as umpire when the others could not
agree.
tell 1t right there Is nothing left for
him to do except to shake hands
with the diplomats.
I'VE left Chaumont at night and the
next morning detrained from our
sleepers at Chateau Thierry
'Here we saw the furthest point
towards Paris reached by the boche In
1918, where he was stopped by ma
chine gun battalion. OF the Third d.
vision alone at the bridge In the mid
This bridge crosses the Marine river In
the center OF the town. The Germans
never got into that part of the town
south of the river. 1t was the end OF
his drive from the far north. which be-
gan on May II and was topped here IN
leau wood. where the marines won
the war. 1t was a hill OF granite per-
haps 100 feet high. above a rolling
plain. It was covered with thick UNI
dergrowth and a dense wood. 1t Is
about a mile and half by mile. i
took the marines two weeks to take II.
1t looks now like giants had fought
and widowed all over Il. 1t was
very desperate engagement. but had no
direct connection except in point Of
time with the fight in the town OF
There were thirty-fve big Cadillac
Fights for the party and all day we
have travelled. We have covered near
ly every foot Of space betwene Cha
teau Thierry. Rheims, and are to-
night at. SCISSORS; from where we 60
has been describe dtoo often to bear
repetition. But oday IL presents GU
rious sight. 1t is the irony Of fate that
the Germans who devastated II are the
people who are now busy by the thou
sands In restoring 1t. Over the green
fields thousands of men In green
painted letters p. w. are to be seen.
They are prisoners of war. They are
taking up the wire entanglements.
digging UP the unexploded shells and
filling In the trenches. Next spring the
landscape will afford little evidence Of
the devastation. In the towns It VIII
take longer. But everywhere we saw
great squads of prisoners busy under
French soldiers clearing up the ruin
and rebuilding the France they de-
stroyed.
"The Marine river is about as large
as Chickamauga creek in the reaches
about Chateau Thierry and above. The
big as that from Chattanooga to
Athens. then down to Dalton. Ga.
There are a number Of large towns.
Imagine every house between the river
and Ninth street hit by at least one
H. e. shell, then struck. by an airplane
street would look like. Well, that is a
fair picture of a score of cities we
passed through, but which are rapidly
being restored by the Germans;.
("Hard to write on this rough rail-
road while train Is moving" was the
postscript in scrawling hand appended
tn the tvDewritten Sheet)