Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1919-06-11
FARMER BOYS
GOOD SOLDIERS
German Headquarters Opinion Of
Comparative Fighting Ability
of American Farm Boy and
Town Boy
SAID THEY WERE MUCH
AFRAID OF THE FARMERS
The Boy Who Quit the Farm and
Small Town Had Certain Ideals
and Fought to Preserve
Them

1 find a very interesting story
told in the Chicago Tribune, by a
well-known war correspondent,
Richard Henry Little. The story
deals with the German headquarters
opinion of the comparative ability of
the American farm boy and town
boy. AS reported by Mr.. Little, the
Germans were much more afraid of
the farmers than the city soldiers.
Mr.. Little goes on to tell how he
visited former general headquarters
of the German army and interviewed
a major who was on the staff of Gen
eral Ludendorff, who succeeded Won
Hindenburg in supreme command OF
the German army which resisted the
allies at the last. The major showed
how the general staff had made a
detailed investigation of the fighting
ability of the American soldiers; or
how we'll they obeyed their officers
when sent into the face OF certain
death: and so on and on. Mr.. Little
then asked the major what American
divisions the Germans considered the
best fighters. Without hesitation the
German named the 42d and the I'd.
Now, I take an especial interest in
the 42d or Rainbow divisions, as do
many thousands of my readers, be-
cause it was made up Of former state
troops. from all parts of the country,
some of the hardest fighting regi-
ments coming from the grain belt.
The I'd division was made up largely
of marines. than which there are no
better fighters. These state troops
largely from small towns, and the
marines are considered by the Ger
mans the best fighters that Uncle
Sam had. But the German major did
not stop here. He went on to point
out that the American farm boy in
variably made-a better soldier than
the American town boy. Mr.. Little
asked him if the IT division (made
up entirely of troops from New York
City,, was not one of the best. The
German major replied:
Oh. no: the 18th was the very
poorest white division you had. 1t
was very poor, but then it was from
New York City. Our general staff OBJ
served that your city men were not
rs good soldiers as your country
bows. The divisions recruited from
1.-THE cities were quite poor when COM
pared to those from the country.
Your prairie boys, as you call them,
the boys from the agricultural COM
munities generally and from the
south and west made the best SOL
diers.
Is it not splendid proof of the
fact that the boys from the small
towns and the farms Of the middle
west-where agriculture predoml-
mates and rural population is heavier
than urban-made the best soldiers
did the hardest and most effective
fighting and are entitled to the larg-
est share of the credit for bringing
the enemy to his knees? The boy
who quit the farm and the small
town to serve under the stars and
stripes had certain ideas and ideals,
and he fought to preserve and pro-
mote these. He went into the war
intellectually, determined to do or
die that the world might be made
safe for democracy. There was no
fooling when it came to fighting. he
lived straight, marched straight, shot
straight. No one learned this any
quicker than the enemy.
In the early days of the war there
was a tendency to belittle the pat
riotism of the farmer. That day and
that sentiment have passed, never to
return. Every red-blooded American
did his duty and his best; no one
better than the farm and small-town
boy. As they come marching back to
us | doff my hat and look through
tear-dimmed eyes at the heroes
every one Of them-who played such
vital part in bringing the war 10
speedy and victorious conclusion.
Endurance.