The Pioche record. [volume] (Pioche, Nev.) 1908-1925, 1919-06-27


Work Of Fiends.
The members Of our party shud-
dered as we gazed ON the spectacle
OF this ruined city. Could this be the
work of men or Of fiends? Can such
wounds be healedf Can the Germans
who inflicted this destruction ever OBJ
tain forgiveness?
To those In America whose only in
terest in war has been a desire to get
over here before everything Is all
cleaned up" l can send the message
that they need not fret II they are
delayed a year or two. Their chill
dren's children will still look upon the
ruins of invaded France.
With the sun of spring but few
days old. it already begins to smell
bad In western Belgium and north
eastern France. Bones Of men and
horses are all about unburied. Great
piles OF ammunition and lines Of
trenches lie just as II the troops had
marched away yesterday. No prog
ress has been made In the restora-
ton Of homes, factories or stores.
Mile after mile we sped through
wrecked towns and villages in which
civilian residents are just being per-
mitted to return.
Vicious Dissertation.
We stopped at once famous coun-
try villa. The beautiful home had
been occupied by German officers.
When we went from room to room and
found filthy pictures and obscene
poems scrubbed and scrawled upon
the walls, when we found priceless
tapestries with spikes deliberately
driven through them, when we found
statuary deliberately knocked about
with rifle butts and everything NOV
able carried away, we wondered what
sort of men had dwelt therein.
Just as 1t seemed our hearts could
} stand no more, we came upon little
group of laughing. kissing country
folks-one Of our party caught enough
. Of the conversation to learn that man,
, ma goat had just successfully increas-
ed the population with baby goat
and France could even smile with so
J little assistance.
: We returned with increased admi-
: ration Of the French nation and q
r greater appreciation Of the hardships
, that had been endured so heroically.
l Martyrdom Of France.
!, No more pregnant emotion can grip
9 the human soul than those inspired by
the scene we had beheld. Here men
fought for empire and left their mark
> on nature. These ruined villages, this
tortured earth, this awful desolatior
s stretching for miles in every direc
e tion-unite in showing what men will
r do when they put on the livery Of i'm
perial militarism.
It We know now what France hal
e suffered, and we know that all she ha
G lost is loss to the whole world. He
IS awful martyrdom, her heroic endur
n ance, her indomitable fortitude CT
c aloud from these heaps Of stone whicl
D. were once peaceful homes or the Ger
tiers Of industrial prosperity, nov
stilled for a brief time only. In thi
e, war the spirit of evil sat upon tn
" throne and sent his slaves to cha
ss lenge civilization. In the providenc
e. Of God the end was certain. That en-
is we saw on the battlefield, for ther
10 despotism died and the new justiC
Or for France and for the cause of rigf
n was born.
Id We returned to Paris through Chi
We teau Thierry with the conviction this
he not a tenth Of the devastation. d
d. struction and looting has ever bee
of told or ever can be.
n l have since read the peace tern
ed with a new understanding and l
not wonder at their severity.