Evening star., 1919-08-31

there isn't such thing as trying to
see too much horror at once.
Yet who would release the memories
OF Verdun? Verdun with it's rockets
IN celebration of peace! The long un-
derground passages of the citadel that
will go into history with the pass of
Thermopylae; the long walk to Fort
Douamont over ground which has
ceased to resemble earth. the dugouts
as the men left them, half filed with
equipment, the tumbled heap Of earth
In the first underground passage of the
fort which buries twenty-seven thou
sand Germans hit by a miraculous
French shell: the chapel with its altar.
the stupendous gun near It, all buried,
but active far under the surface?
Who would release the memory of
that first glimpse Of Chateau Thierry
as the sun broke through the morning
fog, or the little graves clustered
against Belleau wood? The sweep of
the meadows where fell the men of
the 9th Ofision and the five monu-
ments standing there to commemorate
our courage on French soil7 Or, that
nrst approach to the Argonne forest,
through Romayne. where hundreds of
negroes We're tending the cemetery,
that great gathering place of our dead.
those 21,000 white crosses standing
stark and naked on hill that rose
straight into vast mountain Of ink
black wind clouds?
And who would release the memory
OF that trip on foot through the Ar
gonne with the lad from Camp Han
cock. Georgia. whose duty 1t is to
find the dead as they fell with their
faces toward Sedan. or those mon
strous. because lovely. hunting lodges
OF the Germans on the hills, the dug
outs with all the amenities and civil
tiles of happy life. including shower
baths and moving pictures, which had
sheltered the enemy: and that one gar
den. hlled with crimson roses that
threw fragrance over tiny box hedges
the Germans had pruned and clipped
until the hour of their fight. with the
roses and the hedge. that broken and
castaway equipment. each with its q.
S. A.? Nor would one forget that
sunset hour in Whittlesey's ravine,
where held the Lost Battalion" the
s'iiOhCC VI IuC lItliC SEOup dS d lOuS
defile Of German prisoners passed. and
the leader. slender young German
officer. flinched and passed with low
cred eyes and bowed head as he saw
two American women facing him.
1t sobers one I can tell you, to go
over that ground: to feel that you are
stepping where our men stepped. that
you see where and how they died;
that you can put your hand on this
house and step down to the edge of
that water, and say that here 1t was
they fought and here they crossed,
and there, at Madeleine farm. they lay,
seven thousand of them wounded. at
one time. 1t sobers one, l can tell you.
Z . -
Can't you see how great Is the leap
from one scene to another, from one
battlefield that Is finished to one that
is never finished? For life Is the lat
ter. don't you think?
Therefore, to come to the question Of
clothes for women. things that are new
and desirable. things that may last and
those that will soon pass. The dress
makers here intimate that the rule Of
tuC NCiy ohht 10 ONCI. ~ nCNSt
was begun in America; at least. not
during this season, and we may take 1t
up as France discards 1t.
Not that she has definitely asserted
her intentions; the public often goes
against its dressmakers; but when one
goes to order new frock 1t Is gently
intimated that the knee length Is no
longer an absolute skirt decree; one
may have It longer II one SO desires.
And one does
There Is also a new tone toward
American purchasers, the individual
who buys for herself. that is. 1t is
very conciliatory toward the Ameri-
cans viewpoint. Gladly. II madame
wishes It," Is heard on every side.
Naturally. they hold to their own epin-
ion that certain features which We
dislike are very good. but they are
willing to abandon them in our serv-
ice.
The buyers have experienced this at
titude for some time, but the French
designer is not overwilling TO change
from an established fashion for the
whim Of an Individual She Is more
apt to do this with enthusiasm for a
Parisienne than for q woman Of any
other nation, for the wise and simple
reason that her own countrywoman
has always given her excellent ideas