The Bourbon news. [volume] (Paris, Ky.) 1895-19??, 1919-01-07

3can Army of Occupation, B. j.
f,,nonnelI who is the Associated
press correspondent, pays the follow-
,ng tribute to Bourbon county's SOL
dier hero. Captain Reuben b. Hutch
craft. who gave his life in the battle
for freedom and democracy:
WITH THE AMERICAN ARMY
OF OCCUPATION, TREVES. Ger
MANY. November 4-One midsummer {
might in 1917 the Court House at |
Paris. KY. was filled to capacity with I!
patriotic citizens gathered there TO
discuss how they could best serve
their country in the crisis which II
faced-the great war.
- lone of the principal speakers al
that meeting was R. B. Hutchcrart'
Jr a former member of the Ken
tucky Legislature. He was anti
everything that smacked at KAISER
ism. He counseled his fellow towns
men to buy Liberty Bonds, war saw
inps Stamps. to give until 1t hurt.
Somebody in the crowd, with a Ger
man accent. asked Hutchcraft, 'What
are you willing to give?
"I have pitifully little to oner'
he replied, quite calmly, a little
money and my life.
whether or not he gave MS
money | do not know. l do know,
however, that he gave his lie.
know too. that he gave it cheerful
ly. splendidly. gallantly.
"when Hutchcraft left the Court
House that night he went TO the ma
tional guard amory or hall In farls
ond enlisted in the national guard
In the course of events he become
Lieutenant and came to France win
the Forty-Second (Rainbow) DIV
sion He was in command OF
nlatoon in Company K, One Hunoreo
and Sixty-SixthI Infantry.
"Hutchcraft. as his friends VIII
remember. was not tall man by
strange coincidence the men over
whom he served also were small %
stature. Hence it was not sIrahs'
that the doughboys came to refer u
lieutenant Hutchcraft's little organ
ization as the Boy Scouts.
From Champagne to the Areonh'
lieutenant Hutchcraft and his 30!
scouts performed with distinction
They fought beside their bigger com
rades and always kept up Inc
never struggled; they never com
nlained more than every dougnoo
feels he has the right to complain
and they never lost the name 30
Scouts When casualties mace
necessary to bring in replacement
an effort was made to delegate III
men of small stature to Lieutenan
Hutchcraft's platoon.
nIt was along toward the end
Argonne battle-the last oa''ie
the war in which Ohio ana hei
tucky troops were engaged-ano
Tor lieutenant Hutchcraft had pee
made a Captain, that Colonel be-
uougb called for a patrol to go o
yond Chemery on the road to Seoa
70 obtain certain information. II
+ost fell to the platoon OF be
Scouts
"The Lieutenant who cammano'
the n,atoon was off duty on that I'd
Tho work assigned was dangerous
-tremely dangerous-and CAPITA
IIutchcraft hesitated to assign
other platoon commander to the 'as
.,though he had that power.
"His old command was going on
s,aerous mission. Their command
was not there to lead Ihem' ne
we're plenty of other Lleu.ealan
.round to command patron. onou
- osk one of them or go nlmsei
IT, Cantain Hutchcraft to ASK
question for him to answer .
t;vo,v He went back to
= spoy scouts and led them over
road toward Sedan, whicn then -"
the most prominent stumDiihs olo
in the path of the raploly n'o''
Americans. o;ng I'm
So hevond Chemery and was $
81 l,ilometers in front OF our
- when a Boche machine gun
an tearing holes in the ranks oS
uutcbcraft ordered his men
cover They dashed for the ice -
hin from which the Boone MAJ"
Gunner was peppering at e
Th., was lust what the Boone AM
pa aas On the other side of the nsst raw
rore many machine gun hesIo
,o-e the Boy Scouts couio uie
90 eUff and anything like adequate tie co .
the Germans battered them WIN sav .
lets. Several were kiiieu'
wounded. uut
I'm the nrst Hull Captain fue
craft and his men mace s,,n,
The Hun gunners were
beastly drunk. They saN n
laughed like aborigines on |,
carouse. They thought 1t goou !,
that they had caught anu s.aa
tered a dozen or more Ame =, :
AS they finished each oottle %
thew hurled the receptacle down