Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1919-02-02
.DOUGHBOYS ARE. ENv|0Us
OF NEW FRENCH CAME
Poilus Excel in Sport OF Knocking.
On Irrcvcrent Hun
Hats
YANKs CRITICAL or TECHNIQUE
Hank Gowdy Recalls That He Used
To Duck Pol Pcrritt's Slnn;s, and
Thinks He Couih Dodge Swords OF
I'rcnchmcn.
ny DAMON nIN,nH

by DAMON RUNCON.
WITH THE AMERICAN ARMY OF
OCCUPATION. COBLENZ. August ga
tAuthor's notc.--Ihc story which fol-
lows has been reposing for several
weeks in the ccnSor's pocket and has
been withheld by him from immediate
transmIssion-for what reason we
know no.. we have liked to think il
was because he loved TO take il 10 bed
with him Of AN evening 20 read him
self to sleep. This impression was dis
PEELED TO som" extent to-day however.
by the condition of the manuscript:
when 1t was restored TO us with per
mission 10 scnL II along II was az
sadly creased AS a bank note from the
pocket OF Tad Dcrgan. giving rise 20
the new theory That the censor had
retained the document because i. soft =
ened his seat for him what time he
occupies a hard byttomcd chair when
he's ruthlcsaly s.athing to the heart
tn. literary endeaTors Of war CORE
"pondents. Anyway, here's the story
just as i, was at the beginning. We
mad worried no little about it's stop
page. not because Of it's intrinsic merit
bu, because it ciogged our hitherto
pristine record OF not yet having had
"a narration abatcd by me "ensorl
Aside from little African lsoii and
few indoor sports, there hasn't been
much doing with athletic diversion
since the Americans hi; the Rhine
The football season is over It's too
cold for baseball. Somebody forgot
10 bring me tennis rackeis along. So
sport has been pretty dead aroJnd
here until yesterday. when some Of the
French dropped in and gave us a
is said 20 b. most popular in The
French sector around Aiaycnce II is
also said the british are fairly adept
az IL IN Cologne. and that the I:clrians
~ N-LeS-i;ai ms are really expert.
The Americans had hearG OF ii. hu; had
never it,
iNOCk OFF GERMANS HAT
WHEN III: DOESN'T SALUTE:
The; gam" is played with n cane or
sword ana German civilians hat.
The idea is To knock OF the German;
nat il the German fails to salute the
coiors.
battalion of French Algerian
yiewed bS General ' DehmSsn TO and "f the RI,
spii,on OF German CIVILIANS lined the
} cspianada along The Rhine River front
as the troops landed with their pie
turesque redfezzci band playing and
nueIts barring. In the crowd wcr.
:. !ot OF French officers and hume rous
:,imsr!c,hs' including both officers and
AS lhe French colors went past. Tho
lands or az the soldiers flew TO their
stood silently watch ing. suddeniv
III i,insI, tn went German hat high
reached out with his cane ana deftiv
hichrd Il on IN. astonished German 5
: LEAD Iip' Went another German cady
INTO IN" uZon- and toward. the. RICH;
Held wal! OF The Rhine. Tin. Zin,
M9 orr. Hsr ,!,i keiiys hit The hrreze
our Soldtcrs : I first Were vastly sur
prised at The l.h shower. They coui,,n,
Mnder"' and what made III. hats NJ.
, MHrn , ny discovered ihe motive
io"erS' ihrE became greatly Interested
nut ais" Intensely critical, after M.
,hhrhc'erlsiic manner OF Americans
'rh'... an; any game they do not play.
n.y. commented on Jhc technique OF
some OF the l'r"nci,ulrn as il ani,n,I,,;
I" thrt not realizing that they ,vtr,.
SEEING the best hat-knockcrs-ofi i'm IN
!thiniSh Prussia " az
bot Gi!nniS CRITICAL. OF SKILL.
SHOWN ny ALLIED COMMANDS
rh"re's one fellow there who's pick :
a doushboy. Il don't see nUth;n," u u
M;ninckins OF THEM old iron dicers' I'd
once ms; 90 e, ntnh swing on u hm, cap
SIT SAID another. soldier. accost
"S :, r'ehch captain, TO settle AN
over mere, viii you tell mo whaiba'
y rnd@rt nat counts more than a Vail.
captain Gerald Morgan. OF me ,r.ss
"lNiSi9n became involved in a ha3i
~ :.uSoa'e with Lieutenant Stern from
! .nirn army headquarters. the former
'Etifhins mat e!eek would be NOR,
tincaSinns III getting in at a hat which
WIS ounkered between a pair OF larp,
of 4 brassie 90 '">"'
As for the Germans. they couldn't
sem 10 grasp the game at all. Ger
They hadn't been advised hv nfnci.
nation or otherwise that they'd hnvc
10 salute French colors. and Ameri
american colors since occunafion
some people say j; isn't the custom
." or, Gsrmnns as civilians TO even sn
pretty soft for hat-k knock ers-oif.
,Jnniuy Wood. of the Chicago News
t ,na mink much about ,he ability OF
the supposed French cXDerts "'rha-.
amt one of them could hi, old loo
NhnS IN the head with sack Of
peas he allowed
HANK GOWDY THINKS
FRENCH EASY TO beat
Hank Gowdy, who was SPENDING, m.
Meek IN CobienZ, was also unimpressed
dmc,i mem enu suns nSs under the hats would
easy easy FOR them Frenchmcn." he said
IKE 10 see one OF them knock
TO- tr IVA on i.nok n, Knew shs the he vas going
tried to dus, me off when | was IN
There at he old home plate. I,'s no
c'I pesn 10 MT i,n a SWINGING target"
however. i, must he said ina, the
rrenehm e. at times displayed rare
FORM. some Americans were around
that night denrccating the exhibjtion
on the ground that we have the ex
elusive hat-knockinG-o privileges in
this section. and that 1t was n clear
infringement Of our copyright. yet the
fact remains. Americans had failed
Voc. TO g&" so ,nrir rights in that re;
for invading this territory
If they're going TO organize n hat
knocking-off league. however Amer
leans are ant to he had tailenders for
time until they get the hang OF the
game.
Meantim" tonight there was heard
along the Rhine the sound of cvclonic
snrcZing. Many high chllared German
haircuts wer" exposed to chill brceycs
yesterday. Hereafter local hat stvlns
are likely to I've sun hornets which
yon can II" under the chin
And what 'hc score was nj tho
finish nobody knows. but IT'S rumorcd
an American colonel wandering around
with camera il hard snapned cou-