Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1919-03-06

divisional bath was In charge OF
physician and a hundred volunteer
workers. Every bathhouse was also a
laundry, and the men, upon entering
Il, left their dirty underwear there
receiving in exchange clean linen
When a company was about TO leave
the trenches for the rear, word was
sent to the bathhouse of Its coming,
There was nothing that the soldiers
welcomed SO much as the bathhouse,
SO vermin.ridden were the trenches,
and so great was their suffering on
this account.
WOUNDED AND PARALYZED
Towards winter we were moved 10
place called Zelenoye Pole. There
/ was placed in charge of twelve
stretcher bearers and served in the ca
pacity of medical assistant Tor SIX
weeks, exercising the authority OF
sending i'll soldiers to the hospital ana
of granting a few days rest from ou'S
to the indisposed.
Our positions ran through an aban'
doned country estate. The manor lay
between the lines. We were on the
top of the hill, while the Germans
occupied the low ground. We could,
therefore, observe their movements
and they, in turn, watch us. If any
one on either side raised his head he
became the mark OF some sniper.
1t was in this place that our men
fell victims to high officers treason.
There had been rumors aplenty In the
trenches of pro-German officials in the
army and the court. We had our sus'
picions. too, and now they were con-
firmed in a shocking manner.
General Walter paid visit to the
front line. He was known to be OF
German blood, and his harsh treat
ment of the soldiers won for him the
cordial hatred OF the rank and file.
The general accompanied by con
siderable suite OF officers and men,
exposed himself on his tour of inspec'
ton OF our trenches completely with
out attracting a single enemy bullet!
1t was unthinkabe to us who had TO
crawl on our bellies to obtain some
water. And here was this party in
open view of the enemy who Kept
such a strange silence.
The general acted queerly. He would
stop at points where the barbed wire
was torn open or where the fortifica'
| tions were weak and wipe his face
with his kerchief. There was gem
eral murmur among the men. The
word "treason!" was uttered by many
! lips in suppressed tones. The officers
were indignant and called the gen
erals attention to the unnecessary
danger 10 which he exposed himself
But the general ignored their warn
/ ings. remarking, "nitchevo! Nts
nothing)
! The discipline was so rigorous that
| the General. The officers cursed when
| he left. The men muttered:
He Is selling us out to the enemy!
| Half an hour after his departure
! the Germans opened tremendous fre.
/ It was particularly directed against
/ those points at which the general had
stopped, reducing their incomplete dc
/ fenses to dust. We thought at first
/ that the enemy intended to launch an
offensive, but our expectations did not
materialize. He merely continued his
violent bombardment, wounding and
burying alive hundreds. The cries OF
the men were such that rescue work
could not be postponed. While the
shelling was still going on l took
charge and dressed some hundred and
fifty wounds. II General Walter hao
appeared In our midst at that moment
the men would never have let him get
away alive, so intense was their feel
ing.
For two weeks we worked at the
reconstruction of our demolished
trenches and altogether extracted
about 500 corpses. l was recommended
for and received a gold medal OF the
second degree for Saving wounded
from the trenches under violent fire.
Usually q medical assistant received
a medal of the fourth degree, but
was given one of the second degret
because of the special conditions at
tending my work.
We were then relieved for thu
month and sent fifteen versts to tht
rear, to the village of Senky, on Q
stream called Uzlianka. An artillery