Weekly Caledonian. (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1919-1920, 1919-04-30
ARMY IN GERMANY
Lieut.. Donald +. Hardy Tells OF
Places in Germany and Soldier
Lie in Army Of Occupation

Many of our readers will take spec
ial interest in this letter from Don
aid f. Hardy, because of their ac
quaintance and friendship with hi
parents, Prof. and Mrs. A. l.. Hardy
for u number of years residents here
while Mr.. Hardy was a teacher in the
st. Johnsbury Academy.
Lieut.. Donald f. Hardy has beer
detailed to the 3rd Army OF
Occupation at Coblenz, Germany
In u letter to his parents he makes
some interesting comments on French
and German life. He writes in part:
"Upon our arrival in CoblenZ, the
barracks were all filed up and were
billeted in town and the one we drew
is worth coming to Germany to get
II is located at IS Manner Strasse,
about a kilo from the central part of
the city, upon the banks of the
Rhine. Manner Strasse is Fifth
Avenue of Coblenz, and there arc
certainly some beautiful homes on
it We are located in a very nice
house, have the best room, 20x2O feet,
cxcellcntly furnished, well lighted
and warm, a nice bath is adjoining
for practically our exclusive use. The
windows are huge with beautiful tap
estries and lace curtains. You know
Coblenz is practically taken over by
the Americans as is done in the case
of the occupied territory. The Ger
mans have to have circulating passes
to move around in this territory at all
and all civil authority is under mill
taly jurisdiction. Many billets are
demanded by the American authorj-
ties in the city, and the German city
mayor has to furnish them. Most
all these billcts are in German homes,
and believe me, there are some pretty
fine ones up and down the Rhine. Ma
jor General Dicl1man in command of
the Army of Occupation has big
house all to himself, and his stain is
not far from where he lives This
house looks something like the Car
negie home in New York.
You will be interested in knowing
about all the much discussed German
shortage of food. In coming from
France into Germany last week I
can't impress upon you too strongly
the contrast one sees. No buildings
are destroyed in Germany. The peo-
pie are well fed and prosperous look
ing. The streets are we'll paved and
clean. The buildings are better
made, more substantial, better fur
nished, and much more like pros
porous American city. Everything is
more up-to-date and thriving. In
Treves, Germany, a hotel keeper told
me they had plenty of eats and drinks
of all kinds. The idea that Germany
was on her last legs, is, in my opin-
ion, far from true. 1t is conceded
that she had plenty Of food and am
to carry her over the spring
into summer, if she wishes to con-
tinue the war. 1t was purely diplo-
matte peace. She had just begun to
realize with Americas tremendous
resources pouring in INCREASINGLY, that
it would be u losing fight in the end,
and that it was best to give up now
and not suffer the way France did.
They arc yellow, but they are clever,
and resourceful.
Time and time again have thought
to myself, the Germans are the van
pushed, the French are conquerors,
and yet, what has Germany suffered?
Her homes have not been touched by
bombs or shell fire, her country is
intact. She is we'll fed and appar-
emily prosperous. Her soldiers have
gone peacefully home and back to
work. In comparison to France,
whose homes have been wrecked, to
Chateau Thierly, whose country has
been devastated, citizens killed and
lands laid waste, and the only thing
Germany is suffering is from humility
and unrest. In comparison to France
she can easily stand the condition of
any armistice that has been proposed.
Every time I see all these prosper
Gus homes and buildings here, feel
like calling off the armistice and
some of them the way they
bombed thousands of French homes.
Most people don't realize that Ger
many is untouched. You can't re-
build Rheims Cathedral, the Church
ut Dorcmy, or Verdun, and other
with all the money in the
world. Priceless treasures have been
destroyed and money can't
make them good. In most every des-
erted city or village / have been
in, the center of destruction seems
to be about the cathedrals. No, don't
waste any sympathy on the Ger
mans and what they have suffered in
the war They deserve all that is
coming to them, but they are eff
Gent and for the life of me l don't
see how the French held out as long
as they did. England very definitely
saved France by coming into the fray
at the moment she did in 1914, and
we just as definitely saved her again
when we came into the war in 1917. |
England and France were down and !
out, and there is no doubt, / believe,
in any ones mind who has been over
France, that Germany would have got
\