Evening journal., 1919-03-20
COL. WATSON Wins
WAR DEC0RU7I0NS
lcontInded from page one

graph written In France at the Third
Army Headquarters 10 cheer up the
men. After recounting humorously the
praise given to navy shipbuilders,
farmerettes and others who saved the
word for democracy, the paragraph
hoped that the busy newspapers would
at ,ast have time TO put In a good word
for the soldiers, who had been drilled,
hiked, fed on beans, frozen, rained on,
marched, wounded, bllleted eassed and
alerted, without once losing their
cheerful disposition or their Intention
OF licking the Boches. and without any
idea they were doing anything remark
ably heroic.
"There are things that It isn't pleas
ant 20 remember, though ! can never
forget them" said the stan officer
slowly. ~ don't like TO talk abou. tho
war because Of the memories II brings
up. For Instance, was talking to a
fellow ofllcer during a battle, when a
shell exploded. ] looked at him TO sec
one si0e OF his body had been bl 1wn
away. He, himself, looked down at the
lowing blood and said TO me: Well,
they've got me- They were his last
words. Il upset me very much. Then
Il was not a pleasant thing 10 see sol
dlers guarding the pontoons under fire
on the Nesle river, falling down one
after the other. Such things made me
so flirlously angry that was ready 10
do anything to the enemy"
"A New York reporter made me very
angry by asking II there was fraterni-
zation between the American Army Of
Occupation and the Germans" he con-
tlnued. 1T was a fool question 10 ask
concerning men who have been through
the experiences the Americans have
undergone. Also that reporter did not
know the quality OF discipline main
tained by General Dyckman. The Amer
lean Army OF Occupation put the fear
Of God into the Germans. When we en-
tered Coblenz, we took the best; II was
coming 10 US. The Germans could not
put over any second rate things on us;
we ordered the best billets. We took
over The theatres and telegraph and
telephone wires, and issued stern or
ders which were obeyed. Everything
was censored There was no nonsense
about the administration OF the city by
the American army.
Suppress Propaganda.
"The Germans are a shrewd people.
They tried friendly propaganda. We
conilscated postcards which they had
printed with American and German
flags intertwined We fined heavily |
the publisher Of any propaganda pam
phlets and conflscated them. II we
American officers were heard TO re-
mark that after all, the Germans SEEM
ed TO be kind. friendly sort OF people, |
such Officers were sent back to France. 1
THE Germans were scared TO death. |
They clicked their heels In our pres
ence. But II conditions had been re-
versed. the position OF the American /
officers would have been terrible. As !
each renewal Of the armistice brought |
stricter terms, and took away all the |
military power OF Germany, the people i
Of Germany realized more and more |
keenly that they were utterly defeated. !
The Germans are glad TO have Ameri- /
cans at Coblenz as a protection from the |
"By the way" continued the speaker.
nhking his cclgac ashes into a shell /.
from a French "75." one OF his war
that story about German /
yunners being found chained TO their .
guns was absurd. II grew out Of a |
jumping at false conclusions. II takes
.wo men 10 carry light machine gun,
While the crew Of a heavier machine
gun numbers four men. Leather straps
fastened TO the guns and to the mems
shoulders, helped the men TO carry
hese guns. When leather grew scarce,
,hains were substituted for the leather.
Their purpOse was not 10 hind the men |
)ut to help them move the guns more
ssslly by singing the weight from the
shoulders. The machine gunne,s were
he bravest men in the German army"
Lieutenant-Colonel Watson went into
lction In France a year ago in Febru-
lry with the Thlrtieth Engineers, gas
troops. They were army troops,
which means they were not members
lf any division, but got orders direct
rom army headquarters and were sent
10 any part Of the front where they
we're most needed Gas was sent from
cylinders, from Stokes mortars, and
sent In prOjectiles. The last named
was most used. A four-inch proiectile
vas used. containing i6 pounds Of gas
With an 1900 meter range. The Ameri-
an gas troops employed lethal gases,
which affect the heart. II the victim
" such a gas Is to get wen he must
)e kept absolutely quiet. After send
ng gas over, the Americans would
wait awhile and then send a heavy ar
illery barrage, the shock OF the noise
u high explosives killing Germans
Who had inhaled the gas previously.
rhe officer explained that the Ameri-
II \ -. I