Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1919-02-01
VOICE FROM FIELDS
TELLS STORY OF WAR
Returned Soldier Tells Of loathing
OF Killing in His First
Battle.
DESCRIBES CRIMES OF FOE
Declares He Had Witnessed Deeds
of Which He Could Barely Speak.
Enemy Left Trail of Ruin and
Horror.
ny LIEUTENANT J. II. MORTON.

.s.. I1OTTOF.
ny LIEUTENANT J. II. MORTON.
LONDON. Jan. 3l.--I found him in
his. garden roofing out the weeds that
running round The house. lie was a
in the woods above his home.
He knew what birds sang there. and
could talk TO you about the narrow
stream, telling YOU where il began,
and how it grew broader and stronger
the other side of tho fields. and the
villages IL sang 10. and how it finally
came TO the sea.
He knew the stories or the hills. and
who, made the gray old wall on the
further slopes. There was no road he
had not followed; many of them he
them as paths and tracks.
TALK FINALLY TURNS
no WAR EXPERIENCES
Our talk turned as al! talk turns in
these days. 10 our experiences III tho
Sanctuary Wood and Hell Fire Corner;
Hawtnorne Redouht; OF the Brickfelds
and Cuinchy Keep. Fesiubert of the
Islands and Givenchy.
But after a while he began TO give
me his own vivid Impressions OF three
years: he made clear TO me how he
mad loathed the business of killing at
the beginning. He reproduced his first
charge with all his own dramatic de-
tails that make him born story
teller
II appeared that he found himself
face to face with a German in corner
mentally unprcpared He had not
thought out clearly the possibility of
hmsinS to fili 4 man Ike this at close
himself as he advanced nearer. Per
hapS. he says. the threatening attitude
had much TO do with his decision. but
other things played greater part.
HAD NOT GONE TO WAR TO
DO rr> WORK SLOPPILT
II had" he said, in my pocket pic
ture postcard OF all this (he indicated
the woods and nelds}. Ned. my boy.
s SEA n II out 70 w me to remind me of Tie
card. and then OF all this round here.
and | said 10 myself, Have you left
pity: No. my man ~ Not @s 'Y yon' S' BOT
you, And with that let him have it.
s se 1ne s ,S I'd OF my TiriktnE him he
.ened. not ME. hut all this. After that
! never hesi;a;ed about killing. only
They generally surrendered when they
r wers IN light corner. !eastways some
and Ned's carrying on for me until
the peace treaty is signed"
in his pocket, and he drew it out. He
fingers and winked slowly at me wv
HAD SEEN Things ONE
COULD HARDLY SPEAK OF
All bluff" he said, "all bluff They
think were soft-hearted enough TO let
them off light. Thank God were not,
anyhow. I've seen things they've done
SO have you; awful things; things YOU
cant hardly talk about. Well they'll
He spoke then OF smashed houses.
mauti NUT. orchards; broken roads; he
grew grew Sraphic word pictures of ,cathe-
rubblc, holy places de,ilcd and pillascd
farms burnt and little human thing
names for French ones to bring his
effects Ell home You see that church,
s ss I9nid a heGin aro wei you come on it
own church. You used to 10 sit i in T'i it
every sunday. Perhaps you were hap
tlzcd IN II. You know every one in the
village. You see ,,hem gazing in dutno no
sorrow at the embers OF homes :"
em mraH W, Wide sSWeepiag gesture he
out across the heath. over the golf
course TO where the houses clus,cred.
sun made light and shadow. ire flames
ana soft duSky sheen--brown red
gold deep green
Iuil or sense OF the beauty OF his
world. all this might be the same; al
thiS Win its busy lives; its hopes and
DESCRIBED COMING OF
GERMANS no ENGLAND
lie went on TO describe the coming
OF the Germans 70 England. He mad.
10 shoulder Of the hin; somewhere be
I 6s SONIA the ia sb wiI5ndmiii He initiated
damage, each shelL.i4d in; ietail. "The
door" he would. s,W~ '6f that littie
hiac red 1h crncn Is blown in The wall Win
Gray dust shuts ii out from sight.
sun eds cio, ysry Smail enid in clean
It's crying pitifully for its mother lis
mother cannot come Tha, shell took
So y f,. l,rt
ring in The stecp'c of the church with
the oId iyich-iE;ate and he ,"ld me how
ears and his brain brimmed with othcr
sounds. and oic thiHss became more
tuimly remembered. no bells sounded
had &c s lrG a., ne the postcard mat he
mud-staiued crumpled tbi,ir IN,
y YOU could make out rhc woods. ana Tx
j otd ,Mhtsr-towrr; and ne related some
in France and belgium. the fights /,
: nag the, pee lhrouEh The strange hands
, ,nj,, ma mad Er.sptl j. when the men wc!e
re was an oid!Sh man and he car
cied 'hiS h picIpre where ne youngsters
heart. French peasants. he said. had
g ciutched II: trying 10 get clear i'm
!, R Pres n Of The KIND OF place h. came
by an avalanche OF cnrth
MAN Is NO WORSE
FOR EIr or SENTIMENT
A man. he said was no worse for y
bit OF sentiment. Sentiment In the
right place. For II leads up to great
things. like love and pride and patriot
ism IL keeps young men straight, and
All men VINO have a thing to love ana
honor haTe q thing 10 fight for, !,
!. thing TO die for, if need be
:. Dhc does not de he said The
movement go. Nothing more
told him about Rupert Brooke, and