St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1919-01-22
LIT. ALBERT KINNEY
WRITES HOME FOLKS
How the Germans Treated the
Peasants Through the War


ccivcd from First Lieut.. Albert Kin
ney, by his parents, DR.. and Mrs. F
. c. Kinney of Greensboro, and it give,
something of how an officer looks OF
, the Germans and the way they treat
: ed those who came into their hand
First Lieut.. Albert Kinney is in tn;
Medical Corps Of the British Army
and has had an unusual chance to OBJ
serve things
Ghissignies, France,
Dec. II, 1915
Dear Ones:-
1t is Sunday night again and feels
like the first of winter all right.
There was hard frost this morning
and has been cold all day although it
has thawed and l believe it is getting
ready to rain tonight. But from the
feeling and sound of the wind one
would expect to look out and see the
snow swirling. However we are more
comfortably situated than when l last
wrote you for we have moved into a
big chateau just back of the village
which hasn't more than three or four
shell holes in it and the broken glass
has been replaced with oil cloth, so
that with fires we are very comfort
able. My roommate is young
Scotch engineer student acting as sig
nal officer to the Brigade and | like
him because he is always so happy
and singing and whistling, especially
when he gets up in the morning.
Sort of makes you feel the day is
starting off right. He has so many
3 + l. rs that | do not always know
what he is talking about but that
doesn't matter, we get along fine. One
thing 1 shall always have to thank
this war for is the experience | have
had in being thrown into close COM
partnership with men from every part
of the world where white men live
Or congregatc, Australia, New Zca
land, India, ,Burmag, China, Africa,
South America Canada, Ireland,
Scotland, England and occasionally
one from some place l never heard Of
before, and getting to know their
ideas and methods of living. For the
most part the ones you meet out here
are men! Well l have something to
brag about this week, can count up
ten letters | have received from you
since l wrote last, ranging from Oct.
10Th to Nov. 9th and there are still
some before that which l haven't re-
ceived yet. l am more grateful to
you mother, than can tell, for writ
ing me every day how Lillian was
even if | didn't get them until | had
received letters from her, telling mo
that she was all right agan or nearly |
l am very thankful that she came
through all right and that none of
the rest of you contracted the Flu.
hope the good fortune is still con-
tinuing. | really do not see how faith
CT stood such an amount of work
without getting sick. Lillian wrote
me that there was great celebrating
on the day the armistice was signed,
or was supposed to have been signed.
l see now the "Poor Starving German
People '(?) are groveling in good
shape. Well, | wish l had the fix
ing of the terms-the bones of every
last one of them would rattle before
I'd give them even a crumb of mouldy
bread! The shoe was on the other
foot few weeks ago when they were
dealing with our prisoners and the civ
il population in these occupied ter
ritories. They gave them nothing and
obliged them to sell all their pro-
duce for German notes that wouldn't
have been worth the paper they were
written on in case they had been VIC
torious. AS it is l hope the Allies
will make them redeem them. They
had a fine system of extortions and
discipline. For instance they took
an inventory of all the hens a man
had and obliged him to produce for
"Sale" so many eggs for hen per
week and if the eggs weren't forth
coming he was fined an outrageous
amount for each egg shy. Conse-
uuently as the internal workings of I
the hen could not very well be con- ,
trollcd, the hens mysteriously disap- {
pcarcd one by one and now it is i'm
possible to buy an egg. If civilian
failed to raise his hat to a German
officer he was fined a large sum. And
they were severely punished on the
slightest provocation or slapped in
The face or knocked down for no pro-
vocation at all.
/ saw ono seventeen or eighteen
year old girl with marks or manaclcs
still on her wrists where she had been
chained to Il tree for some trifling Of
tense. l wish all the people at home
II the Allied countries could sec these
people in the condition we found Their,
Immediately after the Huns had left,
md our prisoners as they came stag
,cring back, two thirds starved and
,nly half covered by their filthy rags
warming with vermn, and sec how
zig a budget they would subscribe to
Keep Germany from starving! Well, |
guess this is enough for this time
IN my pct theme. Wcstons leave is
Up tomorrow and suppose it will :
axe him about two days more to get +