The Arvada enterprise., 1920-01-29
Shall Chaos or Reconstruction
in Europe Follow the Great
World War;
NOW WEAK AND HEARTBR0kEN
In Mourning and Poverty She Counts
Her Dead and Looks With Eyes Of
Sadness Toward the Threat.
snino Future.
Article Il.
By FRANK coMERFoRD.

.Asol uuy HeTtuuuy VtCidTcu WuT ou
Russia. The fire alarm rang around
the world. Peasants In the field
Strengthened their backs. listened and
looked into the sun confused, wonder
Ing. Flags were unfurled, bands
played. faces were white. tense and
serious. Men left their work and
talked In groups on the street corners
Women laid down their brOOms, put
aside their washing. and talked In
whispers; sad lights were in their
eyes. Children stopped playing. Some
thing had happened. Evil things were
ahead. August ! and found France
and Great Britain mObilizing their
sons. The torch was sweeping Eu-
rope-the fire Of death had started.
For four long years-heart-sic -sicken-
Ing years-the world ran red. Men
waded through mud and blood, fought,
suffered, cursed. prayed. while back
home In the manless houses women
and children worked. cried. prayed
and waited. The world was mad.
Death poisoned every breath the
1t is over now. It Is finished. A
stunned, numbed. weak. heartbroken
Europe IL again sitting In the sun Of
peace. Europe Ia In dirty black rags.
The black Is mourning. the rags are
poverty. Her face is deeply lined
trenches made by suffering. Her eyes
are dOwncast and dead. Hope fiutters
weakly In her breast faith has faded
from her soul. Her home Is house
Of darkness. The fire on the hearth
has turned to cold gray ashes. The
kettle no longer sings, II means. Her
mind is weary. her body Is wasted.
Hunger has robbed her Of her strength.
Her stOckingless, shOeiess feet are
blue from the cold. Her lips wear
starvation color. Ice In the winters
wind lashes her shiverinE. half-naked
body. She mumbles az she stares va
cantly into space-she IL tired. 30
tired. As ] beheld her II seemed to
me that face 80 troubled and sad
must never have known smile.
! listened to her mutterIngs. l found
that she WIS counting. Over and over
again she counted on her thin. tired.
worn hands-she was counting her
dead.
Thinking Of Her Less.
She was thinking. Her eyes looked
over the hundreds Of thousands Of
square miles Of war zone. slnxhed
with trenches. pitted and pOckmarked
by shells. She seex where they fell
No tears are In her eyes. Long ago
the hurt had reached the point where
tears dry up. Row upon row. line
upon line. mile upon mile. white.
painted wooden crOssex mark their
graves. For the most part they were
her youngest born. her most beloved.
who dug deep In the soil to sleep for.
ever In the dark dugouts.
Az they fell bleeding from steel and
lead. choking from gas. writhlng In
agony from fire. they proved In the dy-
Ing word they spoke that they were
mere boys AK they had shown In their
fighting that they were brave men. To
the peoples they intrusted their mes
sage. and the red poppies remember
the last word Of Europe's dying xOns.
who went out into the great beyond
with this last word on their lips
Mother"
She has finished counting; an ache
shudders through her bent body. She
sIghs and sohs. "Scven and n hnif mil.
lion Of my sons nre dead"
Her thoughts turn to the living. her
arms open To receive them. she holds
them ~ her heart. They have come
but how?
Some with sightlcss eyes. doomed to
grope through the world In N never
ending darkness. N night without stars
or moon: sunless. black. hopeless days.
npd these. too. young men In the very
morning ~ their dny.
Others sentenced to sii~ncc-,ienf Z
md dumb. Never npnin win she hcnr
their voices nor viii they hcnr hers
SIN others In wheel chairs. dwRrfcd
i"pless.
More h0bbling on cruichcs. iImpIng
on canes.
Some with empty sleeves.
Many with gr"ni sears where once
wns n handsome fnce.
She secs them nil. her hcnrt birc,is !:
III" twisted. the mHnpi.d. the torn
81" is counting them. the i2.GiGO1T.
the wounded ~ the war.
Ware Friehtfvi Cost.
Her voice is husky. her hnnds are
tired. but she must count on. Six nnd
n half million ~ her sons were ninrked
missing and prisoners" In the official
wnr score. Mnny Ofthrsr have come
back n her. hut she does not question
'h"m--si,e dSr~ not. Their fn"c- tell
of IN. mnsrcnkshlc horrors they cn.
dured. Che s'~s In their eyes n depth
~ pain that Is mhfrthonabis She IN
n in0ther--sh~ knows.
The war ~ over. but she n not over
the ~nr. Must she never stop count.
iupf H. there no end Ia her IOsscsf