Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1920-05-04

the ruins Of what were once hamlets. now
hopeless heaps of, sto6e and dust. In the
valley not one Of the dwellings escaped de-
struction. If not Quilted BY flames they
were wrecked by shellfre, their furnishings
still hanging from the gaping wounds. Cara
den walls preached for sudden assaults. a
yiolsted graveyard-nothing was too init
mate or too sacred to escape. 49,.
Yet how Indifferent men become to mate
rial things when in their brains burns war
madness or spiritual vision! Soon curiosity
is stated and the mild blpnted by devasta.
ton so vast and utter is this. Detail is
merged into fgenerality-strange. paradox
an emotion Of infinite pity shot through with
hate.
Can we not find in this some linking Of
the mental attitude of the French? "A pco-
pie of immem6riali custom and. of habit, its
daily expression, what more natural than
that, the whirlwind past, they should resume
their routine tasks even as the laborers 90
by on foot and. a-wheel to their work in
Chateau Thierry on this smiling May morn
ing? People Of l~efsurely methods who have
fbecNne accustomed to this desolation and
are still benumbed, perhaps, by it's completes
ness. They have allowed a year, lacking
= -" VSSAos SAlCc luE UNLClC was
fought here and have done practically moth
: ling to repair their losses. Nor must we
forget that the Frenchman is essentially>
dramatic, a creature of symbols. Do his
self pity and hate find expression by con-
templating this concrete essence of desola-
ton? q
In such . mood We approach Essones sur
Marine, q village in the lowlands a long mile
from Chateau f2hierry and guarding the
valleys, through which the road ascendA to
Montcourt, Vaux and. Belleau Wood. Shat, /
tered Essones- sur Marine is remembered best
by her windowless church, "a square set.
grandiose monument Of medievalism stannchly
defying these newfangled ideas Of war. !
One notes over\the doors of adjacent dwell
inss strips Of wood bearing such legends as
Cave, fifteen persons or, t"'Caav ten per-
sons, : refugees from shelifre when Americans
occupied the town as a step toward the pcne-
traton of the German lines.
IN THE further edge Of Essones SUR.
~ Maitt,e a little Gods acEe nestles close to
the dwellings. The wooden crosses tell of
meh..Tho fell during the assault on the town
in July, 1913. Among the wrcaths Of wired
beads I'VE recognized the American colors.
Yes, these were our boys four, five Of them.
Eyes rest tenderly oh tho universal emblem
Of our soldier dead in France. On the
wooden cross where the Spious would nail an
image Of the tortured Christ. a metal shield
lis fastened, bearing q wreath 81 laurel en-
circling7 an American nag. We read one Of
the inscriptions:
.f7 JOSEPH u. DALBEY,
NfEpfhtN- Ekl #st tst2Sy E-aE-S
Company n. 18th Infantry.
Us. A.
The words Of the little, poilu rscur to
mind. America saved france ~ for under
the inscription Oh the AInerican soldiers
sEaye a Efateful ration has caused to be
.1fcrt}pour lasPatris Il 8 Juliet, 1915"
From Essspss sur Marine a tranaway
winds up through the lateral valleys, offering
an essier ascent than thes wagon road rs
yaux md Bellesu Wood. Along this srsilroad
op tpbe Agew ibf theShill the story s,tf the
battlefield NJ written s upon az unfolding
Scroll.
Aeain We xre flled with wonder that 20
little, hnas been dons il. the year to salvage the
&wfScksge ofS The battlefeld. Bo1es Of ans
anatAtdcA ars pilssa sip dupp's. with warning
TN sfcisAhil sdinI SSloss approach. Countless
scapd. 1. tats IT,. he'll hole. NAM IS them allied
slNsi3A ta1plsd VIM I ~ landscape q
yteehabie oQelia6sse q nNsh O Z hlnan fles
attea ~ 6tptalpex. u4n smpiteeneht,
paillys afAAlsds alonS A9sfAilA md smbank-
msats, efamblinG daSHuts thtsround Uttered
& xiths shsatneeasssSS ksn65eel SshsllsS u thauisands
Isnd tNtstsd ssstiS sof Srslises tfackr-it