The Logan Republican. [volume] (Logan, Utah) 1902-1924, 1921-03-17

Thouoht-valuable to the Future |
n Historian az Well &c to the PsyehoI.
u oaist Of the Present--letters Show
Remarkable Gift Of Observation.
Gournay-sur-Aronde Is a township
of 700 people, situated in the Disc
department short distance from Las
signy and Ressons-sur-Matz, one OF
those villages which have known for
four years the worst devastation, the
worst misery.
A short time ago, while visiting the
ruins OF Lasslgny and its Country
Community Center" | expressed re-
greet that nobody, neither the director
OF primary instruction nor any school
inspector IN the devastated regions,
mad thought OF conducting q kind OF
inquest written by the children OF
these regions; of asking the little
peasants In the primary schools who
had seen the war what they remem.
bered Of II and what they thought
thought that some future historian, as
well as some psychologist, at present
might hnd in some thousands OF these
compositions little library Of very
original type aud OF the highest value.
n. Delncourt, schoo,master at Gour-
nay.sur-Aronde. knight OF the Legion
Of Honor. and an ex-soldier who had
Just come back to his little school
from the front, read our suggestion In
the Primary Education Review, found Il
good and has utilized It In his classes.
A few days later l received with
group Of compositions, the following
letter:
A Nine.Yesr-old Historian
II am sending you the compositions
Just AS they were handed In. without
correcting either grammar or spelling.
I must ask you to make many allow
ances for my poor children. They
were compelled To flee twice before the
enemy, some Of them three times,
Since they have been shifted about
from one end of France TO the other
they have hardly been TO school most
of them did not even know how to
read year ago"
The youngest Of all is Maxine Pic
ard, nine years old, who had a big
brother killed in the war. The teach
er has taught him the events he could
not remember. He knows what the
victory OF the Marine is, but his own
memories begin only at 1916, when he
was FIVE years old. He remembers
= the return TO the village after the
exodus OF 1914.
-In 1916 we came hack to stay In
our house. 1t was destroyed"
At seven, in 1918, Maxine Picard
was struck by the disorder OF the
fields, where people had dug trenches
where they had brought tables and
made listening posts along the, para
pet. "little holes for one man dug
along the edges" But the schoolboy
tells us that "the country is gradually
being repaired" and since at the mo-
ment he was finishing his composition
the teacher probably was speaking Of
the loan, he remembered his masters
explanations. which form the end Of
his theme
France has suffered severely be-
cause she had not enough money to
pay for her soldiers and munitions
md 1t II for this we should love her.
and lend her money TO pay what she
owes to foreign countries"
This at nine yenrs old
child's View Of the War.
Louis Lefevre is ten:
'In 1914 papa was modified. We
heard the cannon roaring far away.
Three days later we had to leave with
almost nothing. We couldn't take any
thing, as there was no room in the
carriage. At night we heard airplnnes
sailing over our heads. we heard gun
shots, we had 10 go TO bed all dressed
One night we had to go to bed In the
street. Uhlans were passing and we
left for the Seine-Inferieure The next
day the country was taken by the Ger
mans"
They fled to Neufchatel, then "a
Dieppe. con the shore OF the Atlantic
ocean" The youngster. too young Il
remember himself, tells what his par
ents told him about this journey, but
like Maxine Picard, he remembers hi,
emotions on returning burned chairs
with the ashes still there" and tina
the goat had stayed in the stable.
Marcel Denain, eleven years old
took things with less philosophy, III
had seen war and understood II. And
with a good, small. firm handwriting
he knows already how to narrate, ant
observes the beginning OF the BON
bardment OF his village with sol
dier's GOODNESS.
~ noticed that after the cannon fir
of the Germans black clouds formed
while the French guns made whit
y ones"
skirts and High Heels Cause Mishap'