The Pioche record. [volume] (Pioche, Nev.) 1908-1925, 1921-01-07
Varied Fortunes and Oilemmas
Faced by Soldiers Who
Ran Away.
POLICE ARt AFRAID Of Them
american Ex-Soldiers Are Held to BE
Desperate characters-Many Who
Stayed in Search of Excite
ment Found It.

New York.-Five thousand American
A. w. o. LIS are still wandering about
France-2,000 of them being in "that
lear Paree." They are the youths who
were simply dying with ennui after the
1rmistice was signed and hence start
ed out to seek excitement. Apparently
most Of them have found it until they
nre entirely fed up" to judge by all
doughboys, remarks the Literary Di-
gest. Take the case of one army driver
after the armistice who went joy-rid-
Ing, busted the machine into smith
Greens, got scared and ran. Now he
drives a laundry wagon into Paris
from one of the suburbs. He has no
discharge papers, has lost the pay he
had coming, and also his fare back
home, and is scared stiff every time he
ZONES to Paris. The French abuse him.
and yet he dare not quit. He can't
go home to the United States without
papers, and he is in constant danger
of being nabbed by the French authori.
ties. AS he explained to another A.
w. o. L. who had been more fortu.
nate: "It's h" I'm Paris the Ameri
can ex-soldiers are held to be desper.
ate characters. The d. G. l. depart
nent of Criminal Investigation are
ifrald of them and let them alone. II
IS said that the project Of police stated
some time ago, in friendly way, that
all the automobiles stolen in Paris are
stolen by these remnants of the A. E
+. A. least such Is the talk of the
ooulevards, according to Sterling Hei
Zig, who gives an account of the ex
soldiers in an article in the Pittsburgh
Dispatch. Some of his information he
gained from lad who with more lucl
than most of his companions, wa.
ready to start home with roll of 5O0(
francs in his possession. OF this
youth. Heilig tells us:
Fool Was a Scientist.
Jameson, | will call him, SUDDEN
of Massachusetts Tech, came owe
with the army and was used in tn,
front line for electrical work. Demob
,lized in France, he went with French
foundry near Nantes. In the state,
he learned lot about making stee
alloys and could produce steel harde
,han by any process known to thes,
Nantes people. Working with then
for French wages, but with sens,
enough not to show them how h,
Old 1t, he mt last got homesick an,
told his boss that he was going t,
quit. The Frenchmen were in conster
nation. They had built up a reputa
ton for this steel-and did not know
how to make It'll
1.-THE kid is only twenty-three year
DID," explains his buddy, land bein
d fool, he sold his process to tn
French for these 5000 francs. II
might as well have had 10000
francs !"
This young man told the writer o
several fellows he knew and what ha
pefalen them. He said he knew on
A. w. o. l.. who struck it rich.
"On a country road he met Frenc
Kid boy on shiny bike. Hello, Amer
lean soldier! he sings out. Tn goin
TO be cowboy and I've got 300 franc.
You carry it' Runaway kid. sure
and this A. W. o. L. lad was tempted
That's right. He took care of til
money and they slept in hayracl
Next morning, when he was thlnllin
how to shake the kid, big blue toul
Ing car comes rushing down upon en
A. w. o. l.. does quick thinkin'
Please don't tell them that | blubbe
(wept or shed tears) last nightp tn
kid begged. Leave 1t all to me!' tn
4. w. 0. l.. answered, and when tn
KIDS folks jumped out he laughs
good laugh. Here we are, o. X. a
homeward boundp and winks to tn
mother. confidential. Here's GU
money he says to her later; 'yo
madame, had better keepe-it till W
start of for America again, some day
BY gosh, they took him home wit
them. He's with them yet. Teache
the kid to box and talk United State