The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1921-01-07
Varied Fortunes and DiIemmas
Faced by Soldiers Who
Ran Away.
POLICE ARE AFRAID OF THEM
American Ex-Soldiers Are Held to Be
Desperate Characters-Many Who
Stayed in Search of Excite
ment Found Ii.

New York.-Five thousand American
A. w. o. LIS are still wandering about
France-2,000 of them being in that
dear Paree." They are the youths who
were simply dying with ennui after the
armistice was signed and hence start
ed out to seek excitement. Apparently
most Of them have found it until they
are entirely sled up to judge by all
reports of the doings of these runaway
doughboys, remarks the Literary d.
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
comes to Paris. The French abuse him,
and vet 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" In Paris the Ameri-
can ex-sOldiers are held to be desper-
ate characters. The d. c. /. depart
ment of Criminal Investigation are
afraid of them and let them alone. 1t
is said that the project CT police stated
some time ago, in friendly way, that
all the automobiles stolen in Paris are
stolen by these remnants of the A. r.
F. At least such is the talk of the
boulevards, according to Sterling Hell
lig, 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 luck
than most of his companions, was
ready to start home with roll of 5000
francs in his possession. OF this
youth Heilig tells us:
Fool Was a Scientist.
Jameson, 1 will call him, student
of Massachusetts Tech, came over
with the army and was used in the
front line for electrical work. Demob-
ilized in France, he went with French
foundry near Nantes. In the states
he learned lot about making steel
alloys and could produce steel harder
than by any process known to these
Nantes people. Working with them
for French wages, but with sense
did it, he at last got homesick and
told his boss that he was going to
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,
1.-THE kid is only twenty-three years
DID," explains his buddy, "and being
fool, he sold his process to the
French for these 5000 francs He
might as well have had 100000
| francs!"
This young man told the writer of
several fellows he knew and what had
| befallen them. He said he knew one
A. w. o. L. who struck it rich.
son country road he met a French
kid boy on shiny bike. Hello, Amer
lean soldierr he sings out. I'm going
to be cowboy and I've got 500 francs.
You carry itv Runaway kid. sure
| and this A. w. o. L. lad was tempted
| That's right. He took care of the
money and they slept in hayrack
Next morning, when he was thinking
how to shake the kid, big blue tour
| ing car comes rushing down upon EN-
A. w. o. L. does quick thinkin'
| please don't tell them that l dubbed
| (wept or shed tears) last night the
kid begged. Leave it all to mel the
A. w. o. L. answered, and when the
kids folks jumped out he laushs 9
! good laugh. Here we are, o. K, al
homeward boundp and winks to the
| mother, confidential. Here's oul
money! he says to her later; 'yor
madame, had better keep it till we
start off for America again, some day
By gosh, they took him home witt
them. He's with them yet. Teache:
si.e kid to box and talk United State: