The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-06-24

| GOT course due allowance had to be made for the excitement and the fright of the victim, for even an or dinary kitchen knife in the hands of a robber on dark knife would loom up like broadsword) Then there was the question of teeah. As sug gested before, we laid particular | emphasis on this feature. Practically | every American negro has very white teeth; white teeth were the exception rather than the rule among the other types of colored men we encountered in France. And, by the way, the French people were always remarking the white teeth of ali Americans. That gave us a clue to work on.
 Trap Is Laid For Murderers.
 Our deductions were one thing; the next thing was to prove them
 were laid by which we hoped to catch these two negroes redhanded. Our first move was to strengthen the military police Of the city. Shortly
 before these murders took place
 there had come an order from the
 front calling for every available man. At that time we had about six hundred military police to cover city of over six hundred the usand
 people, to say nothing of ten or fifteen thousand American soldiers
 in the city on leave every Saturday and Sunday. This force was entirely inadequate. We needed more rather than less. Orders are orders, how ever. and instead of adding to our ftrce We had to send four hundred of our best men to the front. So it was necessary to call upon some of the regiments in the training area to help us out. These men were hur-
 riedly given instructions and then placed on patrols around the city.
 After placing the extra men on duty, we next decided to clean up all
 the stragglers whG might be loafing In the city. Accordingly the com manding general issued orders that for forty eight hours no troops were to be given passes to come into the city. Bordeaux for forty-eight hours was tL be "off limits" to all, includ- ing even the generals of the divi- sions. These orders also applied te the force working at base head quarters. Every one must be sup piled with a special form of pass and must go directly from his work to his quarters. Then the military po- lice started in to arrest any one found in the town who did not have the proper pass giving him the right to be there. Guards were placed on all the roads leading into Bordeaux | with instructions to refuse entrance to any one unless on urgent official business.
 At the end of the two-day period we had found several officers and mere men who were in the city without permission, and included in the number gathered in were several negro deserters from the Bassens camp. We then arranged for the victims to come In and try and pick | out the robbers from among the prisoners. We were congratulating ourselves that even if we had not suc- ceeded in capturing the actual mur- | derers at least we had frightened them. Then the telephone rang! It was the French chief cf police on the line.
 "we have just discovered another civilian murdered!" exclaimed the chief. His body Is under the Bor- deaux end of the Bassens bridge. We will not disturb it until after your arrival. You must come at once." F
 Taking the medical officer at tached to the Headquarters with me we went directly to the scene of the crime. We found the French police there with the body waiting for us. hShCu tHc illSuiCdl OlIlceT IT ne could examine the body there and tell me how he was killed, but he suggested that instead we take it to a hospital. So the body was placed in the automobile and taken to the French hospital. Here our doctor performed the autopsy.
 T find" he retorted, that the death thrust was delivered by sharp three-cornered knife. The La, with an American bayonet. Examina- tion of the clothes shows that they have been rifled and the passport has been taken" (The passpart againD'
 We had neither captured the mur- derers nor frightened them away! No doubt even while we were clean ing up the city they had been laugh ing at our feeble efforts, and so, just In a spirit of braggadocio, they went out and murdered another Hunt Shifts To "spanish Town."
 Detectives who had been covering Spanish Town-the dive and slum district of Btrdeaux-reported that there were negroes of all types in that part of the city. Ever since we had been in Bordeaux, Spanish Town had been placed "off limits," and military police had been sta toned at every street that led into the district. l knew that no Ameri- can in uniform could pass through this cCrdon. It was impossible, how ever, to overlook the undisputed statements of my men, so we de- cided to call In the French and pay Spanish Town an official visit
 As resuSt of our conferences with the French it was planned to raid the place as quickly as possible. When 'it is realized that this district cov- cred some thirty square city blocks. you will understand something of the magnitude of the task We had set ourselves to accomplish. If the raid was to be success every avenue of escape throughout the entire dis trict must be sealed tight. It would be failure if anyone within our lines should get by.
 First we had to ascertain just how many men would be required. Tt' do this we donned civilian clothes to study the situation at close range. As a result of our visit we decided that 1t would require at least a regi- ment of American troops, a battalion of French military police. and score of American and French detec- tives, together with cur entire or Ganization of military police-quite a formidable army in itself The de- scent upon Spanish Town would have to be sure and swift. Marching troops could not move as fast as news of the raid would travel, and in order that no enc should get away before we could surround the district we called on the motor transport corps for help. Sufficient trucks to transport the entire army" were gathered at Gendicourt. Hereafter giving every officer instructions as to just what was expected of him. we embarked the trt ops and the or der tC march was given.