Newspaper Page Text
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HUNS IMPOSE ON
FRENCH PEASANTS
Civilians Behind the German
Lines Practically Slaves.
Girls Forced to Work In
Forests, Chopping Down
Trees.
French Front. April 21— Life among
the French civilians behind the Germans
lines in the occupied departments of
France has become almost slavery. The
oppressed people have to submit to re
strictions depriving them of all the
usual amenities of human existence. De
tails of the terrorizing process intro
duced bv the Germans, which is daily
becoming more severe, have reached the
correspondent of The Associated Press
from a number of centers where the Ger
man army holds possession.
According to some of these communica
tions everybody—that is to say. men,
women and children —is forced to work
for the German conquerors, esqeclally in
the country districts and towns near the
front. One young woman- —and she is
only one among many—tells how she was
made to fell trees in the forest of Sant-
Gobain.' which was under constant gun
fire. while in the same vicinity all the
supply columns for the troops in the
most dangerous parts of the line were
formed of French civilins.
In the neighborhood of Cambrai all
agricultural work is carried out by the
peasants under the surveillance of Ger
man soldiers and when the produce is
• ipe it is all -requisitioned by the mili
tary authorities. The factories in the
city itself have been robbed of their ma
chinery with the result that large num
bers of Workers have been reduced to
semi-starvation and consequent sickness.
At the end of 1917 there were still 7.000
inhabitants in the citv, all of whom were
compelled to take refuge in the cellars.
In most parts of the country the
Spanish-Dutch relief, which has taken
the place of the American Relief Com
mission, goes on normally, but it is as
serted that the German authorities
manage to obtain possession of a portion
of the provisions. In Lille the prices of
food are extremely high, and the popula
tion. already impoverished. has great
I rouble to obtain food. F.ggs cost 36
cents apiece, meat $2.60 to $3 a pound
when it is available, shoes are $25 a pair,
cloth costs sl6 a yard, and there is no
beer, milk or soap to be had. while coal
•is distributee! at the rate of 56 pounds
per head of the population ner month
at I lie price of 36 a pound or $720 per ton
of 2,000 pounds.
In Chrleville matters are even worse.
The people have not had any fresh meat
for two and a half years and for other
provisions they have to rely on the re
lief committee, which makes a distribu
tion twice a week. Each person is given
in the course of every fortnight the fol
lowing articles half a pound of bacon,
half a pound of lard, half a pound of salt
meat, half a pound of haricots, four
fifths of a pound of salt, a quarter of a
pound of sugar, and small quantities of
corn residue. Besides these things each
person receives once a month a can of
condensed milk. Tn the stores coffee
costs about $7 a-.pound, sugar nearly
$2, chocolate nearly sl. The sale of po
tatoes is forbidden.
Nearly all the men work for the Ger
mans. who forbid them to leve their
houses before seven in the morning and
they must return by eight in the even
ing.
At Domain French prisoners have
been employed in the destruction of the
factories, from which ail the machinery
has been taken and sent to Germany,
while at Saint-Quentin all the statues
have been taken down and specialists
from Germany have removed everything
of value from the basilica.
Even children of school age. most of
whom have not had the opportunity to
go to school three years, are made to
work along the roads and in the forests.
Hancock Rapidly Being Con
verted Into Vast Camp for
Ordnance Men
(Continued from Page One)
requires of an officer at this time if
never before in the history of the coun
try. Characteristic of regular army of
ficers he is broad and liberal in his
views. Major Gaugler succeeded Colonel
Brown as commander of the ordnance
troops, the latter being assigned to duty
elsewhere.
Os the three regimental commanders
in the ordnance unit, two of them are
Philadelphians. Major Jacob S. Bust, a
prominent business man of Philadelphia
in civil life, commands the First Ord
nance Regiment; Major Thomas W. Ruth,
commander of the Second Ordnance Regi
ment. is also a Philadelphian. Captain
Carndiff. of Gary, Ind., is commander of
the Third Regiment.
Not Entirely Non-Combative.
The ordnance service is not entirely
non-combative. as many would believe.
All repairs to machine guns are made
by the ordnance men, and in many in
stances these guns are adjusted under
fire. Hundreds of ordnance men have
been killed in service at the battle front,
the casualty lists of these men comparing
with-that of the engineers.
A machine gun school and a supply’
school has been organized in the ordnance
camp and is now in full blast. These
schools are expected to run continuously
and will supply’ the American army with
men for that branch of the service.
A BIT OF ROMANCE
IN A MESS HALL
Given a boy of eight, a man of thirty,
the boy and man chums. Eighteen years
roll by. Man walks into Mess Hall. Sits
down beside soldier. Man says "where
is your home?" Boy’ says "Jamestown."
Mari says "Are you not Sammy- Jones?"
• Boy- says "Who are you?" Man says
“don’t you recall the time you pulled
a photographic plate out of my holder to
| see what was on it?" Boy jumps up
like a shot out of a gun grabs hand of
man and the boy- and man are chums
again. Now isn't this old world a tittle
place after all?
All this occurred in the Mess Hall of
Company No. 25 of the 2 P. O. D. Regi
ment Sunday afternoon.
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TRENCH AND CAMP
14 BILLIONS INSURANCE
WRITTEN IN SIX MONTHS
Secretary McAdoo’s Summary
of Vast Work Done By War
Risk Bureau
Secretary McAdoo has made public
a brief summary of the work of the
Bureau of War-Risk Insurance of the
Treasury Department in the six months
since October 6th, 1917, when, the mil
itary and naval insurance law was
approved. •
Complete figures, now available,
show that up to April 6th the bureau
had sent out 1,706,330 government
checks for allotments and allowances,
death and disability compensation, and
government insuran These pay
ments, aggregating $50,403,462.89, were
made up as follows: $50,164,986.60 for
death and disability compensation and
$177,518.17 for government insurance
payments.
More Than 1,700,000 Insured.
In six months government insurance
on upward of 1,700,-.O soldiers, sailors,
and nurses was written for-a grand
fotal of approximately $14,000,000,000.
The average amount of insurance ap
plied for was close to $8,500. the mini
mum permitted ' / the law being SI,OOO
and the maximum SIO,OOO.
The entire life insurance written in
the year 1917 by all the stock and mu
tual companies, fraternal orders, asso
ciations and societies in the United
States was approximately’ $6,000,000,-
000- The Bureau of War-Risk Insur
ance is thus by several hundred per
cent the largest life insurance concern
in the world. At the first climax of
the government insurance campaign
insurance wc. sold at approximately' a,
two-billion-dollar-a-week pace. On the
record day of the bureau applications
for $500,000,000 of government insur
ance were received.
Still Bring Written.
Government insurance is still being
written in large volume. Approxi
mately $400,000,000 was added to the
total the last week.
April 12, 1918, was the last day on
which persons who joined the military
and naval service on or before Decem
ber 14. 1917, could apply for govern
ment insurance. Spurred on by the
congressio: al extension of time from
February 12, many’ soldiers and sailors
fell in line with the insurance ranks
eager to* make themselves and their
families “100 .per cent protected”—
and the nation’s fighting forces ‘TOO
per cent insured."
AU new men joining the colors, if
they wish the protection of United
States government insurance, must
make appliaation within 120 days after
entry, into the servile. This time limit
is imposed by law. No persons are in
sured until they have made specific ap
plication.
The Bureau of War-Risk Insurance
has a working staff of more than 3,300
persons. In addition to the regular
day force, there is a night shift work
ing from 5 o’clock to midnight, in the
great task of expediting the distribu
tion of United Staets government
checks to the families of the nation’s
fiihting men.
DENTAL INFIRM ARIES
NEAR COMPLETION
Twenty-Eight Chairs Will Be Placed
In Each of Two New Buildings..
Every Provision For T king Care of
Soldiers' Teeth.
Two dental infirmaries are nearing com
pletion in Caifip Hancock, one being lo
cated on Pennsylvania avenue extension
and the other on Wheless road not. far
from Wrightsboro road. Both buildings
are constructed practically along the same
lines from nearly identical plans, calling
for a two-story’ frame structure, commo
dious space, and well equipped.
The first story provides room for a re
ception or waiting room, an officer’s room,
a surgery room, an extraction room, two
dental operating rooms, record room and
office. On the second story are operat
ing rooms and laboratory. Twenty-eight
dental chairs will be placed in each build
ing and -thorough arrangements made in
every’ detail for taking care of the teeth
of the soldiers at Camp Hancock.
The work is being done under the direc
tion of the construction quartermaster.
Finishing and plumbing yet remain to be
done before the buildings can be used.
Keystone Soldiers Parade
With Confederate Veterans
(Continued from Page One)
ceptional bravery at the battle of Look
out Mountain. He was wounded in April.
1864. at the battle of Kenesaw Mountain.
Colonel Rickard's mother, who is still
living an dwhom he visited at her home
in Franklin only a few weeks ago, when
she celebrated her SSth birthday anniver
sary. had two brothers fighting for the
Southern cause, while her husband bat
tled for the North. She herself was a
Virginian, born and raised in the Old
Dominion state, and amid a conflict of
emotions she endured the stormy days of
the civil war. and now hopes to live to
see the day’ her son may come home, with
the 112th Regiment having done its full
share in the greattr struggle "over there.”
DR. W. J. REED IN CAMP
Dr. William J. Reed of the First Unit
ed Presbyterian church of Pittsburg, is
in camp and expects to be here for a pe
riod of at least ten day’s. Dr. Reed is
making a round of his friends, and mak
ing many new ones, aside from keeping
numerous speaking engagements in va
rious ulacea.
LIBERTY DAY PROGRAM OF
112TH INFANTRY
(Continued from Page One)
a short prayer and the reading of the
President’s Liberty Loan Day proclama
tion by Chaplain Willis W. Hall. John
Surra, noted songster of the 112th, led in
the sing-song, with "Good-Bye Broad
way, Hello France," “I May Be Gone for
a Long, Long Time.” "Keep the Home
Fires Burning,” and "We’re Going Over,’
as the big war hits.
The boys sang all these numbers with
plenty’ of pep, putting forth their test
efforts in what many declared would be
the last sing-song in which the regiment
would take part at Camp Hancock. Then
the speaker of the day—who really need
ed no introduction to the men of the
regiment, by whom he is known as the
"officer-orator of the outf.'t"—took the
center of the stage.
Soldiers’ Part in Program.
"The President in his wisdom and the
wisdom which w’e must concede has been
almost past human understanding for the
past three years,” he began, “has seen
flt to set aside this day to be observed
throughout this beloved country of ours
as a special holiday of enthusiasm, en
deavor and of praise. Now then he in
cluded us in that proclamation.
“It was his desire that the soldiers
meet together the same as the civilians
are meeting in their respective communi
ties. The civilians will meet today and
they will celebrate what they have
achieved in the past year of war and
what they hope to achieve in the fu
ture of this yyar. and that privilege Is
likewise ours. He desires that we be
come an enthusiastic country. The Pres
ident knows that enthusiasm sweeps
away all obstacles and attains the goal
at w’hich it is directed and that is what
we desire today. We desire to let out
enthusiasm rise, envelop and consume ns.
so that we may’ achieve the goal for
which we aim.
Enthusiasm the Moving Spirit.
"Now, enthusiasm, to be properly ap
preciated and understood, must realize
th- source fie n which it tprn gs. There
fore. we should i eview the work of the
past nine months—a little better thap
seven of which we have spent in Geor
gia, and let us see the blessings that
we have enjoyed. Let us see the things
w» have i-ccomplished, with the 112th
Infantry, because that is what we are
most particularly concerned about just
now. We are a great big family, with
our colonel as the father—and there aro
a lot of othei little fathers—the bat
talion and platoon commanders. That
feeling that we are one family gives us
that cohesive spirit, that feeling that we
will stick to each other, just the same
as l.iothers.
"We are thankful that our colonel has
been returned to us to direct our ener
gies and go forth over the top with ur
on the other side. M’e have to be thank
ful that the second in command. Lieu
tenant Colonel Gamble, was designated
as the con;mauder of the advance guard
from this division to precede us over
the'e We have to be thankful that ev
erybody’ downtown and for miles around
knows that w- have the best band in
the division” and here pandemonium let
loose. »«..
We have tobe thaTikful for the fact
that John Surra is the best singer in the
division (and there was more applause)
and we have got to be thankful for the
fact that we have the best regiment in
United Stales army’.”
Enthusiasm, pep. propensities to yell
and applaud and all other outbursts
stored up for weeks, just let loose and
the building rocked in the demonstration
of approval.
Men’s Endeavor Counted.
"Who made the regiment what it is’
lou, you. you! All of us working to
gether with that great family spirit, just
as 1 spoke to you a little’while ago—
and that is the spirit we are - going to
take across with us. You men who are
here take it back to your squads and
tell it, talk it and preach it to them
Some of you are more eloquent than I
I can only give you the idea, vou can do
the missionary work.
"We have got a wonderful mission to
perform, boys. We are going up against
the most tyrannical machine the world
has ever known, organized on brutal lines
on gross material lines. We are giving
up against it with that fine spirit of
ours, and we're going to smash it undei
our heels.
Now Perfect-Working Machine.
"Now in the past six months we have
taken the boys from northwestern and
central Pennsylvania and moulded them
into one cohesive regiment; so perfect
has this been accomnlished that one can
not tell where the one left off and the
other began. We look forward to the day
when there will be three colors unfurled
in the capitol at Harrisburg—one of the
Eighth Regiment on one side, on the
other that of the old Sixteenth and in
the center will be the colors -of the 112th
United States Infantry, ashing in such
glory’ that future generations wiU see
the reflection thereof."
Again the deafening applause, doughboy
cheers and .whole-hearted appreciation
let loose and the speaker knew that his
audience was with him in the words he
had uttered.
"Our work is just beginning. We must
be obedient, we must be loval, we must
do our part and do it willingly and with
out grudging. We might just as .well do
that. All men cannot govern; we must
all be obedient and do our bit—and be it
known that the clerk who adds up
columns In a country store is just as
much honored as the genius who shapes
a nation's destinies, and his record will
be just as bright in the roll book Up
There. He who would command must
learn well to obey. He who would se
curely govern must be willing to live in
subjection.
Ready for What May Come,
“Let us be humble in spirit, with re
gard to obedience and let us be loyal
knowing that the best we have and thf
best we give is just as good as anybody
ese s. I.et us think of ail the things we
nave learned. Let us illuminate our
minds with the things taught on the
drill field or in the lecture halls. Let
us 'carry on’ this work, solely and ex
clusively along soldiery’ and iriiitary- Ines
until this work is finished.
"If w’e put our hearts and energies
Into this strugge, the same as we have
done on the bayonet course in the bomb
ing classes, the close order drill and in
the simulated trench attacks, as well as
at the rifle course; if y’ou ‘carry on' with
that same spirit, it will carry you through
to the end. It won't take long to finish
the task river there, and then we w’lll
all come sailing; home, to ba happy tn
Pennsylvania and the other places from
which we came.”
And as "The Star Spangled Banner"
was played by’ the good old 112th band
there was a new gleam in each soldier’s
eye, and a twinkling that won’t be dim
med until his bit is done in the barbed
wire entanglements of No Man’s Land
and the trenches “over there.”
chautauquTprogram
REFLECTS WAR INTEREST
Sir John Foster Fraser, F. R. G. C.,
chairman of the National War Lee-:
tures Committee of Great Britain and
England's most famous newspaper
special correspondent, is to appear
upon the Chautauqua program this
season. Sir John has been in the Brit
ish Army’ in France and Flanders, with
the British Grand Fleet, has seen Rus
sia, under war conditions and has trav
ersed the whole of the mountainous
region of the Balkans. He has been
a great traveler and has described his
wanderings in a dozen books. He has
also long been famous in Great Brit
ain as a speaker. At the beginning
of the war, he placed his unique
knowledge of foreign lands at the ser
vice of his country. Asa recognition
of his work the honor of Knighthood
was conferred on him at Buckingham
Palace, in June, 1917.
Dunbar’s Ruvue in music and special
costume will feature a grand spectac
ular Parade of the Allies.
An evening with grand opera artist
has twice before proven a great at
traction on the Redpath Chautauqua
circuit, and now after a season with
out a prima-donna, this year’s pro
gram is to have a grand opera star in
Miss Margery’ Maxwell, the gifted
young soprano, who appeared tjiis sea
son as a principal with Galli-Curci, in
the Chicago Grand Opera Company in
Chicago, and who accompanied that
organization on its tour’to New York
and Boston.
Frank Mulholland, past president of
the International Rotary Clubs of the
World, and a magnetic, rapid-fire elo
quent speaker before business men’
organizations everywhere, is to lec
ture on "Business and the War,” a topic
on w’hich he is eminently qualified to
speak, having added to his extensive
knowledge of American business con
ditions by’ a recc-it visit tc England
and France.
On the sixth day there will be an
exhibition of 100 cf 'he famous war
cartoons of Louis Raemaekers. This
exhibition is similar to the one in the
Congressional Library in Washington.
A remarkable collection of 100 war
posters of the nations in arms against
Germany, will also be displayed on
one day of the program.
LETTER OF SEC t Y BAKER
TO FATHER OF OFFICER
KILLED IN ACTION
The secretary of war authorizes the
publication of-the following letter:
My dear Colonel Feigl:
On my return to Washington I am
shocked to learn of the death of your
brave and devoted son, Lieut, Jeffer
son Feigl, killed, in action on the 21st
of March on the brittle fields of
France.
Just, a few days before his death I
say Lieut. Feigl and learned from him,
as I did from other American officers
v.ith whom I conversed, the splendid
spirit of confidence* and courage with
w’hich the American Army is inspired.
He was in all respects the type and
exemplar of the best in American
spirit and action. His death is a loss
to the army, but it adds the r. :me of
a soldier who died doing his duty’ fear
lessly. to the list of those who are
making the great sacrifice in order
that freedom may be presedved for
sons of men.
For your personal loss there can be
little consolation, but you fan rejoice
that you have been permitted to make
this contribution to the greatest cause
in which man can struggle, and that
your brave boy knew the worth of the
cause for which he fought and counted
its dangers as nothing if only the right
might prevail.
Cordially vours,
NEWTON D. BAKER,
, Secretary of War.
COL. FRED FEIGL,
New York City.
HOW RUSSIA TRIED TO
RUN HER INDUSTRY
An amusing anecdote illustrative of
the present composite situation in Rus
sia is told bv Prtifessor George C. Whip
ple of Harvard, who was a member of
a United States mission to that country.
The story runs like this: The manager
of a large industrial plant was suddenly
surrounded in his office by a crowd of
the employees, who informed him that,
since the people were now the rulers,
he was no longer wanted; they’ were go
ing to run the plant. He informed them
that he was there to do the managing,
and that he was going to do it Upon
this, two stalwarts hustled him to the
door, deposited him in a wheelbarrow,
and, with boastful ado, conveyed him to
his home. A few’ weeks later the same
crowd obtruded itself into his home and
announced that an automobile was wait
ing to take him to the plant. It was
explained that the people were making
a miserable failure at the shop and that
he must.return. He refused on the spot,
but finally agreed to go, on condition
that his former status should be com
pletly restored. The men spontaneously
consented, and started to escort him to
the waiting car. “No, sir!’* said the
manager; “you take away the automo
bile. and bring here that wheelbarrow,
and the same two men who trundled it
before!" And thus did he travel back U
resume his former estate.
May 1
