Casper Daily Tribune Newspaper, October 15, 1918, Page 5

TUESDAY, OCT. 15,1918 __ AUTOGRACY Mut DECL yy bya. | gian border Here again We were oF bridge traf was yrs up dog gece Moker efigoned! Mahl our hiding place. This was soos crossed Germany lowed by 2 corps briige train as into Lone at oii we arrived at serve. After oll preparations 1 Plyler Au-Chart. Geren in the made and the main advance’ 5) Village until evening: per: such as setting up the bridge Stayt landing platforms, ware ready, mitted to go about BT Stok form: tions. In the single pontoon wigons drove pp. joon nine men of (From the Tribane “Extra” of Monday Evening.) _ WASHINGTON, October 14.—Autocracy must go before peace can be ar- This condition was laid down by President Watson in a note to the German government today which also bore mistice could be considered while Germany continued he egal and inhumane practices-on land ard sea. The President’s note is a decision permitting of no discussion by Germany. “Satisfactory safeguards and guarantees of the maintenance of the present] ¢¥ military supremacy” of the American and Allied armies must be baht a pre- liminary to any armistice arrangement, sfated the note. Follqwing is the text of the note Secretary of State Lansing handed to the] « conenc Swiss charge: OFFICIAL TEXT OF ANSWER = “Sir:—In reply to the communication of the German government, dated the 12th instant, which you handed me today, I have the honor to request you ty | ' transmit the answer: “The unqualified acceptance by'the present German government a of the German Reichstag of the term slaid down by, States of America in his address to the Congress of the 8th of January, 1918, and in his subsequent ee the President in making a frank and direct statement of his decision with sila to the communications of the'German government of the 8th and 12th of Octo-| % ranged with Germany. notice that no ar- large majori of the Unite States on # "se must be cleanly understood that thé process of evacuation and fad ditions of an armistice are matters which imust be left to the judgment and vice of the military advisers of the government of the United States and the AL lied governments, and the President feels it his duty to say that 1 no arrangement can be accepted by the government of the United States which does not provide absblutely satisfactory safeguards and guarantees of the maintenance of the j pres- ent military supremacy of the armies of the United States and of tl field. He feels‘confident that he can safely assume ment and decision of the Allied governments. _ “The President feels that it is also his duty t to add that ete the government of the United States nor, he is quite sure, the governments with which ment of the United’States is associated a armistice as long as'the armed forces of Germany continue the egal and _— practices which they still persist in. At the very time that the United States with proposals of peace its submarines are passenger ships at sea, and, not the ships alone, but the very ei Sy in fee thenr| passengers~anid crews seek to make their way to safety. Andi ip their present en- forced withdrawal from Flanders and France, the-German armies are Puree a course-of wanton destruction which has always been regarde of the rules and practices of divi ilized warfare. Cities and are being stripped of all they contain, and often of their very inhabi “The nations associated against Gr rmany ‘cannot be e cessatiorr of arms while acts off inhumanity, spoilation fa continued, which they justly look upon with horror and with burning hearts. “It is necessary also, in order that there may be no standing, that the President should very solemnly call the phew a of the goverr ment of Germany to the language and plain intent of one-of which the goyernment has now accepted. “It is contained in the address 0 President delivered at Mount Vernon on the Fourth; of. July last. ~It is as follows: wer anywhere that can separately, cag of the world; ar if it cannot be Allies in th be the judg- the goyern- belligerent, will consent to consider an| ¢8 villages, if not deste pes to agree to a cs lation are bei of misunder- the le of peace id ‘The destruction of every arbitrary secretly and of its single choice, disturbe the presently destroyed, at least its reduction to virtual i impotency.* “The power which has hitherto controlled the German nation is of the ‘eal here described. It is within the choice of the German péople to alter it. The Pres- ident’s words just quoted naturally constitute a condition precedent to peace, if peace is ta come by the action of the German people themselyes. The President rocess of peace will, in his judgment, depend actory character of the guarantees which can be ire Seat nie | elie WASHINGTON, October (4-7 official interustatign of the note as ““Autogracy must go.” feels bound to say that the whole upon the definiteness and the satis! given invthis fundamental matter. “It is indispensable that the goveraments ssoited ag know beyond peradventure with whom they are dealing, a separate reply to the Royal and see government of openly expressed was: Whe -GHAPTER UI. | We vat formed a . close e haa rositaes to keep baetsiag and help one another in . So we.often visited the homes citizens together and did our quiet the harassed people we ze a wn them out of fear of our ieee 3 jout excéption we found ie ple friendly an H quick to feel in we when they learned jt we really were their friendS. >If te on their doors with chalk, He good, honest peoplé, please spare them,” thelr gratitude knew rio bounds. If so much bad blood existed 8nd if'so many things which led to the military execution of innumerable Bel- 8, it was because of the mistrust atically nourished on the part , an officers. it night we marched on after be- {pg Joined by a 21-centimeter mortar ety of the foot artillery regiment No. 9 recently arrived. Not only yes © aet as an auxiliary for this ba We were also expected to help hese immense cannon into sc ese guns were in two sections, rted on a wagon pulled ‘These horses, the only peed foot artillery, are sup- the finest and most power- rman ¥- ie anim: were seldom up 0 ons, so that it was a com- to detail from 70 to 80 men bos ist in transporting these -mor- ime, heavy ropes were car- | Be this purpose. This happened most phen ge whenever the guns to taken off a highway and ight into a firing position. Soon we arrived at the city of Ber- trix. We found many houses at the right and‘féft of us burning brightly. Ps Ag cg set afire, we Jearned, persons in them had- fired on Passing solfiers. In front of one of these housés was a half-burned man and woman with their fifteen or six- teen-year-old son. All were covered with straw. A little way farther on, ‘ee more civilians were lying dead the Shmey street. “As we wete marching we suddenly recelyed an order to surround.a certain house at the lett of us. Qur captain declared {hat g shot fired from that house bad killed a soldier. None ot ps bad heard anything, however. The house from: which the shot was allege} to been fired ae soon surroun i hand en Rs ed thrown into it rough the windows. In a minute all e weére a: ame. The air prés- pee airy fees wipleitg loding grenades was { house flew fro es and ita is of seve : coped, ye une me five civil- ts with raised at once-aid rte sty gm constituted estes Topeitcens into a court- mmactia. "ren raid ter sentence had fad been executed, and five men Iny the ground with, eyes bandaged, n| osied 3 with bullets, Jp each case six of our men were always ed upon to execute one tes “sentence. J am sofry to say I was one of the thirty called Upon at this jon. The condemned man who it was our duty to shoot was p ther ti fe PAS forty years old, tall and straight. | le pever blinked ag the bandage was in. He Was led to the garden of # bovs wee by and bis back placed he a ee in said tbat aX ‘was obr daty to m true be d the tragedy quickly. we took tf Ap six paces in front of the ponues ‘The sergeant com- demn Ridgieg With Buileta cartridges into our rifles... “Prepare to | blips men in the first row knelt #29 the Second row took thels | nase 7 Sika gOS were Low held es hei 9 Pillaging of Bet. «3 linha” 5 young pi, cooking. a guding us { ously gave us Instrue- | aan ae we igs rare the con- | men through the breast. py me formed Inte two rows, one | oe e order sounded Toad bia gnd we each put five | Ing him fool, ididt, Hottentat, etc. that the barrels were forward and the butts were hip high, “Aim”—and slowly we aimed, holding our guns tightly with the butts against ou Shonlders and our fingers <n the trig gers. ’ ’ The sergeant paused a Hilf minute and then orjered us to fire. “I do not know to this day whether our yictim died at once, nor was there ever an OD) ty to le how many of the six bullets found their mark. All day I went around like a man jn 9 trance, reproaching myself bitterly for having acted the part of executioners. For a long time I could not bear to speak about ‘t to my comrades, for I felt guilty, and yet what could we soldiers do other than execute the orders given us? In the ov In an open field, pitching tents, and the next day continued our he The country” throngh which we passed was nnjnteresting and offered nothing ifthe way of yarlety. The few wny villages through i we passed had all Paaa bandoned, and the poor Joking “Tonges mostly de- Stroyed. Long trains of i sank Passed ms continually. These peo Were ys a rule those who had Ass when the French army retreated an were returnin; w to find thelr Bomes destroyed by the roug band of ee. a long mi inte: ted ae by halts and mah nei proached the large Belgian-Prench bore der town of Sugny, located on tbs 3 Bel- gian side of the border. It w yt abo noon, and as the thunder cannd constantly grew stron, er, which in iia that a battle was poe lee ig we ho; to able to the tie n oped fo UP Abont one o’¢le we entered and were Dilleted in a bil barn. Hore of the S Patars Tet toute eat from the fleld kitchens, and req aittoned ‘eggs, chickens, and Soon every! Sorry to say that most of those who pees oe had } seciyes fe pay for what they had tak Several soldiers now Peeve with barrels of Jvine and also many bottles, which wer ntly opened and emp- fled. The obyious resulted, and soon many noneommissioned officers: and Rep were helplessly drunk. The owner of our’ barn-had possessed three farge hogs. ‘ong of the drpnken noncom- misstoned officers. tried to kil ape of See 4 with a dul} pocket’ knife. the poor heast almost shen the animal was inerel+ ya b 4 few min- qed a arte went sik 8 was only an example ani porte! brat Nor ahd fonabitents of the tow had to endure much Our men! who hail beconie drunk. There re ‘Apen and % crét” robberies rdeng, stables and houses here ho Fevtrictions whateyer were put on the, soldiers. There was no iniprove- inenf jn thelr general conduct, dade imal complaints. Oné fanilly rey ed that the French Had treat very Weill, but’ that our highly nine therefore not surprising that fhe Pale | soldiers plundered and stole. ulation’ suffered want and hunger. J | | SHAPTER Iv. With two. comrades, |' OPT E' often shared my bread with these suf- | fering pedple. one day, I gave my portign of meat, vegetables and preserves and algo a bag of onions to a woman with eight children. Because the iron was migs- ing in our bloed, we three were beset tenced to extra watch duty for prem for the offerise of displaying a loye of bumanity. @ur leader, Lieutenant of Elm, declared that such a uttap te one I was inganity. ie sald if the won had eight children that was her busi* ness. ‘Then he concluded by saylt with great emphasis: ‘In war eve! body looks “out for themselyes, even if everything around him perishes.” Another soldier was, sentenced ie serve 14 days at hard Iabor. He was | bringing bread to a hungry family a ses Bek had six siiall lonyés in Bis arms, | he had gathered from among the sol- dlers. The same Hentesant met tin, accompanied ‘by several noficommis- sioned ollicers. do the question as where he was going, he replied that he was on his way to assist # poor family which’ hed ‘actually suffered bunger, The ligutevant st once ordered him return the bread to his company. Theo he raged and taged at the soldjer, Sic ut the soidier nevertheless did’ not obey and when the Meutepant thundered a second command to halt, the soldier turned around and threw the bread before the Neutepant’s feet. Then he said quietly, “I do not wish anybody -ont a apy baru, but if,you and your auto- cratic family, and the whole German nation had to endure what the be a bitter but just lesson.” ‘This. man was sentenced fo serve 14 | days for talking Duck to bis superior ollticer, It surprised yg all that he \ was let off 0 easily. But bitterness in the ranks grew, | wud af last the mapy hard punishmpats that were pronounced created so much. | feeling that the sojdiers refused to tle any of their comrades. We left Sugoy the next morping and ope hour later crossed the Franco-Bpl- Ree ay a) i f we went Into camp! = Bearch you fing to shed ni ny were arrested for askault- were specdily but silently thlot we H “but Wine Bice reloapea: We completed four pontoons, the! t this flme there was a ® meters of bridge, without the er}) city of tobacco anon; pe eh itn discovering anything. py Bed orgies ay h oh gomsipior for a cigarette whenéver one was of- i for gale. Here, in Vivier-Au- was one government iu. I have how men by noncommissioned offi- je polnt of guns\to give ep supply of tobacco for ution papers. These Pir sold thelr tobacco a mark for simajt packets. Toward 97 we marched off and brought ae to a new posi- @ enemy's sven . Only the enemy's rear was be our stde of the Meuse. 1t ae “the duty of covering 03 ot the mini Bodg of the Frerich hea over the Meuse, which near Donchery. it pare ie in Donchery a fel fight. The French made an enormous effort. There wus a terrible slaughter as ruan fought against man. Si one of the most fearful battles have ‘Gror witnessed. No one knew | afterwards how many bi he had Kitied. Somettmes stron, men, then weaker Ofies’ attacked. glare from buro- ing houses titned {nto red the whites of the fig ters’ eyes sia ‘revealed men battling’ one ‘another frothing at the mouth. Without any headgear, unkempt halr, uniforms open or mostly torn, it was bayonetting, hitting, s¢ratching and plunging like wild beasts for life or death. Everybody fought for his life. There was no quarter. Only eae, and gasping could be heard. ch man Fre '3 ft only of his own life, of d pig bon Ol memo- Files ra throvgh!the mind, pursuing One another feverishly and yet men der, for they now buttled a ea "But there could not Yet be any let- Be ‘Again and Bay there Is nothing do “but strik , bite, Sighting without Weapoos except bylded | by ‘nature for tlfe or ai peering iy more super BaP nica, ang you ‘Ure a victor. But vi oo te or “pecond, for the next antago: Is dy upon you. He has } dled one of your com- rages. You suddenly remeinber that you still Have a dagger. After a hasty if in its rep“lar place. One, two, three and it sinks co the *uait in. the btenst of your enemy. Of, on, where there are new 6néimies. You suddenly Your next antagonist be+ fore you. ‘He is after your life. He bt stabs, scratches, to get you down, bie lerce your heart with lils dagger agalp. you use yo Thank God, fb ‘Wes on the Pata eas are saved. Ee stop; you must have that dagger ite pull it from the breast of ite ene: of warm Mond a Al hioats 3 the fret of ve in your’ face," Human blood, warm hu- an blood. " You shudder, ‘terrified for a few seconds, for there is ani er adversary. Tt is again neces- sary for you to defend y: if, Again and in the murder’ commences anew.” Always, and always again, through the whole night. At ay) toward four o'clock in the morning, the French retired across the Meuse with the Germans’ storming after them. When the bridge was full of Phas Tale it was blown tip by and hundreds of Germans pdb their “death in the Meuse, The ‘scene of the slaughter could now be surveyed at leisure. Dead and Wonnded were strewn all around, and over them clouds of smoke and flames made the air thick. But we were al- Feady too hardened to feel much pity. Hymanity was thrown to the winds id the cries and begging of the wounded left everybody cold. Some Pate sisters lay dead in id of thelr conyent, The only build- us that was ‘spared in Donchery was ie arinory of the ‘Twenty-third Preach KOOKS, ‘ iv was not much time in which ‘9 do anything, for at Beyen o'clock _the wih to hurl shells into Be age Ba aA fortified ourselyes be- wien wall directly In eae The river bank Be in] was flat, but on the oppo- te af 3 Was steep. Here the French infantry had dug itself fn aid estab- gne above the other, ery | DE was too far, We not come within its range, so that We Were ble to observe tho eifect of the poe gH own artillery on the Positions before us. The 2l-centimeter shelis raced by sere our heads and burst with a fear- nojs¢ In the enemy’s trenches. The French could not resist this hall of rbot very long. They soon aban- oa “all the heights on the river pe sant daa te wan to Soudan with: had not been the case with Donchery, Hardly Bouse had ‘suffered: When the bugles pany bad lost 38 men ip battle. A po- sition was taken bebind the dreguon armory’ and our company, which now was reduced fo 90 men, wus ordered te attempt the building of a pontodpn bridge over the Meuse. After we had been re-enforced by 80 men, we marched tf small detachments tp or- der not to draw the enemy's attention | to us, After an hour's march we Stopped in a small forest about 200 | , Meters from the Meuse to rest until iy, At Gwilight a division / it was left intact, which | } nded in Don- | | Belgians are obliged to suffer, it would, chery, it was discovered that our com- Then suddenly the searchlight the enemy was set in action scanned the river. We dropped t ground at once. The enemy miuet seen us, for the searchlights p hete and there arid kept our bf position ufdér continuous glare. | were discovered hardly before! knew what had happened, and ‘2 | of fire fell In the water in from) us. We continued to lie gat ‘or} ground as four more shots struc’! water, this time @ little nearer t bridge and one phot hit the bank j once a third rain of shot follower) two struck the bridge. Two met/ in the water and two lay dead o'} bridge. Those in the water ty ashore and escaped none the wort 1 their experience except for a i In spite of the continued volur } artillery fire, we brought the two} men to land. The bridge was greatly damaged and there wot choice except ‘to replace the dan) pontoons by new ones. .We bega | dificult task as soon as the ari | fire let up. Hardly had we be | again when a salvo struck and ¢ | damaged ‘the bridge. Fortunare ) had no losses. We were now or | to retire, and after a half hovr | anew. The enemy's searchlights } pow dark. We brought about tet 1 toons up without Interference ant we were suddenly bombarded | We had attracted the attention +) enemy's patrol. Several batteries now opened | us at one time and after ten m. “the entire work was only a pj wreckage. Two more men were The order now came to retire. men were detailed to attend t} dead and wounded and we were } out of this danger zone. Aft marched about two kilometers 1 river, we were halted, and discc | that the corps bridge train w place. We were told that we | get the bridge ready on land. Se consisting of two poutoons each I firmly fastened together, equipnes |) anchors, everything else made | and then put in the water. The} tion for the bridge was [nidient), us and we rode with’ all our down to the bridge position. ‘TY emy did not see through these tf and did not Interfere, so that A) parts reached the position In a}; short time, where they were fac} together. In less than twenty! utee the bridge was completed) the infantry stormed over it. The bridge was covered with |} in order to dull the noise of the | movements. At the same time, i| ferent places, transports with pot were assisting the army to cros)/ before the French found out whi) happened our troops had becupi«) opposite bank and established 4 selves firmly there. The French artillery and tail now opened a terrible tire om th toons. Our units, which had det | the pontoons, were relieved ar! placed by Infantry. I was m: leader In the pontoon aud with} men af the paddle and 18 infant’! as a crew, we started our first ||) ing in a veritable hail of shel’) with only one minor casualt; aH reached the opposite bank. ||| rade took my place at the st | Bear. On the return trip, our!) toon was struck by bullets but || nately above the water line. AU | us the pontoons crossed, seve;| @ sinking condition. The men} manned them, all of whom could tried to swim to the bank, but | infantrymen were drowned, We landed, and took a new po which, by a superhuman effor managed to get across the river ond time. This time we arrived} two dead and one wounded [nf } man. _bank the infantrymen jumped in} shallow water and waded to’) Long before we reache Arrived With Two Dead Wounded. Sa With the two dead left in. the bor turned around, Qur crew ached! result of the continuous rowing their hands were soon covered) OF ters, but nevertheless we bad’ te on, _There was. no: rest. (fo Be, Continued) —— = Lint wae ecbeste with: us, ecurity an Com Roc Bimhan Bldg. mR Bi Ai ss ae Vey