Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, January 07, 1919, Image 1
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YORKYILLE ENQUIRER.
ISSUED SEVX-VEEKLT. . ' : ..j M
l m GitisTs sons, pubitthers. % ^awilg Jletrspapei*: jjr tl^ gromotien oj[ the political, fecial, ^.grijultural and (fomniErcial interests of th{ geopty. {TER M^Sf^wEn"iNoM? NC*
ESTxbl18HED 1855 " york, s. c. tue9day. january 7, 1m9. n isto. 3 |
WHENCE THIS SPIRIT?
A Mystery That Is Recognized as
Beyond Explanation
WHERE ONE'S SELF IS FORGOTTEN
American Soldiers In Battle Regard
^ Not Life, Comfort or Any Other
W Consideration Except That Com
rades Must Be Looked After Before I
Themselves.
Out amid the battle of agony; in
the holocaust of gassed, tortured,
torn, and dying men; fighting, daring,
and struggling in the heart of swirling
pestilent vapors a something has
come which is so trenchantly splendid
and heroic that it's hard to find a
word strong enough, tender enough,
to adequately describe it. It makes
men out of boys; more, it shows itself?this
"something"?among the
"toughs," the hard-boiled eggs." This
4*' is the theme of a virile and vigorous
yarn which we quote from Association
Men:
^ "Hard luck, pal?" said the doctor
Hi interrogatively, as tne Dcarers sei
down a stretcher In the courtyard.
The boy shrugged his shoulders, actually
shrugged them as well as he
g| could, bundled up on that stretcher,
and grinned wanly.
"Comin' flne if I can get you fellows
to save that foot. She's smashed plenty.
If you can't all the same "
'We'll run you right In."
"Nix, bo, not me. Tm getting past
all right, nothing but my foot. You
jest lemme be here and git busy
with them guys that's hurt. I'm on
the waiting list."
They were coming back out of the
hot blast of the great battle those
boys of a certain division now famous
throughout France and one day to be
famous throughout the world. They
were not coming back because they
wanted to not because they had had
enough of it; they were being
brought on stretchers wounded, gassed,
nn oHvonnoH H rhQQ.
Olicu-Oliwavu, vv u-ll wmtm.ivvv* vi. w?v
ing-station. Some of them seemed
just boys. One could see them gTind
their teeth to hold back the moan of
pain.
That was one boy. He belonged to
an outfit that bears a name far and
wide for being boiled hard. Tough
birds, you hear them called, roughtalking
boys with the crust outermost.
If you had seen them a month
before, or two months before, when
they had not had their purifying in
blood and fire, you would not have
prophesied that they would hold back.
in suffering to wait for one in greater
suffering to be cared for first. It whs j
an attitude that was not apparent to'
the casual eye. Hard-boiled, you
would have agreed, and you. might
have felt a trifle sorry for the enemy
that had to encounter them. But you
would not have stood by with tears
In your eyes?not in your eyes, but
rolling down your cheeks?and have
muttered again and again, "Here are
men!"
But new they have felt the scorching
breath of war. Suddenly thev had
been dropped Into the furnace and had
. . come out with the dross burned away.
They were still hard-boiled. Their
^ language was made up of the same
words, but the words had taken on a
p. new meaning, their faces had taken
on a new aspect. In spite of blood and
* grime, and the discoloration and burn
of gas, you could see that something
was present there which had been absent
before until you could not see
at all for the flood In your eyes.
Crude may be their language, but
the words come clean rrom tne nearr.
Last words of great men, some true
some doctored and polished, are trumpeted
to a listening world; but for
heroism, blended with tender
thoughts for others, none can surpass
the last words of one of the "toughs":
"I got mine* *No use sport
A % *Can't do nothln* for me* * *
Git busy with somewof them boys
you kin help."
That was the spirit. That was the
thing that had been burned into their
souls by the hot breath of war. They
| had forgotten themselves. Jim was
?? ? thinking of Jim but of Mike.
Each passed It on.
The dressing-station was small and
/ many must lie until the men who were
taken in first could be evacuated. You
heard gmans, but amid the groans you
heard cheery, gritty words. "Oow*
that leg! 'How's Charlie makin'
it? Anybody know? I seen him git
it 'Oow !
t'They just took Charlie in. He
wasn't sayin' much."
"Say, them stretcher-bearers ought
to git the^Croy de Gerr, them birds
ought to. See 'em fetch me back with
them shells bustin' like it was rainin'?
And would they hurry? "fJot a darn
W hit I hollers to them to git a move
on or they'd git busted In the uome
but that little shrimp says for me to
mind my own business, he was carry*ln'
that stretcher* *Afraid If he
hustled he'd shake me up and hurt me
some. Can you beat* that?* * *
Ooow!"
'Two of them stretcher-bearers was
Y. M. C. A. guys. What they doin'
In that game?"
"Volunteered one of them told me.
1 asked him. He's been workin' up in
that dressln'-3tation right where she's
happenin' ever since this busted out. I
seen him there. Hain't had his clothes
off for weeks. Looks to me like he's
** oHont readv to crack.: But he's al
ways there with a cup of coffee, a
cake of chocolate or a cigarette. Now
he's totln' stretcher Needs a
stretcher himself, seems as though."
"You're next, son." said a lieutenant-doctor.
"Where'd you get it?"
"Leg and a chunk somewhere in the
chest."
"Out of luck."
"Out of luck nothin'. Didn't I bayonet
three of them Germans before
thev cot me? Eh? *Luck."
The stcry poos that this division
B |fe was called upon to stop the rush of
Ave times its number. The story goes
r further and says they not only stopped
the rush but caused a movement in
the other direction. It was not an affaif
of hours but of days, days of conl
stant, bitter, hand-to-hand fighting,
with horrors added by the Hun that
no American soldier has evee been
called upon to face. But they had
dammed the flood; had even swept It
k
back for a little, and they were proud. |
I
Great as were the achievements on I
the field, glorious though the courage |
and daring against odds and fiendish
treachery, above all' soars the shining
spirit of thought for the other fellow,
that the "hard-boiled" found in that
hell of hate. The writer continues:
A hurry call was sent to the distant
Y. M. C. A.
'Can't you do something foi these
boys that are being brought in here?"
the officer in charge demanded.
"What can we do?"
OQ t arid fimnkPQ
I OVillCUIIl>5 VV VIA V, bMtv* w... W..WW.
Coffee. A bite and a smoke do a
wounded man more good than anything
else. Do you know some of
those boys have been out there in that
for two days with nothing to eat but
hardtack!" .
So the "Y" sent its men and its
trucks: it made coffee, it brought such
fruit as it could: it carried chocolate
bars.
"Here you an sport," said one of
them, coming into the courtyard.
"Here's a cup of chocolate."
The boy raised himself painfully on
his elbow and reached for the cup
then he motioned it away.
"I hain't hurt much and there's
a lot of guys here that's meased bad.
You hain't got enough to go around.
Git busy."
"I've got smokes and chocolate for
every man. Go ahead."
"Honest? I won't be robbln'none of
them birds?"
"Honest."
The bov drank and was transformed.
He lay back with a cigarette between
his lips, with his eyes closed,
and the expression on his dirty face
was such a reward as few men cvci
earn.
"That's livin', " he said softly.
One boy was brought in with a
broken leg. It had been an accident
and not a wound won In battle. He
Sad got in the way of a mofor-truck.
"Jest fix me up out here what you
~an." he said.
"You get to the hospital, son.'
"Nix. Hospitals for those fellows
that's hurt. I just got a busted pin.
You fix me here and leave mc here
* 'When you git a chance."
Everybody arp?ars to have this
something." This strangeness of it
*11?out of screaming, murderous gunIre,
scorching flames, noxious gases,
frightful suffering, something better
than they had ever known came to
them. There is utter ignorance of
sell', a thing wonderful to witness. To
continue:
"We have got to have a new word
in the language," said a captxin-sur'geon.
Game won't do. These .boys ,
are something more than game. I've
never seen anything like it. I don't
know what it is." Even he, inured to
suffering and to scenes of blood-shed,
wiped his eyes "They're?they're?
why, hang it ar. they're something!
Nobody was evei .me mem:
it Oiie nr. an lay > side on a mattress I
on the floor. H". chest was rising
and falling as he ruggled for broath.
"He's on his way." said the doctor
to a "Y" Wn who was acting as orderly,
nurse, assls.ant, anything.
The "Y" man went over and touched
the boy's forehead.
"How about it, old man?" he said.
"Kind N)f lonesome* * *Maybe
you* * * * could sit* *here still
I * *"
The "Y"man sat down and a hand
* ' - 1 * Ua tAAlr it anH
Struggled lowaru mm. IK vvva --
he'd it in his own, and he whispered
to the boy a moment. Maybe it was
a prayer. Whatever the words, it was
a prayer. The wounded man lay still,
his hand in the hamf of the friend who
had come tQ him in his last dark moment his
last glorious moment. He
was giving his utmost for his country.
The "Y" man sat still until the hand
grew limp and lifeless in his own, and
then he moved away to other errands,
for it was a night demanding much
of men.
The courage of the battle-field
seems to be a common commodity: but
the courage to bear pain without
flinching; to realize the approach of
death without crying out; to reach a
moment when you know you must
face life maimed without arm, leg, eye
and not to curse with black rage or
cry out with despair that is another
kind of courage. But it was there.
Not one man had it, but it seemed as
if all those wounded had It it was
not the gameness of the bulldog:. It
was something: that had to do with the
soul. It was greatness, it was fineness,
it was a thing: that compelled
the watcher to uncover his head and
stand bared in its presence.
They were Americans. Perhaps it
was their birthright. Most likely it
was a new thing; newly born of the
day and the business of the day.
Whatever it was. whenever and however
It came, it was present. This had
been written with repression, with a
striving for understatement, with a
wish to tell the truth. The thing was
there. They brought it back with
them.
"How are you making it. sport?"
Here's a cup of coffee."
a mn oftpp
"You come arouuu iu
you've given some to the boys over
there. They need it."
That is what was there. It has
read something new into the meaning
of the words American soldier. As
the doctor said, some new word must
be coined to designate It. It was born
of battle and agony.
Czechoslovaks Defeat Bolsheviki.?
In capturing Perm in the Ural mountains,
says an Associated Press dispatch
from Vilna, Gen. Gaida, at the
head of Czc-choslovok and Siberian
forces, virtually destroyed the Bolshevik
Third army, from which he took
31,000 prisoners. Gen. Gaida's troops
captured an armored train from
which Nikolai Lenine, the Bolshevik
Premier, was directing operations in
the region of Perm. Lenine himself escaped.
The exploit of Gen. Oaida in capV?ic?
ClinPOQQ If)
turlng i'crm paituieia u?
the campaign of last summer. In addition
to the 31.000 prisoners reported.
Gen. Gaida captured 5.000 railroad
cars. 120 field fruns, 1,000 machine
spins, 30 automobiles, 1 wa?on transport,
several armored trains and several
thousand horses. His manoeuvre
was a surprise to the Bolshevik, approved
by the fact that he captured
several prominent Soviet leaders at
the headquarters of the Third Bolshevik
army.
Troops of Gen. Semonoff, anti-Bol
shevlk leader In the Chile district,
have occupied Verkhnl Udinsk, on the
Siberian railway; 200,000 Russian soldiers
released from German prisons
are expected to pass through Omsk
within a fortnight. Th??y are destitute.
Bolshevik sympathizers carried out
am Af r?AA
ct jail ucuvcij vu uic ui&iii vi i/cvember
21 at Om3k and released 205
prisoners, including members of the
Bolshevik constituent assembly, according
to delayed advices reaching
here from Omsk. Twelve soldiers
were court martialed and shot by the
Omsk government for complicity in
the affair.
GREAT NAVY PLANNED.
Suggestion that Programme Runs
Counter to Great Britain's.
An American navy second to none
in the world of 1925 was advocated
before the house naval affairs committee
the other day by Rear Admiral
Badger, speaking for the general
bohrd of the navy, of which he is
chairman. Admiral Badger said the
general board, had before the signing
of the armistice conceived plans for a
six-year construction program which
would bring the navy to that strength.
The necessity of protecting the great
merchant marine now building and of
America's contributing her full share
to an international police force necessary
to enforce the authority of a
ica&ue ui imiiuus ncic cuvu no 4V?.sons
for an unprecedented expansion
in American naval ^ower.
America should undoubtedly have a
navy commensurate with these responsibilities
and others equally well
recognized, including the protection
of thousands of miles of coast line,
which means a navy of highest efficiency
and one constantly re-enforced
in power. But the policy of a navy
second to none goes beyond this basis
of expansion and obviously means
entering upon a competitive program.
Premier Lloyd George remarked of
the British navy the other day that it
was a defensive rather than an offensive
weapon. The best land batteries
have proved impregnable in the
war against naval assaults. Contrasted
with the military arm necessary
for the seizure and occupation of
territory, navies are in their nature defensive
weapons, necessary for the
protection of outlying territories, trade
routes, etc. The sentiment of Great
Britain in support of her great naval
establishment is very reasonably
founded on this view. Her naval
power may be said to be in proportion
to the protection needs for sufch a
widely distributed empire and for
England's vital dependence upon trade
with her dominions and the rest of the
world.
Great Britain':, need of sea power is
not the measure of America's need.
By entering into competitive naval expansion
with Great Britain in order
merely, to have a navy secon^ to none
the United States might well be outrunning
its necessities. Colonel Roosevelt
has said that from every aspect
it would be folly for the United States
to attempt to surpass Great Britain in
sea power. It is believed that public
opinion will align itself in support of
that view.
1 --* -* - .1 4? 4Vtit A mnrinon
powenui auuiiiuii iu cue amvuvrut
navy is contemplated in the new threeyear
construction program which Secretary
Daniels has presented to conpress
and which bespeaks an administration
policy of continued naval expansion
to meet the needs and responsibility
of the nation, this policy
having been uninfluenced as yet by any
possible readjustment of armaments
out of the world peace settlement.
Washington Post.
Cooper for Budget System. Reform
of the state taxing system will be one
of the chief propositions advanced by
Robert A. Cooper, when he assumes
he du:ies of governor January 21.
It is understood that Mr. Cooper will
recommend to the legislature the passage
of a law providing an executive
budget, somewhat similar to the law
in the state of Virginia.
Frequently during his campaign last
summer, Mr. Cooper advocated making
the county the unit of a tax district.
Under this plan which presumes the
adoption of the budget idea, the total
amount of the state budget would be
apportioned among the counties according
to taxable wealth. The taxable
wealth -of the various counties to
be ascertained by a tax survey of each
county.
It is understood to be Mr. Cooper's
idea in making a tax survey that the
counties should be subdivided into
school districts. In this way It is
thought all property subject to taxation
can be listed at its actual value, as
provided by the constitution. This will
also do away with the state mill levy.
In lieu of the mill levy, each county
would be required to contribute a fixed
turn as its part of the state budgetIt
is Mr. Cooper's purpose to make
education the great aim of the administration,
but he realizes that the tax
luestlon must be definitely settled before
any real constructive work can be
- ?15?U/v/l olnntr nthor 1 inPS.
ciCL'IM.MiniaiK u aiviio wv..v.
Mr Cooper spent yesterday in Columbia.
When asked for a statement
Mr. Cooper emphasized that he had no
definite statement to give out, but that
he would stand firmly by his campaign
pledges as to tax reform and improvement
and development of the educational
system.
Mr. Cooper is ardently in favor of
the proposed central commission for
the co-ordination of our educational
institutions, as well as other institutions
supported and maintained by the
state. Columbia State.
Spelled Thirty-two Ways. One woman's
name spelled in thirty-two different
ways! That such a thing can be
done is evidenced in the papers for a
suit filed by Enos E. William and John
Elton to acquire title to a piece of
property.
Margaret McLauchlln is the woman
whose name is spelled in so many different
ways. To make the papers legally
correct, her name appears in
these papers as many times and spefled
as differently as it had in other legal
papers held by the woman, who is
now dead.
* ?*~T ,, vr,^ T onnhnn Mo.
aiargcirei jutuauvnuu,
Laughlin, McLaughlan, with variations
in the spelling cf Margaret arc only a
few instances of the diversified spelling. Omaha
Bee.
| FRIENDSHIP OF THE WORLD
President Makes Address Before the I
Italian Parliament
NO MORE BALANCE OF POVCB
'.* .
Italian.*- Listen With Close Sympathy
and Tremendous Enthusiasm?Mr.
Wilson Is Unable to Visit the Italian
Battlefields for the Reason That He
Must Get Back to France. r 1
in parliament house at Jttome last
Friday, a joint rr ption was given'to i
President Wilson by the members of
the senate and chamber of deputies. I
The function was an impressive one. 1
The large and distinguished gathering <
gave the president an ovation- i
During his speech the president coa- i
stantly was interrupted by outbursts i
of applause and when he ended he was
accorded an ovation which lasted un^ll
he passed through the exit of the
building. Outside the throngs in the (
street took up the demonstration which
continued until the doors of the Quirinal
closed behind Mr- Wilson.
The weather was warmer and more
balmy than the presidential party'had
experienced in France and England
and there was a feeling of relief on
their part. The president met with
really the first touch of sustained sunshine
he had seen since coming to Europe,
and he made the remark during
the day that the weather reminded
him of that at home.
During the day King Victor Emmanuel
presented General Diaz to President
Wilson, who complimented the
Italian commander-in-chief on the
magnificent achievements of his army.
The president expressed regret that
he would be unable to visit the Italian
battlefront owing to lack of time and
the necessity of returning to Paris as
soon as possible for the work of "the ^
peace conference.
Text of Wilson's Address.
The president spoke as follows:
"Your majesty and Mr. President *f
the chamber: Jt
"You are bestowing upon me an
precedented honor, which I accept because
I believe that It is extended to
me as the representative of the grefrt
people for whom I speak. And I afn L
going to take this first opportunity to
say how entirely the heart of tie
American people has been with
great people of Italy. f,
"We have seemed no doubt indifferent
at times, to look from a great
tance, but our hearts have never been
far away." All sorts of ties have long
bound the people of our America to
the people of Italy, and when the pepple
of the United States, knowing this
people, have witnessed its suffering^1
its sacrifices, its hecpic actions upon
the battlefields and its heroic endurance
at home its steadfast endurat#>
at home touching us more nearly to
the quick even than Its heroic action
on. the battlefield we have been bound
by a new tie of profound admiration.
"The Golden Thread."
"Then, back of it all and through it
all, running like the golden thread that
wove it together, was our knowledge
that the people of Italy had gone into
this war for the same exalted principle
of right and justice that, moved our
own people. And so I welcome this
opportunity of conveying to you the
heartfelt greetihgs of the people of the
United States. ]
"But we cannot stand in the shadow i
' of this war without knowing there are
things which are in some senses more
difficult than'those we have undertaken;
while it is easy to speak of right
and justice, it is sometimes difficult to
1 work them out in practice, and there
will be required a purity of motives
and disinterestedness of object which
the world has never witnessed before
in the councils ofnations.
It is for that reason that it seems to
me you will forgive me if I lay some
of the elements of the new situations
before you for a moment. The distinguishing
fact of this war is that great
empires have gone to pieces. And the
characteristics of those empires are
that they held different peoples reluctantly
together under the coercion of
force and the guidance of intrigueThe
Balkan Problem.
"The great difficulty among such
states as those of the Balkans have
been that they were always accessible
to secret influence; and they were al.ways
being penetrated by Intrigue of ]
some sort or another; that north of i
Viom Inv rllstiirhpfl nnnulntinns which
were held together not by sympathy i
and friendship, but by the coercive
force of a military power. I
"Now the intrigue is checked and the |
bands are broken and what we are go- i
ing to provide is a'new cement to hold j
the people together. They have not j
yet been accustomed to being inde- i
pendent. They must now be inde- 1
pendent. <
"I am sure that you recognize the <
principle as I do that it is not our 1
privilege to say what sort of a govern- <
ment they should set up. But we are <
friends of these people and it is our j
duty as their friends to see to it that i
some kind of protection is thrown <
around them something supplied (
which will hold them together. !
Friendship the Strong Tie. |i
"There is only one thing that holds |
nations together, if you exclude force,
and that is friendship and good will, i
The only thing that binds men togeth- i
er is friendship, and by the same token ]
the only thing that binds nations to- 1
gether is friendship. Therefore, our
task at Paris is to organize the friend- ;
ship of the world to see to it that all i
the moral forces that make for right i
and justice and liberty are united and i
arc given a vital organization to which
the peoples of the world will readily
and gladly respond.
"In other words our task is no less
colossal than this: To set up a new
International psychology: to have a
new real atmosphere. I am happy to
say that in my dealings with the distinguished
gentlemen who lead yourj
nations and those who lead France
and England, I feel that atmosphere
gathering, that desire to do Justice,
that desire to establish friendliness,
that desire to make peace rest upon 1
, right, and with this common purpose
no obstacles need be formidable.
"The only use of an obstacle is to be
overcome. All that an obstacle does
I
with brave men is not to frighten then
but to challenge them. So that I
ought to be our pride to overcome everything
that stands in the way.
Balance of Power Impossible.
"We know that there cannot be another
balance of power. That has beer
tried and found wanting, for the besl
of all reasons that it does not stay balanced
inside itself, and a waste
(weight?) which does not hold together
cannot constitute a make-weight in
the affairs of men.
"Therefore, -there must be something
substituted for the balance oi
power, and I am happy to And everywhere
in the air of these great nations
the conception that that thin? must be
a thoroughly united league of nations.
"What men once considered theoretical
and Idealistic turns out to be practical
and necessary. We stand at the
opening of a new age in which a new
statesmanship will, I am confident, lift
mankind to new levels of endeavor and
achievement."
EIGHTY-FIRST IN ACTION.
Capt. James D. Fulp Tells Some of His
Fighting Experiences.
Port Mill Times.
Capt JameB D. Fulp of this city,
with the Three Hundred and Twentyfirst
Infantry, Eighty-first Division,
which was tfained for overseas service
at Camp Jackson and Camp Sevier,
has written from the French front,
under date of November 11, the following
interesting letter to Mrs. Fulp
of the last hours of the fighting in
France, in which his division was engaged:
"Le guerre finis" so the Frenchmen
said yesterday at 11 o'clock, but from
our experiences since last Friday night
when we went into our first big battle,
It is hard for us to realize that peace
has really come. We came so near to
not getting into a real battle and then
to have it come when peace was already
to dawn upon us seems too hard
tor the poor fellows who died foi
us Saturday and Sunday. I know
the casualty list will be out long before
you get this letter, so I will tell
something of it
Our boys were as brave as any of
them and we lay for two days and one
night with shells pouring on us and
machine guns raining through us before
we got relief. We all look like
old men for the experience and so
many of our good friends have gone.
Poor old Cowell got a ten inch shell
straight and it was with difficulty that
we could gather his body together.
Five men died with him in the same
burst. It was awful! Not much German
infantry opposed us but the artillery
and the machine gun neste
were everywhere. Our enemy, we
leartied from some of the prisoners we
laptured, were the Fifth Prussian
Suards, one of the crack Hun organisations.
"We are having tKVvery urtpleasant
task today of policing the battle field
and the poor chaplain is about all in
None of us got any sleep for three
nights and days. I was busy all the
time getting up rations and ammunition
and had two casualties in my
company. None of my officers were
hit You remember Gregory Davis,
whose mother came from Riverhead to
New }fork with us. Well he was the
first officer killed. We lost several
more but none of them that you know
unless it was Cajftain Bradt. We are
still trying to get the men buried and
on nwfni inb. We worked all
night last night and there Is a day and
night's work left yet to be done. We
fought to 11 o'clock yesterday when
we had orders that hostilities would
cease. The Germans did the same and
it seemed like death had come to all
af us at 11, as after the awful crashing
Are, gas, popping of the machine
runs, everything was painfully quiet,
ind one's nerves were too high strung
to be let down so suddenly. The reaction
was almost as bad as the action
itself.
I am still In the dugout this morning,
as I haven't any too much faith In
the Germans, and there is no abatement
in preparation. The guns have
ceased firing, that's all, and a plenty
It Is for us. The ground over which
we advanced for eight miles was one
mass of mar oh, woods and so much
barbed wire that our clothes were literally
torn to pieces. We never stopped
for anything, and while we would be
held up for a time by a machine gun
nest, the nastiest thing infantry ever
had to fight, our boys kept going and we
took three towns the two days we
were in. Old Joe Jacobs got a piece
torn out of his neck, but will get a
wound stripe for a good scare and a
painful stiff neck. You know by my
being able to write to you that I had
my unusual good luck and did not get
x scratch but some awiui iucumi
inguish- I was getting a train of ammunition
off at the dump Sunday afternoon
and a Boche plane came down
Dn us and peppered us with his machine
gun, but didn't hit a single man,
but I was sure my time had come.
One never knows the feeling of being
directly shot at until he goes through
x battle. I wasn't scared, no time to
think about fear, but when a lull
would come for a few minutes and I
could see dying meh all about and
3hell holes as thick as they could be,
often overlapping, I wondered how I
got through It.
I am saving my maps all marked to
show you just what we went through
md such weather as we had the morning
at 4 o'clock when we went over the
top. It was dark as hades, raining In
torrents and cold as ice. I didn't have
my rubber boots off for days. Poor
r innicq like a erhost and the
U1U UVIM**o - w
colonel has been up so long that he
can't sleep at all. He held together
fine, though, and never seemed excited,
even when he saw some of his best officers
torn to pieces. The lieutenantf
were particularly fine and many ol
them will get their D. S. Cs.
I haven't heard a word from Dick
(Capt. Richard Fu'lp, Thirtieth Division)
since their last fight and do hope
that he is as lucky as I have been. 1
lived between fires with shells bursting
overhead from both sides for days
and nights. They certainly put up a
stiff fight and nobody thought about
peace. I do hope this thing is over
hut one never knows what he can stand
until he gets into itThe
colonel has just stopped in to
tell me something else to do and I will
i have to cut this shorter than I expect11
ed. I have a side car now and am go
Ing to quit Jolting myself on a horse
and blistering my heels walking. I
hear that we are to go into Germany
this week for patrol duty.
EXPERIENCES OF CAPT. PARKS.
Wounded Fort Mill Soldier H^me on
Furlough.
Capt. Samuel W. Parks of Company
G, One Hundred and Eighteenth Infantry,
Thirtieth Division, returned to
his home in Port Mill on a thirty day
furlough on Wednesday morning. He<
was severely wounded on the morning
of October 8, shortly after his division
want into the notable action between
' St Quentin and Cambral when the
Hindenburg line waa first broken. He
> had advanced probably three-quarters
' of a mile and waa in sight of Bran:
court the objective, when a bursting
> shell caused a fracture of the ankle
and a bad wound In his right foot The
same shejl caused the death of Walter
Leaser, a Fort Mill boy, who was near
him. Captain Parks waa carried by
German prisoners on a stretcher to a
first aid station, which was about three
miles to the rear and afterward received
treatment in a hospital in Abbeville
before being sent to a base hospital in
London, where he was confined to his
bed until December 1. On that day he
was permitted to wear his shoes and
put his foot on the floor. He left London
December 8 and arrived In New
York December 18, where he remained
' until December 27, when he was sent
to the base hospital in Atlanta
Captain Parks has seen considerable
service of various kinds since he left
the shores of the United States last
May. On board the transport which
carried him to the French port was
Harry Lauder, the Scotch entertainer,
| who gave several entertainments for
, the benefit of the soldiers aboard the
transport There were several months
n* oanHM In tho tmnrViAK In Bpleium
and northern France and his dlvlaloA
. was gradually moved southward where
they were more or less In action for
some time before the day of the big
battle when he was wounded.
Captain Parks is proud of the record
> made by the men of his company and
l has copies of the commendation received
from a number of high military
officials, beginning with Field Marshal
Haig. His company was especially
commended for its proficiency in bayonet
practice, though General Campbell,
tlte inspecting officer, told him
that they would not have much use for
the bayonet since the Boche would not
, stand long enough for them to get in
any efficient work. The hearty response
of his men to the call is best
, shown by the casualty lists. This was
, unusually heavy on the morning of Oc,
tober 8, but as Capt Parks was wound!
ed so early in the action, he has only
the report and commendation of his
superiors as knowledge that, his men
performed theis-duty at the last as ax.
the beginning, "It was they who, after
fighting their way up to their Jumping
, off place, in the face of almost frantic
resistance by the Germans, broke the
Hindenburg line .near Bellicourt, ai d
afterward, undaunted and unexhausted
by the heavy fighting, carried the battle
mnnv miles further toward Ger
, rpany."
, Captain Parks has been a member of
the Fort Mill Light Infantry since 1900.
He was elected second lieutenant in
1900 and afterward became first lieutenant,
which office he filled until June
8, 1915, when he was appointed captain.
He served in the Mexican border
campaign of 1916 from which he
returned to his home and took up civilian
work for four months until called
to the colors again on April 12, 1917.
His company served as bridge guards
until July 13, when they were sent to
Camp Jackson for training and on September
26 to Camp Sevier for intensive
training for overseas service.
He is an expert rifle shot and was
on one occasion a member of the South
Carolina team in the national shoot at
Jacksonville, Fla. On five occasions he
was a member of the state team. His
team has been the winner of several
, trophies, which he still holds with Justifiable
pride.
Captain Parks still finds the use of a
. stick necessary while walking, but is
able to get around readily. Except for
, his crippled foot he appears to be in
fine physical condition and has suffer,
ed from no illness during his service
except that produced by the sea on his
trip across the Atlantic. Fort Mill
fnlttmhin fitfl t A
Report of Farm Loan Board. Increase
In the lending power of federal
land banks and the grant of authority
for them to write fire insurance on
farm property were advocated by the
farm loan board in its annual report
submitted to congress last Tuesday.
Modification of the federal loan act so
as to make the minimum loan $500 instead
of $100, and maximum loans
$25,000 Instead of $10,000 also was
urged.
The report was described as cover'ng"the
first year of operation" of the
farm loan system, the first year of the
board being spent in organization.
"The year was one of very evident
progress," declared the report, which
contained a table showing that farm
loans Increased from 1,839 to 3,349
during the year; that the capital of
tne 12 leaerai lanu uunno iwuaocu
i from $10,488,^O to $16,250,285; that
loans in force Increased from $29,816,304
to $149,004,439; that point stock
banks increased from four to nine;
and their loans now amount to $7,380,734;
and that interest rates of the
land banks was 5 or 5} per cent, and
that of stock land banks was 6 per
cent.
Interesting information as to the
application by borrowers of loans
from the land banks was given in a
detailed statement dealing with about
one-third of all the loans closed by
the banks. This statement showed
that 8 per cent of the proceeds of the
loans were used to buy land; 10 per
cent for buildings and improvements;
60 per cent to pay off existing mortgages;
10 per cent for payment for
other debts; 5 per cent for purchase
of bank stock; 4 per cent for purchase
of livestock, and 3 per ceht for implements
and equipments.
"The loaning of over $150,000 has
been of distinct and direct benefit to
more than 64,000 borrowers" declared
the report, "and has been of indirect
honAflt to everv aoDllcant for a farm
' loan through private agencies.
1 "A distinct reduction, not only of
the rate of Interest on such loans, but
, also in the accompanying charges,
. was manifest Immediately after the
1 passage of the act."
IN DARKNESS AND LIGHT
Conditions In France Before and
After Signing of Armistice
, i
DELIRIOUS JOY OVER GREAT VICTORY j
Major John W. McConnell Talis of In*
teresting and Inspiring Experiences '
' In Personal Cetter Bearing of the
American Wounded In the Hospitals '
Frenchmen Look Upon Americans '
as Saviore November 11 Was a Day '
\
When Everybody Came In for Hug* |
i ging. I
The letter below is from Major J.
Wilson McConnell, a former cltlsen of i
York county, now in the medical service
of the American expeditionary :
forces in France, to Mr. W. D. Grist of i
Yorkvllle. It was written as a person- I
al communication; but Mr. Grist, be- 1
lleving that it is deserving of publicity, f
along with the most Interesting contrl- '
butlons that York county bojs have <
made to the contemporary history of
the War, has taken the liberty of print- <
lng it In full. It will be read with <
pleasure by the public generally, and
will be of especial interest to Dr. Mc- I
Connell's numerous friends and acquaintances
In York county. It is dated
"Base Hospital No. 30, A. P. O. 711, '
Royat, France, Deoember 8, 1918.
Dear Mr. Grist: , i
A bunch of Enquirers reached me i
this week and gave me all ,the news I ;
had been waiting for; but much of it <
was sad, of course, as the influenza ep- 1
idemic had carried off so many of my ;
friends in York county. You had as 1
hard a time there as we did over here,
and it was bad enough here. Fortu- i
nately, it subsided rapidly and wV are r]
tree of it now and have been for sev- <
eral weeks. - .1
As you see from my address, I am no 1
longer with the same outfit, but am J
now in south central France in the '
beautiful Avergne mountains, Province
of Poy-deDome. \
My experience in France so far has I
been fortunate and interesting, and 1
since the censorship is removed I may 1
mention some of it to you. ]
I landed at Brest after a thirteen- <
day voyage over smooth seas, being in i
the largest convoy on record, for 70,- 1
000 landed the day we did. No sight
could have been more magnificent than i
this immense convoy steaming into the i
harbor on a fine day with the coast of <
Brittany showing its best, airplanes i
and dirgibles overhead and many de- <
stroyers, painted like Joseph's coat, i
flirting all around us.
We had three submarine attacks on i
the way over; but boat them off, for 1
we were well convoyed and ships were
all armed. The fights were so exciting "
that oy hardlj^fj^any fear, for. w?en
the sub came up,, one comparatively '
near, several ships opened fire and you i
could see the shells hitting the water
and sometimes ricocheting a long ways
further on. When the destroyer dropped
three depth bombs it put a quietus
on the attack, and made some nice
geysers in the water too.
From Brest I came straight across
France to the Vosges mountains, as
our hospital was located on the Meuse
river. A very small river it is, hardly
larger than Fishing creek, but they get
a good bit of power from it as it is
swift. We arrived when the push was
on in the St. Mihiel sector and the Argonne
drive was beginning?an interesting
time.
Train after train of wounded came
back to us from the field and we were
busy day an'* night for awhile. I believe
evacuation hospitals see more of
the real horrors of war than any other
place, but you marvel at once how "
quiet everything is. Men come in shat- t
tered to pieces and never a murmur
hardly from any of them. Most of
them have been so thoroughly tired
out by the action and the excitement
that they sleep under all circumstances.
I have seen men sleep in the operating
room, waiting' their turn to be put
on the table lying on a stretcher
sound sleep when may be his arm
was to be amputated when his turn
came to go on the table.
Courage and bravery are the rule, it
was exceptional to see a man show any '
signs of the white feather. I operated
on German prisoners as well as on our
own wounded and they received the
same treatment, but always our own 1
men were waited on first.
Though wo were a good many miles '
from'the actual fighting, we could hear '
the guns and see the flashes at night as 1
the heavy artillery bombarded the 1
lines of communication around Metz,
and an occasional Hun plane would '
come over us and make us darken our 1
huts and keep quiet for awhile.
The darkness up front is one of the J
greatest hardships, for all truclcs have
to move without tights and it adds
both to the danger and confusion.
- - Ak. I_ t
Wish I could tell you some 01 me interesting
stories I picked up from the
men as they came In from the field
wit, humor and pathos all intermingled.
To have been in France when the armistice
was signed was to have witnessed
one of the great events of the
world's history, and to describe It t
would be futile. To exaggerate the (
scenes would be impossible. I was
hugged and kissed more than ever be- 1
fore in my life, and I presume it was (
the experience of every American soldier,
for I am sure I got my full share.
While like all men I am not averse to
being embraced by a stunning looking
woman on the streets without the formality
of an Introduction, It was the
attention from the old fathers and
mothers that really touched me most ,
deeply and I have seen many an Amer- j
lean shed tears when some old mother (
would hug him and thank him for delivering
her son from prison as If the ,
American had been personally responsible
for it- |
I remember one old farmer and his ]
wife who met me on the street the day ,
of the armistice. They had driven In
from town to share in the good news,
the bells were ringing, the cannons
were firing salutes, and this old man
and his wife were beaming with Joy.
The old man took both my hands, his
wife put her arms around fne and gave
me a vigorous hug, while she said:
"Thanks to you, thanks to America,
my poor boy who hM boon a prisoner
(or two y*ar* now will com* bom*. My
other son died for his country 'mort
pour la Petri*.'"
These people knew what war meant
They had had four years of It and had
lost two million men, and th* streets
are full of cripple*. I was at a hospital
today for th* blind soldiers?
nothing can be mora dopresatnc.
I was In Paris the day of th* celebration
of the liberation of AlsaceLorraine
and heard the speeches of
President Poincare, Clemenoaau, and
Marshal Joffre on that occasion sad
witnessed the parade of the famous
Alpine chaueseurs and other military
units down the Champs-BIyseee. semethins
I had always wanted to see the
parade of the victorious troops under
the Arc ds Triomphe.
The demonstration was a picture.
!#* % ? U thai. ??
Hi*u/ .TVl?a.UUl.HO WV1V tu UIOU 5a/ yiw
vinclal dress. The statues of the lost
provinces which had . been veiled in
mourning since 1870 were decked with
say (lowers and (lags, overhead eecadrilles
of airplanes, about fifty in all,
circled, did stunts, dropped confetti,
burned colored lights and gave such a
show as one could hardly lipaglne.
They released at the conclusion of
President Poincare*s speech, 1,000
carrier pigeons which had been collected
from all over Trance to carry
the meseage back to their homoa
With the pigeons and air craft and the
parade going on at the same time it
was worse than a three-ringed circus
to witness.
Prom the Vosges sector I was sent
down to this place a famous resort
mineral springs and fine hotels like
Saratoga Springs, and we use about a
dozen of these big hotels for hospitals,
it is quite unlike living in barracks,
for some of these rooms which are
now occupied by wounded Americana,
cost about $10 a day in peace times,
ind we have a One park around the
place and all conveniences of any modern
place. In fact there are few places
in America that would be equal to this
which has been for many years (he
favorite resort for royalty In Europe,
rhe baths here were first built by the
Romans and some of them are in a?ood
state of preservation. They had
furnaces for heating the mineral waters
and big swimming and plunge
bathe. Three miles from, here is the
plateau where Julius Ceasar and Verilngetorix
met in battle which you
ind I read about in Caesar's Gallic
war. \
Some day ws will hear the welcome
news, "All aboard for home," and. the
sooner the better, for since the war is
over I find few 'men who Want to remain
in an army of occupation. .Every
clay I meet some one from the Carolines
and the talk is always on "back
home," for interesting as it la hare it
does not satisfy us like home. We will
have a good Christmas dinner for the
markets are good here and the Red
Crow has supplied what extras are
needed, but most of the men wilt be u
thinking that other dinner you are
an joying "down home."
Yours very truly
John W. MoConnell.
HI8 VIEW OF THE FRENCH
Lewis M. Grist Does Not Think They
Compare Favorsbly With AmSr?cans.
Lewis M. Grist, of The Enquirer mechanical
staff, now with the American
expeditionary forces in Prance, is not
especially pleased with this Job or the
French people as a whole, certainly
not with those with whom he has
come in contact In a recent letter
home he says: "If there were anything
to do here I would not'mind doing it;
but since there is nothing to do, I
would much rather be at home. - The
Bailors tell me that the Atlantic is very
rough at this season; but I would not
mind going through a week or so of
tea-sickness, if necessary, to get back
to my work Is the office, because from
naai) MA
wnai you Bay you vcruunij um -WW
there. We are not doing anything *
much but loaf around all day, with but
little or no diversion, and it, looks, like
it is raining pretty much all the time
here. I am In the little town of La
Polline, not a great distance fromJle* mm
chelle. The camp is on a rock; but
nevertheless there is such an accumulation
of mud that it has to be raked
up in piles as the people in the cities
of the States rake up snow. And these
French people! Why, you can say
what you please about them; but they .
make me tired. They are good for
nothing and lazy. They depend for a
living mostly on selling stuff to us soldiers
at a ddfcen prices, a little steak
as big as your hand for 96 centa and
two eggs for a dollar. Bah, if we had
to pay for our living out of our monthly
pay, we would starve to death; but
fortunately Uncle Sam is able to feed
us pretty well in addition to our clothing.
But these French, in spite of all
that has been said about them, I can't
help but think they are trifling or at
* nf thorn that I see are trlf
UCSLf uiwv v? - ,
ing. You see them getting out in the
streets of this village, streets about
three feet wide, and chewing the rag
with each other half a day about nothng
A few days ago while I was talk- ng
to a Frenchman, a "business man,"
ibout up to the average of this place, ?
who wanted me to buy some smoking \
tobacco, because he could not buy it
limself, three Algerians came along.
Those are good soldiers," he said.
'Good as that one over there" I'asked,
pointing to an American negro. "No,
10, no!" protested the Frenchman,
'but good as the Germans or Stagish!"
Well, it is my opinion that if
the French had gone after the German
at the beginning as the Amerltans
did, the war would not have last>d
a year."
Ths Lion and the Liar. "The Ger
nan communiques are very much like
the lion story," said Senator New, the
other day.
A big game hunter was telling lion
stories and one of them ran like this:
"And then, gentlemen, I met a magnificent
lion face to face. The brute
lashed its tail from side to side, gave
one mighty roar, jumped and missed
me. Yes, sir, he went three feet over
my head. Then, in mortification, he
slunk away into the jungle.
"But that is not all. Would you believe
it, later the next day, in another
part of the jungle I came upon a
stretch of clear space, and there was
that self-same lion practicing low
Jumps." Los Angeles Times.