Evening Republican, Volume 22, Number 91, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 18 April 1919 — VOICES CONTEMPT FOR FOE FIGHTERS [ARTICLE]

VOICES CONTEMPT FOR FOE FIGHTERS

REPORTS OF FRATERNIZING BY AMERICAN ANO FOE TROOPS DENIED BY RED TRIANGLE ~ WORKER. Chicago.—Reports of fraternizing of allied and foe trdops following the signing of the a rm, st ice on the western front are denied in a letter from H. B. Stecher, Racine, Wls., received at’the offices of the-national war work council, Y. M. C. A., here. Stecher was a Y. M. C. A. worker attached to the Ninety-first division. De served for more than six months on three fighting fronts —at St. Mihiel, in Flanders and the Argonne. Twice he was cited for bravery and awarded the D. S. C. Before going to France to serve as a “Y” worker Stecher was associated with the Hamilton Beach Manufacturing company at Racine. Formerly he was a member of the California National Guard when he was living in Los Angeles, Cal. His parents, Mr. and Mrs. M. D. Stecher, live in Chicago.

Referring to reports of fraternizing of the troops Stecher says: “Certainly there was no attempt or desire on the part of the men of our division to fraternize with our much-despised opponents, and had there been, the officers would not have permitted it. As a matter of fact the guns were going right up to the time the armistice went into effect. You see, our boys have had a mighty good chance to size up the caliber of the other side, and had the Germans shown any Indications of good sportsmanship in the fighting no doubt we would feel some little respect for them. Having been a doughboy myself in the past, and now having gone through all the fighting with my division, I believe my viewpoint is the same as that of the majority of our division, and, personally, I have the utmost Contempt for the German soldier, his methods and his Ideals.”