Evening Republican, Volume 22, Number 157, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 5 July 1919 — Page 3

This is the dog catcher of a town in that part of Java that was devastated recently by the eruption of the volcano of Kalut. Some 15,000 persons are said to have lost their lives. The dog catcher in that region is important 'because the natives are fond of roast canine flesh.

SEEING BATTLEFIELDS AND RUINED AREAS OF FRANCE FOR FIRST TIME

Writer Describes Sensations Experienced at First Sight of Devasin Wakeof War—Admiration forthe Wonderful Spirit of the French People—Abandoned War Material on All Sides.

By C. 8. CLARK. Paris, France.—Standing amid the ruins of Fort Douamont, just beyond Verdun, and surveying the spectacle of ruined villages, the tortured earth, the wasted and shell-torn regions—the awful destruction and desolation stretching league after league in ev--1 ery direction —one does not feel that the peace terms handed to the German delegation at Versailles are too severe. One cannot look upon this work of fiends and feel that any punishment or any indemnities are 100 great for the nation responsible for the scenes that are everywhere apparent throughout the * northern part of France and Belgium. We followed the road taken by the second and third American armies on their way to the Argonne and Chateau Thierry sectors. Over hills, through valleys and quaint villages runs the road, as straight as an arrow for over a hundred kilometers, (about two kilometers to a mile) bordered on both sides by trees, which when their foliage is out, forms a complete archway of the road. So straight are the roads constructed by the government that frequently you can see the next town at a distance of ten miles, usually with the cathedral standing apparently at the head of the street Villages nestling on the hillsides or perched on the crest of a hill, come into view and disappear as we speed along an almost perfect “rue nationale" which connects the principal cities of Francq. Scenes of Great Beauty. These picturesque villages, with their houses of cement or stucco, redtiled roofs, upon a background of green, present a scene that would enrapture the heart of an artist. The colors of the scenery and the sky in France are Incomparable. Passing through Claye, Meaux and Montmirail toward Challons, there are acres of farm land on both sides of the roadway. Hundreds of acres are under cultivation and one wonders where the men and women who till the land come from, for often there are no houses in sight for many miles. At the inn of the “Gallant of the ' Green Castle” in Montmirail, we stopped for the night. The inn had not been heated for months and, of course, the bedding was very damp. Otherwise our rooms were most homelike and we spent a comfortable night. While the dew was still upon the grass we speeded toward St. Menehould and Verdun. Soon we came to within sight of the first grave—it was that of an aviator—in the center of a wheat field. The soldier had been buried whfere he fell. We passed hundreds of such graves during the next few hours. The roadway was becoming more uneven where the shell holes had not been filled up, and we found it necessary to reduce our speed. Entire villages were deserted, and gaping shell holes in the houses, the shattered roofs

Yankee Horseshoer Found Shell Had Spoiled Horse

Joseph Wolte, son of Councilman George Wolfe, of St. Clair, Pa., recently returned from Francer"had one of the oddest experiences of the yrar, as his comrades tell it. Wolfe is an expert horseshoer, and while putting a shoe on a horse in France, he was astonished when the animal collapsed on to him. Looking to see what was the matter, Wolfe saw that a shell had taken the horse’s head off, cutting it as clean as if dope by a knife.

WHERE VOLCANO KILLED THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE

Land the devastation needed no explanation. We passed abandoned airplanes, army trucks,- camions and guns of every description. We passed numerous German prison camps. Eight hundred thousand prisoners are being utilized wherever possible in repairing the buildings, roadways and the part of the damage they have done. The Debris of War. Nearing Verdun we came upon many storehouses filled with ammunition —shells, hand grenades, and other war material —that has never been from the containers. What to do with the tons and tons of this ammunition Is one of the af-ter-war problems. Mlles and miles of narrow-gauge railroad lines ■» were constructed over which the ammunition and supplies were sent to the front. These railroad tracks, for many miles, are still undisturbed. Not a single entire house remains standing in Verdun, at one time the home of 25,000 civilians. Where once there were homes is now only a mountain "of stones, brick, rubbish and gaping walls. The fort is intact —at no point did the German guns penetrate the walls. We walked through four miles of tunnels' under the forts, in which the inhabitants lived with the soldiers during a part of the time the city was under fire. Fort Donamont, ten miles beyond Verdun, is merely a heap of stones and debris, entirely surrounded for miles by tom and tortured earth resembling a plowed field, excepting for the the craters made by exploding shells. Here 'were the bones and skulls of dead Germans, empty shells, helmets and gas masks. Some of the dugouts remain in the hillsides. This is a most desolate spot on the earth excepting possibly “No Man’s Land” between Challons and Reims. Reluctantly we retraced our steps and returned to Ste. Menehould. Here we found an inn where we put up for the night. Bright and early with the sun at our backs we started on a 70-mile ride to Reims. By noon it was snowing hard. The road between Challons and Reims had not been put in as good repair as in some other sections. Shell holes forced us to proceed cautiously. Desolation Everywhere. We followed the Hindenburg line, which we crossed and recrossed several times during the morning. Miles of barbed-wire entanglements, dugouts, trenches and abandoned huts stretched along the roadway. No Man’s land stretched before ub for miles. We reached Fort de la Pompelle shortly after noon. The.fort had been leveled to the ground, but we were able to proceed 70 feet below the ground and along the tunnels leading to No Man’s land. The bones of dead boches and horses are still unburied. Here we found abandoned tanks and guns. Reims, a city of 125,000 before the war, with many fine public- buildings, including the cathedral, now has less than a dozen buildings standing and a population of 7,000 people. Refugees are just beginning to come back, and a few sh&ps are being opened. The beautiful cathedral with its wonderful .stained glass windows where kings have beep blessed, is a mass of ruins with nothing but the walls standing. German prisoners were removing the stones, bricks and mortar from where the roof had fallen to the auditorium below. It was estimated that it would take a hundred prisoners weeks to remove the debris. German prisoners are being used to repair the parts of the buildings that can be used as temporary quarters and in rebuilding the sewers and water systems. It was here we saw Germans hitched to wagons taking the

THE EVENING REPUBLICAN, RENSSELAER, IND.

place of the horses they have killed or stolen. Work of Fiends. The members of our party shuddered as we gazed on the spectacle of this ruined city. Could this be the work of men or of fiends? Can such wounds be hehled? Can the Germans who inflicted this destruction ever obtain forgiveness? To those in America whose only interest in war has been a desire to get over here “before everything is all cleaned up.” I can send the message that they need not fret if they are delayed a year or two. Their children’s children will still look upon the ruins of Invaded France. With the sun of spring but a few days old, It already begins to smell bad in western Belgium and northeastern France. 1 JBones of men and horses are all about unburied. Great piles of ammunition and lines of trenches lie just as if the troops had marched away yesterday. No progress has been made in the restoration of homes, factories or stores. Mlle after mile we sped through wrecked towns and villages in which civilian residents are just being permitted to return. - Vicious Desecration. We stopped at a once famous country villa. The beautiful home had been occupied by German officers. When we went from room to room and found filthy pictures and obscene poems scribbled and scrawled upon the walls, when we found priceless tapestries with spikes deliberately driven through them, when we found statuary deliberately knocked about with rifle butts and everything movable carried away, we wonderech what sort of men had dwelt thereip. Just as it seemed our hearts could stand no more, we came upon a little group of laughing, klssing_ country folks —one of our party caught enough of the conversation to learn that mamma goat had just successfully increased the population with a baby goat—and France could even smile with so little assistance. We returned with increased admiration of the French nation and a greater appreciation of the hardships that had been endured so heroically. Martyrdom of France. No more pregnant emotion can grip the human Soul than those inspired by the scene we had beheld. Here men fought for empire and left their mark on nature. These ruined villages, this tortured earth, this awful desolation —stretching for miles in every direction —unite in showing tf’hat men will do when they put on the livery, of imperial militarism. We know now what prance has suffered, ahd we know that all she has lost is a loss to the whole world. Her awful martyrdom, her heroic endurance, her indomitable fortitude cry aloud from these heaps of stone which were once peaceful homes or the centers of Industrial prosperity, now stilled for a brief time only. In this war the spirit of evil sat upon the throne and sent his slaves, to challenge civilization. In the providence of God the end was certain. That end we saw on the battlefield, for there despotism died and the new justice for France and fer the cause of right was born. We returned to Paris through Chateau Thierry \yith the conviction that not a tenth of the devastation, destruction and looting has ever been told or ever can be. I have since read the peace terms with a new understanding and I do not wonder at their severity. , .

SPIDERS “CUT IN” ON CABLES

Insects Interfere With Telegraphic - Work in South- America by Causing Short Circuit. • Buenos Aires —Spider webs are working havoc with land ends of cable communication from Argentina, Brazil and parts of Chile to'the United States, as well as interfering with interior telegraphic routes in South America. • rThe ground spider spins a heavy web which the wind sometimes wraps around the wires. These masses become very damp during a humid spell and short circuits are caused. Large forces of linemen are following the wires across the pampas and the mountains, removing the accumulations.

FIRST TRIPLE PLAY

The American league has the : hr.nor of making the first triple : play, registered in the two major : leagues this season, and it fell : to the Chicago White Sox to : turn the trick. Oscar Felch to : Charles Risberg was the play ; and it cut off a rally by Wash- ■ ington in the eighth inning after ■ thg Senators had scored three ; rims. .

AINSMITH MAKES HIT WITH TIGER OUTFIT

Former Washington Catcher Is Popular in Detroit. Snappy Action, Constant Chattpr and Shrill-Like Whistle Have Made Him a Pronounced Favorite. Copies Cobb’s Style. Eddie Ainsmith, former Washington catcher, Sias jumped into popular favor with the Detroit fans. While the Tigers have always boasted of capable backstops, they have not been the “peppery” kind. Ainsmith, with his snappy action, constant chatter and shrill-like whistle, have made him a pronounced favorite in Tigerland. Ainsmith is catching better than ever and hitting, in fine style. He has changed his system at the plate; Figuring Ty Cobb fair hitter, he copied the Georgian’s style, and seems to be getting away with it. Let Eddie tell the story himself. “I’ve got the wrong style, fellows,” Ainsmith announced to several of the Tigers one afternoon on the spring training trip. “I like Ty’s short, snappy swing, and am going to bat that way. No more .200 average for me; I’m out to graduate into the .250 class this summer. So day after day during the exhibition games the catcher seldom took his eyes off Cobb when the outfielder was up, practicing an abbreviated swift swing from the shoulder himself Instead of a long sweep from far behind. He began getting results immediately. All of his hits have been sharp drives of the Cobb brand, too. Cobb does, swing differently than most hard hitters. No one follows

Eddie Ainsmith.

- through any farther than he does, but he keeps his bat almost in front of him when the pitcher is winding up and then brings it back to his shoulder when about to hit. By starting his bat from this position he undoubtedly gets more accuracy, and it also probably helps him to chop balls through the infield or into vacant sectors of the outfield. It may keep him from pulling as many long drives into right as some lefthanded batters do, but he gets more hits than the others. • . Anyhow, Ty is probably satisfied and Ainsmith will not go back to his old style, at least not for the present. Oh, yes! Eddie also walks to the plate with three bats, pumping them over his right and then the left shoulder. Of course, that part may be due to superstition, so prevalent among ball players.

SMITHS, MILLERS, JONESES

Names Are Quite Prominent on Roetens of Various Major League Clubs This Season. The names of Smith, Miller and Jones are quite prominent on the roster of the various major league clubs. A glance over the lineups shows Elmer Smith with the Sherrod Smith with the Robins, Jack with'Mie Cardinals, George with the Giants, Earl with the Browns, Jimmy with the Reds, and J. Carlisle with the Braves. Jack Miller is with the Cardinals, Otto with the Robins, Elmer remains with the Yanks, and Frank is with the Pirates. The Jones family is represented by Bobby of the Tigers, Sam of the Red Sox, John Paul of the Giants and Johnny of the Yankees.

OLLIE O’MARA, INDIANAPOLIS PLAYER, IS FAIR HITTER AND A FAST FIELDER

In Ollie O’Mara; Brooklyn Infielder, released to Indianapolis, the A. A. fans will see a speedy and smart ballplayer. O’Mara is a product of Darby’s Patch, St. Louis, where he was born in 1892. He is one of the smallest ball players in captivity so far •s height and weight are concerned, standing five feet seven inches and weighing 148 pounds. He is large In Ihinking capacity, however, Is a fair Wicker, a fast fielder, and a speedy base runner. Drafted by Tigers. O’Mara won his spurs with the Trolley league in St. Louis in 1910 and graduated to Hannibal in the Central association, where he played in 1911 and 1912, batting .281 the second year. The Detroit Tigers drafted him in the tall of 1912 and shipped him to Providence in the spring of 1913. After playing 37 games with the International leaguers he was sent to Evansville of the Central league, which

SCORE HANGS ON FENCE NAIL

St Paul Lost Game to Minneapolis In Peculiar Manner, According to Frank Isbell. Frank Isbell, one-time first .baseman for* the Chicago White Sox, recently told of one game where the result hung on a nail. “In 1898 I was pitching for St. Paul,” said Isbell. “We were not allowed to play Sunday games inside the corporation limit, and so a little park had been fitted up outside for Sunday play. The park was extremely small. The field was so short that a fence 12 or 15 feet high had been built behind It. to keep the balls from going out of bounds. “As a consequence of the small field it was almost impossible to hit out better than a two-bagger, “One Sunday we were playing Minneapolis. I was pitching for St. Paul.

Frank Isbell.

Minneapolis was at bat in the last half of the ninth inning, and we were two runs ahead. There were two men out and two men on bases. The next man at bat lined out a high fly. It struck the high center field fence, about 12 feet from the' ground, and everybody was certain we had the game won. • “But we didn’t The ball struck the f ence —and stayed there. It struck directly on the .sharp end of a wire nail,'and before we could get a stepladder and clinft) up after it, the Minneapolis nine had its three runs in and the game was over.” ,

later him owrTtrFort Wayne. Boss Ebbets of the Brooklyn Superbas, had seen him play with Providence, and kept his eye on the little fellow, with the result that he was bought by the National league club that fall. He was given a chance in 1914 and was making good when he broke his leg in a collision with Catcher Klllifer of the Phillies, and was out for the remainder of the season. He came back in 1915, playing short In 149 games, batting .244. Helped Win Pennant. In 1916 Ollie helped Brooklyn to a pennant, playing shortstop and fielding and batting only fairly, although his all-round work was good. He was supplanted by Mike Mowrey at third in 1917 and shipped to Oakland, but finished the season with Atlanta in the Southern league, making such a fine record that he was recalled last year. He batted .306 for Atlanta in 1917. , “ '

BASEBALL STORIES

Grover Lowdermilk, castoff of the Browns, may make good with the Sox. • * • Pitcher Bill James has been sold by the Detroit Tigers to the Red Sox * * * Cyril Slapnlcka seems to be having trouble as a comeback with Birmingham. • • • If it wasn’t for Pitcher Sam Crews, Birmingham would be up against it in the Southern league race. Thlrd x Baseman Billy Webb of the , Birmingham team is out of the game with a dislocated knee. ♦ • ♦ ’ “Go out and get ’em early,” that’s the dope of the gingery and watchful Gleason, who never sleeps on bis job. * ♦ v Brooklyn critics are complimenting Ernie Krueger on his good work in handling the pitchers for Robinson’s team. « • * • Nick Altrock, who is a good old scout, had gone out sleuthing for the Washington club “for pitching material.” • * *. * C. L. Bigbee, who is playing center field for the Pittsburgh Nationals, is a very promising newcomer to major league circles. , • • • When Tony Faeth pitches the Milwaukee fans can generally count on a victory, but one pitcher does not make a ball team. o * * • George Sisler, star batsman and first baseman of the St. Louis Browns, was slow in getting started this spring, ‘but now appears to have reached his stride. • • • Fewster removed his cap to Umpire Connolly in a recent White Sox game and it was the last he saw of the combat. Some of the umps ares, overpeevish. • * * Take cracks at Tex Westers!! if you will, but Walter McCredie says he has been a winning factor on the Portland team since he joined it and was stationed at third base. • • • Former Doughboy Urban Shocker of the St. Louis Browns is making a lot of his critics sit up and pay attention. Unlike his pal of the army, Grover Alexander, Urban has been going great guns since coming back. * * • The Phillies are not having much luck with their shortstops. Not long ago Dave Bancroft was incapacitated by injuring his ankle and Ed Sicking, who was substituting, was put out of commission when he wrenched his ankle.