Evening Republican, Volume 22, Number 231, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 24 September 1919 — ARE THEY ALL ACCOUNTED FOR? [ARTICLE]

ARE THEY ALL ACCOUNTED FOR?

FRENCH BOY * WRITES LETTER TO SISTER TELLING OF TERRIBLE CONDITIONS. A government report recently released states that all but two of the American soldiers sent overseas to battle the Huns have been accounted for. Perhaps the elasticity used in making the survey accounts in a great measure for such an imposing record. However, one is reluctant to accept the report as absolutely correct upon reading the letter of a fifteen-year-old French boy, Charles Benoist by name, who has written his sister, Mrs. Samuel Duvall, of this city, telling of the terrible and amazing sights of utter disregard shown for the remains of soldiers killed in action on the battlefields of his country. The French lad’s letter, under date of August 20, and written at his home in Noyon, France, follows: My Dear Sister: I hope you received my last letter. The life here begins to get on my nerves, and I can’t find any wbrk. I had the idea of going into the electrical business, but I see there isn’t any work of that kind here. For the past three months we have been living like independent gentlemen, but without money, and that would like very much to come to America and be with you, but the folks don’t approve of my going now. Anyway, I wont’ give up hope. I send you here a few pictures of Noyon. Nearly every Sunday we, go to Vic-sur-Aisne to see our aunt, who lives in a nice little cottage given her by the government. Last Sunday we went 70 kilometers past Vic-sur-Aisne with our bicycles. We left at 5 o’clock in the morning and visited the front line from Chaunny to Soissons—Carlegont, Ribecourt, the farm Attache, etc. We went into a big stone quarry that had been used as a hospital. There we saw lots of French and American soldiers who had not even been buried. They had all of their clothes on and the beasts in the night came to eat them. It was awful to see and we left the place in a hurry 'because of the flies. We were afraid of getting the plague, but anyhow the scenery is still very beautiful about the great battlefields. Everything is as still as the day of the armistice. We found lots of interesting souvenirs and took home all kinds of trophies, German helmets, bayonets, rifles, etc. I found another nice German bayonet. I went further and saw a lot more dead soldiers. Beside them was a pile of khaki overcoats and inside one was the arm of a human being. * Here we are harvesting, but that won’t last very long as only a few fields are under cultivation. How many cows have yous We have all kinds of farming implements and many big tractors that belong to the government which they use to clear up flielfields. We are-now making cider and putting it in bottler. I hope you and the family are all in good health. Good-bye, my dear, sister. I hope to come and see you soon. ._ _ OHARLE S.