HAVE YOU REDEEMED YOUR WAR SAVINGS PLEDGE CARD?;
Monroe Jo
PUBLISHED TWICE EACH WEEK TUESDAY AND FRIDAY
TTR
VOL.24. NO. 94.
MONROE, N. G, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 24, 1918.
HOOPER Y&3CASIL
T A TT
WW ,
vi. sag
PRESIDENT WILSOX USITKI
1. S. HOSPITAL OX SSI XDAY
Mr. Wilson Sien( Four Hour at Red
Cross Hospital at Neuilly and
SIiHk Hands with One Thousand
itiiil Tno Hundred Americans,
"President Wilson to-day visited
tin' Red Cross hospital at Neuilly
where he shook hands and talked
villi one thousand and two hundred
badly wounded Americans for the
most part survivors of the Chateau-
Thierry action" says Saturday's Asso
ciated Press dispatch. It further
states:
"Speaking of his experiences at the
American hospital the President said:
" "I went through the American
hospital at Neuilly, with the greatest
interest and the greatest satisfaction
1 found the men admirably taken
care of and almost without exception
in excellent spirits.
" "Only a very few of them looked
really ill, and I think that their
mothers and their friends would
have been entirely pleased by their
surroundings and by the alert look
In their eyes and the keen Interest
they took in everything about them
" 'I am sure that they will go back
to their loved ones at home with a
new feeling of joy, alike in their re-
covery and in the fine service which
thev have been able to render."
"Going to the American hospital
with the expectation of remaining an
hour, the President found four hours
ull too short, as he felt that he could
not leave without speaking with ev
cry man, and he expressed regret
only of his Inability to clasp the
hand of every American soldier in
France.
PRESIDENT LOOKED SAD.
"The President looked tired, and
worn when the ordeal was finished
for notwithstanding the cheerfulness
of the men and the care which they
were receiving there were many af
fecting cases in the wards.
"When he came to one very badly
wounded the President sat on the
edge of the cot for a moment and
r.sked where he was from and where
he had bee nwounded. He admired
his war crosses and decorations
Noticing that many of his wounds
were In the legs, the President said:
" 'Why have we here no men
wounded In the tipper part of the
body?"
THEY WHO HAVE "GONE ON"
" 'Men who are wounded above the
waist are not here; they have gone
on," answered the soldier simply.
"One of the men the President
carae to stood , proudly erect with
medals on his blouse and one arm
outstretched In an applicance for re
storing its usefulness. He looked
suggestively like a traffic policeman
on duty.
" I am glad to see you look so
cheerful." said the President.
" 'You have seen me many times
before, Mr. President," responded the
soldier. "I used to be a traffic po
liceman at he Grand Central Station.
Dci't you think I look natural?"
"The President laughed softly. It
probably was the only merry moment
he had in the hospital.
PROUD OF A NAMESAKE.
"Another strapping fellow gave his
name as Private Wilson.
" 'I am proud to know I have n
namesake like you," said the Presi
dent.
" "It is a very honorable name.
only tried to do It proud,' responded
t he soldier.
"One soldier had lost both lees by
a shell. I am thankl'ti they didn't
get an arm," he said cheerfully.
Sunday was Wilson day In Ireland
Meetings were held in more than 40
towns and resolutions drafted invlt
ing President Wilson to "islt Ireland
and pledging him Ireland's support.
CHRISTMAS SURPRISE.
The Associated Press says that the
American army has planned a Clnist-
1111.3 surprise for the President and
Mrs. Wilson. The information given
out is as follov, s:
"Here is a guarded army secret
concerning the President of the Unl
ted States for publication In the Unl
ted States, but not in France. The
story has been passed by the army
cer.sor and concerns the welcome
that is being arranged for the Pres
ident at Christmas time.
The armv is arranging for Fres
ident and Mrs. Wilson a Christmas
tree as a surprise and also the most
gorgeous collection of German souv
enirs yet gathered by the American
army of occupation.
The souvenirs include officers'
gold and steel helmets, anti-tank gun
shells, swords, Iron crosses and the
like.
Passes good throughout the Third
army area for President and Mrs.
Wilson were Issued today by the
provost marshal.
How Americans Crossed the Meuse
(The Literary Digest.)
The American crossing of the Riv
er Muese, writes an Associated Press
correspondent, will go down in his
tory as a great deed of valor, and
the troops who accomplished it will
rank as heroes. The work, indeed,
was a strategic move of unusual dar
ing. It involved the forcing of a way
over the one hundred and sixty-foot
river, a half-mile-wide stretch of
mud, and a sixty sixty-foot canal in
the face of a tremendous enemy fire.
It also involved swimming by those
-who knew how and the pulling of
others over on ropes. The operation
it thus described:
The order to cross the canal came
at mid-sfternoon Monday. The troops
received tieir grim instructions un
der a sun which was shining for the
first Jime in days. The men knew
almost as well as their commanders
the difficulty of the task and realized
how well-nigh impossible Its accom
plishment vould be. Yet they never
doubted or hesitated.
The orders were to send over one
brigade first, and if it failed to send
another, and others one after the
other if this became necessary. It
was with dash that the Americans
tackled the problem. Theoretically
.they had the choice of crossing any
wnere tor uve nines. ACiuauy tney
were limited to one point, where two-
tliiiU of a mile of mud lay between
the river itself and canal that rough
ly ;nrallels the river.
The Germans were too firmly en
trenched at all other spots. They
had not protected themselves with
trenches here only because they nev
er dreamed that the Americans would
be daring ns to try to negotiate the
passage. This was a short distance
north of Erieulles.
All the swimmers of the first bri
gade were first singled out and put
in the van. It was intended to at
tack In this way on the theory that
the swimmers were not likely to be
hit by the Germans owing to the fact
that they would be nearly submerg-
ed. On the other hand, they could
carry with theni ropes and other par
aphernalia for assisting non-swim
mere across. The building of pon
toon bridges was put oil until at least
some American elements had crossed
the river.
Notwithstanding some losses and
the fact that the swimmers could
not defend themselves, many of them
reached the east bank of the river
with lines which were drawn taut
across the stream. Others floated on
rafts and collapsible canvas boats
These men had less success than the
swimmers, because they were better
marks for the enemy s rifles and the
boats could easily be sunk by bullets
even if their occupants were not hit
Close to where the swimmers cros
sed the engineers began to throw
over pontoon boats and a tiny foot
bridge. The pontoons were destroy
ed by the enemy, hut the bridge re
mained intact and added materially
to the constantly increasing numbers
of men arriving on the west bank
of the river. Soon after dark the
first brigade was across the first bar
rier, and more men were ready to
make the journey.
The second phase of the perilous
undertaking was crossing the kilo
meter of mud between the river and
the canal. The Americans stumbled
along through a withering fire by
the enemy. Their feet sank into the
mud, slowing down the pace to a lab
orious waJk, .but .jHuxj:ot -llHwicb.
with some depletion in their num
hers. Then came another gallant
achievement.
The next phase constituted the
crossing of the narrower but deeper
canal, with its sheer sides and the
Germans almost at the very top of
the eastern edge. The swimmers
again got into action and plunged
through, notwithstanding the t.iemy
fire, and scrambled to the lop. Here
the men divided their attention In
driving off the enemy and helping
non-swimmers across by the same
method used at the river. Two
bridges finally were laid down by the
eii'-ineeia, greatly facilitating cross
Inrs.
These two bridges withstood at
let. iis of die enemy to destroy them
at: 1 contributed largely to the spe;'d
in getting the American troops over.
Vhcn the swimmers reached the
ed.'e of the canal they could no land
without the j id of grappling luoks
which had to be caught onto the top
of the vail edging the canal so that
the swimmers could pull themselves
up by means of ropes. It would have
)- n a haul enough task for inen tin
e'isturbed by the enemy's guns, but
Its accomplishment was almost incon
celvubly difficult under the violent
enemy fire.
With two waterways and two-
third of a mile of mudland success
fully passed, the Americans had only
the customary fighting and went to
It with no delay and In ever increas
lug numbers.
The Germans, who apparently had
assumed that it was impossible to
cross the Meuse, gave way without
great resistance before men who
could brave their fire, swim two
streams, and cross a swamp with al
most charmed lives and attack them
without pausing for even a moment.
Henry M. Xlsbet of Waxhaw Dead.
Mr. Henry M. Nisbet died at his
home In Waxhaw Saturday morning
of pneumonia following influenza. He
was the son of the late Capt. T. K.
Nisbet, and was born in Lancaster
county March 8, 1880, being 38 years
old. For a number of years he had
been engaged In the hardware busi
ness at Waxhaw, first with the A. W.
Heath Co., and for the past fifteen
years as mrnager of the hardware de
partment of Nlven, Price & Co.
Mr. Nisbet was married on October
31, 1906, to Miss Metta Oates of
Rock HJU, who with two children sur
vive him. Mr. 0. L. Nisbet. editor of
the Waxhaw Enterprise, and Mr. T.
R. Nisbet of Waxhaw are half broth
ers.
The deceased was a good business
man and a devout Christian, being an
elder In the Presbyterian church and
superintendent ot the Waxhaw Pres
byterian Sunday school.
Funeral services were conducted
Sundav morning by Rev. W.W.Boyce,
Rev. R. J. Mcllwaine and Rev. Mr.
Myers.
Lanes Creek Camp W. 0. W. will
meet In regular session next Saturday
night. Dec. 28. All members must
pav their dues the first of each month
D. H. Parker.
PKF.S. WILSON TO VISIT ?
ENGLAND OX THURSDAY
(irent (lathering Will Meet the Presi
dent American Army PUuis
Christmas Surprise for 1'renlikiit
ami Mrs. Wilson Pusses Issutil
Throughout Third Army Area.
President Wilson will arrive "in
London on Thursday, a public Jieli
day, and this fact makes it certain
that a great gathering will await the
President's arrival.
The only handicap to would-be ob
servers is the fact that the distance
from the station to the palace is so
short that it is likely there will be
many persons who will be unable to
get places from which they can wit
ness the passage of the royal Jtnd
presidential parties. r
A better opportunity to see the
President will be offered the public
when the American executive goes to
the Guild hall Saturday to receive an
address from the lord mayor of Lon
don. President Wilson then will tra
verse the route the king usually fol
lows when he visits the city for public
functions through the Strand and
Fleet street and past St. Paul's ca
thedral, and returning along the
Thames embankment.
camp ;rei:ne troubles.
U it is Abandoned it Threaten! Fl-
niiiicl.tl Disaster to Charlotte
C'luinilM'r of Commerce Commit
tee Mas Been to Washington to
tourer uilh Official.
If Camp Greene is abandoned by
the War Department it will mean fi
nancial disaster to the Charlotte
Chamber of Commerce, so states,' the
Washington correspondent of thei Ra
leigh News and Observer in Sunday's
paper. We can hardly believe this as
neither the Charlotte Observer or
Charlotte News have had a ford
about it in theirs news colunis or
anywhere else.
The News and Observer correspon
dence is as follows:
The adage that troubles come not
singly is peculiarly applicable to
Camp Greene in its relation to Char
lotte. The abandonment of the can
tonment does not wipe the slate
clean; entaglements have bobbed up.
The Charlotte Chamber of Commerce
is threatened with bankruptcy unluss
the War Department can take car,e of
the camp site for another twelve
months. - . ' r
The land was furnished the Gov
ernment, rent free, by the city of
Charlotte,, the respective-owneitf'of
the property obtaining the rentals
through the Chamber of Commerce
as taken by popular subscriptions.
The leases have been so worded that
if the camp occupies the land for a
week In 191!) a year's rent will have
to be paid. Senator Lee S. Overman
lo-day wired P. C. Whitlock, presi
dent of the Chamber of Commerce:
"Your camp site lease proposition
referred by General Jervey with his
favorable endorsement to the real es
tate, storage and traffic division of
the War Department under General
Goelhals with the recommendation
'hat the matter be taVt-n up-by that
division with the chamber of Com
merce with the view of arranging de
tails."
Corresponding to the contents of
that 'elegrain, the belief was express
ed this afternoon by Hubert Martin,
secret-iry to Senator Overman, that
the War Department would pav the
camp site lease for another year. The
unonnt will be approximately twenty
thousand dollars. "If this is not
done, I nm fr.tnl; to say that disns-
ter will most cerlainly overtake the
Chamber of Commerce," writes Pres
ident P. C. Whitlock. He states fur
ther:
"Sometime ago, I went with a com
mittee from the Charlotte Chamber
of Commerce to see General Jervey,
and took up with him the proposi
tion of the Government taking over
the leases of the Camp Greene site
for the next year, which are now held
by the Chamber of Commerce.
GETS SITE RENT FREE.
"The land on which Camp Greene
is located Is furnished the Govern
ment rent free, by the city of Char
lotte. We pay the rent to the vari
ous laud owners, and the leases are
so drawn that if the camp is occu
pied Tor any part of 1919, we will
have to pay rent for the whole year.
"The amount is in the neighbor
hood of twenty thousand dollars. The
Chamber of Commerce is dependent
upon subscriptions to pay this, and
If the soldiers are to be removed soon
which they will be, In the nature of
things. It will be impossible for us
to collect the subscriptions for the
year 1919.
"The troubles of Camp Greene
were due to no fault of ours, as we
complied with all the promises made
to the War Department, but were due
to circumstances over which we had
no control. This was succeeded in
effect by Secretary Baker some time
ago. This being so, it has seemed to
us that the Government could very
well afford to take over the leases
for next year, and pay the rent. If
this is not done. I am frank to say
that disaster will most certainly ov
ertake the Chamber of Commerce."
He Was Convinced.
An orthodox churchman objected
to wiping the dishes after each meal.
He insisted that it was not a man's
job.
His wife quoted th following
Scripture: "I will wipe Jerusalem as
a man wlpeth a dish, wiping It, and
turning it upside down."
The man U lUll witting dishes.
THE POLICY OF THE AM ERI
CA X ARMY OF OCCUPATION
They Amaze the Hot he hy the Total
Ijick of linij iiikI Austerity 1.
S. Army is Kept Kcyeil up to the
lsiii;l Strength and 11. is Adopted
t: Policy in Keeping With Ameri
can Ideals.
11. Noble Hall in a special wireless
from the London Times to The Char
lotte Observer says:
The American infantry and the ar
tillery and the cavalry have taken up
the positions assigned to them, and.
although eteryone realizes that the
war is over as far as actual fighting
is concerned, the American Army is
being kept keyed up to the same high
pitch as when hostilities were in
progress.
The effect upon the civilian pop
ulation of the great display of forces
wfiich the Americans have made
has been most noticeable. As regi
ment after regiment crossed the
Rhine and hundreds and hundreds of
pieces of artillery rumbled in an
element of respect entered Into the
attitude of the people which hitherto
had been almost entirely lacking.
They were Impressed by the youth,
the splendid physique, the lavish
equipment of the United Stales
forces; by the enormous quantity of
supplies, the abundance of rubber-
tired lorries and motor cars; and by
the business like manner in which
the American occupation is being
carried out. The impression created
upon a military people such as the
Germans is all the more extraordi
nary, as not even the most rabid foe
of militarism could accuse the Amer
ican Army of bowing down before the
god of war. Here we have the spec
tacle of democracy in arms occupying
an enemy territory with as much re
gard for their democratic ideals as
they would display if they were call
ed out to occupy one of their own
towns in a a time of industrial un
rest. MARTIAL LAW NOT RIGID.
Indeed, I have seen martial law
more strictly enforced in the United
Stales than it is to-day in Germany.
beyond the fact that the inhabitants
are requested to register with the
American military authorities and
must not change their abode with
out permission; that drinking places
can only be open at stated hours,
much the same as in London in war
time, and that the press Is subject
to censorship by American instead of
German authorities, there is no
change In the life of the people.
German civilians are not required
to salute "American rDffrc efs, '; the 1
American flag or the American nat
ional anthem. Indeed, I have yet to
hear "The Star-Spangled Banner"
played in Germany. In everything
the American Army doea there is a
close adherence to the old common
law maxim that a soldier is merely
a civilian garbed in a particular man
ner for carrying out specific duties.
Impressed as they undoubtedly are
by the display of "force without stint
or limit," the Germans are perhaps
even more amazed by the total lack
of pomp and circumstance in the
military establishment. The cold con
tempt with which the Britsh in their
sector have stretched forth an Iron
hand of unbending authority finds no
counterpart here, any more. than the
glory and glamor with which the
French have surrounded their return
to the Rhine. It is easy to misinter
pret the attitude of the American
rniy, but no one who has spent
many years in America and seen
that arm created, any other attitude
would appear unnatural.
GENEROSITY UTTERLY LOST.
The tragic feature of it that this
very genuine generosity, wl 'h is in
spired by a lofty idealism, is utterly
lost upon the Roche, who. cannot i"e-
oncile the possession of oerv hclm
ing force with an attitude of sympa
thetic toleration. Rut facts are facts.
and much as one must, regret that
the unity of command which achiev
ed such niagiiiiiceiit results in win
ning the war has not resulted In the
establishment of identical regula
tions throughout the entire occu
pied area, the bearing of the Ameri
can army Is In accord with both
American tradition and American
sentiment.
The Americans, as a Nation .have
been taught to do their own think
ing, and the whole American Army,
from the commanding general down
to the last private, is made up of
men who are conscious of what they
hoped to achieve for man-kind the
men to whom democracy has been
and now is an active principle of con
duct. They fought the Germans at
the Marne, the Vesle, St. Mihiel and
the Argonne forest with a valor to
which both friend and foe have paid
the highest tribute and, as fighters,
the "doughboys" have proved them
selves the equal of any soldiers in
the world. For months In the shell
shattered districts of desolated Fa nee
they slept on manure piles and amid
ruins. Of the real France they saw
almost nothing; only the scars of ra
vaged lands. They cheerfully endured
all the hardships of war that has
deprived hell of half Its terrors, and
now that the enemy has sued for
peace and accepted the terms of an
armistice which makes the resump
tion of hostilities almost Impossi
ble soldiers suddenly find them
selves transferred to the banks ot the
fair "Rhine" to live among scenes of
which Byron and Victor Hugo have
sung, believing in their hearts that
the war la over and confident that
Germany will be made to pay for the
damages done In France and Bel
glum. The American soldier now thinks
mostly of home. They know little
and care less about European politics
or international prestige. Here when
thru the streets and brightly light
ed towns or in charming old world
villages, they go to their billets and
they sleep iii good beds and between
real sheets for the Roche has lied
about his linen as he has lied about
his church bell." and his food a
hat'srau attends to their wants, and
all unconscious of the contemptuous
hatred of the junker, the youthful
soldiers of the ureal republic canno'
but feel a certain allurement.
In their hearts they have no ha
tred for the German people, and as
the Roche' is anxious to make his
own lot easier, the Americans find
here much to remind of the peaceful,
music-loving, beer-drinking Germans
they knew in their own country.
So the American army did entire
ly in accord with the wishes or those
in authority over it has adopted a
policy of occupation entirely its own.
Where Is .North Carolina?
(The Raleigh News and Observer.)
It is a good practice to look an
unpleasant fact in the face once in
a while. Two men were discussing
North Carolina a day or two ago on
a train passing down the road and
one remarked that the Slate was like
a pile of brick it had the making
of something, but until it was ce
mented together it needed a chart to
tell just where it is. He argued that
Western North Carolina is partly in
Tennessee. "Anything made up there
goes out that way," he said. "John
son City and Knoxville get you In the
west, Spartanburg in the south,
Lynchburg, Richmond and Norfolk
on the other end, and where is North
Carolina? Your cheese goes out over
the mountains to the west, and you
eat cheese that comes from Virginia.
lour apples rot on the ground and
your grocer sells you apples from
Vermont. Your peanuts go out to
Norfolk and come hack to you in oil
with sardines from Maine. All your
railroads are built to get away from
home on and to get your stuff out
to the other States, and to bring stuff
back from them Instead of to bring
stuff to you from home. Where is
North Carolina any way? If it isn't
sca'tered around over Tennessee and
Virginia everything it makes seems
to be."
Possibly there Is too much truth in
that criticism to object to it. Possi
bly the conditions are all right and
possibly they are not, but they are
not such that they sound good.
There Is no possible doubt that North
Carolina Is too far away from Itself.
The State boasts the greatest possible
rangfQgxiciiUural products, ior
instance, in a cantaloupe or a wa
termelon at Asheville costs as much
as diamonds, and who in New Bern
ever saw Watauga county cheese?
Damask cotton weaves made In
Kings Mountain may he sold in Wil
mington, but it Is after the goods
have been freighted to New York and
then freighted back again to this
State, No line of railroad that
touches the east end of the State
touches west end. Raleigh and Char
lotte and Greensboro are on lines
that run trains over two hundred
miles. Most of the other centers nev
er see a car that travels much farther
back and forth than to entitle It to
any name than a shuttle train. How
do you go from Wilson to Durham?
Go to the station neent and have him
ripher it out for you. How do voy
eo from New York to Jacksonville?
Take the Seaboard or the Southern
or the Coast Line trrtin straight thru.
Siinnle ns fnlling off a log. Rut it
takes a first lieutenant of intelligence
n work his wav with a detachment
nf t root's from Camp Brace at Fay
ettevlll" o the new wireless station
fit Monroe. Ask vonr station agent
how to jti a barrel of oil from Rnlti
more ni'd b answers you without
tonkin1 up froi Ms work. Ask him
ihr"t n sack of buckwheat flour from
Wilheshoro and he snvs to come in
n-niorrow and he will have it looked
Cm't th I.egis'Ttnre get North
Caraolina gathered up In some way?
fienium Pntpnndii Didn't Effect
Negroes.
(The Statesville Landmark.)
Early after the entrance of the
United States Into the war there
were stories of pro-German attempts
to incite an uprising of the negroes
in the South. The alleged attempts
aroused little lntetest, as they were
not generally believed,
A Bruce Bielaskl, chief of the gov
ernment bureau of investigation,
who has been telling a congressional
committee an interesting and de
tailed story of German propaganda
work in this Country, prior to and
after our entrance Into the war, for
which the German government paid
more than seven hundred and fifty
million dollars, says that efforts of
the Germans to create pro-German
feeling among the negroes of the
South proved entirely unsuccessful.
Stories were circulated to the effect
that the negroes were descendants of
the Indians and that they were right
ful owners of the land Instead of the
white people. Another story design
ed to create feeling against the Eng
lish, was a perverted account of the
aid given the South during the civil
war.
That he negroes were loval we all
know. In some instances they put to
shame their white neighbors. But If
is worth while to print this testimony
from a man whose business it was to
find the facts about the German pro
paganda. From the Inability of Government
to secure food for their people grows
revolution and chaos.
m
A XI MltKK MAKE SltS TIOS
REGARDING LEGISLATION
To .Messrs. lUilMine and (irillin
Want State High Stluiol Law
Changed (me Man Wanted Heavy
Ta On Lin! Hogs ;tcenl
it's Court Jurisdiction in Civil
Casts,.
A number of the citizens or the
coui.ty apptared before Messrs. R. B.
Reduiue and j:. H. Griltin, elected to
represent this county at the next leg
isluiure in the recent election, Thurs
day. Friday and Saturday of last
week to suggest legislation that they
would like to have passed. Sometime
ago Mr. Redwine extended to the peo
ple of the county through the local
papers an invitation to call on these
days and make suggestions.
Probably the suggestion most wor
thy or comment was one relative to
the Stale high school law. As the
law now exists hieh srhnnla in inm
of more than 1200 population are not
enuiieu to state aid. It was suggest
ed that this law be changed or so
amended that towns of more than
this population could secure state aid
where it was needed.
All who called to make suggestions
favored some kind of a dog law that
would tend to decrease th nnmk,
of worthless doss in the state. One
man wanttd an exceedingly high tax
placed upon bird dogs. It was his
opinion in.it this would be one of the
wisest ii;ves of legislation possible.
Seven i si.ggestioi-.s were made re
garding the Recorder's court. It was
proposed that a
which would be welcomed would be
one giving the Recorder jurisdiction
in civil cases where the amount in
question does not exceed $2,500. It
was suggested that if this was passed
that the salary of the
vi eaweu.
Another man who appeared before
the legislators-elect suggested that
the legislature should pass a resolu
tion expressing itself in favor of gov
ernment ownership of railroads. All
who called were in favor of good
roads. It seemed to be the prevailing
opinion that the chain gang should
be done away with. The reason ad
vanced for this was that it is being
run at a considerable expense and
that with the workings of the quart
law, and other whiskey laws, the
number of those serving on the roads
had materially decreased.
The legislature convenes In Ral-
elgh on 'January 7th. Messrs. Griffin
and Redwine will leave to attend it
about the 6th. Mr. J. N. Price will
twresent- lfe county -jrW the Senate, - -'
All the suggestions made last wee M
will be carefully considered.
SAVED ITALIAN ART WORKS.
Army Let X,,iie of Real Value Fall
Into the Invader's Hands.
(New York World.)
How Italy saved her art treasures
was explained yesterday by the Ital
ian Bureau ot Information in this
city.
In Italy, the boast of the Germans
that they had on exhibition in Berlin
a valuable collection of paintings and
sculpture, eaptuivd in the drive into
Northern Italy last fall, has afforded
great amusement to the people. It is
quite possible that the materialistic
Prussians may really believe that the
few pieces of art which the Italians
allowed to fall into their hands were
of real value, but the facts, according
to the article, are that only a very
limited and mediocre collection was
left to be plundered.
As soon as it became evident that
the Italian line was wavering, Ardui
no Colascenti, at tne request of the
Director Geeural of the Finance,
was placed in charge of the work of
siving the art treasures. The su
preme commander of the army plac
ed at Colasenti's disposal trucks, nec
essary timber, and men to carry on
the work.
There was not much time for delib
eration. The instructions were to
keep in contact with the enemy and
to remove art objects only when it
became evident that a town was to
fall. Colasenti was therefore obliged
to watch 400 miles of front and rush
his trucks and men to a yielding
point at a moment's notice.
To be ready for an emergency the
citizens had In the meantime prepar
ed for shipment all the works of art
In the threatened towns. Frequently
It happened that these were departing
on trucks from one side nf a tnwn
Just as the Austrians were entering
rroni the other.
In Beluno the citizens had boxed
up nil the collections in the Museum,
but there was no means of transpor
tation. The high command at once
supplied army trucks despite the
pressure of the moment.
In the meantime another nnrtv
went up further into the mountains
and saved paintings by Bunello and
memoirs In the original manuscript
of Pletro Calvl, and a painting by
Lorenzo Lotto. This was accomplish
ed white the Austrians were actually
in tne villages or gulnto al Sue and
Plave dl Cadore.
In manv nlanoa vMIa ilia Kniyi-
,- ' .. 1 1 'J Hie . V. 1.1
bardment was going on, the soldiers
would trv tn uvu frtrn frnm rt- -
structlon. Often their efforts were
unavailing, hut they did not give up.
and during their rest periods would
nrnwt imnnt tha rnlna anllortlna- inl-
ored plaster, which might be put to
gether again.
Mr. H. M. McCain ot Jackson
township has purchased ft registered
Jersey bull and intends to raise soma
high grade cattle.
::1