THE POLK COUNTY NEWS
PAGE THUEH
ARE TO BE HELD
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future: conferences to be
held as result of work
i. -. ' '
OF ARMAMENT MEETING.
Newberry Seated by Senate "
OTHER
MEETINGS
IftFAN-iFTATKiE
FLVKLL
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By JOHM DICKINSON SHERMAN j
OL. CHARLES S. WHIT
TLESEY'S "Lost. BattaK
ion" was never lost In the
Argonne forest for the five:
days, October 3 to 7. 1918.
It was a "Get-There Bat
talion," a "Hang-On Bat
talion," a "Surrounded
Battalion," a "Cut-Off Batr
talion," a "Never-Surrender
Jia.ttalion," but It was never for one
minute', a "Lost Battalion
' The newspaper correspondents, an
nouncing Its heroism to the world and
searching' for the picturesque, coined
the phrase "Lost Battalion."
Their ,"Lpst Battalion" phrase
stuck and. still sticks. It doubtless
was one of the things that drove
Whittlesey over the side of his ship
In the. night to an unmarked grave in
the sea. " It distresses the fifty-fifty
survivors of the Whittlesey battalion.
The American people must learn the
true, story of those unforgettable five
days in October of 1918;and the words
"Lost Battalion" should never be heard
asuin on American lips.
The detachment under command of
Colonel (then Major) Whittlesey was
composed of 600 men of the Seventy-
seventh division the First battalion
-..of. the-Three Hundred and Eighth in
fantry, together with elements of the
Tl ree Hundred and Seventh infantry
uml Three Hundred and Sixth Machine
5un battalion. The men were from
the upper and lower East Side of
Js ev York city. Most of them were
either immigrants or sons of immi
grants. '.. - . I
The Seventy-seventh division was or
dered to advance through the Argonne
forest. It was nineteen miles of jun
g!e, with steep hills, deep ravines.
sheer cliffs, swampy streams, barbed
'wire entanglements and machine-gun
nests and the Germans had held It
for four years!
- The advance began September 26.
October 2 the whole line of advance
was held up by concentrated machine-
?un fire. But th? orders were to ad
vance without regard to losses. Whit-
tisey's objective was a position In
l he Podket" where two , ravines
:ime together In a swampy place at
the foot of a cliff.
Whittlesey's battalion, after a - loss
o" ninety men and the capture of two
otticers and twenty-eight privates of
the enemy, gained its objective Octo-
And the Whittlesey battalion was
the only detachment that did fight its
way through and did gain its objec
tive . ' . - -m. ;
Soon Whittlesey's battalion was
S'trrounded and cut off. He notified
hVadquarters by carrier pigeons that
he was cut off. Thereafter there was
no communication for five days." Maj.
On. Robert Alexander, commanding,
Relieved Whittlesey would hold on and
tried desperately in every possible
way to open up communication. ;
Then followed five days of hunger
and thirst and death until the 600
were about 300. The Germans, who
w ere close at , hand, made Incessant
demands for surrender.
The Americans, so far as their re
gies are -printable, told the , Germans
" to come and get ''them. The-Jermans
didn't dare try that. They considered
It wiser to throw hand grenades and
to pick off the volunteers who crawled
to the spring after water.
On the fifth day it looked like death
for the whole American outfit. That
afternoon, at 4 o'clock, the Germans
sent in a captured American private,
with a white flag blindfolded.. He
Aore a letter from the German com
manding officer to the American com
manding officer asking the Americans
to surrender in the name xf humanity.
Colonel Whittlesey handed the note
OLDEST CONFECTION
The greater part of black, licorice
Is derived from Spain, where it Is
made from the juice of the plant and
mixed with starch to prevent It from
melting In hot weather. The licorice
plant is a shrub that attains a height
of three feet, and It grows wild where
its roots reach the water. It flour
ishes especially on the banks of the
Tigris and the Euphrates river. Since
the valley of the Euphrates contained
? -w hty S..T!ai V' Txi .
to Captain McMurty and to Captain
Hplderman. Then he put the letter
In his pocket witn a smile. Those with
him say he didn't say, "Go to h1!"
But the battalion said it out loud
and with additions that would singe a
Puritan's ears.
The odd-looking picture of this
scene (given herewith) is genuine. It
is an enlargement of a photograph
taken by a member of the battalion
with a w-rist camera. It Is one of the
most remarkable photographs of the
war.
Later that afternoon Whittlesey and
his' men heard the guns t)f the One
Hundred and Fifty-third and One Hun
dred and Fifty-fourth brigades forcing
their way in to them. . In the mean
time, Lieut Henrich rintz, the Ger
man officer who had sent the surrender
note, was arranging to use flame
throwers on the ' Americans. But the
Americans beat the Germans In the
racex against time. And at 9 p. m.
October 7 the relieving Americans
drove the Germans out and reached
the "Never-Surrender Battalion."
The "Come-and-Get-Us Battalion"
had reached its objective, had held Its
objective and the front of the Seventy
seventh division was stabilized.
I It was a big achievement for the
Whittlesey battalion. It was , every
where recognized as such. Whlttleseji
was made colonel and got the Congres
sional Medal of Honor.
i Whittlesey came home and took up
his law practice in New York city.
But he could not get away from the
war. He could not close his. ears and
eyes and heart to the pitiful aftermath
of the war. ,He was a center around
which the manifold woes of his men
revolved. The burial of the "Unknown
Dead" at Arlington was the climax.
He sailed for Cuba for rest. He dis
appeared from- the steamer In the
night. The war killed him just as
much as if he had died in "The Pock
et" in the Argonne forest.
Isaac Siegel Is one of the representa
tives in congress of New York. He
was born in New York city and repre
sents the district where most of Whit
tlesey's battalion came from. He was
chairman of the Overseas commission
which visited the front in 1918. The
constant reference' to the "Lost Battal
ion" exasperated him. The unem
ployment .of the survivors distressed
him. - Articles in New York newspa
pers intimating that the "Lost Battal
ion" was. well named angered him.
Whittlesey's sad end sent him to his
feet in the , house In defense of Whit
tlesey and his heroes.; He furnished
military proofs that the "Lost Battal
ion" was never lost, f
'; Ajjetter - from General Pershing to
Representative Siegel says In part :
"In brief. Colonel Whittlesey's com
mand was not lost. After it had been
Isolated frequent attempts were made
to furnish food and ammunition by
means of airplanes. Unfortunately, It
was very difficult for the aviators to
locate In the dense forest the position
one of the earliest civilizations in1 the
world, the probability is that licorice
Is about the oldest confection of. all,
and the taste which the ' boys 'and
girls of today like so well was enjoyed
by the youngsters of 3,000 years ago.
Washington Star. . .
. -The Unloved Task. v
Even w hen we have learned the or
dinary duties of lle, so they no longer
have .power to fret us or rob us of
sleep, , the unaccustomed, or the un
wanted retains a nightmare hold upon
of the battalion, which had been accu
rately Indicated pn the map. These
relief supplies fell into the hands of
the enemy. I mehtioh this as evidence
that the battalion was not lost in the
sense that we did not know where it
was. It was cut off.
"Colonel Whittlesey's command, in
making an advance, penetrated more
deeply into the enemy's position than
did the adjacent battalions. Communi
cation through the heavy underbrush
in the forest was difficult, and before
connection had been obtained with the
units to his right aind left rear the
Germans filtrated through the gaps
which then existed and eventually suc
ceeded In surrounding the battalion."
The official report of the command
ing general of "the Seventy-seventh di
vision, Maj. Gen. Robert Alexander,
made through the j regular military
channels in 1918? bears out the facts
set forth In the foregoing. It is In part
,as follows : j
"Major Whittlesey's command had
been cut off from thei remainder of the
division for a period jof five days, dur
ing which time no coinmunication had
been had with them except by pigeon
messages, copies of which are attached
hereto as part of this report. The men
of the command, had carried into ac
tion with them two jdays reserve ra
tions, upon which they subsisted dur
ing the five days of their Isolation. Too
much credit cannot be given Major
Whittlesey, Captain I McMurty (since
promoted to major), and the other of
ficers and men of this detachment. On
short rations, surrounded by enemies,
continually under fire, having suffered
losses of about 50 per cent, they still
resisted and treated; with -contempt a
demand for surrender made by the
German commander on the morning of
the seventh of October. Even though
this division had accomplished nothing
else during the course of this campaign,
the exploit of Major Whittlesey and
his detachment would be worth the
highest honor. It exemplified the in
domitable spirit which animates the
division and which- has enabled it
throughout to triumph over its very
serious obstacles 'which It has encoun
tered." .... j: : '. ..;
Americans must j forget the "Lost
Battalion" and rechristen Whittlesey's
heroes. . .' !.
nerves and brain. How often wef dis
like a duty simply because it Interferes
with a plan, and We stew over the dif
ficulties of our- particular lot and sink
the obstacle to peace in the same quiet
ness of spirit we bring to the task we
love. It is, perhaps, too much to ask
of humankind that work we love shall
be as alluring as that we loathe.; But
meet- the unloved task as a challenge
to strength and patience, as without
any doubt, in the sight of the angels,
something we need to do for our soul'a
good and get it done and over wltlk
TO DISCUSS WORLD PROBLEMS
Five-Power Conference Eight Years
Hence to Again Discuss Naval
v ! Armament '
Washington. When the Washing
ton conterenjee went out of existence
it left a dozen legatees in the form
of commissions and other interna
tional bodies which again will bring
representatives of the powers togeth
er to discuss world problems.
Besides many general agreements
"to consult'! among themselves when
troublesome! questions arise, the gov
ernments represented here authoriz
ed specifically, among other : things,
a five-power conference eight years
hence to again discuss naval arma
ment, a five-power commission to re
vise the rules of warfare, a "special
conference'!! and "separate revision
commission-? to regulate the Chinese
tariff, "a board of reference" to con
sider economic and railway questions
in the far east, and an international
commissionto inquire into extra ter
ritorial rights in China.
Only two:' duties are bequeathed to
the secretary general of the expiring
conference,; ,and it is the expectation
of officials ,i that the secretary gen
eral's off icej will wind up these tasks
and finally jelose its doors in the very
near future It has merely to com
pile and have printed the corrected
minutes of the plenary sessions and
committee meetings and to act as a
clearing house through which the va
rious nations will inform each other
. .si ... .
fully as to their existing commit
ments affecting China. This, infor
mation is to be filed with the secre
tary generis! for transmission' to all
conference Ij members "at the earliest
convenience," and similar commit
ments entered into in future are to
be dealt with by direct communica
tion between the various foreign of
flees. . ;p'.-'" '
The provision for another arma
ment conference is embodied in the
five-power "maval treaty signed re
cently. it sets forth that "in view
of possibteftechnioal and scientific ' de
velopments the United States
shall arrange for a conference of all
the contracting powers which shall
convene as ; soon as possible after the
expiration of eight years from the
coming into force of the present
treaty to consider what changes, if
any, may be necessary to meet such
developments.
In addition, it is provided that -in
case one of the five signatories be
comes involved .in war, the others
shall "consult'' and all five -'shall
"meet in conference" again when the
war Is over. A conference also is to
be held If lanv development seems to
materially affect the "requirements
of national security" of any power
in' a mannfr to involve treaty provis
ions, and" If any signatory desires to
terminate jthe treatv pfter its " initial
15-year tenure,, "all the contracting
powers shall meet in conference."
. f J
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Will jstop Making Bibles.
New York After more than 100
years of manufacturing Bibles, the
American 1 Bible society has an
nounced it would soon close down its
plant in the old Bible House, in Astor
. ' . . i a. a .AJ..AitAM
Fiace. rne niga cost oi yiuuuuuuu
was givenfas the reason for discon
tinuing publication.
. The society announced it would
continue distributing Bibles, manu
factured by other concenrs.
v:;mlAf Theater Collanse.
v ivviiii?. yi " " i
Washingion. Miss Caroline Up-
shaw, of Atlanta, Ga., niece oi tep
resentativet Upshaw V)f Georgia, died
as a result of injuries sustained in
the Knickerbocker theater disaster.
Her death; brought" the' number of
dead fromfthe disaster, up to 98.
Miss Unshaw had been at the
point of death since she was taken
from the theater ruins a week ago
.... . - '
! MIssissiDDi Governor Sued.
Jackson,'! Miss. - A $100,000 dam
age suit,, charging Governor Lee M
Russell, of Mississippi ' with seduc
ing Miss Frances CrBirkhead, a for
mer employe ot his office, was filed
against the; chief executive in tne
TTnited States district couTt here.
' The plaintiff, now a resident of
New Orleans, in her bill of particii
inrfl fliedSbv Attorney Foster, of
VicksburgJ Miss., declared that her
reputation! character and heaitn were
ruined as l a result ot governor nus
sell's alleged misconduct. -
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DinnAf Farm Risk Insurance.
Washington. The establishment
of a farm risk insurance bureau, which
riri inaiirfi erowing crops or non
perishable ijcrops against loss or dam
iHne ' from adverse weather
conditions, is proposed in a bill intro-
i -"'i.ii -rr
duced by jepresemauve
tvi a bureau, with the approval of the
secretary Bf the treasury, would have
authority to adopt a form of farm risk
policy and to fix "reasonable" prem
ium rktes.l A revolving fund of $10,
000,000 would be created for the pay
ment of claims. -
were some few thousand dollars in excess, the amount expended was In either
case too large, much larger than ought to have been expended.
' "The expenditure of such excessive sums in behalf of a candidate, either
with or without his knowledge or consent,' being contrary to .'sound public
policy, harmful to the honor and dignity of the senate, and dangerous to the
perpetuity of a free government, is
nnnmvM."
McCumber: Where He Stands
Senator McCumber of North Da
kota (portrait herewith) has been sei
lected by the committee on commit
tees as chairman of the senate finance
committee to succeed the late Boles
Penrose. Senator Frelinghuysen (Rep.)
of New Jersey was selected to fill the
vacancy on the finance committee.
Senator McCumber' furnishes just
twenty-one words of autobiography to
the Congressional Directory: "Porter
James McCumber, Republican, of
Wahpeton; lawyer; elected to United
States Senate 1899; reelected In 1905,
In 1911, and in 1916." V
He.says of his selection: "Speak
ing personally, while I am aware that
I , have often been considered as too
ultra-conservative to satisfy the views
of some elements of the West, it is news
to me to "be informed through some of
, our eastern journals that I am dan
gerously radical. Standing between
tnese two viewpoints, i derive some . , . . -
consolation from the fact that I know myself exactly where I stand. I am a
protectionist, but not a, spotted one. I am a conservative, and must remain so.
I believe In progress and in. keeping abreast of the time. But I want to pro
gress upward and not downward, forward and not backward. The same con
servative and businesslike course that prevents disaster and assures success in
business enterprises is just as applicable in the conduct of national affairs."
Pepper Gets
!
vania, and of Carnegie institute. During the World war( Peeper was chairman .
of the Pennsylvania council for national defense and was vice president of the
League for the Preservation of American Independence. He was opposed to
the League of Nations and took part in debates in many sections of the coun
try. He is the author of a number of legal publications.
By coincidence, the new senator's name goes, into the roll exactly wherr i
that of Penrose comes out. He Is rich, eloquent, much Interested in Y. M. CA.
activities and a baseball fan. r
Poincare Succeeds Briand
Raymond Poincare, former presi
dent of France (portrait herewith),
has become1 premier and foreign min
ister of France, succeeding Briand, re
signed. He has formed a hew cabinet
to succeed the resigned Briand minis
try.' ' ," ' .'''
M. Poincare has been one of the
most consistent leaders of the French
political faction demanding:
Strict execution of every clause of
the Versailles treaty and subsidiary
documents by Germany.
Further military occupation of
Germany If the Berlin government de-
faults In Its Indemnity obligations.
A receivership for Germany with
an allied control commission In Berlin
if Germany fails to make the indem
nity payments due this month and
next
A close alliance , between France
and Poland. 1
Refusal by France to recognize
the Moscow soviet government unless it promises to pay all Russians foreign,
debts and makes other concessions.
Concerning governmental declaration, the best pointer lvtbe sUtement
by M. Poincare to the correspondents: "I wish that the engarements fAken af
Versailles be fulfilled nolhtng more. My. task accomplished, I shall ftiPi."r '
Truman H. Newberry has been
seated as United States senator from
Michigan, following proceedings of
various kinds lasting since the 1918
election. The right to the seat was
determined by the senate itself, by a
vote of 46 to 41 on a resolution spon
sored by Republican leaders. All who
voted for him were Republicans, while '
nine Republicans and thirty-two Demo
crats voted against him. Three sena
tors were paired for and three against
the resolution, and three senators did
not vote. The resolution seating Sena
tor Newberry Is as follows:
"Be it resolved. That Truman H.
Newberry Is a duly elected senator
from the state . of Michigan, and is
entitled to hold his seat -in the senate
of the United States. i
"That, whether the amount that
was expended in this primary was
$195,000 as was fully reported, or
openly acknowledged, or whether there
hereby severely condemned and dls-
w
Penrose's Seat
George Wharton Pepper, Philadel
phia lawyer, has been appointed United
States senator by Governor Sproul of
Pennsjivania to succeed the late Boies
Penrose. Under the law the appoint
ment stands until a successor is se
lected at the November election to fill
tha unexpired Penrose , term ending in
1927. Governor Sproul in announcing -the
appointment said that he expected
Mr. Pepper to be a candidate to fill the
unexpired term. !
Senator Pepper is recognized as
one of. the ablest constitutional law
yers In the country. He is fifty-five
years old, having been born in Phila
delphia March 16, 1867. He graduated
from the- University ,of Pennsylvania
in 1887 and received the degree of doc
tor of laws from the, University of
Pennsylvania and Yale In 1890 he
married Charlotte R. Fisher. For years
he was a lecturer at Yale and he is a
trustee of the University of Pennsyl
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