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Show AWAYJIY ARM! ! American Ambassador to France Finds Work of Vandal Van-dal in Northern France. WASHINGTON, April C Never before be-fore In the history of the world has there been such a thorough destruction destruc-tion wrought by either a vanquished or victorious army as that which the Germans wrought in northern France, according to the report of a hundred mile trip in that section by Ambassador Ambassa-dor Sharp, made public today at the state department "Towns were totally destroyed," the ambassador reported, for no apparent ap-parent reason, and in many of the smaller villages scarcely a house remains re-mains with roof intapt." From the town of Ham several hundred hun-dred people, nearly half of them girls and women over 15 years of age were reported taken away as prisoners. The statement given out at the department de-partment follows. "A statement from tho American ambassador at Paris dated April 1st, states that upon the invitation of the French government he visited on March 31 many of the French towns recently retaken in the invaded territory. ter-ritory. He was accompanied by one of the military attaches to the embassy. em-bassy. He found that tho various re-ports re-ports circulated in France which have appeared In American newspapers in regard to the deplorable conditions weer in no way exaggerated. "In the larger towns of Rove and Ham, and particularly In the attractive attrac-tive and thriving town of Chauny, destruction was complete. In many of the other smaller villages scarcely a house remains with roof intact. Throughout the reconquered territory there reigns a scene of desolation, and this is not only true where German Ger-man military operations might possibly possi-bly excuse destruction In the blowing up of bridges, telegraphic and telephonic tele-phonic connections, railway lines and tho blocking of highways by felling trees which protected the German retreat, but towns were totally destroyed de-stroyed wi'"i no apparent military reason. rea-son. Fruit trees had been either cut down or exploded so as to ruin them completely; private houses along the country highway, Including some of the most beautiful chateaux of great value, were completely gutted by explosives ex-plosives and systematically planted or by fire. "Blackened walls of what must have been manufacturing plants were to be j seen in many towns, the salvage of I which would ecarcely pay for their removal. Agricultural implements on tho farms were destroyed, churches and cathedrals were reduced to a mass of ruins by fire or by explosives. "At tho town of Ham the mother of six children told mo that her husband hus-band and two daughters, one, IS and the other 15 years of age, had been carried away by the Germans at the time of the evacuation. Upon remonstrating remon-strating she had been told that as an alternative she might find their bodies In the canal in the rear of her house. She stated that out of the town's total population several hundred people peo-ple had been compelled to accompany tho Germans, nearly half of whom were girls and women over 15 years of age. A large number of French people, it is believed, In the evacuated town and surrounding country were compelled to go with the Germans from the fact that few are now to be found there. "I inspected on my trip more than one hundred miles In the Invaded territory and left with the conviction that never before in the history of the world had thero been such a thorough destruction wrought by either a vanquished van-quished or victorious army." |