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Show GREAT GERMAN RETREAT 1 BRINGS JOY TO THE LONG I SUFFERING FRENCH PEOPLE I American Reief Commission Distributes Food H Among Starving Germans Took Everything From Farms and With Them All Strong I Men, Boys, Women and Girls to Work in Germany. I WITH THE BRITISH ARMIES IN FRANCE, Thursday. March 22, via Ivondon, March L'2. 1 a. m. (From staff correspondent of the Associated Press i The real human interest in the great retreat of the Germans lies half ruined villaged formerly occupied by them. The joy of the people over what they proclaim to be their libera, tion is wonderful to see A package of well buttered sandwiches, disfribui-ed disfribui-ed among the children of one village, caused greater excitement than the evacuation of the Germans 'It is butter'" cried several shrill lit tip voices to show their mothers, grandmothers and grandfathers what they had received Through the open doors could be heard such expressions as : "Praise God, there is butter again in France." Americans Distribute Food. The American relief commission has been able to distribute flour, coffee, sugar, lard, limited quantities of rice, some cereals, soap, salt and vinegar. jH but no butter. 'H The Associated Press correspondent had a cup of American coffee, sweetened sweet-ened with American sugar, with a flH peasanl family living next door to the charred ruins of German dugouts near the bank of the Somme There was a loaf of brown bread on the table. Paid in Bits of Paper. ' That also is from the Americans," 'iiiH said the peasant mother, who was jflH holding a child of two years on her il lap. "We shall never forget the as- r sistance given us by America It saved liliifl us. We have had nothing else since 'Lifl soon after the beginning of the Ger- IH man occupation When the Germans IH first began taking our goods, our IH horses, our cattle, our sheep, our ves- Rsiifl etables and everything else we raised jfl on the farm they gave us bits of paper officially stamped by regimental com-manders, com-manders, which they said were bonds, telling us we should present them to President Poincare for payment. Here are some of the bonds," she said, as she displayed at least two score of scribbled acknowledgements of obliga IH tions "But, in the last year or so. all we have been able to raise has been taken without even these bonds." she con- lH tinned "We have been encouraged to cultivate our farms, then everything was taken and we were compelled to life on American relief. It is terrible. sir, but you are an American. Please have another cup of coffee. I am ' sorry we have no milk. We have had none for more than a year, all the cows having been taken away by the Germans W e have had no fresh meal for nine months." Iron Rule Enforced. For a time, the peasants say. they were allowed to keep hens on the con- dition that they produce five eggs for each hen weekly for the German authorities If the hens did not la five eggs the peasants had to borrow them from their neighbors, and they were delighted when the hens at last were confiscated. There is an undeniable thrill attached at-tached to motoring over the old front ( line positions on these changeable spring days, when chilling snow squalls intermingle with flashes of warm brilliant sunshine. Within a week roads have penetrated almost countless trench positions and extended extend-ed themselves over what once was No Man's Land Running alon- these roads in broad daylight it is hard to renlize that six days ago one dared Hlifl not lift an eye above the parapet of ' tho front fire trenches. Endless Wire Defenses. In penetrating the former German positions a lasting memory alwavs is one of endless chains of rusted IH barbed wire. This has been a most aluable means of defense for the Germans Ger-mans and from the amount which mav be seen stretching away in every direction di-rection as far as tho eye reaches it would seem that all the German Industrial In-dustrial plants had been turned to wire making. It is not the ordinary barb wire known in America, hut the barbs, long and stoul. are attached ! to tho wire at intervals of half an Inch, "If it had not been for the barbed wire this war would have been over ; long ago," a British officer declared. Carry Off Women and Girls. In leaving the territory recently evacuated, the Germans have taken away In addition to all strong men and boys above K, nil women and munication recently mentioned the taking of fifty women and girls from Noyon. On February IT last the Ger mans received 423 from Nesle. It is said that all women capable of working work-ing in German factories or on German ( Continued on Page 6 ) si GREAT RETREAT BRING JOY (Continued From Page 1) j farms, who have no children dependent depend-ent on them must go. Send Back the Infirm. In taking away the fit population the Germans are replacing these per sons by sending hack hundreds of ! aged or infirm men and women from St. Quentin and other places behind 1 their new lines, saying frankly that j I the burden of supporting the old and infirm is thus placed on the French people The problem of feeding the liberated liberat-ed people, who have beon suddenly j cut off from the American relief ad-1 ministered from within the German! lines, is being promptly met. The mah in charge of the relief work In I the Nesle district is a French soldier i born and raised in this country, but having a Polish mother and an American Ameri-can father. He has two American 'brothers living in Chicago who also; are interested in relief work. In most of the villages evacuated the Germans left behind enough Amer-j ican supplies, chiefly brown bread, to I last the inhabitants for five days. This j seems to indicate that they did not, I expect to be followed quickly, but, as t a matter of fact, British and French j patrols entered many villages on the heels of the German rear guard. oo |