OCR Text |
Show j HORRORS OF Ifi ARE DESCRIBED BY A 1 BELGIAN CAMP KEARNY, Cal , April 26. Members of the Utah regiment gathered gath-ered this morning in celebration of Liberty da and heard the president's proclamation, read to them by Captain Wesley E. King, commander of the supply company. This was followed by an address by the supply officer, in which he urged the men, in communicating com-municating with their parents, friends and relatives back homo, to do everything every-thing possible to got thoir co-operation in regard to thp Liberty bond drive, so that Utah's soldiers and all American Ameri-can soldiers may be well supplied at lDe front. I want to set at rest the rumor that re are being discriminated against and tbat other troops are being given ft preference for active service' Cap-lain Cap-lain King said, "for it :s not true. The records will show that this brigade is one of the best trained and most efficient ef-ficient in the entire United Slates. There is onh one reason why we arc-not arc-not on the battle front today slow ncss of transportation " The address struck a responsive chord in the broad-shouldered, healthy lannfd soldiers, and as Captain King tepped clown from his stand he was grei !-"d with cheers and applause. Colonel Col-onel Richard W. Young congratulated him. Belgian Visits Camp Lieutenant Michael Kcustermans of (he Belgian army, and said to be the! first Belgian who has taken part in the war to visit southern California, was a camp visitor last night and today to-day and was the guest of Captain ! King. Tho officer is now in the country coun-try convalescing from illness caused by .hrapnr-l and shHl shock. When the Germans swept into Belgium Bel-gium in August, 1914, Lieutenant KeU termans was on duty with a fort! 60 miles from the German border. Aft-! er a heroic defense, a German shell J xploded iho fort powder magazine. The forty who survived tho explosion iron; a force of 200 men, were told to scatter and avoid capture Lieutenant Keustermans. after man narrow escapes, es-capes, made hir. way to ihe Belgian lines. Ho fought against the boches L for two years. "In my escape toward our lines," he said. "I saw with my own eyes scores of crimes committed. I saw a baby lying In a cradle with a huge bayonet wound through its little body ' On the floor beside tjje cradle lay (he young mother, dead. Wounds on her face and body gave mute evidence how J be had fought to the last to save the life of her child. Her home had been ransacked and all articles of value carried away But this is not the worst case," the officer added, "for the others are unprintable, and the world, probably will never know some of the most terrible crimes the boches committed. com-mitted. Unprintable Atrocities. "These thoughts have made me fight, as it has thousands of other Belgians, Bel-gians, with but one idea in mind that of victory, if it takes every man for ' wo can expect no mercy from the kals-, kals-, er's drunken and cruel millions of so-called so-called soldiers. This war is far from over, and in my opinion it will last at least four years yet. We arc pinning much hope on America and its soldiers. sol-diers. In July I am going back to the Belgian lines again to do mv bif over again." The preparation and issuance of agricultural ag-ricultural furloughs keeps the clerical force of regimental headquarters busy. I Those who have been granted the leaves and are now speeding toward Utah are- Private George Roberts, Private Lewis Whiteside, Private Vernon Ver-non R. Morgan and Private Parnell Green of the sanitary detachment. Tho furloughs will continue to be issued is-sued in cases where the men are eligible. eli-gible. A new selection of men to attend the second divisional radio school has been made and the following men chosen: Corporal Alonzo Baird, Private Pri-vate Ezra P Richards, Private Charlo.s R. Frank and Private Frank Garod. During the period of the school the men will still be quartered with the regiment. oo I . , |