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Newspaper Page Text
WOUNDED SOLDIERS ANXIOUS TO GET BACK BY KARL H. VON WIEGAND, United Press Correspondent Berlin, Aug. 30. (by Courier to Rot terdam and by"Wav of Steamer Pots dam to New York to Avoid British Censor.) German troops are being transferred from the west to meet the Russian hordes on the east I arriv ed here tonight by train on which were some of the soldiers and wound ed from Liege and Namur. I left The Hague last night and there being no train connection at Bentheim onthe border I walked into the country where, in a little lodg ing house under the shadow of the 12th century -castle of the Prince of Bentheim, I found Consul General Lay and Mrs. Lay, who have just transferred from Rio Janeiro and were en route to their new post at Berlin. I was able to aid them to get to Loehna, where we get the through "fast train" from Cologne. It was jammed with soldiers. Only standing room was possible and many of the passengers, including women, sat on the floor. For a time I stood in front of a compartment occupied by four "slightly" wounded officers. One had been shot through the arm, another had his elbow smashed, a third, had a shattered ankle and the, fourth had his eye shot out All had been in the storming of Liege. They were cheer fully declaring that they would soon be able to get back to the front At Minden and Conabrueck dozens of women were on the platform with coffee and sandwiches for the wound ed soldiers. At Hanover many pas sengers got off and we were able to get a seat Across from me were two women. One showed a card from her husband. The other sadly declared that she had not heard from her's since he left for the front and she feared be was dead. A private soldier who had served J for 35 years in the army and who bad volunteered and been accepted when war came asked me whether I knew his brother in San Francisco. He told me of the fighting around Liege. I told him that it had been stated in England and America that some of the forts were still holding out. "We took the last one on August 6," he said quietly- "It was a great slaughter. Our losses were heavy. We lost probably 18,000 men. The effects of the new German 42 centi meter gun and of the Zeppelin which was used were terrible. "The world has yet to learn of the fighting power of our Zeppelins. I saw one at work at Liege. It was the dropping of explosives on the forts there that started their downfalL" This soldier had been wounded and cared for in a Belgian hospital. They had few supplies and only crude in struments, but they did everything possible for him. He said he had heard of many atrocities by Belgian peasants on the German wounded, but knew that the better class of Bel gians would have nothing to do with any such campaign. Some of the reunions was pathetic in the extreme and brought-tears to the eyes of all who witnessed them. "Gute besserung" (good recovery) was the greeting to each wounded soldier as he left the train, and all ex pressed their intention of returning to the firing line as soon as possible. AN OBITUARY- DIED. "PETE," The Beloved OFFICE CAT of POLO NEWS, departed for the feline haven of rest on Thursday night, June 4, 1914. He fought many good fights and died firm in the belief that he had whipped everything in the neighbor hood. May he find all the trouble he wants. Polo (Mo.) News.