The Oregon daily journal., July 21, 1919, Page 5, Image 5

THE OREGON DAILx JOURNAL, PORTLAND. MONDAY, JULY 21, 1919.
WAR RECORDS OF
U.S. CASUALTIES
ARRIVE IN PORT
Several Hundred Packing Cases
Are Needed to Transfer Data
Covering Yankee Battle Losses
CAME UNDER STRONG CONVOY
Thousands Waiting in Homes for
Official Story of Loved Ones
Gone Soon May Be informed
, By Junius B. Wood
8pcU Cbl to The Jcmnml mad Th Cbictco
- -Daily Nw.
(Oopyrlcht. 1919, br Chicago JHilr News Co.)
New York, July 21. Several hun
dred packing ; cases of records un
loaded from the Imoerator contain
data closer to the hearts of the great
American public than any of the
tons of documents accumulated by
the A. - Xhey are records of
the battlefields of Europe. Official
ly they are, known as the casualt
lecords of the expedition. For tbe
thousands who have been waiting In
homes In America for the complete
official story of the loved ones who
m ill not return 'he time has now ar
rived when Washington possibly can
answer. . :
So Important .did General Pershing
consider these records that they were
sent across under a speclalconvoy of
officers and men and arrangements were
made for a special train to rush them
to Washington. -
MYSTERY LOSSES BEtKG CMIABED
Though the expedition oureau or cen
tral recorda at Bourses, France. Is not
closed, lta work In clearing up -the mys
tery of thousands of casualties Is prac
tically closed. Others of these myster
ies will go into the great unsolved. As
long as there is a chance of clearing
them the army will work, but the possi
bilities, are dimming every day.
Lieutenant Colonel Ernest O. Smith,
publisher of a newspaper in Wilkes
,barre. Pa., and Major Nat Baxter, a
banker in Nashville, both of whom saw
active service, are with the recorda
They are . expected to remain in Wash
ington many weeks helping to answer
the deluge of inquiries which is expected
as soon as it is known that these docu
ments so full of tragedy have arrived.
Considerable secrecy surrounded their
departure and transportation across.
"Missing In action" is written after
the names of only 45 of that host of
Americans who crossed the seas to offer
their lives on the battlefields of Eu
rope. This in comparlsop with the
total of '121,000 missing, indicates the
thoroughness with which the American
expeditionary forces have accounted for
every member of its ranks.
JMISSIJTG IIC ACTIOIT CAMOUFLAGE
"Missing in action" is the camouflage
of oblivion which covers everything , but
-Hells nothing. The three words are mill
tary parlance for disappeared leaving no
trace. It may come at night in the si
lent trenches or the sudden clash of pa
trols in No Man's Land ' or amid the
crash and confusion of hours of flght-
' ing or in" a hundred different ways of
war's surprises. It is part of the ac
counting which the company com
mander. Or somebody who takes his
place, makes after each game of death
and he counts .his shattered stake at
the end of the play.
Words cannot visualise the chaos of
the frpnt where lives are pawns and re
ports of deaths come hours later from
those who have seen their comrades fall.
By that time the lines have moved and
there is no check up. A sergeant In a
refrigeration plant in the S. O. S. went
A, W. O. I to get In the fighting.
worked his way across France to the
"I ADVISE EVERY
SICIOTAN
To Try Lydia C Pinkham's
Vegetable Compound.
i ill
I advise every suffering woman to
take Lydia E. Pinkham'e Vegetable
Compound! for it
has done me so
much good. I
had female weak
ness, . inflamma
tion, pains in my
sides and painful
periods. I Buf
fered . for six
years and tried
many remedies
without benefit.
The .doctor said
I must have an
operation. I read about Iydia E.
- Pinkham's Vegetable Compound in
the newspapers, and since taking it I
. am cured and have a nice baby four
months old. I feel like new woman,
and have recommended your medicine
to my friends. I would be glad to
have. everybody know what your med
icine did for me, and if any write to
me I will answer all letters." Mes.
Maby CaixecrKE, 317 .South Main St,
Herkimer, "S. Y.
Every woman ; at some period or
' . other in her life may suffer from just
such disturbances as Mrs. Caligure,
v. and if there is no Interested friend to
advise, let this be a reminder that
this famous root and herb remedy has
: been overcoming these ailments of
, women for more than 40 years.
. . If any complications exist; . write
Lydia E. ' Pinkham Medicine Co.,
,Lynn, Mass., for advice. The result
of many years experience is at your
service. - - '
mm
ms.Lh
LLEPR IN
6 Bellans
Hot wafer
Sure Relief
PJOESTIOM
front and went over in the first wave.
A man in the second wave reported he
saw him fall "with a hole through his
bead and that when he came back, him
self wounded, hours later tbe body still
was lying there. - -.',
OFFICIALLY DEAD BUT LITE
The man was announced by the war
department as dead, but a month later
he was sent to an American hospital in
France. Two French stretcher bearers
had picked him - up. 'taken ' him to a
French, hospital . whlcU, untroubled by
making reports, had cared for him until
he could be moved and then sent him
to an American hospital. J . s, ?
A lieutenant with 25 men was going
forward on truck when it was square
ly hit by a; shell. Those who survived
picked :' up j the remains of the others,
and he reported them .as killed. Two
weeks ater one of them was reported
from a hospital. All he remembered was
the crash .and the shell as it struck tbe
truck and recovering consciousness in a
hospital. Everybody else in the squad
was sure he had been killed. , "
A division Is (o go over the top at
dawn. In the darkness several hundred
new replacements come upf and are di
vided among the companies. In the
tense hour where not even a match can
be struck a company officer writes down
their names on a scrap of paper, spell
ing them as sounds plausible to him. A
whistle ' blows for the attack and the
wave moves forward.
IDENTIFICATION IS DIFFICULT
; In half an hour some of them are
casualties.' When the day's fighting is
over 'possibly the officer Is one, too.
Some are beyond Identification, and
weeks of patient tracing are necessary
to prove that the same man who en
trained at some replacement camp miles
away Is the same one days later found
unidentified on the front.
A night patrol Is surprised and scat
tered, some are prisoners, others are
killed. ' Then ,iL party crawls out
to bury .the dead. They work in
total darkness. Illuminated only by
riasnes or bursting shells, praying that
the Germans will not send up any star
shells turning night Into day. A scrib
bled address on an envelope is all that
is found on one body. It may be the
man's or a friend's. It is up to the
bureau of records to make sure. Charles
L. Hoffman, one man, was found with
only a razor, with the name 113th on the
handle in his pockets. He was never
identified and , It is believed the razor
came- from some German soldier. An
other was brought to a hospital in Brest
when the Spanish influenza was raising
havoc with our incoming transports,
without even ' pajamas. A man had a
finger shot off and started walking
back along the road.
Five minutes later he was killed by
a shell. He was buried and reported
dead, but his comrades, convinced that
he was alive, wrote to .tis family that
he was only slightly wounded. Others
were killed when the Germans bombed
hospitals, yet company records and
letters of their comrades reported them
slightly wounded. .
Similar cases could be multiplied by
thousands. Individual reports amid such
surroundings form the basis of any
army's casualty, lists.. The marvel - Is
that they were as accurate as they were.
On the day of the armistice out of
322.000 casualties, later reduced to 808.
000 by the elimination of duplications
and other mistakes, 19,800 were listed as
missing in action. The mystery of many
other thousands had been cleared up
as the fighting progressed. A list was
published with a request for a report
of the fate of every man whose name
was recognized. By February the num
ber was reduced to 7500, and another
list was published. Supplementary lists,
each with a diminished, number of
names, were sent out by the bureau each
month.. Many of the men were found
aiive ana serving, with other outfits.
HAME8 ASE OVERLOOKED .
t Others had been evacuated wounded
DacH to the states and their namM nwr
looked, others were prisoners in ' Ger
many, but half were dead. In most in
stances it was their former buddies who
knew their fate, how the man had been
blown into oblivion -by an exploded
shell, how he had been mortally wounded
and died on the battlefield to be later
hurriedly buried, by others who did not
taenuiy mm. now his body had been left
behind when the company retired and
tne enemy swept over, or other facts
which made his fate sure.
From the information gleaned In this
way, central i records office believes it
is sure of the fate of all except the
45 who remain on the list. This does not
mean that all the American dead except
45 are identified ; between 900 and 1000
are in cemeteries with the word "un
known American" Instead of a name
painted on the white cross at the head
of the grave. This number would have
been reduced if it had been possible
for the living to stop their harvest of
death to bury the dead as they fell, the
figures would have been smaller. Often
It was days, frequently weeks, before the
bodies could be placed below the ground.
Tags and marks of identification then
were, missing.
IDElTTIFICATIOir TAGS LOST ,
Carefree soldiers took the aluminum
Identification 1 tags from around their
necks to use for poker chips, gave them
as souvenirs to French mademoiselles,
traded with their buddies for good luck.
lost them like they lost everything else,
or had them blown away by the shell
which snuffed out their- Uvea Twenty
five tags were found hanging in a cap
tured German dugout. A squad of men
went in swimming, hung their tags on
a branch and went away and left them
where they were found and the men re
ported missing. In one French hospital
hung the tags for all the American pa
tients with their polyglot names wired on
a single peg. and when one died the
hospital attendants took off the first
tag and burled it with him.
' Out of the 4651 American prisoners
captured by Germany all have been lo
cated except 21. The day of the armis
tice Germany turned them loose to go
where they pleased. They straggled out
of Germany tn any way possible. Most
of them headed for their old divisions
and former buddies. All of them took
their time and some were leisurely. One
was . located contentedly clerking in a
store in Stockholm, Sweden.
He had reached a German port,
boarded a sailing vessel and got off at
the first dock. He had confidence that
the American army would take care of
him and get him back some time, but
he did not bother to write to anybody,
even his folks in America. Some of the
21 may be loafing A. W. O. L in Ger
many, but It is not believed any are in
other parts of Europe so thoroughly has
it been combed. " -
When the final search is made of the
German war records some of the 21 and
of the 45 may be located. The German
records were extremely accurate," ac
counting for every enemy who came Into
their hands, alive or dead, that is, until
tbe final rapid retirement.
Incorrect SDelllnr of -twmM ' w. -
bane of the central recorda office. In
the stress of the front names would be
written phoenetically, tbe altering -of a
single letter meant that the name stood
for nobody when it reached the office In
central France. 'Many were written il
legibly.., Twenty-two and one half ner
cent were Incorrect when first' received.
All' these had , to be checked back and
corrected until the records were straight.
NAMES ABE DUPLICATED
Implication of -names among 2.500.0OO
men was inevitable. All casualties were
cameo to Washington , by the central
records bureau -: and : every precaution
was i taken to avoid 7 announcing - the
wrong man as killed or wounded when
another of the same name was u tended.
In a stogie regiment; were seven Dennis
3. . Sullivans, at one time five of these
were casualties. It is easy to see how
the multiplication of Identical names in
creased through the expedition.. These
five were carefully Identified and cabled
to Washington, where the home ;, ad
dresses were to be added. : However, the
chances for a mistake were not over and
when the casualty list finally was pub
lished - two ; of them' bad ' been Inter
changed with the only two others of the
same name who were uninjured.' ;
Another cause of confusion tn the
casualty, lists which now can be ex
plained was . through Individual letters.
Frequently a letter would announce a
casual before the official report and
aeain a letter would tel! of a casualty
which never occurred. ' The American
Red Cross had a corps of women work
ers called searchers and finders detailed
at hospitals doing Immense good by writ
ing letters to the families of -wounded
men.
DISASTEB FOLLOWS LETTERS
Frequently they also wrote with dis
astrous results to . the families of men
who were not in the hospitals but whom
well meaning- patients' thought had. been
killed, or wounded. One ' noted Instance
was where a young woman, after visit
ing a hospital,, was unable to write her
letters for several -days. . Eventually she
dated them the day she wrote, starting
with the assuring sentence, T talked
with your son today." In the mean
time, one of the men had died, suddenly
from pneumoniae When the .' war de
partment notified the family ' that the
boy had died-on a certain date the letter
was produced, indicating , that the
woman worker had talked to him on a
date several days later. Much working
of the overcrowded cables was neces
sary to clear ' up the case, and it was
not until the young woman explained
the thoughtless misstatement that the
family reluctantly accepted the sad news
as true. ? . -. ,
Under general headquarter orders
after 10 days the name of a man re
ported missing In action : was dropped
from the rolls and responsibility of the
company commander for ascertaining his
fate ceased. Weeks or : months later
would come the Inquiry from the cen
tral records office " attempting to clear
up the mystery. " There had been other
actions, ; probably the - company' , com
mander was gone, more old timers had
been wounded or burled In France and
the task was hard, ; but usually, there
was somebody ; who remembered. There
waa fratemalism among the American
soldier and he remembered his pals.
2000 Planes Salable;
500 Sold in 3 Months
n ::-: '-1 " - "5: x " "r'-r
Atlantic City. N. J.. July 2f. More
than 2000 airplanes of the pleasure type
could be sold Immediately If manufac
turers could make deliveries, and snore
than 500 have been purchased or ordered
in the United States during the past
three months according to a statement
Issued today by Henry woodhouse,'. vlce
president .- of the '. Aerial League of
America. . ' . -
II. S.f AY REQUIRE
MEXICAN APOLOGY
Carranza Said to Have Control
in Places Where American
bailors Were Robbed.
Washington, July ' 21. Nothing
short of an apology from the Car
ranza government, together ' with
evidence showing that the 1 band of
desperadoes who' insulted the Ameri
can flag, and held up and robbed a
number of American " sailors . have
been: summarily, punished, will bo
acceptable to the United - States.
, This was said to .be the attitude of
the state department today, as officials
waited : further explanation of ' the : af
front ; which occurred on July sY near
Tampico. Mexico. " This is the territory
where Carranza Is . supposed to be tn
complete control and because of this so
called control neither American soldiers
nor sailors are permitted to carry side
arms. ;
The 'defenseless - condition of "the
American bluejackets made them ' easy
prey for the bandits- Neither the state
department nor ; the navy department
had an additional report on tbe 1 situa
tion at a late hour today. r ur:
-Because it Is admitted in official qua r.
ters ' that '.Jhe ; incident represents the
most grave feature of Mexican-American.
relations in the past year, the state
department is hoping : that the matter
has already been adjusted by the Ameri
can naval officers, now tn Mexican wa
ter .If the officers have demanded an
apology and one has' been given by the
Carranza - authorities at Tampico the
crisis would be largely mod fled.
One additional provision. - however.
would be necessary. It wou'. I t e t
capture and punishment of the bar,
who committed the Insult and rotter;
Due to over-extension of loans, t;
North Penn bank of Philadelphia ha i
closed Us door a v.".
There i one S A F E'
PLAC to buy your
piano. ""V'
Get our selling pirn.
-We sell standard pianos.
Don't fail to attend our
JULY. SALE.
Oe
o
0
6
p
L
0
No cigarette names, mentioned
There arc only three febds of cigarettes: (x) those
containing Turkiah tobaccos alone, () those containing
Domestic tobaccos ' alone, and (3) those containing
various blends of both Turkish and Domestic We
traaufacture all three kinds.
Hence we have nothing to lose and everything to
gain by advising you fairly and-openly aVto which one
of these three kinds of cigarettes will .probably suit
.you best., .. ; -:: ; ' '
How much Tukish?, is the big question in choos
ing a cigarette and the more smokers we can help by
this frank advice; the more steady, contented purchas
ers we can count on, year after year, for bur, various
cigarettes. '.tv-',.-.
Tear out this advertisement show it to some friend.
GUNaPACTVS23SS OP
7 f
EHEMT
KIND -CP CKAOTTES
Are
ybu smoking too
much oritjoo
Uttle
Turkish?
the quality of the tobaccos themselves (both
Tukbh and Domestic), and the other is
the proper proportioaing of each to -each
in the
Meridu
ing.
(t TNTIL you find the rit answer to
; that question, you won't st ' one-half
.of the sheer etxjoyment and comfort you
should get from each day's smoking.
Maybe you have die answer already
Maybe your present cigarette is exactly
the right one for you. If so, ka on f it
tyou're hicky and this story is not meant
xbr you. - r1 . .P:.i;
But, unless you are positive unless you
(KNOW that your present cigarette sua
;yoti better than; any other cigarette pos
aibry can, it will pay you weUtoundesscand
this question of How much Turkish?
strait Domestic. They can't si ft l ed any
Turkish at alL They find it over-rich or
hea?y too much aroma.
' And in between these two estfremes is
the big majority the normal or average
smblcers . . .
These average smokers like the Turkish
flavors-yes.: But they find that Turkish'
tobacco is something like plum pudding
or candy awfully good, but too much is,
deddedlv, too much.
Straight Turkish vs. Domestic
Tobaccos '
Turkish and Domestic tobaccos are
different from each other. Turkish has
a delicate, smooth, flavor and a very rich,
heavy aroma Domestic has more real
j tobacco r- character, and the better grades
(possess what tobacco men like to call
fOife" or "sparkle."
Some men (comparatively few, however)
can smoke straight Turkish cigarettes all
-day 'long.
" Othersmany of them, our records
roow-go to theother extreme, and prefer;
Turkish and Domestic ;
Blended
So the average smoker finds that the
jut-right cigarette is a harjpy medium '
that he can smoke more often and actually
get more - solid . pleasure 'out of his : smok
ing, all day long, by clioosing a cigarette
which is of part Turkish and part Domestic'
tobaccos, combined in Pa good blend.
, Suchcisarettes are called "Turkish blend"
cigarettes. . . . ,
How . to recognize a good U
: Turkish blend"(
. There are only "two things i. that count
in ; a Turkish blend n cigarette. One is .
But while there are many
blends" on the market, it is easy for . any
one to pick the good ones. Here is a
simple I test. . If a i cigarette satisfies Vyour
own requirements on these three points,
it b pretty sure to be both a good blend
and the right smoke for you :
' First--It must give you that real Ttsrksh :
flavor but not so much of it as to be too
rich or heavy.
Second- Along with this' Turkish flavor,
watch also for that "life" and delightful
' f sparkle w or : that : ripe, cool mellow
ness, - peculiar to , certain : Domestic
. tobaccos.
. Third ''The cigarette should let your
. ' smoke appetite stay sharp and crisp so
that you will relish eveiy smoke clear up
to' bed-time; and whether or not vou
happen to smoke more heavily tnan
usual, it should leave you feeling keen
- and fine.
Hov much Turkish?"
Sol begin with this question How
much Turkish?" Youll have to answer
it yourself, for ach man's taste is his own.
But ; keep thinking . about it; for when
..you've .answered it y correcdy, youll have
found "your'' cigarette. And we know
we don't' need to emphasize how much
that will mean to yoiu - '
ifBeginning next Week
we shall resume the advert! slur here
In Portland for one iot our leading;
. TorVlsh blend" cigarettes. These
. advertisements will tell 7011 more
about "How much Turkish V and we
feel quite certain they will Interest you.
CopyngKi; 1919; hp Liggett & Hjiff TdGSStCd