We recently received the following interesting letter from Major Henry Davis, formerly prosecuting attorney of St. Francois County, who is now [in] Germany:
Dear Don: -- We are "Keeping Watch on the Rhine." The Hun is found now to be as docile as a lamb. His barbarity has suddenly departed and we have concluded that he is rather a decent chap -- (Now don't get excited, but wait until I have finished) -- when he has to be. Give him unbridled power and the events of the past four years show what he will do, but, shear him of that power, and outwardly, at least, he becomes very amenable to regulations. I have heard many stories over here of the outrages committed by the enemy, and I have seen the visible evidence of much of his destruction. The many reports of villages laid low and of the destruction of churches was never exaggerated in the American press. There would be no way to enlarge upon the destruction by the German army in France and Belgium. In Arlon, Belgium, I saw the bullet holes in the wall where 162 Belgians were shot down for no other reason than that they were loyal to their country.
The American Army of Occupation quickly won the hearts of the German people. As it had at Belleau Wood, Cantingy, the Bois de Mont Mare, St. Mihiel, the Argonne and other places won the admiration of the Hun soldiers because of its fierce aggressiveness on those fields of battle, so now it wins the applause and admiration of the German civilians by virtue of its gentlemanly qualities and of its magnanimity "while lording it over a conquered enemy."
I do not believe that in all the world's history there has ever been shown less fearlessness in battle than was displayed by the American army in France, but, now that there is no more fighting, the soldier, though in the country of his enemy, treats the inhabitants according to the principles of the Golden Rule. The people here dreaded our invasion of their territory, but, upon our arrival, they became so enamored of the American ideal of the "square deal" that they have been known to meet in council and declare that they want a Government like ours, because they had not known that any form of government would produce such wonderful people as the American soldiers.
The retreating Boche did some pillaging. The British, French and Belgian armies of occupation have been far less considerate than our boys. The result is that the inhabitants proclaim the Americans not only the best dressed and best equipped of any of the armies, including their own, but they say that ours is far and way the best diciplined and the most sensible. They even beg the American soldiers to billet in their homes when they feel that there is any likelihood of any of the other armies locating in their midst. There has not been a single instance of bad conduct by any of the 30,000 men in my division towards the people here. Their conduct in France when billeted with the inhabitants there was, too, of the highest order.
Our division entered the trenches the 4th of August and remained continuously at the front until the famous order "cease firing" reached the front lines on the morning of November 11. The only respite our men had was in moving from the Toul sector to the Meuse. We are told that the ten best divisions were chosen for the army of occupation. If that is true, I am quite sure that a large portion of the men would prefer to not have gained such an enviable distinction. The uppermost desire with the most of them is to return home. With me, there is the added attraction of the baby daughter who arrived after my departure. It is no surprise to me that the men now are anxious to get home. So long as there was an unbeaten enemy there was no thought of leaving. The song writer expressed the thought of the main body of the army when he wrote "We will not go home until its over over there."
Omitting the ties of kindred and friends in the home land, there are other reasons why the American soldier does not desire to remain in Europe. There is scarcely in any of these countries anything in the way of comfort and attraction that equals what we have in America. Food is bad, methods of entertainment and transportation are far, far inferior to ours. The houses are less attractive. The young men seeking the companionship of young women do not find in any European country such bright, attractive, stylish and beautiful girls as we have at home.
Farming is far behind what it is in America. The ox is a familiar beast of burden. He is often seen harnessed up alongside of a horse. Women act as shepherds and do much of the heavy farm labor. The war is responsible in great part for this, yet older women seem to have always done hard work. The chadle and scythe are familiar farming implements. Occasionally, one sees a mower or a binder, always of American manufacture. The threshing of grain is yet done with a flail, though there are some horse power threshing machines. I have seen nowhere the use of a steam engine in connection with farm activities.
In France, Belgium, Luxemburg and this part of Germany, all the people live in towns. This is not the rule in England, as the farmers there live on the farms and have many very fine country homes. The most of the homes in Continental Europe are built of stone. There are some brick residences but no wooden ones.
Strange to say, although the European peasants have a great many domestic animals, they have no barns, as we are accustomed to. Now, this does not signify that they are so cruel as to leave their cows and horses to battle with the elements. In fact the opposite is the truth. They are so solicitious about their cows and horses that they shelter them all the year round in their homes. I have slept in rooms over those occupied by cows and I have slept in rooms adjoining those occupied by cows. Sanitary conditions are the worst I have ever seen. In fact, the sanitation is so bad that the American soldiers have been unable to use the drinking water in any of this territory without first boiling or chlorinating.
I admire the French people the most of any of our allies. Their uniform politeness, even among the lowliest peasants, is most admirable. No matter what he may have had in his mind, the Frenchman says nothing to offend. He always leads a conversation into agreeable channels and he is the prince of diplomatists. You may abuse his stupidity, if he shows any, and he will smile and say, "perhaps so."
There is one trait of human nature which I find everywhere and that is what we came to call in the States, "profiteering." We had thought at home that our people were the most money-mad of all peoples. We had been told that by those idealists who were presumed to know much about the peoples of the world. I find that profiteering is as active over here as it ever was over there. The Hun is just as much of one as other people. However, some prices have been fixed in this country and Marshal Foch has fixed the rate of exchange between French and German money. In Belgium, we paid $6.00 per dozen for eggs and our headquarters troop paid $135.00 for a 225 pound pig.
Germany is not so nearly starved as some newspapers indicate. She has been very strictly rationed but in the smaller towns at least there is no starvation. Coffee, bread, fats, clothing, shoes and rubber are very, very scarce. I have had occasion to travel round over the area we occupy on business and in doing so I have taken advantage of the opportunity to lay in a supply of eggs for the mess. They can scarcely be bought with money. If one has bread or soap, he can buy more of them than he can with money. The supply of rubber was so exhausted that none of the army trucks of the enemy had rubber tires. I have seen automobiles without them. The steel tires of their motor vehicles made much noise in getting over the roads.
I have seen but three acquaintances from Southeast Missouri since coming over here. By good luck I managed to meet up with my nephew, Bryan Purteet, who has won a lieutenancy. I saw "Jargo" Lewis several months ago. He was then in good health and good spirits. I do not know whether or not he came safely through the fierce fighting at St. Miehiel and the Meuse in good condition.
The chief cause for the wonderful fighting of the army over here was the spirit of the people at home. We learned from time to time of your great efforts to keep us supplied and of your wild enthusiasm upon learning of our successes. We have had a paucity of information, due to the mail service, which has been rottenly inefficient. First class mail arrives from one to two months after it is delivered to the offices in the States. Practically none of my second class mail has reached me.
We arrived here in the nick of time. Our coming could not well have been postponed longer. The greatest contribution which we made in this war was the restoration of the somewhat broken morale of the allied soldiers. The powerful example set before them by our boys at Chateau Thierry put into the Allies soldiers new hope. The great work of the British and French armies through the summer and fall months was due, in my judgment, more to the effect produced by our presence and by the courage shown by our soldiers than to any other cause.
I was sorry to miss your interesting election. The truth is that I was unable to know just who the nominees were on the different tickets. The European papers, even the metropolitan dailies, publish less news than you find in the country weeklies of Missouri. Naturally enough, about all they printed during the time that active campaigning was going on was the daily communiques and reports from the front, so we got no information about the progress of the campaign but, much as I would liked to have been with you during the exciting days that preceded the election, I know that I was more interested in something which is bigger and better than mere party politics. It appears that there were those who could not quite forget partisanship during the crisis over here. We did forget it. We laid it aside when we left and there was nothing here to revive it.
We haven't the slightest idea as to when the "fighting 89th" will be ordered home. It is safe to conclude that the peace treaty will not be completed for several months and it is just as safe to conclude that the Army of Occupation will remain in Germany until the terms of the peace treaty shall have been complied with. We are here now to preserve order and to compel the beaten foe to comply with the terms of a rather drastic armistice. I say drastic, but no more so than was deserved by a most brutal enemy. Personally, I have applied for relief from my present assignment and have requested an order for a return to the States and a discharge from the service. I do not know that my request will be honored. I should like to remain with my division until it returns home but if it is to be here through many months, I prefer to return without it.
Early in the summer Mrs. Davis wrote me about a report gaining wide circulation to the effect that I had been wounded. This was erroneous. If, however, wound chevrons could be received on account of being badly frightened, my uniform might well be manufactured from them. I think that practically all soldiers who got into the zone of advance know what it is to have their nerves somewhat unstrung. Shrapnel, high explosive shells and enemy aeroplanes make a person a little shaky. The extent of it depends, of course, upon the particular person. There are those who show no visible signs of fear and there are others who cannot control themselves. I have had some muscles quivering and they were hard to still by even the exercise of the greatest amount of will power.
I hope to get back home soon and see my friends there. The time spent here seems like an age. Everything has been new and strange from the day we went aboard the ship. Since that time, it has been one new experience after another, one startling adventure upon another. Not satisfied with the hazard of crossing a mine-infested ocean, living for many days within range of the enemy guns and in places over which the enemy nightly sent his bombing planes, I ventured into the air. A young pilot from San Francisco, who, in civil life, is a stenographer for a supreme court judge there, invited me to ride with him over the vast battle field of the American First Army northwest of Verdun. It was the most interesting joyride I have ever taken. We had a good day for the trip and everything on the battle field showed up plainly. The shell holes made the earth look like one vast pepper box. The long lines of trenches, the destroyed villages, the roads with long columns of troops and convoys of trucks were very visible.
I could continue to write you of my many experiences and of the country over here but I am sure that I have already taxed your patience. If it shall fall to me to have to remain over here several months longer, I will annoy you further with another letter.
Yours very truly,
Henry Davis.
Address: Major Henry Davis, Division Judge Advocate, Hdqrs. 89th Division, American E.F., A.P.O. 761.
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