THE GERMAN OFFICER

Evening Star, Issue 16992, 14 March 1919, Page 4

THE GERMAN OFFICER

TRIMMING HIS ARROGANCE. Tho diffei-er.ee between the Gorman officer and tho average German soldier whom we have had as prisoners, writes an officer from France in tho ‘ Army and Navy Journal ! is quite remarkable. Many of the former are aggravating to a degree in their contemptuous manner and point of view, while many of the latter seem to be decent fellows, except that they are products of an abnormal lifetime training which has made of them dumb and unquestioned followers of their appointed superiors. Before the war, adds the correspondent, there were many officers in the United States so carried away with the German idea of making men act with the simple obedience of dumb animals, and just a machine, that they desired to Germanise the American army. Those of this school of officers who have been on the battle front have now changed. tbeir views, however, and there should bo no more tails of anything German in the American army. A good illustration of the German officer caste point of view was given -when one of our companies, having a large number of wounded stretcher cases to deal with, both American and German, was compelled to use German_ prisoners as stretcher bearers while going to the rear. One of the prisoners, when told to take hold of tho litter of a wounded German and help bear the man to tho rear, stood very erect, fiolced his nose in the air, and said Noin, ch bin Offizier. ” An American sergeant, turning to a man who spoke German, asked : “ What’s tbs matter with that guy j Why don’t he get busy?” When the reason was explained the sei-geant said: ‘‘Well, I’ll fix that quick,” and taking his knife he cut off the shoulder straps of the officer, to the groat dismay of the latter, and with a srood volley of American oaths which the German officer evidently under stood, told him to get to work quick. The German officer went to work.