USA > Rhode Island > Rhode Island : three centuries of democracy, Vol. II > Part 85
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*28,080 in United States service, 737 in allied armies.
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were, in the instance of texts used for German language study, quotations from the writings of German authors who expressed Teutonic opinions vigorously. A few books were withdrawn for use in the schools on recommendation of the commission, but the investigation in its major aspects confirmed the people's faith in the integrity of public education in Rhode Island.
In the vast extension of governmental service during the war many Rhode Islanders were engaged without remuneration or salary other than the one dollar a year paid to identify them as "employes" entitled to use the government frank on letters carrying public papers. Rhode Island for the draft was divided into twenty-two districts, each with a local organization that was for the most part voluntary, although all were under federal direction and supervised thoroughly by agents of the United States Provost Marshal. Lawyers and school teachers gave their assistance freely to registrants struggling with the details of the intricate questionnaires in use.
Housewives discovered on October 19, 1917, that the supply of sugar for sale had been practically exhausted, and learned then by actual experience what war meant for non-combat- ants removed from the actual field of conflict. America in its engagements with the Allies had undertaken not only to place an army on the western front, but also to maintain its army in every detail, besides assisting in feeding the hungry people behind the battle lines. It was a big contract, and it involved conservation of food in quantity and also by selection. The amount of food that must be sent overseas suggested economy in transportation by sending food which concentrated into small bulk the largest possible nutritive values. Hence sugar, wheat and beef were preferred, and Americans were requested to use substitutes. Rhode Island early in the war was placed on a régime of wheatless and meatless days, and to provide for a fair distribu- tion of the limited amount of sugar available rationing was resorted to. Actually there was no shortage of food except of sugar ; the sacrifice required was the use of substitutes for meat and wheat on specified days. In the instance of wheat, flour sales were conditional for a time on purchases of other cereals with wheat. The regulations of the food administrator, Alfred M. Coats, were accepted graciously, and the people as a rule responded loyally to the program.
George H. Holmes,* as fuel adniinistrator, faced a somewhat different problem. The price of anthracite coal after the strike of 1902, never returned to the level of earlier years, and there had been complaints before the war opened that the price charged consumers was regulated by combinations to which operators, railway and water transportation companies, wholesalers and retailers were parties. On the other hand the extraordinary movement of men, munitions and food from west to east, and the fuelling of transports and freight steamers engaged in the transatlantic service required coal in unprecedented amounts, and conservation of coal had become necessary. The fuel administration must protect the general public from extortion, and assure a distribution of coal that would meet reasonable requirements. The people were asked to use fuel sparingly and to maintain lower temperatures so far as possible, and Monday was designated as a heatless day in public buildings, including theatres. The winter of 1917-18 was the most severe in the past half-century. Frost penetrated so deeply into the ground as to reach water mains placed inches below the normal freezing level. Heavy snowstorms followed, blan- keting the frozen ground against thawing ; had they preceded the freezing, water pipes would not be reached. In Providence, on January II, 1918, fire hydrants were opened to provide water for people whose household supply had been cut off by freezing. Narragansett Bay was covered by heavy ice, and shipping was frozen in at dock or anchorage. Explosives were used to break the ice and free shipping. Schools were closed in some places because no coal could be had.
The suffering because of intense cold and fuel shortage was increased by an epidemic of "influenza." Yet the people carried on. Influenza returned in the fall of 1918, and at the end of September the Governor was requested to order all theatres closed to prevent its spread. The opening of Rhode Island State College was postponed, and the public schools of Central Falls,
*Succeeded in 1918 by Malcolm G. Chace.
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Cranston and Cumberland were closed October I as preventive measures Two days later shore leave for sailors at Newport was discontinued, and on October 4 Providence public schools and theatres were closed. The epidemic was prevalent also in military cantonments, and many Rhode Island soldiers died. Still Rhode Island carried on, and in the midst of the epidemic went over the top with the fourth liberty loan. In the completeness of devotion to the triumph of democracy women joined with men, and in many occupations replaced those who had gone to the colors. In August, 1918, the postmaster at Providence announced that he must hire women as letter carriers to replace men. A month later the Pawtucket Chamber of Commerce reported that an investigation disclosed that 9500 women were needed in industry. Not all of the women who were employed replaced men, however ; production in many lines had been increased, and the women filled new positions. During the war women were employed in greater numbers than ever before, and for the first time in some occupations ; the unprecedented entrance of women into employment and its effect upon economic and social conditions never have been readjusted. Radio had not been perfected, and the possibility of reaching millions of homes and larger millions of listeners with any message of national importance could not be realized. The wartime substitute was the loyal band of four-minute speakers who appeared nightly at theatres and other places where people congregated, with messages of cheer or serv- ice. The talks, as indicated, were short and planned to present some matter of public import in a positive and direct appeal. The aims and purposes of public measures were explained, and pleas for support of good causes were made. The fruits were shown in loyal popular support of wartime projects. The public press in Rhode Island rendered invaluable service also.
LIBERTY LOANS-The ultimate support of military programs is derived from public taxa- tion, and this was true of the World War. In the period in which war taxes were unabated federal revenues gathered in Rhode Island reached the amount of $36,000,000 annually, or $60 per capita on a population of 600,000 in round numbers. The billions for immediate war pur- poses in 1917 and 1918 were raised principally by popular subscriptions to bond issues. To four liberty loans and the final victory loan floated after Armistice Rhode Island responded worthily. For the first liberty loan in March, 1917, 66,000 persons subscribed $25,335,500, exceeding the state quota of $24,180,000 by $1,155,500. In October, 1917, 125,000 persons contributed $42,214,800 to the second liberty loan, exceeding the quota of $30,000,000 by $12,214,800. For the third liberty loan, April, 1918, the quota was $25,000,000, and 87,000 persons subscribed $30,661,950, or $5,661,950 more than the quota. In September, 1918, the state quota of $50,- 000,000 for the fourth liberty loan was exceeded by $15,889,150 and 143,830 persons contrib- uted. The final bond issue, known as the victory loan of 1919, was over subscribed to the amount of $7,842,700 when 63,100 persons contributed $45,342,700. The total of bond sales in Rhode Island was $209,444,100, or $42,764,100 more than the total of quotas, which amounted to $166,680,000. In addition Rhode Island bought liberally of war savings stamps and thrift stamps, the total of purchases reaching probably $4,000,000. To every call for money the response was generous. Before the declaration of war Brown University collected money for three ambulances for the American field ambulance service in France. In May, 1917, nearly $11,000 was subscribed for the Joffre fund for homeless French children. Other con- tributions included $10,000 to the Providence "Journal's" "Our boys' tobacco fund"; $30,000 to the Knights of Columbus fund for soldier huts; $5000 by Hebrews, for relief of war victims in Belgium ; $30,000 for the relief of Halifax, following the explosion of munitions ; $52,531 for the Boy Scouts; $14,000 for the Salvation Army relief fund ; $1,500,000 for united war relief : $879,576 in 1917 for the Red Cross, exceeding the quota by $129,576; and, in 1918, $1,144,812 for the Red Cross, besides the enrollment of 128,849 members. The list is not exhaustive so much as illustrative of the devotion of the people of Rhode Island. A soldiers' and sailors' club was opened in Providence in August, 1918.
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WAR TIME CONSTRUCTION-Active work in Rhode Island directly affecting war purposes included the construction of a monster cantonment at Newport for men training for the navy. In October, 1917, the United States government leased thirteen acres at Field's Point for the construction of a boiler-making plant. The Lord Construction Company leased 232,000 square feet of land at Field's Point in March, 1918, and erected a plant for outfitting vessels of the new emergency fleet of merchantmen being built by the United States Shipping Board. The "Coy- otte," first of the emergency fleet, arrived May 20 for outfitting. The Aberthaw Construction Company began the building of concrete ships near Field's Point in May. At East Greenwich a plant for the construction of airplanes was erected. Besides these, a great many manufacturing plants were engaged in filling government contracts for supplies of various kinds, and special temporary plants were constructed for certain purposes, including the manufacture of explo- sives. Because of the importance of some contracts, and the destruction of property in other parts of the United States by alleged German sympathizers, many industrial plants were care- fully watched by armed guards, and extraordinary precautions were taken. Public buildings were guarded also, and watchmen were on duty at the State House and at the Butler-Duncan mansion on Smith Street, which had been loaned as an annex to be used by new divisions of service established during the war. Coast defences were manned, and the entrances to Narra- gansett Bay were guarded by the navy. A German submarine was reported off Newport on June 3, 1918, and on the fifth of June the gate in the net closing the harbor entrance against sub- marines was ordered closed from 8 p. m. to 5 a. m. daily. Noise of heavy explosions on one night during the summer aroused a large part of the population from slumber, and many remained awake, anticipating a raid by German naval vessels ; in the morning fear was abated when it was announced that the noise was occasioned by blasting along the shore at East Providence.
In the development of the industrial program for new manufacturing and speeding up other production, and also as part of the project for building a fleet of fabricated vessels, a need for vocational training appeared, and the United States government called upon the new fed- eral-state organization for vocational education created in 1917. Under a ruling of the Federal Board for Vocational Education that in war times every man of military age is a potential draftee, and may be prepared in evening schools for any occupation that is supplementary to war service, including manufacturing for war purposes, evening classes were established for training men for new war time occupations. In Rhode Island the new evening classes were sup- ported by federal and state appropriations, and were located at convenient places for training the type of workers needed. They served the purpose of training men engaged in non-essential occupations for entrance into employment in essential industries, including many that were posi- tively related to war service. The foundations for successful conduct of a long war were being laid at a time when the effect of America's entrance upon the war was underestimated.
WAR SERVICE OF RHODE ISLANDERS-The Rainbow Division, composed of soldiers from more than twenty states, was characteristic of the national army in the World War. The mili- tary policy of the War Department negatived the identity and importance of state origins. After the initial mustering of National Guard units into federal service and the organization of these into divisions for the purpose of landing an army in France at the earliest moment possible, volunteers were accepted as individuals and others were drafted without reference to states other than a distribution of quotas equitably. Regiments did not bear state names, as they had in the Revolutionary and Civil Wars. For the reason that the navy is recruited and organized on a national rather than a state basis, state contributions to naval achievements are difficult of identification, except in such instances as the creation of the first United States navy from a fleet of Rhode Island vessels commanded and manned principally by Rhode Island captains and sailors under Admiral Esek Hopkins, and the Rhode Island expedition to Lake Erie in
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1813 led by Oliver Hazard Perry. Similarly the courageous deeds of brave Rhode Islanders in the World War for the most part are merged in the general story of the success of American arms. In the World War the role of staff military correspondent accompanying the army was suppressed by an effective censorship; hence newspapers printed little more than brief dis- patches from which anything that might comfort the enemy or give him information about the movement of troops was rigorously deleted. Long letters home were as thoroughly "verboten" in the allied armies as were many activities within the Teutonic lines. When a soldier was per- mitted to write home, he sent a postcard dated "somewhere in France" and recording little more than a wish that everybody at home was well ; the card was evidence that he had been alive when it was mailed some weeks earlier than its receipt.
When the boys came home they were not communicative about their experiences ; gallantry and enthusiasm had passed out of war. Their reticence indicated their wish to forget, and their short answers to questions were broad hints that they did not choose to be interviewed. The American Legion, although a closely knit fraternal organization, has not preserved the romance that was characteristic of the Grand Army of the Republic. The World War was not like the Civil War ; it was not romantic, and the memories of the trenches, of barrages, of blind charges into No-man's-land and over the top are not pleasant. It was all too terrible in stark realism. The identification of Rhode Island service is limited to a few units that originated in Rhode Island and maintained their identity. One of these was the One Hundred Third United States Field Artillery, including Batteries A, B and C, which had been recruited in the expansion of Battery A, Rhode Island National Guard. The three Rhode Island batteries participated in the major movements in which the Yankee Division was an important factor in 1918, but, as they were assigned from time to time to different positions, the stories of the batteries vary in detail, particularly in the instance of Battery C, whose fortune apart from Batteries A and B was determined in the first separation at Camp Boxford, from which it moved first, though destined to reach France last. The service of the three batteries after leaving their French training camp at Coetquidan was as follows :
Battery A was stationed first at Bucy le Long in the Chemin-des-Dames sector, and won its first citation for promptness and accuracy of firing from Chemin-des-Dames on February 19, when it was called upon to cover a French attack. The battery removed from Bucy le Long in March to the Brienne area for division manoeuvres with the Yankee Division, but the manoeuvres were abandoned and the battery was dispatched to the Toul sector as part of the Allies' defence against the German drive on Amiens. General Pershing had placed his Amer- ican army at the disposal of and under the command of Marshal Foch, and the Yankee Division relieved the First Division, taking over the defence of sixteen miles on the front at Toul. Bat- tery A was assigned to man several guns, including "Betsy the Sniper," the most advanced cannon on the Toul sector. The official historians of Battery A relate the story of Betsy the Sniper thus: "No camouflage concealed her ; no camouflage ever could, so prominent, so con- spicuous was her little 'place in the sun.' The infantrymen knew Betsy, for she was usually roaring as they silently marched to the trenches. By them she was called 'The Ground Hog,' because after firing it was customary to run her into a casement or garage for protection. . As the sniper gun was only a kilometer distant from the enemy's front line trenches, it was possible to fire with uncanny accuracy and damaging effect. Thus by day and by night Betsy harassed and annoyed with marvelous success. For this reason the Germans shelled" Betsy's position "more frequently than any other gun position in the sector. With consistent regularity were received 'morning hates, afternoon hates, evening hates and midnight hates.' . Bar none, every gas in their repertoire was employed by the Teutons. Tear gas and sneezing gas, chlorine, phosgene and mustard gas were used and re-used in an effort to silence Betsy. But Betsy always replied, gas for gas, and the ground around her was dotted thick with
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holes made by shells of various calibres. So often was" Betsy "shelled and gassed that the posi- tion became known throughout the sector as 'Hell's Half Acre.'" During the German attack on Seicheprey, for twenty-four hours beginning April 20, not less than 2,000 shells were dropped on Betsy's position, but, "though shells were bursting in tens and twenties around her, Betsy never ceased to roar." Three hundred fifty-three rounds of ammunition were fired in the twenty-four hours by the sniping gun alone, with Captain Barker acting as a member of the gun crew. Sergeant Joshua K. Broadhead, on detached service with Battery B was killed April 20, being the first member of Battery A to die in action.
Other incidents during occupation of the Toul sector included the "Million Dollar Bar- rage" on May 31, so called because of the money value of the ammunition used, in the course of which the German first, second and third lines of defence at Richecourt were completely demol- ished ; the repulse of a German surprise attack in the battle of Xivray, June 16, and the German effort to destroy Betsy the Sniper on the afternoon of June 19. The Germans concentrated the fire of three batteries of 150-millimetre and 210-millimetre howitzers on Betsy, directing the gunners from two observation balloons. For two hours shells with slow fuses were fired at intervals of three minutes ; then followed a deluge of shot and shell at a rate of sixty per minute. Dugouts were smashed, a powder magazine was penetrated and the contents exploded. Eight men were killed, including one from Battery A, and others were buried in debris, from which they were released by shovelling. Betsy was silent, overwhelmed for the time being by so much extraordinary attention, and night fell while the batterymen were digging vigorously in the effort to rescue comrades. Betsy had recovered from her embarrassment when morning dawned, however, and was still in service when the Twenty-sixth Division was relieved a week later, and Battery A was replaced by other artilleryists. Betsy the Sniper was withdrawn then and removed with the battery.
Battery A participated in hard and continuous fighting, moving forward steadily from old to new and more advanced positions in the American movement from Chateau Thierry in July, 1918, and was ordered relieved on August 4 and sent to the rear for rest and recuperation. Early in September the Yankee Division, including Battery A, was recalled to participate in the American drive on the St. Mihiel salient. Battery A was engaged in the artillery preparation for the steady advance of American infantry. In the Verdun battle Battery A was assigned to a position in Death Valley, which was shelled steadily by the Germans ; from the valley Battery A laid barrages for several attacks. The armistice of November I I ended the fighting with Bat- tery A in position near Verdun. The losses included three killed in action, three deaths by acci- dent, six deaths from disease, and thirty-four wounded.
Battery B, after a period of service with little fighting at Bucy le Long, entrained on March 18 for Chavanges, which was reached the following day. The battery then traveled, mostly over the road, some 300 miles in eighteen days through French villages, with the purpose of reviving French hope by demonstration that the Americans had come. Battery B next was assigned to the Toul sector, the position being near the famous Dead Man's curve, which was constantly under German fire. The battery was exposed to heavy cannonading on April 20. dur- ing which Lieutenant Dyer and Sergeant Broadhead, of Battery A, assigned temporarily to service with Battery B, were killed. Battery B lost several effectives by wounds. Along with the ambulances in a dangerous trip around Dead Man's Curve came Father William J. Farrell, chaplain ; he was wounded while ministering to the men who had been stricken, and himself was carried back in an ambulance to a hospital.
Battery B was shelled on May 5, 1918, the Germans using Russian shells and ammunition, some of which had been manufactured in Rhode Island. For the time being these "messages from home" were not appreciated. The battery also participated in the "Million Dollar Bar- rage" of May 31, and was under heavy fire on June 16, when the Germans attempted to silence
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American batteries in preparation for the battle at Xivray. Private Fred Harmon was killed in action. In these engagements Battery B and Battery A were defending the same sector, though assigned to different positions. Battery B was withdrawn from Toul on June 28 and started for what was expected to be a period of rest and recuperation. From the latter, even before it had begun, the battery was recalled when the Yankee Division was ordered to relieve the Second Division and the Marines after the decisive German reverse at Belleau Woods. The Yankee Division did more than relieve; it moved forward in the advance from Chateau Thierry which drove the Germans from their trenches and necessitated the Teuton general retreat in midsum- mer of 1918. Paris had been saved, and the Rhode Island batteries had participated in the movement. Battery B was in action almost continuously through the month of July and until August 5, when it was relieved. After two weeks of rest at Leugley, Battery B moved again on August 25, and, traveling partly by rail and partly by road, joined in the American drive against the salient at St. Mihiel. The attack opened on Friday, September 13, and reached the Hinden- burg line ; Battery B's first position in this movement was at Saint Remy. On October 10 the battery was relieved and took up the march to the rear. On October 12, because of a mistake in taking the wrong turn at a junction. the battery marched forty-one miles, twenty of which were not necessary, consisting in making and retracing a hike of ten miles in the wrong direction. The battery was called back for service in the American drive on Verdun, its position being at Bois de Balcourt, five miles from the city. In this position Battery B remained, under fire and firing, until November II and armistice. Of Battery B, three were killed in action, two died from wounds which proved to be fatal, one as a result of gassing, and three from disease.
Battery C's first position on the actual fighting front was at Allemont, near the Soissons- Laon road, in the Chemin-des-Dames sector. There it maintained a steady exchange of fire with the Germans. After an excessively heavy bombardment on the night of March 16, 1918, the battery was withdrawn on March 18. The prospect of rest was dispelled by orders assigning Battery C to the Toul sector to relieve Battery F, Fifth Field Artillery, First Division. Actu- ally the battery had been moved as a contingent of the Yankee Division to the same front along which Batteries A and B were operating; for the time being the three Rhode Island batteries were "together, though separated." Battery C was engaged in the battles at Bois Brule, Apre- mont Wood, Xivray and Richecourt, the latter known as the "Million Dollar Barrage." At Seicheprey, Lieutenant Lawrence S. Ayer was killed in action. There also a detachment, which had sought refuge in a dugout when the Germans opened their drive with a heavy barrage, emerged to find themselves in the midst of a horde of the enemy ; the Yankees were surrounded and sent to the German rear as prisoners. Corporal Edward L. Veaudry of Battery C was cited for gallant conduct at Seicheprey, for which he was awarded the Croix de Guerre. The battery was withdrawn for rest on June 27, but was recalled almost immediately for service near Chat- eau Thierry. Battery C was at Hill 204 on July 15, when the German drive was repulsed, and in the final bombardment by the Germans on July 19 three were killed-William Osmolski, David Papineau, and Frank Sylvia. In the American counter-drive the battery was constantly engaged in the successive battles at Epieds, Courpoil, Beuvardes and the Ourcq. After a short rest the battery was recalled to service in the St. Mihiel sector and before Verdun. Seven mem- bers were killed in action on October 24-Bacon, Eicke, Humphreys, Bourne, Becker, Rumsey and Dennis. A German shell landed in the gun pit of the first section, killing Bacon, Humph- reys, Rumsey and Becker. Bourne was killed by a second shell while going to the assistance of his comrades. Eicke and Dennis were killed by a third shell while attempting to reach the gun pit. Distinguished service crosses were awarded to Russell Bourne, one of the dead, and to Thomas Hickey and Walter F. Lyons for bravery in an effort to carry assistance to comrades.
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