Palisadian. [volume] (Cliffside Park, N.J.) 1906-current, 1917-04-07
Home Defence Meeting
Continued from page u

But for an unfortunate tilt be-
tween Capt. Boyce, of the U. S. Army
and congressman A. G.. Hart, of
Hackensack, the evening would have
passed off without hitch. Capt.
Boyce made one Of the most impress
sive talks on preparedness ever de-
livered in the borough. He told of
the difficulties of drilling recruits at
Governors Island this season, where
he had undertaken TO show some 5000
Americans how to be soldiers. These
candidates for service had come from
all ranks of society, he said, and had
been forced to drill with broomsticks,
unable to get arms from the govern |
ment at Washington. Capt. Boyce
told how he had applied for aid in
this direction, but had failed, and at
last, firing Of all forms of approach
to the administration, he had gone to
Washington, and with an engraved
card attached, had sent broom
stick to each United States Senator
as an object lesson of ineiiiciency and
Indifference to the needs of the coun
try in the matter of preparation.
Capt. Boyce fayed the Congress cf
America for allowing two and a
half years to pass without any effort
to mend matters or to prepare for
war, and declared that there was
never a Congress on record so abso
lutely unworthy of communication as
the one that had only recently gone
out of commission. His language
was so plain and vivid, and so alto
gether denunciatory, and so bitter
ly partisan, that some of his audience
wondered why it was necessary to
make his attack-an attack which
left nothing to be desired to show
his utter contempt for the Ameri-
can Congress, which he called i'm
potent and incompetent. Maybe it
was all these things, but there sat
x-Congressman Hart who had been
party to the laundering mess at
Washington.
But with all that, Capt. Boyce's
speech was most impressive, his
style being simple, undemonstrative,
almost inaudible at times, yet easily
understood always, for his patient,
accurate enunciation was process
of eloquence at once unusual and
applause in places, and alluded to his
OWH SUI WIlOiu itC itdQ UldlllSQ w DS
a soldier, saying he was proud of his
work To this remark Mr.. Hart
made vigorous reply, stating that he,
too, had four sons, each of which
would be a soldier, aided and abetted
by his father, and this, too, brought
forth salvo of applause.
Following Capt. Boyce, Mr.. Hart
pitched into the gallant army
man and handled his statements
without gloves, pointing out what
the administration had done for the
general advancement of the country,
putting into force the most beneficial
legislation of modern record, includ-
ing the banking law, which was the
wonder, the envy and the admiration
of the whole world. In fact, Mr.. Hart
said that the American Banking Law
was a safety valve for the whole
World Of fiaafhce H all countries, |
since America would undoubtedly
lead the worlds finance from the date
of this bills passage on for the next
century.
Judge Seufert next made one of
his characteristic speeches. He has
the studied style of the effective
orator, makes his plays for sympathy
in set phrases, and lacks the spon-
taneous magnetism of Capt. Boyce
or Mr.. Hart But the judge had good
attention, albeit he did not excite any
thing like the warm admiration Of
the others. He lacked something,
and there We're those present who
thought he must have been worn
down by excessive duties and there
lacked a certain spirit and fire that
was looked for He dwelt largely
upon patriotic duty at this hour, and
impressed the necessity of nome pro-
lection without delay.