The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-10-28

American to the front and actually engaged in warfare has changed the
 morale of the entire German army. The Germans have never believed there was any fight in Americans, and the blow
 they have received by their entrance into actual service has given them a lick right between the eyes, which is hard for them to believe. I could have 1 told them it was different, because of the big lot of American fellows who
 went out with my regiment the First 1 Canadian, early in August, 1914, just when the war was beginning | This vital statement from Sergt. Mai. i John Parker. one of the four discharged wounded soldiers from the Canadian army, who will appear next week at the I Lyric, relating their experiences in the | great world war to Americans, struck
 me as being very significant
 Standing 6 feet inches tall, this splendid brave young Irishman, for Ma jor Parker laughingly told me that ne was proud to say he was from the Elm erald Isle, although he was always re- ieel ed to py the newspapers as French Canadian, is magnificent specimen of manhood; his clear blue eyes and care | less laugh, his splendid courage, his gameness, no tears, no flinching no mourning, bespeak nobility of heart and mind for the "bit' he has done in fac 1 ing danger, pain, and sudden death rather than see the free people of the world dominated by military oppression and autocracy.
 A figure of superb unselfishness and keen determination is this fair haired young Irishman, every inch a soldier. l ~tx %1, man attacks which deprived him of his right hand, five ribs, one of his lungs, and part of his collar bone. Resentful? :? Not bit of it: you'd think he'd hate ] every blooming German alive, and .he | very mention of war, and he does | swear a bit" now and then-but he's 1 fair, is this fine young fellow, for he told me in very tender. gentle way, that one of his pals" who had been wounded received the most kindly treat ment from German surgeon, and the prettiest piece of work he had ever seen was done by this same surgeon for this same pal who had practically been shot l to pieces by the surgeons countrymen. l You'd think ,there'd be nothing but malice in the heart of this fine young Irishman toward the cause and effect of
 the thing that had deprived him of his | physical members-who, when the first call came and pleasures cast their strong 1 est spell and life was ruIlest of happiness l for him-voluntarily abandoned all the I joys the physical world could offer and withdrew from home, family, ease and security to safeguard the liberties If
 others-but it isn't there; only a mar vicious pride for those now lat the l front where the spirit of the thing is 1 predominant and the flesh sub ordinate My regiment,'' Major Parker said, twas known as the Toronto regiment; | We were among the earliest to arrive on the firing line; of course the experiment wasn't new to me; I'd been in the army 19 years; the imperial (3ritish army) in the old county. I had been in India; l Sergeant Blake and I were there at the l same time, he in the infantry and in I the artillery. tWe were also in the Boer I war together. in fact all four of us Ire l pals-Blake, Cook, Healy and myself; II, senarate us if you tried.
 And you came through the Boer war 1 wl...o.t d scratcn?' I asked, eagerly l Not exactly" smiled the major. T
 was wounded once, but it was nothing l to speak off
 l The utterly indifferent manner in ! which this lusty Irishman refers to 3 wound actually makes you stop and won. l der; and then you look at him and know I what it must cost him to do this, and
 your heart just aches and the tears come
 to your eyes so fast that you can scarce | ly wipe them away to ask him the next I question.
 what was the most thrilling expert
 ence you had in the present war;" yor finally stammer out
 'eThe most thrilling?" Major Parker re- peats, always with his smiling eyes ant splendid good humor, II guess 1t was z
 gas attack at Ypres salient, before we
 had been equipped with masks. Int iFrench-Algerians were on the firing line