The sun., 1917-09-22
RECRUITING DRIVE
THRILLS BROADWAY
Men of 23d Regiment Raid
White Light Crowds for
Rockies.
EVERY BEAU 4 TARGET
10000 Hear Bands Play Ma
tiOnal Anthcm-SOldicrs
Punch SOapbOxcr.

Twenty thousand people. packed IN
Broadway within two blocks of Forty
second street. stood uncovered and silent
at 1880 o'clock last night while two
bands played "The Star Spansled Ban
ner" 1t was the climax to the mos,
spectacular recruiting drive ever eeer
I'm New York When the bands finished
cheer went up that shook the boari-
ing which served as temporary cover
ing for the uneasy thoroughfare.
The remarkable drive was conducted
by the Twenty third Infantry. formerly
a Brooklyn contingent, Of the New York
National Guard. They went out for
1000 men TO bring the command 10 war
strength of S.6OJ. During the afternoon
the lower city learned how active
regiment can be when 1t gets busy. 1t
was . o'clock at night when five Fifth
avenue buses loaded with soldiers and
carrying the band Of the Fourteenth
| Regiment. with the band OF the Brook
! lyn Orphan Asylum backing II up,
rolled into Times Square.
Beau- Have Hard Time.
| Behind the busses came army motors,
| dragging prairie schooners. also laden
| with militant lads in khaki. including
| many buglers whosran the scale of calls
| from revcile to taps on their brazen
| throated Instruments Within five min
| utes Broadway was ringing with the
blare of many bugles and the rcghbor-
| ing hotel lobhies and sidewalk crowds
were being searched by active young.
| sters In the olive drab. all buttonholing
! men OF service age. Particularly did they
| lay for such youths as came toward tha
| white lights with girls on their arms.
"How about YOU: when are YOU
coming" they asked of each beau.
Into hotels they went. nabbng young
travelling statesmen and demanding 10
know how long it would take them to
hear the bugle. Outside the bands
played "Tipperary.' The Girl ! L'il
Behind Me-" "Over There" and All the
things the atmosphere of war brings 10
the head of drum major for the stir-
ring OF martial spirit
In few minutes the khaki clad WORT
ers had picked up fifty men. AS each
one hit the trail he was lifted to the top
OF bus, an announcer with a voice that
might be heard a mile gurgled the secret
through multiplying megaphone and
the crowd in the streets let out a roar
When the theatres turned out Their
crowds the boys charged the long lines
OF men and women and went right after
fight They put it right up to the man
and the girl, and any fellow who didn't
have a cast iron nerve had the time OF
his life trying to be a. hero in the eY"s
OF his sweetheart.
! Col. Frank Morton. commanding the
/, regiment, and the members of tho
MAYORS committee on national defence,
who engineered the drive, watched tho
unsual scene with q rare interest. They
were out to get the 1000 men by Mon
, day night. and they had new suit Of
, khaki waiting in the Brooklyn armrry
for each OF the new recruits
, Punch One Soap Boxer.
, While the big doings were in progress
at the busiest spot in New York's night
S life a truckload OF soldiers started things
down at Broadway and Thirty-scventn
street where the soap box elucidators Of
eminent truths nightly meet TO instruct
$ the public.
/, A couple OF meetings were In prog
e resa The boys mistook them for t'"
5 same sort that had brought Cleveland
NIoffett into action. They were not. ON
, one soap box IA serious minded person
= was instilling into the Broadway mind
j | the value to be derived from riding the
: water wagon and voting the Prohibition
ticket On the other Irving Morowi.;,
e representing the New York Secular So
II | Ciety, was lambaSting the orthOdoN. lfe
y had Just reached the point where he
g was griling his Eminence the Pope for
I having written the peace proposal 20
= which Mr. Wilson recently replied. He
!. kept right on.
u The Prohibition advocate decided that
the time and tho place were not prop
= tious for advancing the cause Of total
4 ahstinence and fed. The soldiers ran
q their machine straight into the crowd
ii that sur loundod MorowitZ. They didn't
e know exactly what he was talking about
! but IT sounded like International chattc'
L. and they pulled him from his tripod %
'S wisdom and yanked him up to the mex
/ corner. where they proceeded to puncl
} him Everybody in that section o.
u Broadway carries "a police whistle ant
they shrieked in chorus A dozen con-
| responded.
IT They found the speaker, dshevellec
IL and angry. discourstng upon the forcibl'
interruption of free speech. but the sol
~ ders had faded into the crowd Th'
- polire got MorowitZ to take Broadway
~ car. and as he did the street crow'
r yelled
~. Guess youll go back to Madison
+, Square now
" The soldiers tackled Columbus Circle
Times square, Madison Square ant
Union Square during the evening |
was announced that 400 men and fou
'd hands would try Bowling Green am