Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1917-11-09
BRITISH OFFICER
TELLS ROTARIANS
VIVID WAR STORY
Enthusiasm of AtIantianS Over
Fiery and Patriotic Appeal
Most Remarkable Demon
StratiOn in Clubs History

| Piedmont hotel Tuesday. brought the
war closer home to Atlanta than any
man who has spoken here in many a
long day.
The Rotarians had not known he was
going to speak although there was some
| talk of a second guest of honor besides
Billy sunday. They had heard Mr.. sun
day and they had cheered him and Mrs
Sunday. and they had sung Brighten
the Corner Where You Are" with Homer
Rodeheaver.
And then they had settled back in
their seats as Billy Sunday departed.
TO wait for the second guest of honor.
The second guest of honor had been
sitting quietly over in one corner, lis
tening to Billy Sunday. Now, as his
name was called-"Captain David Fall
lou,',-he got up and mounted the plat
form and looked down at the Rotarians
while the Rotarians looked up at him.
The Rotarians saw sduare-shOuldeT-
ed. STRAIGHTFORWARD young man in the
uniform OF an officer of the British
army. the light khaki uniform with the
swinging pockets and the leather strap
over the shoulder. the long roll collar,
and the worn tan puttees.
They saw pair Of kindly brown eyes
under even black brows. set in a face
that was handsome i'm spite of the great
red blotch on the left side. They saw
the blotch-the red blotch that began
up by the forehead and disappeared
into his collar-and they knew what it
meant.
They knew too. why Captain David
FaIIon's right arm hung withered by his
right side.
Just looking at him standing there
that boyish chap in the brown uniform,
who had gone over the top and been
wounded fifteen times and yet had shout
him simple modesty that looked
straight out at you out of his brown
syes-there came over you before ever
he began to speak a thrill that needed
no music nor flag waving to effect
you.
And when he spoke. he shook those
Rotarians so that they rose to their
feet and cheered and yelled, while hot
flame of patriotism burned through
them TO their very vitals.
WORDS OF FIRE.
He did not employ many gestures, eX-
cept to flatten the table with his fist
from time to time-his left fist, for he
cannot use the right-and he did not
crate exactly, although his words were
as fierce ard fiery as any orators. But
he told them facts, blistering facts,
about the war, and he painted picture
a
lea does not fight that set your heart
10 pounding and your blood to racing
like a mill stream. He was not there
to make an appeal. only to talk, but had
he called for converts to the banner Of
patriotism no man present but would
have hit the trail"
Gentlemen of the Rotary club" he
began. with just that slight foreign ac-
cent even Australians have, Il am
glad TO speak to you today, / am glad 70
follow on this platform. where Billy
Sunday has spoken to you. for he has
told YOU the truth. His philosophy is
right! Gentlemen, We think too COM
mercially. we think too materially for
a time like this. The whole world is
being menaced, and yet you don't give
a damn for the other fellow"
His words rang through the silence,
the words of man who has been there,
who has seen the hell of war, who
knows.
He bored straight to the heart of
things, he swept aside the little nom
essentials. he made you see that there
is something else to think about right
now than business and money making
and petty family afafirs and what you
will have for dinner. He did not
say this, he made you feel ii. for what
he did say was that over there men
are dying by the tens and thousands,
over there cities are darkened, women
are in tears, countries are ravaged, lit
tie children killed, mothers and sisters
ruined-kiddies like yours, and moth
ers and sisters like yours and mine
over there they are suffering as no
people have suffered, while in America
we are trOtting down to work in the
morning and GUESSING the janitor be-
cause the heat wasn't turned on.
1T is awful in those cities, gentle
men,. he said. over there we are in
mourning"
He said that because America is four
thousand miles away America is not
walked up. But when il comes, he said,
it may be that the awakening will be
terrible.
"Ah. you do not know, you do not
know, Germany will hesitate at
nothing-nothing, She will treat you
as she treated Rumania. She will cap
ture a city and she will tell your busi-
ness men-business men like you, gem
tIemen-to raise a million dollars ran
som by morning. And when you do not
raise il by morning, they will kill your
business men. they Will kill your chill
dren and every woman in your city will
be ill-used. That is German kultur that
Is what is meant by kaiserism. And do
not think that Germany cannot do il.
Her C-boats may be upon your shores
tomorrow Every one of them carries
a hydroplane, and by morning they
could wing over your city and blow you
and your city to hell,<
America is not awake. Germany has
been preparing to crush the world, and
Germany will crush the world if you don't
get a move on. 1t is not just the kais-
er and his iunkers-don't fool yourself,
It Is Germanis. all Germania, its philos-
ophy and kultur-that is sucking in the
world"
And then he described the horrid de-
vastation of No Mans Land-the shell
craters so deep that one of them could
swallow the Gambler building and make
nothing of it,
TORTURE OF CAPTIVES.
Your first casualty list came i'm yes
aterday." he said. DO you know what
happened when our first casualty list
came in? The men who were marked
missing on il were crucified by the Ger
mans Their bodies were nailed to
crosses and their heads were cut off. We
could see them-fifty Yards from our
trenches. where the Germans raised
them-their mangled. bleeding bodies on
the cross.
Gentlemen. there were men marked
missing on your first casualty list
THAT Is WHAT HAPPENED TO