Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1917-05-22
PENS NEW
CHAPTER IN HISTORY
AS FLAG IS HOISTED
Sons of the South Are Given
a "GOd Speed" That Long
Will Live as One of City'S
Most MOmentouS Events


Saturday afternoon. when the great
est parade Atlanta ever saw passed in
review before Major General Leonard
Wood
1t was an Atlanta chapter in the
greatest volume OF history the world
has ever known, the pages of which
are being written in blood and fire on
the battlefelds OF Europe today.
What Atlanta's eventual part and
what the nations part in that terrible
book will be before 'finis" is written to
il, only God knows.
But at least Atlanta can cherish the
knowledge today that she has given
her sons God speed" which will go
down TO future generations as the
mightiest demonstration the world war
has yet brought forth in the south.
Some day little children who strug-
gled in the crowd at Five Points yes
terday will look back and recall this
time with pride. with patriotism and
perhaps with great sorrow. Even as
the grandfather of today recalls the
first regiment in gray which marched
away for Dixie" so will the grand
father Of tomorrow tell of the day when
the men of 1917 marched through Five
Points before General Leonard Wood.
A WORTHY SETTING.
The setting was worthy of the parade.
From the junction of the two Peach
trees 10 Mitchell street, the sidewalks
were a jam of people on either side, and
at Five Points itself the crowd was at
its greatest.
People were packed in solid triangle
fanked on one side by the Fourth Ma
tiCuaI bank building. on another by Tom
Pitts cigar store. on a third by the
Liggett Drug company. They were
solid for half block Up Marietta street,
for a block up Peachtree street to Au-
burn avenue. another half block down
Decatur street, and in a thick section
up the viaduct.
From high above, the triangle must
have looked like a wedge of pie, with
the steel fagpoIe sticking up in the
middle like some fantastic decoration.
Looking down from the reviewing stand
the crowd was a veritable riot OF color
in the bright May sunshine-straw hats
hobbing back and forth as if they had
been scattered there by a giants hand,
women's gay hats of green and blue and
yellow. a dash of the national colors
here and there, all jammed so tight that
paper thrown from the office buildings
high above tossed here and there on
the shoulders of the people and could
not seep through TO the pavement.
HUMANITY FRINGED ROOFS
one side of the Fourth National Bank
building was peppered with heads stick
.us from windows at every floor, with
beads like tiny balls outlined against
the sky on top. on top of kuhn's res
taurant was a fringe of people that
seemed likely TO force the big Nunnal-
Tvs sign over TO the street, and on the
-sign-itself- were +Derched- a dozen men
Another big electric sign on Tom Pitts
Mace was dotted with more men, and Sc
was the sign across the street, and the
roof of the Empire building, the people
so high up and far away that they be-
came midgets perched, mosquito-wise
on she coping.
Somebody had flown a kite from the
roof of the Empire building and run
out figs on the string. The red Kite
tuRged against a white cloud in the
blue sky, and then came blue kite and
next old Glory, the Tri-color of France
and the brave banner Of England.
such was Five Points at 1880 o'clock
when the California Boys band beat a
wav through the crowd down Marietta
street and took up its position on a
wooden stand in the caves of the re
viewing stand. which stood in the
shadow Of the Fourth National Bank
building.
STREETS WE'RE CHOKED..
The parade was scheduled to move
hut the crowd was solid from wall &c
wall across the triangle and it seemed
as if "there'd be no show this evening
there'd be no show tonight" How
could there be, when it was all a mar
could do to breathe in that jam, much
less make way for regiment of sol
diers?
slowly the police began to cut a lane
through the crush Cars had got caught
i'm the middle of the crowd and men
were trying TO climb on the roofs; the
people on the viaduct were like sar'
dimes in boxes; they surged back and
forth while the California Boys band
brought them TO a cheer with It's q
Long Ways TO Tipperary."
As fast as the police cleared a mar
row passageway. il became choked ur
as people were pushed out into the op-
ening But finally a lane less than six
feet wide was cut through the crush.
THEN THE PARADE.
1t was long past the hour for the pa
rade to mave-thirty minutes or more
when a squad of mounted policemen
nosed around the corner near Auburn
avenue and began to ride into the crowd
pressing them back toward the curbing
until the parade proper could get
through.
And then the parade came.
Around the curve rode Adjutant Cen
eraI J. Van Holt Nash, grand marshal
with his staff. AS he neared the review
ing sta-1-and so did every officer in
the Iine-his hand went TO the salute
snd his eyes turned TO the right, where
General Wood, an inconspicuous figure
ia olive drab. stood at attention.
s=re --oys BAR had been playing al
intervals all through the long wait and
the crowd had cheered every now and
ther. but now a kind Of quiet settled OF
the multitude, and from that on until
ire last automobile had pushed through
the press there were few ovations ex-
capt staccato handclapping from the re-
viewing stand
THRONG IS SILENT.
II was a strange thing-the quiet OF
that crowd. The same men and womer
at that same place, Five Poitns. hac
srHt their throats a-yelling on many g
yesternight when the returns came IN
from Hackensack county, showing tha'
Bill Blevins was running second In tht
race for the state legislature.
But now they just stood stolidly and
watched while their sons and brothers
marched IL wasn't any funeral silence
90 wasn't sad or even ominous, but 4
was solemn. too solemn for cheers wher
many Of them felt more like tears.
II was the first big unit in line. th'