Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-04-09

mination. AT times during the meet
ing, especially when the Rev. DR..
Robert Bagnell, pastor of Grace
Methodist Church, was speaking it
was harG TO tell where patriotism
or grim determination held sway.
DR.. Bagnell's address was one OF
the most stirring that has been given
in the city since the war began.
There was nothing of compromise,
nothing o. Goubt. nothing.for the
traitor in the mighty words with
which he shook the hall.
Whenever and wherever the Ger
man army has met either the Brit
ish or the French armies on any
thing like even conditions there the
German has been defeated" ex-
claimed the minister.
For the time being our army in
France is being placed in a sector
here and a sector there. 1t is losing
for the time its identity as an Amer
lean Army to meet the emergency.
But" he exploded, there the Ger
man will find a wall adamant"
Don't think we are fighting only
the Kaiser; we are fighting every
man, woman and child in the Faith
erland."
1t was in such terms Lieutenant
O'Brien outlined the task confront
ing America in bringing the war to
a successful termination. Lightly
swinging the walking stick he has
carried through all his service in
England and France. the lieutenant,
in calm, well-modulated voice.
quietly but convincingly gave an ac-
&ount of the methods employed by
the Germans in their warfare against
the allies. There was not a man,
woman or child in the audience last
night who was not impressed with
the story of the alert young lieu
tenant, and not one that did not go
away with a firm conviction the war
must he waged until Germany is
beaten.
In Royal Flying Corps
Telling the complete story of his
experience, Lieutenant O'Brien de-
Clared he got into the English flying
corps when he was tired of seeing
our innocent women and children
killed on the high seas. and when
il seemed that we would never get
into the fight" Forty minutes after
he arrived in Canada he was in the
Royal Flying Corps, and soon after
in England.
Shortly after his period of train
ing in England he was sent 10
France with one of the flying squad
rons, where he was detailed to spe-
cial work. At this point in his
speech the lieutenant gave eXplana-
tions OF, a number of phases of
flyer's duties. Special work. such as
using machine guns on infantry, he
described as particularly difficult
and dangerous. The flyer has to fly
at an altitude of fifty to sixty feet,
constant target for the guns of the
enemy, and at the same time run
ming the risk of falling.
Lieutenant O'Brien described the
thrill of seeing his first enemy air.
plane fall from the sky. The first
plane he downed fell 1900 feet,
turning and twisting as it crashed to
earth with its human freight, and
throwing a cloud of dust as it struck
the earth below.
Its not a pleasant sight when
YOU think of it one way" he said.
but it made me feel pretty big"
Tells of Capture by Huns
Then followed the lieutenant's
story of how he was captured by
the Huns. While accommodating one
day with two companions, he de-
toured to take try at bringing down
an enemy observation balloon He
told how he dived down from a dis
tance of 1000 feet into the clouds
and when he came out almost ran
into two observation airplanes of the
enemy. He succeeded in downing
one, but the, other destroyed the in
strhments of his machine, and at the
same time shot him through the up
per lip and the roof of his mouth.
lie did not remember the spiral drop
to the earth which wrecked his ma
chine, but Ito show you the luck of
the 1rish,' he said. Il landed within
$50 feet of a hospital"
At the hospital the Germans de-
clared that Americans who entered
the war before America was in it
were no better than murderers. 1t
was while at the hospital the Ger
mans wheeled him into the open to
witness a duel between six English
and sixteen German airplanes Two
of each dropped within sight of the
lieutenant, and a German guard
brought to him a picture of his best