New Britain herald., 1918-05-18
CANADIAN VETERAN
 KNOWS RED CROSS
Hero Of Viny Ridge Makes Plea to
 Support Present Drive

New Britain's Red Cross drive for $100,000 was officially introduced to the citizens at a big mass meeting held last evening at the Lyceum theater,
 presided owed by Principal Marcus White of the Normal school Mayor George A. Quigley was called upon to make the initial speech and after
 briefly setting forth the request that
 has been made to this city, recalling the splendid manner in which New
 Britainites have always responded to
 patriotic appeals and expressing the
 firm conviction that the old home town will a gain go over her allotment he concluded with the joint prediction
 hope that the conclusion of this
 war will see the flag, of the Huns
 dragged through the dust while the American Eagle flies over the top
 The musical mum bers on the even ing program were well rendered, the Liberty chorus singing under the di-
 rection of George B. Matthews.
 Seated on the stage were mum erous
 prominent citizens, including many of
 the clergy of both the Protestant and
 Catholic churches.
 War Till Kaiser Is Beaten.
 Officially representing the Red
 Cross of America was Commissioner
 Luther D. Wishard who promised his
 audience that he was not going to give
 them an oration, but was going to say
 things that would get them angered-
 at Germany. He fulfilled his promise.
 Commissioner Wishard spent but little time explaining the work of the Red Cross, preferring to let the Canadian veteran do that. Instead he told of numerous German atrocities with which he was familiar and also in c]uded a list of most terrible Turkish atrocities Many of these were blood curdling and some of those that were desecrations of the womanhood of Europe were terrible in the extreme, and while they were admissible in a mixed audience where the speaker was dlivering a m message straight from the shoulder they would not look well in 1 print. MT. Wishard told his audience ] that few people understand the nature and character of the Prussian soldier better than he does. since during the war of 1870 he travelled among the Prussian army. He also said he has travelled extensively among the Turks and knows their murderous nature. He then briefly traced the growth of tho world-power craze of the German people, saving that the idea was con- ceived by Bismark, that military monster who first stole two rich provinces from Denmark. He likewise told of some of Ambassador Gerard S experiences, one of which was with the Kaiser when the latter said that after the war Germany would stand for no nonsense from America.
 At another time the kaiser scoffed 1 at America as a war factor, saying l that there are 100000 German reser- l vists in America who would rise up. 1 It was to this statement that Gerard 1 made his famous reply that there l are 10000 lamp posts in the United
 States to hang them on." Commis- 1 sioner Wishard delved into early Am 1 erican history and deplored the teach l ings of the past which developed a 1 hatred of Americans for England. 1 The American revolutionary war was 1 not a war against England and the 1 British people, he said. He then ex- ] plained how ot the time the king of | England was a German-a ibertine l who could carcely speak the language we'll. He also declared that during 1 the Revolutionary war the Yankee l soldiers fought more Germans than l they did British soldiers because the 1 British people were not in favor of 1 the war so the Libertine King had to l go back to his fatherland and hire his
 Hessian soldiers to fight his battles. 1 In conclusion Commissioner Wish l ard told of a recent conversation he 1 had with General Pershing in France, 1 during the course of which he him.
 self asked the never forgotten ques- T f1,t ,t,,1-
 the war will end?" General Pershing ] replied: 1T think I know when the
 war will end. It will end when the
 kaiser Is whipped"
 Battle Scared Hero Talks.
 In introducing Private l.. Upte- ] grove, a Canadian veteran who was | with the First Canadian Battalion at | the Western Front, Principal White
 said that he found it extremely diff ! cult to talk like a man to man who 1 has fought in this war ior in his | presence he did not feel like a man. | Private Uptegrove, although a wound | ed veteran of the worlds greatest war. l seemed hardly moro than a boy and | told his story in the straightforward, | earnest fashion of youth. He said
 that until last Tuesday night he had l never made a public speech in his life. | He needed no apologies, however. for
 his talk was connected, interesting | and held the attention of his audi l ence. When the young soldier arose
 to talk he was rendered such an ova- 1 ton as was never given any of the 1 famous dramatic stars who have ap- ! peared in the past on the Lyceun- : stage. Handclapping started the ap- plause, which developed into pan 1 demonium of stamping of feet, shouts