The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1918-05-08
Vital Facts Driven Home by
Mrs. Beatrice Forbes
Robertson Hale
HARTNESS SPEAKS
OF OVERSEAS TRIP
German Idea Is What We Are Fighting,
Asserts Mrs. Hale-Why Wheat Must
Other Cereals.

<aoSSl 0o I1dkC--V w Iy w HAloo
Be Saved in Preference to Corn and
Other Cereals.
\ war message of great intensity was
brought to large audience in the Au-
ditorium last evening, when Mrs Bea-
tricc Forbes Robertson Hale in a. com
pelling presentation drove home vital
facts of the war in way which will
not soon be forgotten The interest
which she aroused was shown near the
end of her talk, when it was past i0
o clock The speaker asked if she was
| keeping the audience too long and a
chorus of ''noes rose from the audi
encc. Applause greeted many Of the
| facts presented and intense quiet
rei2ned as She told of many of the Ger
man plans of destruction and frightful
ness. Mrs. Hale was preceded b.
James IIartness, state fuel administra
tor of Springfield, who gave a brief ac-
count of recent trip to England
Jean J. Eanderveer. local food ad-
ministrator, presided In Introducing
the state food administrator he referred
| to him as one who had spent all of his
| time recently in the work of eonserva-
tion of food and in the visitation of
the allied nations
Mr.. Hartness gave brief summary
Of his trip overseas as a member of
the United States Aircraft commission
which returned recently from the inter
allied aircraft standardization confer
enee in London. He mentioned various
! interesting incidents of his voyage
and observations of air raid. aircraft
plants and other features which entered
into the work Of the commission to-
9ether with some personal experiences
III the war swept areas visited
Following the talk by Mr. Hartncss
Mr.. Nanderveer introduced Mrs. Hale.
Mrs. Hale said in opening that she
wished to correct the idea that She was
an English woman and said that she
was an American citizen, not English.
and was born in New York city. She
spoke of the scarcity Of men in the au-
diences which had greeted her. and
said she supposed it was because she
was speaking under the auspices of the
food administration, but she wanted il
understood that the food administra-
tion was not organized for the benefit
of one sex alone and that the war con
eerned one sex as much as the other.
The third line back here at home is
made up absolutely of all the people,
men, women and even the children We
are going to do our part, but it cannot
be done by saluting the flag or singing
The Star Spangled Banner. 1t can be
done by remembering our duty in the
morning and in the grace at our meals
and only b. getting that spirit can we
rally the heroism of Belgium, France
and Britain
Mrs. Hale spoke of the wrong idea
many Of US have of the ideas for
which we are fighting She said 1--WE
are not fighting the kaiser, we are not
fighting the German people, but we are
fighting the German principles. -
In the matter of the Germans irving
to put one class against another we
have been reminded of what we need
not have been reminded-the murder
of our women and children on the high
seas. We are fighting to make the
world safe for democracy and every
great and noble ideal The Germans
in waging their warfare intended to
eliminate Russia and Italy, then break
through France, go through Britain
, and in some way eyade the British
fleet. Having done that they were
planning to land two armies of oceu-
patton in America-one on an Allan
tic port and one at a gulf port-de-
mand an indemnity sufficient to paw for
the war in Europe and the cost of the
maintenance of the armies of oceupa
! tion for 10 to 90 years These facts
J were disclosed III 4 letter from the
German government to Count Won
T Bernstorff at Washington and inter.
, cepted by the British. Nothing pre-
3 vented the execution of these plans ex-
a ccpt the allies. If the Germans had
: done as they planned we would have
V had no forces, nor strength enough te
il !, prevent an army of 100000 men equipped
!. as the Germans were, from march
e ing clear TO Denver And we would
), have had here in New England all OF
!; those horros, atrocities and monstros
:, tiles from which we turn aside wher
d reading.
The speaker did not tell one ghastly
/ story after another, as one might ex
: pect from another who knows of th,
| terrible horrors. but gave only one
that of the evacuation of $50 FrencI
villages and towns in their retreat oil
the Hindenbur9 line over large section.
of the country which they have sine,
- recovered. They took every girl Owe
|