Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-07-15

horror behind it. Our forces, much
smaller, held as best they. could until
English aid came, then we took our
turn at driving.
But we had not prepared like the
Huns and as a result we were handt-
capped greatly. Allied resourceful-
! ness, however, gradually brought or
der out of chaos and to-day we stand
ready to meet any German attempt
that may be made"
Some details of the preparation
since been made by France to stem
the Hun onslaughts, both in the point
of defense, in recruiting and equip
ping troops, were related by the
Frenchman.
Bishop Delivers Invocation
The program in Reservoir Park
got under way with the invocation by
the Rt Rev. Philip r. McDevitt.
bishop of the Harrisburg diocese or
the Roman Catholic Church. Com
munity singing under the direction
of Abner w. Hartman. and with IN
strumental music furnished by the
Municipal band, featured the early
part of the afternoon program.
The first speaker on the program
was DIR. Thomas Lynch Montgomery,
State Librarian, who was introduced
by Andrew S. Patterson, president OF
the Chamber of Commerce. The in
cidents leading up to and the signf-
ficance of the destruction of the Bas-
tile were told by DIR. Montgomery.
He spoke of the oppression visited
upon the lower and middle classes
by King Louis XIV and the ruling
classes and of the many conspiracies
of the du Barry clique and others,
which tended to aggravate the stu
alton. The final revolt of the French
which resulted in the overthrow or
the Bastile, was pictured by the
speaker as was the breaking of the
60O-year-old yoke of oppression
which had so restrained this liberty
loving people for centuries.
Complete Liberty Only
with the Bastile gone" DR..
Montgomery continued, there was
only one ultimate outcome and that
was complete liberty for the people.
Autocracy in France was gone for
ever, and except for several spas
modic efforts of the Napoleons, the
thought of it was never revived.
France followed America" he
added, Sin declaring an end to tyran-
ny after the men of 1875 had gained
independence with the help of La
!
that reason these two republics are
closely allied their cause having been
a common one from the day at VAL
ley Forge, when Washington and
Lafayette met"
After Jupiter Pluvius unloosed the
clouds, cutting short the speech of
Captain Rouvier, one of the pleasing
features of the afternoon, the NUM-
cipal band burst forth in the strains
of the "Marseillaise" followed imme-
diately by The Star Spangled Ban
ner."
Churches Observe Day
Many churches of Harrisburg
joined with the people of the French
republic yesterday in celebrating
Bastile Day, the greatest holiday in
the French calendar. Prayer serV-
ices, thanksgiving meeting, and the
singing of La Marseillaise" were
features of the days festivities. How
the enraged French populace de-
stroyed the famous old prison, the
stronghold of autocracy for many
centuries, was narrated by the min
listers. The French tricolor fioated
in the evening breeze side by side
with the Stars and Stripes
DR. George Edward Reed deliv-
cred a special Bastile Day sermon at
Grace Methodist Church last night,
telling how the bonds of friendship
between the French and American
nations have been welded. He told
of the tribulations of the French re-
public. At Messiah Lutheran Church
the Rev. II. w. A. Hanson led in a
| Bastile Day celebration and spoke
on Americas New Confession OF
Faith" The Rev. Clayton Albert
Smucker praised the chivalry and
| the work of France in his sermon at
stew Memorial Methodist
Church