Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-09-11


quired too much time to go to the
scene of battle and my purpose was
to see as many men and talk to
them in the short time that ! had.
Talks to Troops
My reception everywhere by the
boys was most enthusiastic. At one
place / was scheduled to make an
address in the public square of n
French village. / did so standing
on a writing table surrounded by an
enormous crowd of troops. In an
other village the Mayor, a well-edu-
Gated man who could speak both
English and French, greeted me and
was my most attentive listener.
my most favorable lecture was
"A House Divided Against ITSELF" in
which I told of the antagonism of
democracy and, autocracy At one
place where | gave it to some sailors
one of the leaders at the base at
which / was to speak the following
night was present. After I had fin
ished he asked me if / had not
shortened the talk slightly. I told
him l had and was requested not to
do so the next night. I talked to
those men for two hours and five
minutes.
Our Allies Are Brave
The sacrifices of the French and
British are wonderful. Few homes
there are in which the war has not
pad its visit, but the people do not
carry their hearts on their sleeves
Ihere is little mourning in England,
In France where the people are
more emotional more of it is seen.
"One woman speaking to- me on
the train said the sacrifices of the
thousands of families is not talked
about. I have one son in France.
another In hospital and third
who gave his life, she said quietly"
pennsylvania Leads
Pennaylvania troops everywhere
are leaders, DR.. Bagnell declared
but the great spirit of Americanism
that prevails is startling. he said.
The state nor the race has moth
ing to do with it. In every camp
that l visited the boys were united
in one great purpose and their
anxiety to get into the front line
attack was expressed many. many
times to me. They are hungry, too.
for talks on what the great war
means and how it is to be settled.
They will not listen to mere twaddle,
they want to know the real things.
Y. NJ. G. \. Praised
From my study of conditions
there seemed to me that more vital
than anything else to the morale of
the soldiers is the work of the Red
Cross and Y. NJ. c. A. Their hold
and interest in the men is astonish-
ing, the " caring for the boys who
are well, safeguarding them in cities
such as London and Paris, and the
Red Cross ministering to the sick
and wounded. Every little detail for
their convenience and comfort is
looked after. The " at some posts
investigates when soldiers do not
receive mail from home and makes
every effort to straighten out the
numerous mail difficulties because of
the many changing positions of large
numbers of the troops
Poor Mail Service
The mail service is poor at best.
The French never had system as
complete as ours. One instance of the
service l can furnish from my own
experience. A cablegram sent from
this city to me in France on July 13,
reached Paris on the 29th, was sent
through the mail and got to me on
August 5. A letter mailed to me
with the same information reached
me August 2.
This adds to the anxiety of many
there since January, told me in July
that he had not received word from
his wife. Others have similar stories,
they are over for months before a
letter reaches them"
Like West Point
DR.. Bagnell while in England Wis
tied camps there at which American
troops are stationed including a big
aviation base. In France he spent
nine days at big school center
where there are twenty-one military
schools for training soldiers for COM
missions in all branches except the
heavy artillery and aviation.
1T was like West Point but great
ly multiplied in size" DR.. Bagnell
commented. .......-
DR.. Bagnell was in Paris just he
fore the last big German drive which
ended in the Allied counterattack
which is now a big drive in itself
sending the Huns to the border.
Supreme Confidence
Everyone expected the greatest
German blow was to come but the
confidence of the people was su-
preme. In fact that last attack did
not turn out to be as big as was an
ticipated. l frequently heard the
rumble of the big guns also while in
the war zones. German airplanes
came over the lines, also, at times
while l was in some of the villages"
DR.. Bagnell had no time for sight
seeing, he continued. Il was very
busy always and attempted to crowd
into three months time the work of
six months. l accomplished almost
everything l had planned, too. While
in England l only saw from a dis
tance such places as Westminster
Abbey the Parliament Houses and
other points of interest.
Sure Shooting
In France 1T was the same. / saw
the Eiffel tower from a distance and
also Napoleon's tomb. One enjoyable
part of the tour gave me an oppor-
tunity to see the Alps and in one
French town party was organized
to visit an art gallery for an hour.
The remainder of my stay in the two
countries | spent in active work,
either lecturing or visiting soldiers"
On the trip home DR.. Bagnell sail
ed on an auxiliary cruiser which was
not bothered by U-boats as it was
fully equipped with guns and the
navys best marksmen. The last
week of his stay was spent visiting
naval bases he said. Owing to CEN
sorship rules he could not give the
location of any of the army or navy
units he visited.
While on the cruiser coming back
three icebergs were sighted. One of
these was used for a target by the
gunners. 1t was eight miles away. A
report from the official observers
showed that one large gun made five
hits out of five shots, another four of
five and a third three of five.
" NJ G. a Work