The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1918-12-30

| AAohs VI shO : M. ". a., was almost
covered with flowers, as he Is looked
grudgingly let me go.
the republic. You know that he
though now dead, was colleague Of
Clemenceau, the present minister OF
war. In Paris they have had one or
two celebrations, but not so much for
peace as for minor events that have
occurred.
On last Sunday I had occasion to
be in Paris, and saw the Official cele
bration Of the liberation af Alsace-
Lorraine. Again it was largely a
popular demonstration. The official
part Of 1t was uninteresting with a
few exceptions, chiefly among which
were the parade Of the Chausseurs,
the aviation exhibition, and the lib
Grafton Of 1000 carrier pigeons for
various parts of Alsace-Larraiue. The
parade was to start about 1880, but
the crowd began to form on the Place
de la Concorde about IL. picked out
a good place at the foot Of theEgyp.
tian Obelisk where / could see the en-
tire Avenue de la Champs Elysees to
the Arc de Triomphe. It was a heavy
struggle to hold 1t, but fortunately
two wounded Frenchmen and
wounded American, in little rolling
away. Poincare, Joffre and Clemen-
me, and SO we could not be pushed
carts, were stationed just in front Of
ceau, passed and were given an ova-
ton, but the crowd went wild over the
Chausseurs when they came up. You
know they have their own buglers,
marching time, and manual Of arms,
and are wonderfully picturesque. And,
incidentally, they are the pets Of
France. At their head was their
captain, walking with cane and a
decided limp from a wound, but still
maintaining the sharp, quick march
ing cadence. He naturally was ovat
ed over right smart. Then came
the buglers. "Chasseurs" means
Hunters" and their characteristic
insignia is hunting horn, and so they
take pride in their bugle calls. The
bugles are decorated with brilliant
red cord or braid. They will blow a
quick call with different toned bugles
making beautifully blended combi-
nation Of sounds, after which they
wave them in small quick circles in
the air. The flashing of the FURNISHED
metal and the red cords, together with
the natural glamor that surrounds a
group Of Chausseurs, anyhow, makes
scene that sets you wild. am sure
the Kaiser heard the shouts in Hol-
land that the crowd let forth.
After the Chasseurs, the aviators
came up. In all, there must have
been from beginning to end, fully a
hundred of them. They would circle
and swoop over the crowd sometimes
coming SO close that they scraped the
tree-tops, other times climbing to
great heights and then charging
straight down in tail spin, coming |
out only just soon enough to right
themselves and skin off. The crowd |
was breathless for an hour. The lit
tie fighting machines would loop, and |
turn, sometimes upside down, but a.
ways exciting. Then came the bic
bombing planes with brilliantly steam
ing flares on their wings swirling and
diving around like meteors, and final
ly came the powerful hydro-aero
Planes which showered confetti and
little flags over the crowd.
But the main thing in the day Of
demonstration, was the crowd. I new
er expect to see such another unless
1t will be at the same place on the day
OF the great triumphal parade of the
allied armies down the Champs Ely
sees. The Place de la Concorde is an
open space about 1000 feet wide and
5000 feet long, converging into the
Champs Elysees. On that day this en-
tire area as we'll as the ramparts of
the Tuilleries Gardens which border
1t on one side, the roofs of all the
houses at the side, the quay wall bor-
dering the Seine, and every project
ing ledge on every statue on the en-
tire area, were packed so tight with
people that 1t was with difficulty that
one could breathe. After the aerial
demonstration, the crowd would nos
wait for any more parade. and started
to moving--no one seemed to know
where. 1t was impossible to 20 in
any direction than the one your par.
ticular current was going, and when
two such currents met, the result was
crushing. Women would shrief, chill