Kentucky Irish American. (Louisville, Ky.) 1898-1968, 1918-09-28
Hold THEIR Fifth and the Largest
Initiation of the Present
Year.
Hundreds Are Thrilled by Address
Of Eloquent French
Priest Soldier.
a Splendid disqualification of De-
grees Given by Team
From Chicago.
COL. CALLAHAN POSTMASTER.


The fifth and largest and proba
bly, the last initiation of the yea
by Louisville Council, knights o
Columbus, was held here Sunda,
afternoon, when a class of ninety
seven men were given the three
degrees. A degree team from Chi
cago composed of Judge James
Donahue, of the Municipal Cour
there; Henry ]. Lynch, Bernard J
Soens, Thomas f. O'Connor, X. o.
G. Secretary at the Great Lakes
Training Station; John Naylor
Martin ]. Killeen, William B. Shee'
han and Thomas Hoey. assisted in
the initiation, which brings the
membership of the local council tc
almost LOO. This is due in large
measure to the energetic work and
successful administration of Grand
Knight Thomas ID. Clines, who was
the unanimous choice for another
term, a great honor in the X. of c.
Following the initiation there
was a military dinner at the Tyler
Hotel, presided over by Col. P. H.
Callahan as POSTMASTER. at which
covers were laid for over 800. The
Knights, many of them in khaki
were impressed by sound warning
against too much optimism with re-
gard to a speedy end of the war
by Lieut.. George M. Savage, the
soldier priest, who has been in
the thick of the fighting ever since
the Germans invaded France and
Belgium and who is now here to
speak in the interest of the fourth
Liberty loan campaign.
Introducing the speakers, Col.
Callahan said it had been his pleas
ure to introduce lieut.. Savage to
tie American Government. The
soidier-priest was given an ovation
when he arose to address the as
sepblage. In the beginning he
spoke interestingly of his own life
at the front, and while his descrip-
tons of the horrors of war held
his heartrs spellbound, he also
caused many hearty laughs in de-
scribing how he himself sought
safety from the German shells. He
spoke with emotion of the bravery
of the French soldier and the
French women, to whose heroism
he paid the highest tribute. THE
women have been drawer even than
the brave soldiers" he said "They
are doing the work of the men and
where, as result of the material
they handle, they lose their hair
and their good looks forever. They
do not mind it. They only want
one thing-victory." According to
the speaker, France with dts 35,-
100000 inhabitants, who did not
want war, has raised 10000, 900
soldiers, of whom 100000 have
been killed and as many wounded
or taken prisoners. Lieut.. Savage
spoke in the highest terms of the
Belgians and also of the Irish reg
iments with which he had come in
contact.
When I got orders to go to
the speaker said, "I did
not want to go, because 1t is hard
to leave the men with whom one
has been at the front for over
three years. Gen. Petain has said
that whatever the officers in this
war have done il is nothing COM
pared with the deeds of the private
soldier. We all should kneel in
before those privates.
But l am glad came. The very
village in which / was to remain
Tor several weeks was destroyed by
the Germans within two days after
left, and If / had not been killed
might now be a prisoner in a
German camp. certainly prefer
being here to being a prisoner of
war. Everybody now realizes that
America is to be the deciding fac
are going to win this war. That
means that you have great re-
'ponsibility. Your men at the front
will do their duty. They will give
heir lives If they have to. But
hey expect you to back them up.
20 that they will not die in vain.
Lack of determination on your part
will have TO be made up with blood
It the front. Be not too optimistic.
rhe war will last two or three
1ears longer and during that time
Tou must be prepared TO make
sacrifices, greater probably than
Tou can now imagine. France is
prepared to spend the last centime
ind shed the last drop of blood
or the final victory and the French
NOW that Americans win see them
through. / can not describe the
oy that took possession OF France
when the first Americans landed |
,ver there and when Gen. Pershing |
aid: Lafayette, we are here And |
when the American soldiers |
past the graves of our
lead these very dead rose in their
raves and saluted them. That is
me of the great things in France.
We believe that our dead are not |
lead. but that their spirits are still !
lighting with those who are still on
he battlefields."
Judge Donahue, who was to de-
liver an address on Garry On"
vas unable to do so. due to the |
act that he and his friends had to |
cave. but he spoke long enough to |
lay that the message OF Pope Leo
XII at the time of the Columbus |