Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1918-10-22

HSl8sH2<2s2 -.--s.ssss
/ d,rkS piali ~ lii, Onward | Arlstisn
! Soldiers and The Star Spangled Banner,
| the band aboard the SHIN replying with
! over There and The Dark Town
/ Strutter- Ball Then the Decentralization,
/ tie parade througn the streets of 'y,r-
| pool amid the welcoming acclamatIoI
of the assent led populacc il ua~ an
| experience truly inspiring and une that
! shall never forget II made the red
blood il man had any leap II his VEINS
and sent tiny chillS w oIte's spial col
! umn. even if ne was cncunhered hy the
| pack on the back.
The personal message from King
/ George was gwen 10 all the officers and
/ soldiers II thc railroad station Mime
-! was gwen IL me bv member o( the House
/ of Lords who kissed n, hand and wished
| me Gud-Spped The trip through ing
! land in he late afternoon and earlv evening
| on the famous Midland Railroad. and as
| the train shrirked along. the rushing 10
| the windows and the door, fer the people
| knew that lanhs were coming Then
the arrival in southern England in the
wee small hours of the morning. the tramp
81 thousands oi hohnallS on the Belgian
blocked streets Of Southampton. remind
ing me Of kipIlng's Boots where We
went to Rest Camp. and rested naught
but our stomachs.
The camp Was situated III public
park. the Shruhl,ery had been planted
IN the reign of Queen Elizabeth Egad.
England is certainly the land ot the holly
and miStlctoe The holly trees were
~ large as the rhododendrons in Brandy
wine Park At one time knew init
Z Il I.
We en"'lt oar povhora daVS
Then the trip across the Channel
the dangerous trIp-and a steamer made
where in Wilmington, of course, 1T The
arlau-Holliagsworth COMPANY. asked
the Chief officer on board II | had not
seen him before in Wilmington He
SAID ht spent SIX months here this spTlng
ana when toki him | hailed from that
portion u our fair land be appeared glad
10 sec iue, and asked me about tic old
i'nrg. because Z was quit" : town When
New Nurk was simply & Dutch settle
ncnl Ihcy gave me q dinner II honor
ii my natal spot as they had warm
spot in their hearts for the place. S-l1
= bath, a- well
Il don't know which | needed uorse
Tor 8 soldier lie Is not the life Of . 80
cietv Lender Or i Daughter Of th+ American
RcNOlutlpu- pink teas and whale milk
baths
we crossed the Channel night and
landed in Northern Franc We coul
bear tho constant roar oi the mlght5
guns about 80 miles away Then the
march through the silent streets of France
where the only ones to greet US were
the widows and children. whose o lvwords
were expressed in broken English. wishing
YOU good luck, the children kissing Your
hand and pressing flowers III them, 4
the poorer ones begging for pennies
II hen on 10 another English rest camp
where we again rested our stomachS.
The English are never troubled with
indigestion Then the march to the
train. which vou see In the Pathe Weekly
a Ia slde-door Pullman eight Chevbaux
forty hoTnmes Eight horses forty
men ca not talk French but | can walk
il The French are accustomed 10
following the streets rather than the
pavements
Our next stop vas 2 large aviation
camp, where YOU could hear the constant
roar Of the machine guns a. they were
tested on the planes 10 see II they were
synchronIzed with the propellerS. Day
and night the roar OF the mighty Liberty
motors wide open and The gentle purring
0l the famous Gnones the whistling of
he wires a. he planes rushed through
the ar. the shrIeks OF the locomotive
bringing IN the supplies. These ightS
and sound convince YOU that sunni, ring
Amerlca Is at last aroused. and Is the
Quaker says Is not going to clIss thee
Or club thee, but twist the damn tail
Of of thee
4 am now in Il different part of France
doing another duty. where think
-
charge of one OF the largest plants of j.
kind in France ] have only met one
Niimingtonian SO Tar. and he * the
right honorable Frank Scholl better
known a Guy Smith well known char
;lcter around Wilmington III the days
gone by. He IS also in the aviation as
adjutant Of one Of the big camps but is
the same old fellow as of yore
Americans are making decided
change here The troops marching
through the streets singing American
songs, unloading American ships. the
shrieks Of our locomotives which don't
say choo-choo but boo-coo French
meaning plenty. the motor truck
trains. the conveys Of motorcycles and
trucks rus ing to the front, the street
9prinkled with motor driven vehicles.
lis needless 10 talk French. 1t is easier
to teach the French to talk English and
before long YOU will be going 10 the
launching Of an American dreadnaught
called La France. the fortv-ninth state
in the Union. Well ] viii close this
epistle with few lines to the American
soldiers IN trsYce.
oh. We are booked for the great adenture,
We're pledged to the real romance,
Well find ourselves OF We Il lose ourselves,
Somewhere IN sunny old France
Ne'H know the zest of "a lighters lie,
The best we have, we'll give.
We hunger and thirst, wei die but first
We ike. by God. sir. veil live
Yours always,
William j McI\elvey