The Washington herald., 1918-02-02
ROYAL FLYER
TELLS STORY
OF FIGHTING
Lieut.. E. M. Roberts, British
Aviator, Gives Graphic
Lectures on War.

IF We feel that we are supporter
by the people back home. we can
fight twice as hard"
This was the message brought back
by Lieut.. z. NJ. Roberts, OF the Bri-
tish Royal Flying Corps. from Gen.
Pershing, in command of the Ameri-
can troops in France
Yesterday afternoon and last night
Lieut., Roberts lectured to large au-
diences before the National Geogra-
phic Society in the auditorium of the
New Masonic Temple on the subject
of IAN Airman's, Experience in Air
Fighting" He closed his address
with a powerful appeal to the Amer
lean people to leave no stone un-
turned to do all in their power in
aiding our government to overthrow
autocracy.
Get Into the Game.
'If young enough to fight" he said,
get into the game and show that
you've got some red blood left in your
veins. II beyond the age limit. buy
War Savings Stamps. 'SmiIeage
books or do anything else that will
lCl our DOyb az NhO llOhI AIO" NldL
you're with them. heart and soul. and
it will be exactly as Gen. Pershing
said, because he's on the ground and
not talking at random.
Even the women can help a whole
lot more by stinting themselves in
various ways, and the money they
will save by this process IL turned
into the channels of a great fund. will
more than help win the war, accord
ing to the speaker. who declared fur
ther that he could take any "paciflst"
or chronic grumbler to the devas-
tated portions of Belgium and France
and let them see what II meant for a
Hun victory, and the object lesson
would be so impressive that the "paci-
fists" would eliminate all traces Of a
yellow streak; the GROWERS would
cast aside their "knocRing' tenden-
cies and. united like band of broth
ers, they would be among the first
to go "over the top" and help carry
the Stars and Stripes to victory.
After describing some of his
thrilling experiences in the air as
a member of the British flying
squadron. and telling about the
ruination that had followed the
course of the German army, and
some of the outrages they had COM
mitted, whenever Lieut.. Roberts
reached a point where he pictured
himself driving a bayonet through
a Hun soldier. or bringing down
one of their airmen with his ma
chine gun. each episode had the ef-
feet OF arousing his hearers to a
pitch OF frenzied glee. Evidently
the Huns were not popular among
the two big audiences that listened
to his recitals yesterday.
Is An American.
As a matter of fact. Lieut.. Rob-
erts is an American. having been
born in Duluth. MINI. Business
called him to Calgary, Canada. In
1914. where he first learned that
Belgium and Frence were at war
with Germany. By degrees he be-
came interested, and when Great
Britain became involved. he enlist
ed at a Canadian recruiting station
and went across the seas as a pri-
vate in one of its regiments.
In time he got to be a dispatch
rider in the signal section and one
day while lying wounded alongside
muddy road. he discerned an air
plane flying overhead. The sight
aroused an envious spirit. and he
thought how nice II would be Ia
wear good clothes and fly through
the air and not have to sleep in a
muddy trench all the time; so de-
cided to change places.
Becomes Expert.
In due season he became an expert
airman and numerous medals for
valor attest this. While participating
in several blood-curdling engagements
at great heights, and wounded fire.
quently, he always managed to bring
his machine back, and never was
captured. On the other hand, he told
in a modest way about sending the
enemy machine to the ground like a
wounded duck, and how he would
riddle its occupants with bullets, and
it was here he always made a hit
with his audiences.
He acquired chronic bronchial
asthma as the result of his exposures,
hence was obliged to return here.
where he is devoting his whole atten-
ton to telling his experiences in or
der that our soldiers might profit
thereby.
Soon he is to write a book on the
subject, and the great publishing
house of Harper & Brothers will pub
lish it. Then McClure's Syndicate
will take up the threads of his inter-
esting narratives, and already a large
number of newspapers throughout the
country have arranged to print his
stories just as they have been writ
ten in the Forthcoming volume.