The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1918-07-27

Washington, July 2l-Wrltlng Oh
German air raid on Paris, one OF
the American Red Cross inspectors
gives thrilling account of how Am
erican troops and Red Cross workers
give aid to the city in such desper-
ate moments. He describes an air
raid in this fashion: /
Nowhere is there any sound but
the echoes of footsteps. Not a
street light is to be seen not sin !
gle ray of light-nothing but the
inkiest and most impenetrable dark
ness. Then all Of the noise of the
world seems to break loose. Clang-
clang-clang booms the tocsin-like
gigantic pneumatic riveter working
Oh a colossal bell. Whoo-o shrieks
the siren, running up and down the
scale in an awful wall.
"The streets come to life. Doors
open and slam shut The sidewalks
are full of ghostly figures hurrying
towards the caves, where the inhab-
itants have fitted up cots and banks
They get up now to make sitting
place for the new corners. The
place fills up. Everyone looks apa,
thetic, sleepy and bored. The chill
dren 60 to sleep with their heads on
their mothers shoulders, and girl
in the uniform of street car con-
ductor swaps war yarns with poilu
in dingy blue. In the last raid, the
front trucks of her car were thrown
from the rails by the displacement
of air caused by an exploding tor
pedo. The car and its inmates were
unhurt. The poilu looks a bit in
credulous and murmurs, I can we'll
believe you, Mademoiselle.
Outside the noise continues for
about three or four minutes and
then subsidies as a new noise starts
the Arches, or anti-craft guns,
which commence to bark furiously
from half dozen different points
Searchlights rake the sky The
Arches continue their clamor, but
they are not firing at anything
merely keeping up barrage fire to
prevent the Boche~ from flying over
the city.
Suddenly there is an earthrockine
WHOOM. No more doubt as tc
where the Boches are WHOM
WHOM, WHOM! One involun
tarily ducks and tries turtlewise tc
cover his head with his shoulders
A hideous noise resounds up AM
down the deserted streets-faIline
walls, and the tinkling and crash Of
showers of broken glass and roofing
tiles
'"Throught blast and litter OF
the street an American Red Cross
camoinette comes ploughing its way
One of the city fremen stands on
the running board They stop and
the fireman flashes an electric lamu
into the ruins, makes hasty inspec
ton, and then runs up the street
and dives into the redlight cave.
Anybody here from numbers 40
to 5lg he calls. A half dozen voices
yell out that there is.
is everybody here from those
numbers? Was there anyone left in
either of those buildings?'s
There is an anxious calling back
and forth and rapid counting of
noses. All here is the answer!
Good! Not much left of those two
buildings. Don't enter the ruins un.
I'll they have been inspected by the
engineering department. Go to the
Sisters of the Poor if you want food
or place to sleep.
"A wall and several curses com.
pete, but the fireman is gone.
The Arches have stopped and
there are no more whooms, but peo-
pie stay in their cellars 1t is only
nine o'clock. and experience has
shown that the Industrious and me-
thodical Boches will keep coming
back again and again until after
midnight.
"a half a mile away bright red
glow gets larger and larger and
lights the sky. A fire has broken
out in the railroad yards and is
making great Roadway Several
cars Of oil are burning fiercely and
spreading to cars of merchandise