The Democratic banner. (Mt. Vernon, Ohio) 1898-192?, 1918-08-06
RED CROSS |NSP. !.
Gives ACCOUNT
OF AERIAL RAID.
Tell. How Mercy Workers
And Yankees Aid City In
Desperate Moments.

WAOHiNOlON,A Aug. D WTltiHB vi
a German air raid on Paris. one of the
American Red Cross inspectors gives
n thrilling account of how American
troops and Red Cross workers gives
aid to the city in such desperate mo.
ments. He describes an air raid In
this fashion,:
Nowhere is there any sound by the
echoes of footsteps. Not a street light
is to be seen, not a single ray of light
nothing but the inkiest and most i'm
penetrable darkness. Then all of the
noise of the world seems to break
loose. Clang.clang.clang booms the
tocsin--like gigantic pneumatic riv-
eter working on collosal 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 to-
wards the caves. where the, inhabit-
ants have fitted up cots and banks.
They get up now to make sitting
place for the new corners. The place
fills up Everyone looks apathetic,
sleepy and bored. The children 60 to
sleep with their heads on their moth.
er's shoulders, and q girl In the unii
form of a street car conductor 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 torpedo. The car and its
inmates were unhurt. The poilu looks
mite incredulous and murmurs, 4
can well believe you. Mademoiselle' ;
,"Outside the noise continues for
about. three or four minutes and then
subsidies as new noise starts-the
Arches, or anti-craft guns. which
commence to bark furiously from
half a dozen different points. Search.
lights rake the sky. The Arches con.
tinue their clamor. but they are not
firing at anything, merely keeping up
barrage FIRE to prevent the Boche
from flying over the city. K
Suddenly there is an earthrOcking
whOom. No more doubt as to where
the BOches are. Wh0om, whOOm.
whoom! One involuntarily ducks and
tries turtlewise to cover his head with
his shoulders. A hideOus noise re-
sounds up and down the deserted
street-falling walls, and the tinkling
and crash of showers of broken glass
and roofing tiles.
Through the glass and litter of the
street an American Red Cross camoin.
ette come ploughing its way. One OF
the city firemen stands on the running
board. They stop and the fremen
flashes an electric lamp into the ru.
ins. makes a hasty inspection. and
then runs up the street and dives into
the redlight cave
Anybody here from numbers 40 to
SIP he calls. A half dozen voices veil
out that there is.
"'Is everybody here from those
numbers? Was there anyone left in
either of those buildings?
There is an anxious calling back
and forth and rapid counting of nos.
es. All here is the answer.
Good! Not much left of those two
buildings. Don't enter the ruins until
they have been inspected by the en-.
gineering department. Go to the Sis.
ters of the Poor IL you want food or a
place to Sleep"
"a wall and several curses compete
but the fireman Is gone.
'The Arches have stopped and
there are no more whooms, but people
stay in their cellars. II is only nine
o'clock. and experience has shown
that the Industrious and methOdical
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
headway. Several cars of oil are burn
ing fiercely and spreading to cars q
merchandise Half dozen American
soldiers are working feverishly try
ing to get the untouched cars away
from the fire.
1.-Two of them have got hold of q
switch engine and are shunting out
whole strings of cars.
"'DO you know anything about these
French engines, sir? asks the i'm
prOmptu engineer, I can't find the
damn brake
"The fire Is eating its way towards
pier on which stands line of drups
of gasoline. W.
Come on. boys. roll them kegs .
gas outa here yells the corporal, and
the line Of drums starts trundlinl
down the pier 1t is Internally hot
and the average man does not know