The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-05-31
MEN, WOMEN
 AND THINGS

have had it in mind for a week or story about Sergeant Montgomery, the modest Canadian soldier, who came to Alabama to help us out in the Red Cross drive
 I saw him most of the time he was here and went around with him on a tour of several days I first met him in the bull pen' at Redwood park. Now, don't get it into your head that he is a torea- dor, for he has as little of the Mex in him as any chap I ever met
 I was struck with his wistful face. Ev- cry now and then he showed interest in the game as If he really understood 'in- side baseball" but I really believe he was merely pretending an interest to be polite and that down in his heart he preferred cricket.
 I took him over at Montgomery from Bruce Kennedy, who had been with him to Greensboro and Marion. It was at the latter place that he got Bruce's g goat" for when they spoke before the Judson girls no one looked at him even when he was talking, but kept their girl ish eyes glued to the wounded hero. | I suppose this is why Bruce warned me not 10 take him where only women made up the audience, for he was afraid that l knight get jealous and have my feelings | hurt by being passed up for the brave Canadian soldier who had left leg in | France.
 l have often felt. I think am just as
 patriotic as any of the civilian speakers who are giving their time to bring the various war activities to the people, but | in the presence. of a man who has been at the front and faced death and come imitation of the real thing.
 l I got to hear the sergeant make his first talk at the Red Cross luncheon at ] the Gay-Teague hotel. It was like our gatherings, made up of the picked men and women of the town. His was the opening gun in the campaign. He won all hearts, not so much by what he said, buy for what he was-a real man.
 
 Is it not strange how public speaking affects some courageous men? Pooh-pooh it as you may, but stage fright is no laughing matter to the one who has to me that the worst scared he ever was | in his whole life was the night he had to stand up and make hie first talk at Pen City, being introduced by Borden Burr.
 | At Montgomery at the High school he had gotten himself we'll in hand and spoke for nearly half hour. He had l learned that his simple tale of heroism took with an audience far better than the most perfervid oratory of any of I the speakers who were accompanying him cn his trips. and it gave him as- surance.
 1 I am sure Che weather was trying or hiu,, but he never complained in the least, and was always ready to do any thing to carry the Red Cross message. | tried several times to dissuade him from accepting invitations to make stops not on the schedule, but he invariably said l If they want to hear me, am willing tc go'' He had no wish whatever to exploit
 himself: it was just his des<re to serve. l I noticed that he read very little. He was always ready to glance over tho dailies, for he was eager to see the news from the front, but he seemed to care l little for the weeklies or the monthlies
 I always had Golfers or the Saturday
 Evening Post, but he would pick them III ! for a moment and put them down. Ht had lived through much of what writer: had only imagined, and he wanted stt forget instead of remembering.
 1 He used to sit by the hour with hi. chin in one hand. looking out of the cal window. but it seemed to me he wa: seeing far beyond the fields througf which we were passing. and was living
 over the weary months in the trenches
 or undergoing the shock of battle.