Ashland tidings. [volume] (Ashland, Or.) 1876-1919, 1918-03-18
Peoples Forum
Seeing Fort Kearney.

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Editor Tidings: We have just wit
messed a most inspiring spectacle:
over $4,000 soldiers passing in re-
view at Camp Kearney. 1t took an
hour and a half for the immense
body of troops to pass the reviewing
stand and most of them marched
fifty abreast. Each regiment was
preceded by its officers on horseback,
band and color bearers, while in the
rear came the hospital corps. After
the infantry came the artillery, then
the ambulance motors and the sup
Ply wagons. The vast parade ground,
over a mile long, was literally covered
with marching men in khaki, while
overhead some twenty warplanes
buzzed like so many angry hornets.
Ex-Mayor Mitchell of New York city
is member of the aviation corps
here.
Several English and French Of
ficers, the latter wearing blue coats,
led the parade, coming next to Cen
eral Strong. These foreign soldiers
say if the Americans fight as we'll as
they drill and play football they will
surely defeat the Huns. Our men
are cerainly a fine looking lot, strong
and rugged, alert and active, capable
of whipping their weight in wildcats.
T. seems a pity they can not at once
be sent to the front, where they are
so sorely needed. 1t is wise to be
fully prepared beforehand, but when
all possible preparations have been
made it seems shame to be forced
to wait for many months before get
ting a chance to go "over the top"
The men with whom we talked re-
garded this as their greatest hard
ship. They are all on their toes, i'm
patiently waiting for the command,
Forward"
Capt. Peter B. Kyne, the we'll
known writer who fought in the Phil
ippines with our H. S. Emery, in
quired after his Ashland comrade and
seemed to beputting all his heart and
soul into his present work. "No more
literature for me until the war is
over" he said. Kyne helped recruit
the Grizzlies-as the 144th regiment
of field artillery is called-in record
time. This crack regiment contains
a large percentage Of highly educated
professional men, many of whom
have excelled in college athletics.
When l visited Kyne three years ago
at Thousand Oaks, a swell suburb of
Berkeley, he was living on a $22, 900
place and earning upwards of $4,000
a year with his pen. But he gladly
gave up everything to fight for lib
erty and the under dog. There is no
more popular officer in Camp Kear-
ney than Capt Kyne, judging by the
comments of the enlisted men. "If
all the officers were like him we sure
wouldn't have any kick coming" is
the way one lad expressed this senti-
ment.
All the soldiers from one-fifth of
the United States are here at Camp
Kearney. The most important per-
son on the reviewing stand today was
Governor Hunt of Arizona. Another
prominent figure was Theda Bara,
( the celebrated movie star, who came
down from Los Angeles to adopt"
the 15Sth regiment, Arizona Infan-
try. In the forenoon review was
held in her honor, after which there
was a program at the Y. NJ. c. A..
building, speeches, sports, etc. The
soldiers presented Miss Bara with a
beautiful gold locket and the gov
ernor gave the boys a fine flag. Next
came swell officers luncheon
plates laid for 250-with music by
the regimental band.
Just before the guest of honor left
for the reviewing stand the chaplain
of the 15Sth greeted her, said some