Putnam patriot., 1918-08-16


 Telling of hospitals for the blind. where those unable to see are edueat- ed so as to be self supporting. de- scribing complete hospitals located 40 feet under the ground picturing the bombarded city of Rheims with its ruined cathedral and portraying Yer | dun where Allied armies have made such wonderful stands Hamilton Holt editor of the New York Inde- pendent recently returned from a trip to England and the front, deeply in- terested an audience that gathered last Friday evening in Bradley thea tre The theatre was only a little over half full. in spite of the fact that the proceeds were Go be given to the Day Kimball hospital
 pr. Holt's talk was informal He did not express opinions as to the out come of the war, or touch upon econ omic or political questions He mere ly told of his personal experiences, and that was what the audience pre- ferred to hear The talk began with description of the sailing, and a de scription of the convoy system. In England Dr. Holt was the guest of the Committee of Information. and was given opportunity to see munltion factories. shipyards, hospitals, and all other forms of activity connected with the prosecution of the war And of all that he saw in this country. the speaker said the hospitals were the saddest sights, notwithstanding that the men in them were cheerful lot "They literally make men over in this war" said Dr Holt And he then told how surgeons take men whose faces have been ripped away till there is nothing but a hole from chin to eyes, and taking piece of knee bone, patch chin, graft skin over this. cutting, and sitting, until finally they produce a man who, few feet away. would pass as unsearred and perfect in features. These doctors, laughed the speaker. can make arti ficially the finest Roman nose you ev= CT saw" Sculptors and artists in England are helping in this work. The former model parts of the face that have been shot away, plug the gouges with plaster, and then the artists come with their brushes and when they are done you can't tell that the sol dier ever was wounded.
 Dr. Holt was given an opportunity to visit England's greatest naval base, where. mingled in with the ships of Great Britain. are American ships. In speaking of the cooperation between the naval forces of these two coun- tries, Admiral Simms, in command of the U s. fleet in foreign waters, said to Dr. Holt, "The fleets of our two countries are as one" Admiral Simms also told the speaker of de- vices that are proving exceedingly valuable to the allies in the detecting of submarines. These instruments
 
 snakes. and by aid of them, Allied battleships have followed submarines for six hours, never seeing the under sea boats, but finally destroying them.
 In speaking of the English war time spirit, Dr. Holt said, England : may bungle now and then, but she al ways sees things through. And she Il fight this war, and fight it victorious lv. When an Englishman makes an ) attack he is rot the first to stop.
 Dr. Holt visited French, Italian, English and American fronts, and af- ter seeing what all of the other na- tions are doing, and have done, he IS led to remark, .l am proud that l am an American"
 The description of Rheims, the ca thedral city. was picturesque. For l the last four years, this city, of no 1 military importance, has been under : bombardment, and one day last April : 12O.000 shells landed in it's streets ' Every house in the place, which IS as large as New Haven, was war nicked l or punctured The cathedral, one of ? the finest examples of Gothic archI- lecture. is not so dilapidated as one l would suppose, Dr. Holt explained, but the thousands of fine carvings are nicked, there are great gashes in the l ceilings. all of the stained glass IS shattered, and great piles of rubbish litter the floors It is a splendid ex- l ample of Hunnish destruction. Dr. Holt also told of his visit to Verdun, where one can look for 20 miles and see nothing but an ocean of shell holes" Before the war this region was thiekly wooded, yet today not tree is to be seen, nothing but white crosses that mark the graves of French soldiers.
 Tn concluding Dr. Holt paid high tribute to President Woodrow Wilson, , characterizing him as the most power , ful man in the allied nations. Abroad no man is so looked up to, as our own president, according to Dr. Holt, and Ar. .aa+ ba haIiayao is eyaipad bp