The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-01-26

I in the first call of the selective service l draft and that 1t was necessary for me | to have my queStionnaire called out l of order, as l was in the second call, | and to have my classification fixed, IL ] became necessary for me to return to l Harpers Ferry and have the 1oca'
 board fix me in my proper class and l also to have the local board issue l leave of absence or permit for me to spend six months in England, France | and Italy, and then to return to New | York and have my firm and it's presi- dent and secretary. who are. respective l ly Mir Harvey Steele and Mir. J. M.
 Anderson, make application under oath
 to the state department for my pass ] port, which was finally granted. Tn 1 the interim it was necessary for me to ! settle up all my business affairs in so | far as it was possible and to execute my will, so that in case of accident or
 death arising from the dangers of the high sea or the instrument Of war all
 my affairs could be practically settled | in satisfactory manner. This took | me right up to the date of my de- ', parture, which was October 2S,. on the | steamship Rochambeau of the French | line. Our first three days at sea were l very pleasant, indeed; at the end of the 1 third day ground swell caused our | ship to roll and it continued to roll for 1 two days. when we struck a mighty l tempest which made it impossible for l the next 24 hours for anyone on board | to have any comfort at all, as one could not sit down, stand up or lay down kwthout being lashed to the ship or hls | chair or bed.
 The passengers on board consisted of French and American soldiers, women
 of the American Red Cross, women's l overseas hospital gas unit, '. M. C. 1 A., and other relief organizations, also Miss Margaret Wilson, daughter of our
 much beloved President. Woodrow Will l son. and her music teacher, Mir. Ross | David and MT. DaVids wife, who IS 1 Miss Wilson's accompanist.
 Miss Wilson went down lower deck and sang to our soldiers each day, except the one day of the mighty temp est and on the last day as we were passing out of the Bay of Biscay, into the River Gironde, she sang to them
 8 wonderful song, which she had writ ten herself, entitled, When Our Boys Come Marching Home" I regret very much that I did not have a camera to I take q photograph of this scene. There 1 were perhaps HOO soldiers on the lower front deck and Miss Wilson stood In the midst of them. on the top of the center hatchway. The ship rolled in the troff of the sea, the sky was clear and the sunset the most perfect l have ever seen. As she pealed out the notes
 the ship, while rolling violently, was yet very graceful and this threw Miss Wilson's voice so that every one on
 shipboard could hear the melody of the song When Miss Wilson finished
 the captain of the regiment made a very beautiful address of thanks to her,
 and referred to her great courage in
 the midst of the terrific storm and to so
 far forget herself and come down
 amongst the soldiers and sing to them
 in order that they might forget their
 discomfort on board and encourage
 them in their onward march as Chris | tian soldiers to the battlefields oi
 France, in the hour of the mighty test
 of strength of nations, who were
 wrestling with each other for the l sovereign right of freedom or the right of might without freedom. He also added that because of this spirit sc l ably demonstrated by the daughter oi } our greatest President he and the mem bers of that regiment were going tc ask Congress to name it the Margare' , Wilson regiment. This request received ! my indorsement, as I think it Is fit ting and proper thing to do under tht S circumstances
 f On Friday night we stuck in the mut = a little way up from the mouth O r the Gironde river and~the ladies or V board arranged an entertainment and d Kermess in the social saloon of tn e ship Miss Wilson sang again, so di'