The Little River news., 1919-04-19
GREAT CROWDS SEE
 THE BATTLE TANK
Hundreds ot People Witness Action of Battle Scared Tank as it Made
 Its Way Around Ashd0wn.

Hundreds of people were gathered | in Ashdown Friday to give greeting to | the whippet tank used by American soldiers in the battle of the Argonne forest, where the hordes of the enemy were moved down and dispersed, in | the most desperate fighting of the entire world war
 It was such welcome as seldom before has been shown any inanimate
 heroes, tribute due almost only to the Stars and Stripes yet none the less
 was it considered due the clumsy, sure footed metal engine of destruction, which noisily but steadfastly made it's way to it's destination.
 There was no obstrictions in the path of the tank-nor would they have remained long as Instructions, because l the stout snout of the machine would 1 have pushed them over or down, else
 would have clambered unhesitatingly
 across them. And the people and auto
 mobiles which might have been in the
 way, made haste to leave the path
 clear for the on-coming monster.
 The tank that is here saw some of the heaviest fighting of the war,
 and it's steel plates show plainly the
 marks made by machine gun bullets
 which tried vainly to stop it's course
 in battle. Machine guns, infantry fire
 and shrapnel have little effect against
 these tanks, though larger calibre shot
 if they score a square hit, make the
 crew of the tank lost all their luck.
 In charge of the tank is Captain
 R. J. H. Farrar of the 20th Field Artillery, Fifth division, regular army
 who saw active service in France, be-
 ginning with tho St Mihiel drive. Cap
 tain Farrar is type Of the American
 officer who took 2,500 GOO raw Ameri-
 cans and transformer them into a
 victorious army Of soldiers in less than
 a year, He is tail, heavily built, col
 iege man and with that combination
 of cool, calculating, daring and ten
 dernass which marks the American
 soldier and gentleman.
 Captain Wood of Fort Smith joined i the exhibit train at Fort Smith and
 was in Ashdowa with the others. Cap i tain Wood is Fort Smith young man, and one that his town and country is proud of He was wounded in France
 during some of the heaviest fighting, but not before he had done his bit in
 showing the German army that the United States meant business.
 Sergeant Clarence A. Brown and
 Private F. J. Smith actually operate the tanli-and they operated a tank of this same model and size in all the fighting from September 26 until the armistice was s.sled. They know a few things about the whippet tanks few is right--and they would be hard to convince that the tanks did not
 bring the war to- such an early con clusion.
 James H. Bawden, president of the St. Louis Distributing company, and | who has been a Four-Minute Man since the very inception of the go-~ern-
 ment's war activities, md is the prin- cipal speaker. He is a clever speaker not so much an orator as man who
 makes strong point, and makes it clear in convincing manner to all his hearers.
 | l.. R. Welch, widely known railroad
 man of the southwest, and who has been with the Missouri Pacific system l for years, with headquarters at Kan sas City, is in charge of the transpor- tation and the movement of the special train, for the federal railway admin | istration.
 Is Bond Sale Feature. The coming of the tank to Ash down at this time is one of the fea- lures ct the Victory Liberty loan cam paigns which opens next Monday. It is one of eleven such tanks being shown In this the Eighth Federl dis trict. The speakers and military men travel with the train.
 When the armistice was signed, A. 900 of these tanks were under cons struction in this country for the Ann erican army-this including tanks, en- zines, armament and everything, com plete There is no wood on the tank, everything being mde of steel. These tanks first came into action with the American forces in the St. Mihiel drive, September 12, but their first big action started September 26 at the hour of a. m., when about 300 of them went over the top in the start of 0N11rJe forest drive of the allies. 1A NJ \ fppet tank is remarkable eed and its climbing power. At grade being taken with