Evening capital news. (Boise, Idaho) 1901-1927, 1919-04-13
Boise Turns Out in Force to See
Death Dealing Implements
Exhibited in Interests Of Vic
tory Loan.
CHEER PRIVATE BERT BATES
Large and Small Weapons OF
War Shown and Explained to
Boise Crowd by Youth Who
Fought Therein.

with its death dealing implements OF
war glided into Boise at $3.50 Saturday
evening. Eager crowds of patriotic
people crowded the depot yards 80
minutes before it's arrival and greeted
it with a cheer.
With military like precision the SOL
diers in charge Of the train-boys who
have seen life "over there"-dropped
the gang planks and began escorting
the great multitude through the
coaches and over flat cars filled to ca
pacity with captured German war rel
les and famous guns used by the
Americans, French and English in
driving the fiendish Hun back to his
lair.
The train is composed of ~ cars.
The entrance to the exhibit Is
through the coaches and the first sight
to greet the visitor is that of a wax
figured German lying on his back with
q bayonet stuck in his breast. The
sight Is one familiar to the Canadian
and American soldiers who were in
the thickest of the fray and who after
trying to fight the Hun fair found the
only way to secure fair treatment
from him was to give him the bayo-
net breast thrust, as was explained by
one of the boys who had been through
the hell of war.
SHOWING OF WEAPONS.
In the coaches Is shown the small
war weapons, such as the rifles, sa-
bres, bayonets, light machine guns, in
GLIDING the famous Lewis gun. snip
er's breast plates and numerous types
of small bombs and shells. On the
flat cars were the heavier pieces of
war machinery, such as the famous
two-men, French baby tank, the 15o-
millimeter German howitzers, the Is
millimeter French gun, limbers, the
42-centimeter shell weighing 1900
pounds, which was shot by the Ger
mans a distance of IL miles, heavy
iron listening shell, pronounced a fail
ure, numerous pieces Of field artillery,
barbed-wire from the western front,
which the crowd was informed was
strung in heavy masses from the
North sea to the English channel.
Chief among the attractions was the
75-millimeter French field gun, de-
clared to be the most successful gun
used in the war. With 1t the French
fired % shots a minute while the
American gunners, who used 1t more
than any other gun, were able to send
Fritz over S3 shots per minute. This
gun, 1t was explained, was eagerly
sought by the Germans, but never
was one captured, for the allied gun
ners always destroyed a part of 1t
before the enemy succeeded in getting
1t into their possession. Shown on the
same car was a German 77-millimeter.
the nearest imitation of the French
gun, but which was only capable of
shooting II to IS times a minute.
THOUSANDS SEE EXHIBIT.
Several thousand people viewed the
exhibit From the lips of Bert Bates,
a newspaper man of Portland, who
served with the 65th artillery in the
Rainbow division, they heard a graph
ic story of the war. This youth of
Fl years, who spent II months in
France and went through hell on the
western front, gave a vivid picture of
the sacrifices made by the boys who
fought for humanity against a merci-
less and heartless foe After explain
ing the trophies the youthful speaker
made strong plea for tho purchase
of Victory Bonds. THANK God" he
said, that the government is asking
a Victory Loan instead OF a Liberty
Bond loan and that the war is over
Standing upon the car covered with
aerial bombs he pointed to them and
stated that with those death dealing
implements the Germans showed their
bravery their manhood. their kultur
by taking the war to the women and
children of England and France, caus-
ing horror and death among them
Then, to bring the war horrors little
ha OF tpd bot
had been within. flying distance OF
Germany the Prussian heroes would
nave flown over the city and dropped
bombs enough on 1t to entirely oblit-
crate 1t from the face Of the earth, as
was done to many cities in Belgium
France and few on the coast of Eng
land.
HORRORS IN WAR ZONE.
Mr.. Bates pictured some of the hor.
rors he had witnessed with his owr
eyes. He recited having seen a you'll
with his arm shot away. seek tc
stanch the blood with Red Cross
bandage stuffed in the wound, take e
letter written from his wife from hi.
pocket, read it and died with a smile
on his lips. Mr. Bates stated he reat
that letter, that it told of the birth o.
a baby since the soldier left home ant
of the plans his wife was making fol
his home coming when the war was
through. He said he mentioned the in.
cident as one of many such sad af.
fairs one sees in war. He declared
that the worlds greatest war wa,
fought In the hearts of mothers
Pointing to the trophies he said the,
had cost the lives Of $4,000 people
and MANNED for life many more. II
closing he stated "All the world should
stand In line and take off their hats