Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-05-20
Ehrntttg Gl1at

tohS VI the Daupn1n SOunCy
Council of National Defense and Of
the Dauphin County Historical So
clety for the collation. of the data
relative to the part this county play
ed IN the war have been getting very
hearty support from men who have
returned from Army and Navy serv-
Ice to civil life. In fact, some men,
VINO nave been overseas have upony
a number of occasions expressed to
people connected with the Harris
burg Telegraph the desire that the
writing of the history of the war
| should be in not only competent
put otllclal hands. Six-tenths of
history, especially when local mat
terS are concerned, comes from vol
unteer sources. Hence, the import
ance OF having some body, like the
Joint organization of the council and
the society, to receive such informa-
ton, digest it and where necessary
verify it. The history of Dauphin
county in the great war will not
| only be of the men in the service
ana their doings, but the folks at
home, the mills. the railroads, the
mines and other contributing factors
well worthy of commemoration. The
military end should now be under
taken so that the events will be Sc
cured first hand and meanwhile the
other data can be prepared. The
efforts of William Jennings, presi-
| dent of the council; B. N. Mead,
president of the society, and those
working with them should be given
general support in the community,
In this conESction some very in
teresting discussions are going on
about the name which the Pennsyl-
Vania Guardsmen won in France.
The following is from Penns col
umn in the Philadelphia Evening
Bulletin: THE term, "The Iron Di
vision" has given occasion for much
discussion this week as to how it
mad its origin and as to the distinc-
tlon between it and the keystone
DIVISION. OF course, it should be
clearly understood at once that each
OF these terms applies to the same
division, and correspondent has
expressed the opinion that keystone
Is the more appropriate of the two
ana should alone be used. The fact
is that most of the public and the
troops in question as the Iron Divi
sion and it is altogether likely
that they will continue to
do so. 1t is suggestive of
iCromwelPs Ironside regiment in the
days of the war between the Round
heads and the Cavaliers, and is en-
ployed now in the same sense as
descriptive of the unhinching en-
| durance of trusty and fearless SOL
dlers. 1t has been suggested, how
ever, that it originated in the fact
that Pennsylvania is industrially the
great iron State, and that the in
formal title of the Twenty-eighth
DIVISION as exclusively a Pennsyl-
vania body was intended as a COM
pliment to the State.
1T really had its start, however,
as a compliment to the men them
selves and the actual reason for il
is happily described by Harry G.
Proctor in the book in which he has
; written the history of the TWENTY
eighth. Mr.. Proctor's explanation is
as follows:
You are not only soldiers! You
are men of iron'"
One thing that the policy of Com
missioner William II. Lynch in fill
ing out the River Front has developed
and that is the solidity of asphalt
The Susquehanna gave the river
front some pretty hard grinding this
spring and where asphalt blocks and
scraps from pavements were used il
seems to have stood the wash and
looked for more.
Soldiers returning from the great
review of the 2Sth Division at Phila-
; delphia are full of enthusiasm over
B, the many incidents of that remark
-, able pageant. Wounded officers and
men declared they saw new and
hitherto unrevealed side of Major
General Charles II. Muir After the
banquet held in his honor at the
! Bellevue-S -Stratford Hotel, he was
greeted by a host of officers who had
! served under him at Camp Hancock
or France. The General was in a
g genial mood and asked solicitously
after each man, calling him by name
y in a great many cases. The hardy
old fighter, whom his men cal
"Uncle Charlie" seemed to be thin.
ner and the lines in his face deeper
as result of his experiences on the
fighting front, but the curt voice was
, as kindly and powerful as ever. Dur.
Ing tne' parade ne sat on MS morse a
| the head of his men like a bronze
Y statue, and as his boys passed ir
=. review for the last time at Broad anC
e Diamond streets the stern face soft.
f ened and General Muir gazed with
affection at those whom he had com,
manded for so many months.
1 A long line of wounded in auto
1 mobiles followed the marching
troops and it was General Muir!
= turn to salute which he did. Wher
: the flower covered artillery caissor
with the gold-stared service flag roll
ed slowly by, with the emblem show
q ing 4,023 battle deaths in the divi
sion, a thoughtful and reverent sill
ence fell upon the masses of watch
ers. General Muir followed by hi
f mounted staff, removed his oversee!
v cap and clenched it tightly in hi
:. right hand as his eyes filed will
4 | tears.