Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1919-06-09
THOUSANDS TAKE PART I'M
DINNING OVATION TO MEN
OF OLD SIXTH REGIMENT
Rock Island, Moline and
East Moline Turn Loose
in Loud Demonstration

Battery F hit tho home trench
while three cities smiled, cried.
cheered and sang welcome yes
terday afternoon
The din OF factory whistles. led
by the thunderous tones OF tho
waterworks, mingled with tho
strains of music from bands, with
the shouts of thousands on Victory
way, with the tears of happiness
! frcm scores of relatives, with the
song of girls who threw flowers in
! the path of the returning heroes.
1t was the greatest noise-pro-
! ducing Sabbath afternoon Rock Is
land has ever seen The echoing
| din of welcome was continually in
the ears of the One Hundred
Twenty-third artfTleryuen from
the time they detrained at the foot
! Of Forty-third street until they
were seated in the Augustana col
lege gymnasium for the big home
cooked repast.
It was a glorious welcome that
! the returning artilleryInen recelv-
cd and they were wholly umprepar-
ed for 1t in such sumptuous pro-
portions. They knew there was a
welcome awaiting them, but the
kind they found was a whole lot
more than they had counted on.
Rock Island, Moline and East
Moline turned loose and threw
open their arms, shouted and sang,
cheered and yelled until everybody
was hoarse.
The special train on the Mifwau-
kee arrived at the foot OF Forty
| third street at 1:5S o'clock and the
| boys piled out, formed IN company
| front, and at the command OF
squads right" from Captain Ar
thur v Swedberg, passed onto
| Forty-third street, then moved
south to Sixth avenue, and the par
ade was on.
Crowds Jam Streets.
The route OF march was FORUM
ately a fairly long one and the
path OF the procession was jam
med with human beings who press
ed as close to the marching bat
terymen as tho military police es-
cort from Rock Island arsenal
would permit.
All along the way there were
decorations, flags. and bunting, and
banners with the gold CROSS, tho
insignia Of the Prairie division.
Practically every residence and
business house along Victory way
was decorated and there were hun
dreds of welcome banners.
Automobiles by the hundreds.
bedecked in flags and bunting,
some bearing the divisional insis-
MIA, were parked on cross streets
along Victory way.
At nearly every corner there
were girls, singing and throwing
flowers in the paths Of the return
ing soldiers.
Everything moved along on
schedule time. The special train
duo at . O'Clock arrived two min
utes earlier than scheduled. On
board the train, besides Battery F.
there were soldiers Of other units
discharged, some from Aledo. off,
GERS of the regiment and the Mo-
line and Rork Island welcome COM
mittees. The officers on board
were Major Ed Dunavin, command
er of the First battalion: Major r
w. Kavanaugh of Oak Park, COM
mander of the Third battalion. OF
which Battery + was a part, Cap
tain Swedberg, Lieutenant willard
Iarkin OF Rock Island, Lieutenant
Shaw of Geneseo. Lieutenant Ed
Swedberg Of Rhiuelander, Wis.
Lieutenant Martin Trued OF Ger
esco, Neb., Lieutenant CederberE
of Axtell, Neb., and G. II. Dixon, y
M. c. A., Mayor II. M. SchriVer. Dr.
Gustav Andreen and W. L. Franks
Of Rock Island. and Mayor G. p.
Skinner of Moline were on board
the special.
Train Is Decorated. "".~Hrq
The special train was gaily dec
GRATED with flags and bunting, even
TO the engine. The train was made
up of a baggage car and i've
coaches. Desuite the police and
military police guard, a number
of relatives succeeded in getting
through the lines and we're able to
greet the boys as they detrained-
But these were few and the police
guard succeeded in keeping the
crowds back in excellent shape.
All roads led to the east end OF
Rock Island and the west end OF
Moline for the people Of Rock Is
land, Moline and East Moline yes
terday afternoon. More than an
hour before the time the train was
scheduled to arrive the section OF
the two cities which the parade
was to pass over began TO become
lined with people. Occurring on
a Sunday afternoon, II gave unre-
stricted opportunity for the people
TO turn out, and they did so en-
Enthusiastically.
Predictions had been general
that once the soldiers detrained
they would scatter In search of
relatives, but not 80 with the re-
turning ertillerymen. They had
given Mayor SchrtVer and the COM
mfttee their promise that they
would keep formation and carry
out the parade and would bidg
their time until Augustana college