The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-05-04

, and the way In which wounded mer are
| cared for and nursed back to useful
life, but none of these, inspired as they
might be, could equal the scene that
was spread before the lucky ones who
stood on Fifth avenue yesterday.
why. II they had had this over in
| France, the war would have been over
months sooner" an elderly critic chirped
| from the side lines. And SO 1t seemed.
but the whole thing which took hours
in passing was but the smallest part of
| the equipment and backing OF division.
As significant as all else was the fac
! that three weeks ago there had been no
preparations for the day. Then army
officers from all over the country began
/ swarming into New York, they put the
wheels of their departments in move
ment, and cavalry began to come from
Fort Myer. Va, trucks from Fort Ethan
Allen, from all the supply bases and
camps near New York: men set to
work on floats that were presented yes
terday complete to the last detail. even
! the sod from which boxed in horses
cropped on top of motor trucks, and
soldiers, nurses, girls in the embarka-
| ton port, laborers with their barrows,
carpenters who built houses on the
way to Washington Square. everything
was evolved perfectly and swiftly
through the functioning of the army
machine
The imn,e nsity OF the show. for such
It was, can be gagged by the statement
| there were ZIG floats in the line, not
counting tine motor cars. trucks, Gals
sons rolling kitchens, escort wagons.
! observation cars, trailers. portable
! shops. amburances and tanks. or the
! tanks there were all kinds, from the
! big monsters which crushed the barbed
wire OF the Hindenburg line and LED
the way in tie st. Mihiel drive to the
! little whippen' which shot over ma
chine gun outposts and tore gaps in
! the enemy ranh for the troops to All.
And even II ere was army method
shown to it's mai degree of excellence
! for the tanks were so arranged that
| the big wheels % following artillery
| pressed back into place the torn asphalt
| OF the avenue. aud in one place an
army road roller rlrnbled along even
| ing the ridges. TlE Other parades have
been the doings OF civilians. but inJthis
! Uncle Sans little OH army showed
| what it could do when somebody really
rcalled upon it to make n complete manis
| festations of its effectiveness.
Four hours WIS supposed to be the
allotted time for Us passing. 1t started
| at 80 on the tOt, as scheduled. bu,
| so much had been provided that il waS
not until after ast night that the last
tank barked its way through the ave-
nue.. And, wonder Of wonders. by the
time this story was written there was
not unit in the whole line which
was not in camp or on its long way
! to the camp from which X had beer
reauisitioned. There was nothing tc
show in New York at 10 O'Clock. save
! n few dents in the pivement that the
strangest and most Interesting parade
this city has seen hi. passed but 9
few hours before.
At the grand stand opposite the Met
ropoltan Museum of Art where Official.
OF the city and the army and nav,
branches OF the servio, were gathered
Lieut.-Col Bernard Lertz of the Genera
STAFF. smiled at his handiwork and sale
he was satisfied. His assistant. Capt
w. A. Rogers, who Worked indefati
gably as traffic officer to make the thins
run smoothly. said he wouldn't hav,
believed 1t could be so good. There wa;
not hitch in the entire programme
and even the gaps at which people won
dered, were caused by the army moi
wishing 10 interfere with the crosl
town traffic. and so providing for inter
walls in which it could pass
1t was well toward the middle OF thu
their heads northward and wonder wha'
the red and yellow smoke and the in.
termittent cannonading from the cloud.
were all about. They began TO wonde,
II an actual battle we've coming TOWARD
them. There was something soul terri
flying in these Instruments Which have
been devised to bring cruel death tt
armies locked together. Their terror,
were yelled and therefore more awful
Z rha rRI,t nd nd
with the voice OF men dying.
Gas Introduces Pageant.
That was the distant introduction Il
the thing which needed German in cen
tiveness to bring TO the natural horrors
of war-the poison gas. or course, III,
gas that was actually given out wa
merely 4 much diluted quantity OF tn
lachrymal kind that makes the eyes ruI
and burns the throat. but even so /
was convincing. And as 1t came neare-
one saw the component parts OF thi
branch of warfare. and thanked Go,
that the war ended when it did.
In command of the division wa
Lieut. Col. Amos A. Fries. who was
Major General in France in charge O
the chemical department. and wa
brought from France to organize tht
section of the parade Behind him cam
a row OF horses, queerly decked out witt
gas protectors, their masks looked lik
elongated feed bags, and their feet ant
lower legs covered with wrappings I,
protect them from the burning gas tina
hides in hollows OF the ground The
riders wore masks. and together the!
seemed like some odd, medieval figures
ready for the tourney.
= Behind them was a float on which
we're men wearing all the many masks
in Use in all countries during the war
from the simple gauze pad of the early
British efforts to combat this horrible
death. to the latest mask of the United
States army. which was the most com
plete protection found. There was a ga,
house on another truck. a glass incloseG
space in which foated an opaque ant
whitish gas that would mean death with
out mask. and into this men went at in
tervals. properly equipped and unafraid
to walk about and laugh at the people in
the stands.
Just how awful this method OF warfar