The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1920-01-10
INTERESTING ADDRESS
Will be Given by Col. Dan Morgan
Smith, Friday, Jan. 23rd


People of Marion county and Ocala
will be given an unusual opportunity
to hear a first-hand. account of the
war from one of the men who partic-
ipated actively in the great conflict
and who won honor and promotion for
his deeds of valor, when Col. Dan
Morgan Smith. a native Floridian,
comes here to speak on Friday, JAN
uary 23rd.
Colonel Smith will speak under the
auspices of the Florida Educational
and Temperance League, and his ad-
dress will be of especial interest to all
men who saw service in the military
forces of the United States. their fam
lies and their friends. AS commander
of the First Battalion, 358th Infantry,
9Cth Division. A. f. F., Colonel Smith
saw the greater battles in which the
American forces participated and, in
the battle of st. Mihiel, led his COM
mand against fearful odds and car
ried the day, though with tremen-
dous loss in killed and wounded.
Colonel Smith is we'll known in
Florida and particular interest at
taches to his coming to Ocala as he
is the son of DIR. ID. M. Smith of this
city. He will be accorded a recep-
tion upon his arrival in the city and
will be entertained by his father while
here.
The Florida Educational and Tenn
perance League. under the auspices of
which Colonel Smith is speaking in
this state, has been organized in eve
ry county in Florida and is proving
an immense factor already in the
awakening of the public conscience to
the Importance and necessity for law
enforcement.
The Marion county organization of
the league is headed by the following:
County chairman, Postmaster r. F.
Rogers; county treasurer. Fl. ID.
Stokes, cashier Ocala National Bank;
school district chairman. w. ID. earn.
superintendent of public instruction.
State executive members in Marion
county are: w. T. Gary, DR.. E. G.
Peek, Judge W. E. Smith, DR.. J. z.
Chace, mayor of Ocala, and Frank Z.
Harris, editor of the Banner.
The story of the battle of st. Mi
hiel, one of the major actions of the
war in which the American forces
participated. will be vividly told by
Colonel Smith He will describe par
ticularIy the participation of his
command in this offensive and will
bring, in this way. the war close to his
audience. Colonel Smith will describe
the fearful period of waiting. between
the time the last preparation has
been made for the assault, until the
"zero hour" when the command was
to go over the top. He will tell of the
terrific rain of artillery steel which
i fell on the German forces opposing
them, of the lifting barrage exactly
on the "zero" second, how the bat
| talon swarmed over the top and, at
a pace scarcely more than a lazy
crawl, started walking in the direction
OF the Germans, near enough the bar
1 rage to almost be within danger of
their own artillery.
He will describe his battalion, when
three complete regiments of Amerl-
can infantry, ordered to assist in this
offensive, failed to show up, cut its
way through the pick of the whole
German army, the Prussian Guards,
4 .Iccmprising three well equipped and
fully manned regiments, waded thru
!, nests of machine guns and took the
I objective.
! When the battalion came out Of
| this fight it numbered 327 men. Three
, days before, when the battle began,
]. its strength was 1920. Of the twenty