The New York herald., 1921-05-27
10000 AT MEMORIAL FESTIVAL |
PAY TRIBUTE TO DEAD HEROESL
Great Pageant Has Climax In
Reading Of Poem TN Flan-
ders Fields

There were few dry eyes among ten
thousand persons who filled the great
armory Of the Twenty-sscond Regiment
at l6sth street and Fort Washington
avenue last night when Miss Julia Ar
thur. clad in classic raiment emerged
from the gloom or the extreme rear
OF the darkened interior and. as THE
Voice OF Fallen Heroes" spoke the clos
ing lines Of John McRae's now historic
war poem. In Flanders Fields:
III ye break faith with US who die
We shall not sleep. though peoples
grow in Flanders fields"
That episode marked the dramatic
Climax of an impressive memorial fes-
tival and pageant. written and directed
by Miss Isabel Lowden. sister of for
| mer Gov. Lowden of Illinois. and given
under the auspices OF the memorial
festival committee and IN cooperation
with the school children of this city and
the American Legion as a tribute to the
heroic dead.
The pageant formed the last half of
| a programme that was prefaced by ad-
dresses by Gov. Henry ]. Allen Of
Kansas and Father Francis P. Duffy;
| military music by the Geith's Boy
| Band: orchestral music directed by
| George H. Gartlan, director OF music
In the public schools. and by inspiring
| choral singing by more than 1000 school
| children.
Decorations Hide Ceiling.
| To make complete the pageant
patriotic impulse had made a perfect
| system out Of a score or more OF diff
! ferent elements In local civic life. cul-
minating In the donation of more than
| a thousand yards of artificial poppies
| for the decorations from the school chill
dren and a ton of flowers for the
pageant from members Of the Florists
Club of New York. Festoons Of bunt-
Ing In the American Legion colors Of
blue and gold nearly hid the ceiling of
the armory.
| Choral singing. a professional of 500
Gold Star Mothers, and Of Government
| officials and officers Of the Army, Navy
| and Marine Corps, an invocation by the
| Rev. DR.. Joseph Silverman and an ad-
dress of welcome by Col. F. w. Gal
braith. Jr., National Commander of the
American Legion. also led the way to the
| pageant.
The choir of school children was sing
Ing Mendelssohn's 20. Rest In the Lord"
as q thin blue curtain studded with gold
stars was dropped In front Of the sing
ers. The lights were lowered. and In the
| half light THE Spirit of American
Youth" (Burnel Lumbeck) advanced
from the rear of the ar1nory down
| central aisle to the altar at the platform
In front of the gold starred curtain.
The Spirit of America" supported by
| Justice, Love. Service and Unity. fo'-
lowed and took her station at the right.
Then came the spirit oe Sorrowlng
Motherhood" an appealing figure i'm
| personated by Miss Beatrice Wanger ana
her small attendants with their arms
| filled with poppies. AS she took her STA
tion by the memorial altar, other school
| children, waving palm leaves or with
their arms filled with flowers. walked to
| right and left Of the armory floor and
stood in long. colorful rows.
Mound of Glowing Flowers.
The music of Tschaikowski's "Andante
Cantabile" changed to Chopin's Funera.
| March as from the rear advanced gu,
carriage carrying the symbolical dea
OF the war. draped with blanket OF
peoples. Slowly the funeral cortege
moved down a side aisle as the school
children laid their flowers and palm
leaves upon the casket The symbol OF
heroic death suggested a mound Of glow
ing flowers as 1t reached the altar and
stopped while over II the Rev. DR.. Her
bert Shipman, Bishop Suffragan of New
| York said the American Legion Prayer
| for the Dead. which has found piace
In the new literature of patriotism.
It was as the gun carriage passed out
Of the armory that THE Voice of Fallen
Heroes" emerged from the gloom into
glow of rose colored light and recited
an Flanders Fields" The figure. clad
In Madonna blue and smoke colored gray
disappeared as mystically as 1t had an
peared.
Father Duffy's address was an elo-
ouent tribute to the heroism of the men
| he served with In France. The applause
| OF the audience with the first appearance
| Of the fighting priest on the PLATFORM
kept him waiting five minutes before ne
| could start his address. He said Ihe
! noblest Of the men responded when the
call went out. for they felt their lives
should be flung away. II need be. for
some ideal of love, patriotism or re-
ligion. They cannot die. They will live
in the memory of the people as long as
the sun shall shine and American ideals
shall be maintained"
Gov Allen, who spent two years ir
France in field service with the Red
Cross. devoted most of his address u
telling OF his more amusing experiences
during the war. He opened his address
/ with the remark: "As / look about me
from this gigantic chorus OF school chill
dren to the great crowd In front OF me
| ] am convinced that here IL tne Uhiteu
States in New York" He said that or
all the sounds OF war that most deeply
impressed upon his memory was the
sound OF the tramping Of American feet
over the highways of France" His
answer to the question of why we went
into the war was: America went In
for the salvation OF her kin" He paid
q tribute to the American Legion and
i added with the Legion we must stand
for real Amerlcanism in the United
\ States"
The excellent ensemble singing by the
school children under Mr.. Gartian was 2
striking feature Of the festival They
we're called upon TO sing seven numbers.
including Mendelssohn's 20, Rest In the
Lord" and Handers largo set to the
words Hope Thou in the Lord" They
sang with almost perfect precision and
with an inspiring volume or sound.