Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1921-12-10
MARSHAL FERDINAND FOCH
WELCOMED TO ATLANTA
BY ROGERS WINTER

World war, the foremost military
figure of this or any age, was At
lantas guest Friday for two memoir
able hours that formed glorious
chapter in her history.
Atlanta in the past has welcomed
the famous and the great, has rem
dered tribute to presidents and gen.
erals, has showered her plaudits up
on opera singers, has entertained
lavishly the captains of industry and
finance, and on all such occasions
has displayed a spirit which spread
the fame of her hospitality through
out the land
But never before has Atlanta had
a guest whom she honored with such
reverence and affection as she hon.
ored Friday this grand old man
whose military genius crushed the
German power and saved civiliza-
| ton from the iron heel of Prussian
autocracy.
Never before have the people dis
played such frantic eagerness to look
into the face of an illustrious visI-
tor, to get close to him, to speak to
| him, to pay him homage.
Multitudes Greet Him
Not one crowd but many crowds
assembled to see him. Not one null
titude, but many multitudes. At the
Terminal station, when he arrived
at S:45 o'clock, the plaza was packed
with people as thick as they could
stand, and the waiting room of the
| station was packed, and people
| filled the windows and roofs of build.
| ings all around.
| AS his train rolled into the station,
accompanied by a committee OF
| American Legionaires who went to
| Newman to meet him, the engineer
| sounded a blast on his whistle, and
| others took it I'D, and the waitins
multitude knew that Foch was here,
A moment later he emerged from
| the station, welcomed by sunshine
as bright as that of sunny France.
Instantly, as he appeared, the PEG
pie commenced to cheer. They seemed
to forget to clap their hands. They
wanted to make more noise than
bandclaps would make. So they
cheered, wildly, shrilly, men and
women and children joining their
voices in a cyclone of sound. The
national guardsmen holding the lane
open across the plaza could hardly
| keep their lines. The people packed
around were Surging, eager, almost
frenzied.
But the marshal was not disturb
ed. He seemed to be pleased. AS
he reached his automobile, standing
at the head of the procession on
Madison avenue, he mounted the tor.
neau with sprightly step and stood
up in the car, looking all around
him into the faces of the poole, smil-
ing and bowling and lifting his right
back and forth to the visor of his
cap. Then the car started and he
sat down rather suddenly, still wav-
| ing his hand and looking back over
] his shoulder.
| Streets Were ThrOnged
The throng at the station was
| merely a foretaste of what awaited
him later. Along Mitchell street the
sidewalks were packed with people
| on both sides. Whitehall street was
a solid mass Of people, except for
a narrow strip in the roadway, kept
open by mounted policemen and po-
| licemen on foot. Flags were way
ing from the buildings. waving in
the hands of men and women all
along the way, waving in the hands
| of children who went there to see
him instead Of to Piedmont park.
Cheer after cheer, high and piercing,
a continuous and moving procession
of cheers, kept pace with his car as
Foch rode on.
Four miles he rode through lane
of people. 1t looked as if the city's
entire population had left their
homes and their work and gone to
Peachtree street to see the great
marshal. All the way from the sta
ton to Pershing Point, four miles
away, the crowd hardly thinned
along the curbstones.
| At Harris street the uniformed ca
diets of Boys High and Tech High
swung into the street ahead of the
| procession, ran along the roadway
| like soldiers running on a skirmish
line, and Quickly drew up on both
sides with guns at attention. Ahead
Of them rode cavalry squadron to
clear the way. The khaki-clad lines
extended all the way from Baker
street to Currier street, and the
marshal constantly saluted the boys
as he rode along by them, their eyes
fixed in front in strict military dis
! cipline.
North Avenue Presbyterian day
school turned out it's student body
at North avenue and Peachtree
street, the little ones standing at the
curb and the taller ones behind
them, all waving the flags of Amer
lea and France, all shouting shrilly:
| "Vive F'och! ViVe lie Marechal"'
And at Eighth street the Marist
cadets were drawn up in two beau
! tifully straight lines through which
| he rode saluting.
Wreath at Pershing Point
When the procession arrived at
Fourteenth street they found the
Georgia Tech cadets drawn up in
two lines that extended all the way
to the entrance of Piedmont park,
their company flags spacing the dis
lance at regular intervals. But the
procession did not turn there, just
yet. 1t went on north to Pershing
point, at the intersection of Peach
tree and West Peachtree, where
Marshal Foch placed a wreath on
the memorial erected in honor of
the Fulton county boys who died in
the war.
And there awaiting him was an
other monster crowd, crowd so
eager to see him that the military
escort had to pillow their way to the
cleared space in front Of the monu-
ment. The marshal did not tarry
long, as his time was very short.
After placing the wreath on the me-
mortal tablet he turned and saluted
and delivered a brief speech in
French, then walked rapidly back to
his car and sped away to Piedmont
park.
Fourteenth street was cIeared or
everything AS the procession re-
turned for the ceremonies at the
park, where thousands of school
children were impatiently awaiting
him. Down the long lane whizzed
the automobiles, the Georgia Tech
cadets standing at attention and re-
ceiving the marshal's salutes, the
lawns and verandas of the homes
thrnn cod 1I,ith 1annla who xaNad