Evening star., 1923-10-16
TALKS and TALES
With and About
CAPITALS GUESTS

ence, the Falls Church audience, the
Rockville audience. as we'll as the
Washington audi gee, "deadline,"
les goI
While it is universally conceded
that prophet Is not without honor
save in his own home town, the age
worn theory is hardly applicable TO
Maj. Gen. Anton Stephan, recently ap-
pointed commander of the Virginia,
Maryland and District of Columbia
National Guard. for there are few in
Washington who have not heard Of
his military activities. but for the
benefit of those unfamiliar with the
record Of this citizen soldier. a beau
| tiful tribute paid him by a comrade-
| in-arms viii be touched on herewith.
After a brief chat in the lobby of
| the New willard Hotel with Rev
Arthur J. B. Cayer of st. Anthony's
Church, Worcester. Mass, who served
| for twenty months as chaplain of the
| l61st Infantry in France (Col. Ste
phan's old regiment), nothing would
do but trip be made with the priest
! to meeting of the Newcomers Club.
where Father Cayer had been invited
by Gen. stephan as guest OF honor.
In response to a request from Pres
ident Burkhart to say a little some
thing, the robust chaplain squared
his shoulders and said: For twenty
months / served under Col. Stephan
in different parts OF France and ]
have no hesitancy in saying that
there was not q more efficient. better
beloved and respected officer N the
whole of the American expedttionaTN
| forces"
The priest paid a glowing tribute TO
the character of Gen. Stephan, and
said that while he was a strict dis
ciplina rian he was kindness perSonifled
toward his men. and that even today
l61st boys are living, some IN hospi-
tails. the name of col. Stephan" was
repeatedly mentioned.
There was no better organizer Ia
Father Cayer. II have seen him turn
raw recruits into capable fighting men
in ten days. while his work at the dis
graceful camp at ST. Aignon, the most
marvel of military genius. In nVe
weeks time, after taking command at
this indescribable hole, Col stephan
transformed 1t into one OF the most
sanitary and livable in all of the sec
! tion. When we went there but one,
kitchen was available for more than
10000 men. In thirty days Col.
Stephan had established seventeen
kitchens. and the place was as dry and
clean as your home. God grant We
have no more war, but if one comes I
will beg to be stationed with my oId
commander"
Countess Constance Hillyer de Casn
| of France, known 70 thousands OF
! fighting men now in this country as
| Little Mother" is at the ShorehaTn
| Texas to visit some OF the mothers OF
! those who never came back.
| The big guns Of France had hardly
| belched forth their defiant response
] a. -l1llTB
/ the tiny French woman. a royalist by
blood, sailed from South AMERICA TO
| cast her lot with the soldiers she
| loved so well. Untiring in her et-
| never weary of her administrations
! to the sick and wounded OF the allies,
| this daughter of the regiment work
| ed alone, with the French Red Cross
and other organizations until the
/ American boys arrived. and then She
I took it upon herself 10 make the
! strangers at home.
! This Angel OF France" was re-
| peatedly decorated by her own gov-
ernment and is probably better
known by this country's veterans
than any foreign war worker. ~
! the conclusion OF hostilities she re-
fused to remain idle, but took It upon
herself to keep green the graves OF
American dead. Sue has made seE-
eral trips to this country for the
Gold Star Mothers and through her
~
have been located. Her trip TO
Texas Is on such a mission.
Countess, de .Caen was born g..
| Pondicherry. India. and has travelled
| is descended from a long line of Brit
| ish admirals. Her great-grandfather
! Admiral Sir James B. Hillyer. fought
| against, the United States in 1872.
British title of Lady Constance. Her
paternal great grandfather, Gen.
Charles Isador Count de Caen, was
governor Of the French East Indian
ISLANDS and was an ardent royaiist
but. owing to his soldierly admira-
tfon for the military genius of Ma
poleon, fell under suspicion of SYM
pathizing with his cause and was
| grandfather of the countess. Gen
! Charles. Count de Caen. was a de-
fender of Metz in 1870.
The countess is unmarried and en-
joys the distinction OF possessing her
French title by inheritance from her
father.
All of which has nothing whatever
to do with the absolute certainty. felt
by c. H. Innes Boston lawyer. that
President Coolidge will not only he
nominated to succeed himself. bur
will be elected by an overwhelming
majority next fall.
| The Massachusetts man was Just
! hurrying from the Arlington Hotel
| to catch train when asked about the
| political situation in New England.
| Coolidge all the way" was his
| CHEEKY response as he hoped into a
! taxi. New England will be back Of
! him to man. thousands Of demo-
| Gratis included" and away he went.
The prohibition question has long
since ceased to worry folks west Of
| the Mississippi. according TO Clarence
| P. Dodge. former New Yorker, who
for the last eighteen years has made
seventeen of which he edited the Colo
RADIO Springs Gazette, an indefatigable
| supporter of the dry forces of the Sec
| tion.
Mr. Dodge is attending the citizen
| ship conference now in session at the
| Raleigh Hotel, and when seen in hts
rooms at that house was most en-
phatic in declaring 'it is the better
class of citizens in the east and mid
die west that is making il hard for
the enforcement Of the law
"Apprectating the vast good prohibit
| tion has done for the workers of Colo
| rado. 1t would be little less than shirk-
| ing not to continue the fight until
America is as dry as the Sahara" said
the genial newspaper man as he
stroked his Van Dyke" There are
6s sfat at ans sns 11ft
tchurch organizations in the United
States. and while nothing we do will
be attributed to any one group. consid-
Grafton will be given the advisability
of continuing the fight for enforce
ment that was made by virtually the
same bodies that placed the dry law
on the statute books"
With Japan's cry to speed up ma
chinery reverberating. through all