THE FULTON COUNTY NEWS. McCONNELLSBURO, PA.
"OUTWITTING THE HUN"
By Lieutenant Pat O'Brien
O'BRIEN FINDS HIMSELF A PRISONER OF .WAR AFTER A
MIRACULOUS ESCAPE FROM DEATH.
Synopils. rot O'F.rlen, a resident of Momence, 111., after seeing
service In the Amerlcun flying corps on tlie .Mexican hordcr In 1010.
loins the British Uoyal Flying corps In Canada, and after a brief train
lug period Is sent to France. He Is assigned to u squadron In active
service on the front. He engage" In several hot lights with Germun
flVrs, from which he emerge victorious.
CHAPTER III.
Csptured by the Hunt.
I snail not easily forget the 17th of
August, 1017. I killed two Huns In
Ihe double-seated machine In the
morning, another In the eveulug, aud
then I was captured myself. I may
have spent more eventful days in my
life, but I can't recall auy Just now.
That morning, in crossing the line
oo early morning patrol, I noticed
two Ccrman balloons. I decided that
is goon as my putrol wus over I
would go off on my own hook and see
whnt a German balloon looked like
it close quarters.
These observation balloons are used
by both sides In conjunction with the
artillery. A man sits up In the bal
loon with a wireless apparatus nnd di
rects the firing of tho guns. From his
point of vantage ho can follow the
work of his own artillery with a re
markable degree of accuracy and at
the Mine time he can observe the ene
my's movements nnd report them.
The Germans are very good at this
work, und they use a great number of
Machine O'Brien Was Driving When
He Was Overcome and Captured by
the Hunt.
these balloons. It was considered a
very Important part of our work to
keep tlera out of the sky.
There are two ways of going after a
balloon in a machine. One of them Is
to cross the lines at a low altitude, fly
ing so near the ground that the man
with the antlnlrcrnft gun can't bother
you. You fly along until you get to the
level of the balloon and If, In the
meantime, they have not drawn the
balloon down, you open fire on It and
the bullets you use will set It on fire
If they land. '
The other way Is to fly over where
you kuow the balloons to be, put your
machine In a spin so that they can't
tut you, get above them, spin over the
balloon and then open Are. In-going
back over the line you cross at a few
hundred feet.
This is one of the hardest Jobs In
the service. There is less danger In
attacking an enemy's aircraft.
Nevertheless, I had made up my
mind to either get those balloons or
make them descend, and I only hoped
that they would stay on the Job until
I had a chance at them.
When our two hours' duty was up,
therefore, I dropped out of the forma
tion as we crossed the lines aud turned
back again.
I was at a height of 15,000 feet, con
siderably higher than the balloons.
Shutting my motor off, 1 dropped down
through the clouds, thinking to And
the balloons nt about five or six miles
behind the Ourmun lines.
Just as I came out of the cloud
hanks I saw below me, about a thou
sand feet, a two-seater hostile ma
chine doing artillery observation and
directing the German guns. This was
at a point about four miles behind the
Cerumn Hues.
Evidently the German artillery saw
lie uud put out ground signals to at
tract the Hun machine's attention, for
I 8iiw the observer quit his work nnd
grub his gun. while their pilot stuck
the nose of his machine straight
down.
Uut they were too 'nte to escnpo.me.
I vus diving toward, them at a speed
f probably two hundred miles an
hour, shooting al the time as fast as
possible. Their only chance luy In
the possibility that the force of my
drive might breuk my wings. I knew
"7 danger In that direction, but as
uon as I cume out of my dive the
Huns would have their chunce to get
me, nnd I knew I had to get them first
"nd tuke a chnnce on my wlugs hold
ing out.
Fortunately some of my first bullets
found their mark, and I was able to
come out of my dive nt about four
thousand feet. They never came out
of theirs I
But right then came the hottest sit
uation In the air I had ever experi
enced up to that time. The depth of
tty dive had brought me within reach
f tho machine guns from the ground,
nd they also put a barrage around me
ot shrapnel from antiaircraft guns
"id I had an opportunity to "ride the
barrage," as they call It lu the It. F. C.
To nmke the sltuutlon more Interest
'"8. they begnn shooting "flaming on-
l0s" at rne. "Flumlng onions" are
rockets shot from a rocket gun. They
ftre used (o hit a machine wb i it Is
lug low, and they are effei ve up
10 about five thousand feet :jome-
tluius they are shot up one a. t an
ether in gtrlncs of about elj, i.. aud
it f 1 v J
1 1 nl
they nre one of the hardest tilings to
go through. If they hit the machine,
It Is bound to catch fire und then tho
Jig Is up.
All the time, too. I was being nt
tacked by "Archie" the antiaircraft
gun. I escaped the machine guns and
the "flaming onloms," but "Archie," tho
antiaircraft fire, got me four or five
times. Every time a bullet plugged
me, or rather my machine, it made a
loud bang, on nccount of the tension
on tho material covering the wings.
None of their shots hurt me until
I was about a mile from our lines, and
then they bit my motor. Fortunately.
I still had altltudo enough to drift on
to our own side of the lines, for my
motor was completely out of commis
sion. They Just rulsed the dickens
with mo all the tlmo I was descend
ing, und I begnn to think I would
strike 'the ground before crossing tho
line, but there was a slight wind In
my favor, and It carried me two miles
behind our lines. There the ball-tons
I bud gone out to get hud the sutlsfnc-
Hon of "pln-polntlng" mo. Through
the directions which they wero able to
L'lve to their urtlllery they commenced
shelling my machine where It lay.
This particular work Is to direct the
fire of their artillery, and they nre
used Just us the artillery observation
nlrplunes are. Usually two meu are
stationed In each balloon. They ascend
to a height of several thousand feet
about live miles behind their own lines
nnd nre equipped with wireless nnd
slgnnllng apparatus. They watch the
burst of their own nrtlllery, check up
the position, get the range, aud direct
the next shot.
When conditions nre favorable thry
nre ablo to direct tho shots so neeu
rately that It Is quick work destroying
tho object of their nttuck. It was such
n balloon as this that got my position,
marked me out, called for un nrtlllery
shot, and they commenced shelling my
machine where It lay. If I had got
the two balloons Instead of the air
plane, I probably would not have lost
my machine, for he would In all prohn
blllty have gone on home and not both
ered about getting my range and caus
lng the destruction of my mnchine.
I landed In a part of the country
that was literally covered with shell
holes. Fortunately my machine wus
not badly damaged by the forced land
lng. I leisurely got out, wnlked around
It to see what the dunmge was, nnd
concluded that It could be easily re
paired. In fact, I thought If I could
find a space long enough between shell
holes to get a start before leaving the
ground that I would be able to fly on
from there.
I was still examining my plane and
considering the matter of a few slight
repnlrs, without any particular thought
for my own safety In that unprotected
spot, when a shell came whizzing
through the air, knocked me to the
ground nnd landed a few feet away.
It had no sooner struck than I made
a run for cover nnd crawled Into
shell hole. I would have liked to get
farther away, but I didn't know where
the next shell would burst, and
thought I was fairly snfo there, so
sauatted down and let them blaze
away.
The only damage I suffered was
from tho mud which spluttered up In
my face and over my clothes. That
was my Introduction to a shell bole,
and I resolved right there that the In
fnntry could have all the shell-hole
fighting they wanted, but It did not
appeal to me, though they live In them
through ninny a long night and I had
only sought shelter there for a few
minutes.
After tho Germans hnd' completely
demolished my mnchlno nnd cease
firing, I waited there a short time,
fearing perhaps they might send over
u lucky shot, hoping to get mo after
nil. Rut evidently they conclude
enough shells had been wasted on one
man. I crawled out cautiously, shook
the mud off, and I looked over la the
direction where my machine, hnd once
been. There wasn't enough left for n
decent souvenir, but nevertheless I got
a few, "such as they were," and rend
lly observing thnt nothing could be
done with what was left, I made my
way back to Infantry headquurters,
where I was ablo to telephone in a
report
A little Inter one of our nutomo
blles came out after mo nnd took me
back to our airdrome. Most of my
squadron thought I was lost beyond
doubt, nnd never expected to see me
again ; but my friend, Fnul Ituney, had
held out that I was all right, and ns
I was afterwards told, said, "Don't
send for another pilot; that Irlshmnn
will be bnck. if he has to walk." And
he knew thnt tho only thing that kept
me from walking was the fact that our
own automobile had been sent out to
bring me home.
I had lots to think about that dny,
aud I had learned mnny things; one
whs not to huve too much confidence
In my own ublllty. One of the men in
the squadron told me that I had bet
ter not take those chances; thnt It
was going to be a long war and I
would huve plenty of opportunities t
be killed without deliberately "wishing
them on" myself. Luter I wus to learu
the truth of his statement.
That night my "flight" each squad
ron Is divided into three flints, coo-
(Copyright! 1018. by Pit Alvi O'Brlta)
- itlnjr of six men ench got ready to I
go out ngnln. As I started to put on
tny tunic T noticed that I was uot
muiUcd up for duty as usual.
I asked tho commanding officer, a
major, what tho reason for that was,
n ml he replied that ho thought I hud
one enough for one dny. However,
I knew thnt If I did not go, someone
else from another "flight" would have
to take my place, and I Insisted upon
l!ig up with my patrol as usual, nnd
the major reluctantly consented. Hud
he known what was In store for me. I
m sure be wouldn't have changed his
niiud so readily.
As It was we hnd only five machines
for this patrol, nnywny, because ns we
crossed the lines one of them had to
drop out on account of motor trouble.
Our patrol was up nt 8 p. m.. and up
to within ten minutes of thnt hour It
had been entirely uneventful.
At 7:.r0 p. m., however, while we
were flying at a height of 13.000 feet,
we observed three other English mn
chines which were about 3,000 feet
below us pick a fight with nine Hun
machines.
I knew right then thnt we were In
for It, because I could see over toward
the ocean n whole flock of Hun mn
chine which evidently hud escaped
tho attention of our scrappy country
men below us.
So we dove down on those nine
Huns.
At first the flcht was fairly even.
There were eight of us to nine of them.
P.ut soon the other machines which I
had seen In the distance, und which
were flying even higher tbnn we were,
arrived on tho scene, ami when they,
n turn, dove down on us, there wus
Just twenty of them to our eight t
Four of them singled me out. I wns
living, nnd they dived right down nfter
ine, shooting ns tney came, meir
tracer bullets were coming closer to
me every moment. These tracer bul
lets nre balls of fire which ennble the
shooter to follow the course his bul
lets nre taking nnd to correct his aim
nccordlngly. They do no more hnri'i
to n pilot if be Is hit than an ordinary
bullet, but If they hit the petrol tnnk,
good night I When n machine catches
lire In flight there Is no way of put
ting It out It takes less thnn a min
ute for the fabric to burn off tho wings
and then the machine drops like an
arrow, leaving a trail of smoke like a
comet.
As their tracer bullets enmo closer
nnd closer to me I realized that my
chnnees.of escnpe were nil. Their very
next shot, I felt, must hit me:
Once, some days before, when I was
flying over the line, I bad watched a
flght nbove me. A German mnchlno
was set on fire, nnd dived down
through our formation In flumes on Its
way to the ground. The Hun was div
ing nt such a sharp angle that both
his wings came off, and ns he passed
within a few hundred feet of me I saw
tho look of horror on Ids face.
Now, when I expected any moment
to suffer a similar fate, I could not
help thinking of thut poor Huu's last
look of agony.
I realized that my only chnnce lay
In making an Iminclmun turn. This
maneuver wns Invented by a German
one of the greatest who ever flew and
.who was killed In action somo time be
fore. This turn, w hich I mado success
fully, brought oue of their machines
right In front of mc, and as he sailed
along barely ten yards awny, I "hod
the drop" on hlra, nnd he knew It
His white face and stnrtled eyes I
can still see. He knew beyond ques
tion that his last moment hnd come,
because his position prevented bis tak
ing aim at me, while my gun pointed
strulght at him. My first tracer bullet
passed within a yard of his head, the
second looked ns If It hit his shoulder,
the third struck him In the nock, nnd
then I let him have the whole works,
and he went down In a spinning nose
dive.
All this time tho three other Hun
machines were shooting awny at me.
I could hear the bullets striking my
mnchine one after another. I hadn't
the slightest Idea that I could ever
Lieutenant O'Brien In
the First Machine He Used In
Him Is. Lieutenant Atkinson,
beat off thoso three Huns, but there
wus nothing for mo to do but fight, and
my bands were full.
In fighting, your mnchine Is drop
ping, dropping nil the time. I glanced
nt my Instruments, nnd my altitude
was between 8.000 and 0,000 feet.
While I was still looking nt tho In
struments, tho whole blamed works
disappeared. A burst of bullets went
Into the Instrument board and blew
It to smithereens, another bullet went
through my upper lip, came out of the
roof of my mouth and lodged In my
throat, nnd tho next thing 1 knew wus
when I eunie to In a German hospital
the following morning ut live o'clock,
German tlnre.
I wns n prisoner of war.
CHAPTER IV.
Clipped Wings.
The bospltnl In which I found my
self on the morning after my enpturo
wns a private house mado of brick,
very low nnd dirty, nnd not nt all
adupted for use as a hospital. It had
evidently been used but n few days on
uccount of the big push thnt wus tak
ing place nt thnt time of the year, and
In all probability would be ubandoned
ns soon ns they had found a better
place.
In all, the bouse contained four
rooms and n stable, which was by far
the largest of all. Although I never
looked Into this "wing" of the hospital,
I wus told that It, too, was filled with
patients lying on beds of straw around
on tho ground. I do not know whether
they, too, were olllcers or privates.
Tho room In which I found myself
contained eight beds, three of which
were occupied by wounded German of
ficers. The other rooms, I Imagined,
had about the same number of beds ns
mine. There were no Ited Cross nurses
In uttendance, Just orderlies, for this
wns only an emergency hospital and
too near the firing line for nurses. The
orderlies were not old men nor very
young boys, ns I had expected to find,
but youug men In the prime of life
who evidently had been medical stu
dents. One or two of them, I discov
ered, wero able to talk English, but
for somo reason they would not talk.
I'erhnps thoy were forbidden by the
olllcer In charge to do so.
In addition to the bullet wound In
my mouth I hnd a swelling from my
forehead to the buck of my head at
most as big as my shoe and that Is
saying considerable. I couldn't move
un Inch without suffering Intense pain
and when the doctor told me that I
had no bones broken I wondered how
a fellow would feel who hnd.
Germun olllcers visited me that
morning nnd told me that my machine
went down In n spinning nose dive
from a height of between 8,000 and
0,000 feet, nnd they had the surprise
of their lives when they discovered
that I had not been dashed to pieces.
They had to cut me out of my mnchine,
which was riddled with shots and shat
tered to bits.
A Germnn doctor removed the bullet
from my thront, nnd the first thing he
said to me when I came to was, "You
are an American!"
There was no denying it, because
tho metal Identification disk on ray
wrist bore the inscription :
"P. O B.
U. S. A.
It F. C."
Although I wns suffering Intense
agony, the doctor, wno spoKe perieci
English, Insisted upon conversing with
me. .
"You may be all right as a sports
man," he declared, "but you are a
d d murderer Just the samo for be
ing here. You Americans who got Into
this thing before America came Into
the war are no better than common
murderers and you ought to be trentod
the same way I"
The wound In my mouth mnde It Im
possible for mo to answer him, and I
was suffering too much pnln to be
hurt very much by anything he could
sny.
He asked me If I would like on
Active Service. With
(ill'
huve
eaten a brick.
When he got no answers out of me,
he wnlked awny disgustedly.
"You don't have to worry any more,"
he declared, as a parting shot. "For
you the war Is over."
I wus given a little broth later In
the dny, nnd ns I began to collect my
thoughts I wondered what had hap
pened to my comrades In the battle
which had resulted so disastrously to
me. As I began to realize my plight
I worried less about my physical con
dition than tho fact that, as the doc
tod hnd pointed out, for me the war
was practically over. I had been In it
but n short time, and now I would be
a prisoner for the duration of the war I
The next dny some Germnn flying
olllcers visited me. and I must sny they
treated me with great consideration.
They told me of tht man I had brought
dowu. They suld he was a Davarlan
and a fairly good pilot. They gave me
his hat as a souvenir and compliment
ed me on tho flght I had put up.
My helmet, which was of soft
leather, was split from front to bnck
by a bullet from a mnchlno gun, nnd
they examined It with great Interest
When they brought me tny uniform 1
found thut the stur of my rank which
had been on my right shoulder strnp
had been shot off clean. Tho one on
my left shoulder strnp they asked im
for as a souvenir, ns also my It F. t'.
badges, which I gave them. They' al
lowed me to keep my "wings," which
I wore on my left brenst, because they
were awnre that that Is the proudest
possession of a Iiritlsh flying officer.
I think I am right In saying thnt tin
only chivalry In this war on the Ger
man side of the trenches has been dis
played by the officers of tho German
flying corps, which comprises the pick
of Germany. They pointed out to me
that I and my comrades were fighting
purely for the love of It, wherens they
were fighting In defense of their coun
try, but still, they said, they admired
us for our sportsmanship. I hnd a no
tion to ask them If dropping bombs on
.London una Killing so many mnoeeni
a .
people
l m - t
wiia ill uciciidu vi iiit'ii i'umiiii, .
but I was In no position or condition
to pick a qunrrel at thnt time.
Thnt same day a German olllcer wns
brought Into the hospltnl nnd put In
the bunk next to mine. Of course I
cnsunlly looked at him, but did not
pay particular attention to him nt that
time, ne lay there for three or four
hours before I did take a real1 good
look at him. I was positive that he
could not speak English, and naturally
I did not say anything to him. Once
when I looked over in his direction his
eyes were on me, and to my surprise
he said, very sarcastically, "Whnt the
h 1 nre you looking nt" and then
smiled. At this tlmo I was Just be
ginning to sny a few words, as my
wound hnd prevented mo from tnlklng,
but I said enough to let hlra know
whnt I wns doing there nnd how I
happened to be there. Ho evidently
hnd heard my story from some of the
others, though, because be said It was
too bnd I hnd not broken my neck;
thnt he did not have much sympathy
with the flying corps anyway, ne
asked me whnt port of America I come
from, nnd I told hlra "California."
After a few more questions he
learned that I hailed from Sun Fran
cisco, and then added to my distress
by saying, "How would you like to
have a good, Juicy steak right out of
the Hofbrau?" Naturally I told him
It would "hit the Bpot,,,v but I hardly
thought my mouth was In shnpe Just
then to eat It I Immediately asked,
of course, what he knew about the
Hofbrau, and he replied, "I was con
nected with the place a good many
NEED NOT SEEK POPULARITY
"Expert" May Achieve Highest Meas
ure of Succeit, but Naturally He
Will Never Be Loved.
There Is not much mystery, or even
any at all, In the dislike of "experts"
thut Is felt and expressed by not a few.
The expert man Is a man who goes to
other men and tells them thnt the
way In which they are doing their work
Is not the best way that it Is a bnd,
costly, or even stupid way and thnt tf
they will only listen to hlra and follow
his advice their work will be Improved
und their efficiency Increased.
None of us tnkes plensnre In henr
lng talk of thnt sort, and the displeas
ure Is greater in exact proportion with
length of the hearer's training nnd ex
perience in conducting his business,
trnde, or art. All that the expert says
carries tho Implication of adverse criti
cism directed against the recipient of
his suggestions, and usually It Is criti
cism of that recipient's father nnd
grandfather. Of course thut is re
sented, and the resentment Is bitterest
when the expert goes nhend and gives
undeniable proof that his new way
of doing things Is better than the old
ways which have long been productive
of honor and profit.
The expert, too, Is always open to
the convenient chnrge that he Is not
"practical" that he. Is a man of the
ories and fads. Sometimes the chnrge
Is true b only of the expert who
claims the me without deserving it
Wives Evidently His Hobby.
Probably the modern world's marry
ing record for men was crented by
George Wltzoff, the blgamlBt, whose
marriages have variously been estimat
ed at from 200 to 800. It was report
ed that In tho space of a single week
he went through mnrrlage ceremonies
with ten women.
Worw'n Bolls, Too.
Old Job bad his troubles, but nobody
rnised the price of Ice on him when he
was laying In his winter's coal. At
lanta Constitution,
apple I I could Just us euslly hu
years, and I ought to know all aeouv
If
After that this German officer and
I became rather chummy; that Is, at
far ns I cbuld be chummy with an
enemy, nnd we whlled away a good
mnny , long hours talking about thi
days we had spent In San Francisco,
and frequently lu the conversation on
of us would mention some prominent
Callfornlnn, or somo little incident oo
currlng there, with which we wer
both fumlllur.
He told me when war was declared
he was, of course, Intensely patriotic
and thought the only thing for hlra to
do was to go back and aid In the de
fense of his country. He found thai
ho could not go directly from San
Francisco, because the water was too
well guarded by the English, so h
boarded a boat for South America
There he obtained a forged passport
and In tho guise of a Montcvldeun took
passage for New York and from ther
to England.
He passed through England without
any difficulty on his forged pnssport,
but concluded not to risk going to Hol
land for feur of exciting too much sus
picion, so went down through the
Strait of Gibraltar to Italy, which wai
neutral at that time, up to Austria,
and thence to Germany, lie said when,
they put in at Gibraltar, after leaving
England, there were two suspecti
taken off the ship, men thnt he wai
sure were neutral subjects, but much
to his relief his own pnssport and cre
dentials were examined and passed
O. K.
The Hun spoke of bis voyage from
America to England as being excep
tionally pleasant, and said he had a
fine time, because he associated with
the English passengers on board, hll
fluent English readily admitting hlio
to several spirited arguments on the
subject of the war, which lie keenly
enjoyed. One little Incident he related
r k &
v- . , , -
-
Pat O'Brien and Paul Raney.
revealed the remarkable tact which
our enemy displayed In his associa
tions ut sen, which no doubt resulted
ndvuntugeously for him. As he ex
pressed It, he rmnde n hit" one evening
when the crowd has assembled for a
little music by suggesting that they
sing "God Save the King." Thereafter
his popularity wns assured und the de
sired effect accomplished, for very
soon a French olllcer enme up to hlra
and said, "It's too bud that England
and ourselves haven't men In our army
like you." It wns too bnd, he ngreed,
in telling me about It, becuuse he was
confident he could huve done a whole
lot more for Germany If he had been
In the English army. In spite of his
apparent loyalty, however, the man
didn't seem very enthusiastic over the
war and frankly admitted one day thai
the old political battles waged In Call'
fornla were much more to his liking
thnn the battles he had gone through
over here. On second thought he
laughed ns though It were u good Joke,
but he evidently Intended mo to Infer
thnt he had taken a keen Interest In
politics in Snn Francisco.
From' his prison, O'Brien wit
nease a thrilling air battle,
which result In the death of hla
chum, who I hot down by a
German flyer. Don't mis the
next Installment
(TO BE CONTINUED.)
NOVELIST HAD HIS REVENGE
Dumas Worked With Subtlety, t
Wa Satisfied That It Would Be
Thoroughly Complete.
When Alexnndre Dumas, the French
novelist was a voung man. he was
grievously Insulted by a man whom he
hnd regarded ns his friend.
Everyone expected him to punish the
offender severely, but Instead he began
looking upon him with more consider
ation and apparent friendliness than
ho hnd ever shown before,
At length, three years later, when
the erstwhile friend wns to be married.
the novelist wns asked to serve as best
man, and did so. When the ceremony
wns over nnd the guests were leaving
someono remarked to Dumas : "I have
often wondered at your kindness to
this mnn. Surely yours Is a remark
ably forgiving nnture, for nlthough he
Insulted you grossly, you havo assidu
ously studied his happiness ever since.
and even assisted hlra In getting mar
ried." "Quite right I" answered Dumas. "I
flntter myself thnt I have given the
fellow the most furious nnd lyjix-eyed
niother-ln-lnw to be found In France I"
Too Much of a Good Thing.
"I didn't much care about the way
Josh's clothes looked down to camp,"
commented Fnrmer Corntossel.
"Hnsn't he his regular unlforraT'
"Not yet If they're going to keofl
him dressed that way in hopes of de
ceiving the enemy into thinking he's
just an obscure peasant or something,
whnt I sny Is thnt ifs carrying thli
new kerraoofllng too far I"
Behind the Line.
Last Sunday I attended church ierr
Ice. The padre, during his sermon,
told the boys thnt for every sin they
committed they owed a certain amount
to God. When I was leaving I heard
Tommy remark:
"Thnt settles It ni have to give np
my pass to L k I cant afford to go
for I owe too darned much to Ged al
feady." Secoad-la-Oonimaad.
E SPIRIT OF
DEMOCRACY REAL
Wilson Appeals to Nation to
Curb Mob Rule
HE POINTS OUT DANGERS
Emulates Lawless Passion Of Geiv
many, Which Has Mad Lynchers
Of Army All Citizen
Must Aid.
Washington. Forcefully denouncing
an apparent growth of "mob spirit" as
emulating the "lawless passion" of
Germany which has "disregarded sa
cred obligations of law and made
lynchers of her armies," President Wil
son appealed to the country "to make
an end of this disgraceful evil."
, Lynchings, he said, constitute "a
blow at the hearts of law and humane
u:itlce," and contribute "to German
lies nbout the United States what her
most gifted liars cunnot Improve upon
by the way of calumny."
The text of the President's procla
mation follows:
"My fellow countrymen 1
"I take the liberty of addressing
you upon a subject which so vitally
affects the honor of the nation and
the very character and Integrity of
our institutions that I trust you will
think me Justified In speaking very
plainly about it.
I allude to the mob spirit which
has recently here and there very fre
quently shown Its bend among us,
not In any single region, but in many
and widely separated parts of the
country. There have been ninny
lynchlngs, and every one of them have
been a blow at thp heart of order,
law and humane Justice.
Germany Outlawed Herself. t
"No man who loves America, no
man who really cares for her fame
and honor and character, or who la
truly loyal to her Institutions, can
Justify mob action while the court
of Justice are open and the govern
ments of the states and the nation
are ready and able to do their duty.
We are at this very moment fighting
lawless passion. Germany has out
lawed herself among the nations be
cause she has disregarded the BRcred
obligations of law nnd has made
lynchers of her armies. Lynchers em
ulate her disgraceful example. I, for
my part, am anxious to see every com
munity In America rise above that
level, with pride and a fixed resolution
which no man or spt of men can afford
to despise.
"We proudly claim to be the cham
pions of democracy. If we really
are in deed nnd In truth, let us see
to It that we do not discredit our
own. I sny plainly, thut every Amei
lean who takes part In :'. e action of'
a mob or gives It any sort of coun
tenance Is not true son of this great
democracy, but its betrayer, and doe
more to discredit her by that single
disloyalty to her standards of law
nnd of rluht than the words of her
statesmen or the sacrifices of her
heroic boys In the trenches can do to
make suffering peoples believe her to
be their savior. How shall we com
mend democracy to the acceptance
of other peoples If we disgrace our
own by proving that it Is, after all,
no protection to the weak? Every
mob contributes to German lies nbout
the United Siates what her most
gifted liars cannot Improve upon by
the way of calumny. They can, at
least, say that such thlnsu cannot hap
pen In Germany except In times ot
revolution, when law Is swept away.
''t, therefore, very earnestly and
solemnly beg that the governors of all
the states, the law officers of every
community, and, above all, the men
and women of every community In
tho United States, all who revere
America and wish to keep her name
without stain or reproach, will co
operatenot passively merely, but ac
tively and watchfully to make an end
to this disgraceful evil. It cannot live
where the community does not counte
nance it.
"I have called upon the nation to
put its great energy Into this war and
It has responded responded with a
spirit and a genius for action thit has
thrilled the world. 1 now call upon
It. upon Its men and women every
where, to see to It that Its laws are
kept inviolate, its fame untarnished.
"Let us show our utter contempt
for the things that have made this
war hideous among the wars of his
tory by showing how tho-e who love
liberty and right and Justice and are
willing to lay down their lives for
them upon foreign fields stand ready
also to Illustrate to all mankind thefr
loyalty to the things at home which
they wish to see established every
where as a blessing and proteetloit
to the peoples who have never known
the privileges of liberty and self-government.
I can never accept any mn
as a champion of liberty either for our
selves or for the world who does not
reverence and obey the laws of our
own beloved land, whose laws we our
selves have made. He has adopted
the standards of the enemies of this
country, whom h affects to despise."
Mine fatalities in British Columbia
for the first quarter of the present
year totaled five, compared with seven
In the corresponding three months in
1917.
WESTERN UNION INDICTED.
Can Be Fined $17,500,000 For Trans
mltting 346,417 Messages,
New York. Federal Indictment
were handed down against the West
ern Union Telegraph Company on
charges of having transmitted 346.417
messages by rail. The pemlty pro
vided in the indictment Is $30 a cot
gage, which would amount to $17.
600,000. A mantel clock and savings bank
arc, now combined. ,