RECORD OF LAFAYETTE ESCADRILLE
ONE FOR AMERICANS TO REMEMBER
Famous Group of Airmen, Recently Transferred From Service Un­
der the French Flag to the Stars and Stripes, Renders
Invaluable Aid to the Allies on the Western
Front— Deeds Will Live Long.
N tw T o rt.—Thu transfer o f the La­
fayette Kacadrille from service under
the French flag (o the Htnr* and Rtlpe*
recalls the record of the famoua »roup
o f American airmen on the weetern
front.
From an humlile beginning the Ka-
cadrtlle hna fought It* way up to a
point where It I* recognized aa ren­
dering Invaluable assistance to the
efforta of the nlllra to defeat Germany.
It etarted, to ail purposes, ahortly a f­
te r the outbreak o f war. when William
Thawr II o f Plttahurgh waa In France
fo r aviation purpoaea.
Thaw Immediately volunteered hla
aervlrea to the French government
and aa a private In the Infantry wal­
lowed In the mud of the trenchea for
alz month« until the French authori­
s e «. realizing the Importance of avia­
tion aa a war move, called for vol­
unteer«.
Thaw applied. He had already had
conalderable experience In aviation,
having amazed aortety at Palm Reach
and Newport with hla maatery over
airplane«, and hla aervlces were there­
fo re accepted.
Ula lead waa followed hy other«, un­
til quite a number of American men of
courage were enrolled In the French
aviation aectlon. The formation of the
Lafayette Racadrllle followed abortly
after.
Toung Thaw, for he had hot reached
hla majority when the war broke out.
waa rommlaaioned a lieutenant, and
with hla comrndea quickly made the
Kacadrille a thing to be feared by the
Hun airmen.
Oeta Baptlem of Flea.
On May 17. 1916. the American flo­
tilla o f the air took part In an ex­
pedition over the German line« for the
flrwt time aa a unit. Rullets were «pat­
tered at them by the thouaand from
the German antl-nlrcrnft guna. atrlk-
Ing the tall piece and propeller of
Lieutenant Thaw’a machine. Corporal
Victor Chapman'a plane waa alao hit.
but both managed to return behind the
French line« In anfety.
The aecond expedition took place
two week« later and while the Ameri­
can aquadron waa reconnolterlng live
o f the American mnehlnea attacked 14
German aircraft, hoping to drive them
behind the German line«. The Ger­
man« opened Are with machine guna
and the Americana re*ponded. The
exploalve bullet* mwd by the German*
did great damage and Boon two Ameri­
can machine* were forced to the
ground, one with a ripped gasoline
tank and the other with a broken gun.
Then two German machine* were
forced down by the Are o f remaining
American pilot«. Corporal McConnell,
who had two machine guna on hla
awlft machine, did grent execution
with them, but finally after nine bul­
let* had «truck hla machine he waa
forced to deacend.
Huch waa the baptism o f Are en­
countered by thoao Americana who
linked expatriation becauae o f their
dealre to flght. “ Bxpatrlatlon" la cor­
rect, Inaamuch aa when Thaw dealred
to vlalt hi* folk* after a year at the
front he traveled home on a French
paaaport. The atatua of theae men la
aa yet undecided. Incidentally.
Exploit* Attract Attention.
It waa not long after the formation
o f the Kacadrille that Ita members
started to battle their way to a niche
o f recognition. One after another,
they lived up to the Ideal* of America
and “ winged" Bocho airmen and con-
ducted «ucccHNful expeditions back of
the German trenchea.
Nor wa* It long before the exploits
o f the American airmen attracted such
attention that readers of American
papers became accustomed to know
what the name meant In the headline#
and began to realize that, whatever
the home anthnrltles might be doing,
some Americana were fighting along­
side the French and British In a
manner that brought naught but credit
to the United Htate*.
Thaw wn* the first to gain wide­
spread attention. During the first o f
the raids o f the Kacadrille he waa
wounded In the arm. while attacking
three OeruiHii planes near Verdun
He had been out with the aquadron
for several hours and w i* waiting to
lenrn by telephone that Germans had
been slgnnled aa coming toward
France when the telephone operator
got a report that three machines o f
the enemy were In alght.
Immediately four American airmen
hurried to their machine« with Thaw
the first off. HI* plane quickly out­
distanced the others and soon after
he sighted a Fokker headed bta way
and not very far behind It two Ger­
man machine*. He waa over German
territory when he climbed up to at­
tack. thinking It Impossible for the
enemy to aim at him without going
Into a steep dive. Thla advantage
worked out to such purpose that he
was able to get close to the German.
“ I waa so clow ." «aid Thaw at the
time, “ that I felt like calling to him
to get out o f the way before I pulled
the trigger o f the quick-firer. The
fact that the gun Jammed after a few
shots did not prevent enough bullets
from hitting him to send him below.
I waa so much Interested In my com­
bat that I forgot my comrades, but
when 1 waa *ure the Fokker waa done
for I looked around for them.”
Thaw la Wounded.
Thaw'* fellow-airmen weren’t there,
but two alrplnnes of the enemy were.
"M y quick-firer had stuck nnd as I had
no other arms I got a little out o f the
enemy’* way preparatory to arrang­
ing the gun. Unfortunately, I did not
get far enough and when I was reach­
ing for the quick-firer I got a bullet
through my arm. I turned toward our
lines and the bullets hit ray little
Nleuport In several places. When one
o f the mlaallea struck my gasoline
tank, tearing the bottom open, I shut
off the motor and dived for the French
trenches."
Thaw’a first "big league" experience,
an to apeak, la cited simply aa an In­
dication o f what the Americana forced
themselves to do from the very first.
They shirked no responsibility nor
danger and battled their way to the
thickest of the dashes between the
German and French air forces, which
became more and more frequent as
the Importance o f aerial warfare In­
creased.
Ride by side with Thaw was Raoul
Lufbery. who was the first American
mentioned for bringing down five hos­
tile planes. Hla case was rather
unique, In that his parents died when
very young and he was brought up by
n family at Rourges. At thirteen he
ran away from home, his tours finally
bringing him In contact with the avia­
tor. Maro Pourpe, who trained him to
be his ssslstant.
Lufbery wns o f French nationality,
hut when he desired to enlist In the
French army nt the «tart o f the war
he was turned down because It was
nectlng link between the people and
their fighting men. Rome, If not all,
these officers will be given the oppor­
Red Cross Men In Charge of 8uppllee
tunity to follow the soldiers to Eu­
at Base Hoepltala Serve
rope, though no one In the volunteer­
Without Pay.
ing Is required to pledge himself to
go abroad.
Chicago.—The American Red Cross
In culling for volunteers to serve
la placing men with United States
In this capacity without pay, Col.
army commissions In charge of Red
J. It. Kean, U. S. A. Medical corps,
Cross supplies at every base hospital,
and at every training camp, canton­ said:
"T h e Red Cross realizes that men
ment. mobilization camp and other
place where soldiers or sailors are as­ o f the dealred caliber cunnot be hired,
bah must be attracted to the service
sembled.
These men are chosen from volun­ by entirely unselfish motives, nnd a
dealre to help their country In this
teers who are more than thirty-one
years o f age— the draft limit— and time o f national emergency.”
much more mature men are given the
preference so that no one may be put MAY NOW GET HIS $50,000
at civilian work who might better serve
with the army. They draw no pay, Overthrow o f Czar May Enable Amer­
but are given quarters and subsistence
ican to Colleet Legacy L eft
In accord with their rank.
by Aunt.
A t each such station there will be at
Albany.— The overthrow o f the czar
least two Red Cross representatives,
one o f whom will be commissioned and the revolution In Russia may
captain, and the others lieutenants. mean the collection o f a $50,000 legacy
They will have charge o f all ship­ to 81mon Sanders o f Albany. Twenty
ments o f Red Cross supplies to such years ago Mrs. Dorn Sanders, a
military station, and will be the con­ wealthy aunt, died In Kief, Russia.
THEIRS
IS WORK OF
LOVE
discovered he wn* an American. A f­
ter many appeal« he wn* allowed to
go with Pourpe a* hi* mechanic.
Lufbery Bweart Vengeance.
Pourpe waa killed soon afterward
and Lufbery swore to avenge him. He
Importuned hla superior* to allow him
to train aa a pilot, and hla request waa
finally granted and ahortly after he re­
ceived til* pilot'« certificate he waa
transferred to the American flying
corps.
The fact that he waa not talking
Idly when he swore to avenge hla
friend's death Is ahown by the fact
that he la the premier “ ace” o f the
Lafayette Kacadrille. Now "winging”
a machine behind the German line«
means nothing, or rather not aa much
aa bringing them down behind the
French lines, because the latter la a
much more difficult feat. To bring
down five German planes In back of
the French line« Is the necessary re­
quisite to be termed an “ ace." Luf­
bery, who cornea from New Haven,
was the first American aviator to turn
the trick.
Ho month by month aa the K*ca-
drille grew, with more and more Amer­
ican* attracted to It by Ita exploits,
the number o f German planes destroy­
ed by the American airmen grew In
number. Very few weeks passed hut
what the Lafayette E*cadrille was
mentioned In the official French com­
muniques, and there are so many or­
dinary feats o f bravery performed ev­
ery day on the firing line that It re­
quires something above the ordinary
to break Into official report*.
Thaw and then Lufbery were given
medals o f honor and several times
cited for bravery. Other* followed,
the last being Sergeant Andrew Camp­
bell, to whom official recognition came
but last week, and who could safely
he called a superman from hla deeds
o f the paat month or two.
Death Toll Heavy.
Naturally, the death toll was com­
paratively heavy. Among those who
were rated as good fighters and who
gave their life for France were Victor,
Chapman, Norman Prince. James Mc­
Connell, Renald Heskier, Kenneth
Rockwell and Edward Genet Others,
however, took their places. It being
only a month or eo ago that eight
young Americans o f prominent fam­
ilies left for the front for service.
They were «elected from one hundred
applicants for the service.
Such is the brief record of the La­
fayette Escadrille. an organization that
has fought as Americans should. Its
record will not be sunk In Its trans­
fer to Oeneral Pershing's forces, for
sentiment on the part of both Ameri­
can and French army chief* favor the
retention o f the distinctive name.
At present plans call for the cotn-
mlHHionlng o f Lieutenant Thaw aa a
major, with present members o f the
squadron being named as captains and
lieutenants, to take charge o f Ameri­
can aviators who will shortly Join Per­
shing's troops In France.
SOUTH RALLIES AND
RAISES BIG CROPS
Jackson,
Miss. — The
cam­
paign conducted In the South
last spring for food and feed
crops hns been successful. The
corn yield o f Mississippi will
he the greatest ever known. In
some sections. 100 bushels will
he gathered to the acre. Ala­
bama, Georgia and Tennessee
will also produce big yields.
More acres were planted to corn
than ever In the history o f the
South, according to unofficial
reports.
Walks to Enlist
McAlester, Okla —Just because he
mistrusted the Missouri, Oklahoma A
Gulf railroad, John F. Dunham walked
35 miles to reach the Rock Island lines
«•n his Journey to enlist. When Dun­
ham reached here he was sockless and
coatless.
He made the Journey In
three days.
leaving her entire estate to her n«*p-
hew. Sanders went through nil o f the
necessary legal procedure until hts at­
torneys told him It would be necessary
to return to Russia. He had left the
czar’s domains at the age o f sixteen,
evading military servt««.
To return
would have collected himself to ten
years’ Imprisonment tu .Siberia.
He
decided be would « ‘main a poor man
under the Stars and Stripes rather
thnn risk Siberia. With clinnged con­
ditions due to the revoluti«»n. he uow
plans to return und lay claim to the
estate.
78
DRAFTED
OUT
OF
120
Wisconsin Village Furnishes Largest
Quota In Accordance With Its
Population.
Cumberland. WIs.— In accordance to
population thla village probably will
furnish the largest quota for the new
national army o f any single community
In the state, If not the nation. Out of
a total population o f 2,000, 120 were
registered, of which 78 were among the
first to be drawn In the greet human
lottery.
STATE N E W S
IN BRIEF.
f STATE TO AID ROADS
Bridges and
Hignwaya
Damaged by
Floods to Be Restored
by Joint
Act o f County and State.
Mr. Woodlawn, in behalf o f the A r ­
menian relie f work, made an address
Yakima, Wash.— The state highway
at Madras Sunday afternoon, at the
close o f which a collection o f $260 was department w ill join with the county
taken.
On the same evening about commissioners with the improvement
$160 waa collected at Gateway.
o f the McClellan Pass road. State
Captain J. H. Peltz, who haa been funda w ill be applied to the building o f
in charge o f the Astoria inspection a concrete bridge over the Naches
district for the government since last
river at Carmack’s and perhaps to the
October, haa received orders to report
to headquarters for other work in the a i d i n g o f a heavy timber bridge on
department. Captain Peltz w ill leave the Bumping river. Both these bridges
at once to aasume hia new duties.
were carried out by the freshet last
The new spruce logging camp o f the winter. In addition to building the
McDonald A Vaughan company, at two bridge* the state and county w ill
Tarheel Point, w ill be delivering logs join in making repairs on the highway
to the mills within the next two
weeka. The loggers aready have a at places where the high water im­
large quantity o f fallen spruce ready paired the grade.
for the transportation end o f the camp.
These points were settled in detail
at
a conference held here, when James
Five and one-half feet o f snow at
headquarters camp in Crater Lake Na- Allen, state highway commissioner,
tional Park ami between seven and and Charles T. Jordan, highway engi-
eight feet at the rim o f the lake, is re-
... ..
... .
ported by Assistant Superintendent R. neer’ Were ,n eo° ^ U tion w,th
E. Momyer, who is in Klamath Falls county commissioners.
The program
for a few days from his camp at head- agreed on by these officials w ill be
quarters.
presented to the state board o f high-
Mrs. Eugene Moshberger, Mrs. T. C. waV commissioners at a meeting to be
Poorman and Mrs. H. M. Austin, a held Monday, and • i f the plan goes
committee which planned and carried through the state w ill superintend the
“ over the top” an all-day Saturday construction o f the Naches bridge and
benefit for Company I Auxiliary o f the
county the construction at Bump-
Third Oregon, realized $150, the big­ ing. „A bou t $50,000 wiU be^spent.
gest amount o f any entertainment in
Wood burn for a like cause. •
YANKEE
APPETITES
GREAT
Carl McClain, o f Cleveland, O., has
been elected superintendent o f the mu American Soldiers Consume Average
nicipal electric and water plants at
o f 4.5 Pounds Daily.
Eugene, to succeed Charles W. Geller,
whose resignation becomes efTecive
Washington, D. C. — The American
June 1.
Mr. McClain was graduated soldier consumes four and one-half
from the University o f Oregon. He
pounds o f foodstuffs daily, according to
later attended Cornell University.
a statement made public by the quar­
Mr. and Mrs. A. H. Grossong, o f
Mount Angel, married each other a termaster’s department o f the army.
To feed a million and a half men it
third time in Salem Thursday. A fte r
their first marriage they were di­ is necessary to obtain 1,500,000 pounds
vorced. Six months’ separation proved o f beef, 225,000 punds o f bacon, 210,-
sufficient. They were remarried, but
000 pounds o f ham, 135,000 cans o f to­
that marriage proved illegal, and the
matoes, 225,000 cans o f jam and 3000
third time the tie is bound firmly.
bottles o f tomato catsup, aggregating
The second freigh t wreck within
some 6,750,000 pounds.
three days, in wh.ch three Southern
Every pQQnd £ £ £ for
Pacific engines have been piled
acro8s o f the nation’s fighting men, the state-
the track as a result o f derailment,
ment said, is subjected to the most
occurred Wednesday in the Cow Creek
rigid inspection.
j canyon, between W olf creek and Le-
land. Another Bouthbound train was
similarly wrecked on Rice H ill, near
Oakland, Sunday.
F 1 I NORTHWEST MARKET REPORT
Dr. E. L. Zimmerman and Dr. B
Schaiefe, well known physicians of
Eugene, have received commissions in
the United States army. Dr. Zim­
merman, who w ill have the rank o f
first lieutenant, has been ordered to
report at Fort Riley,
Kan.
Dr.
Schaiefe. commissioned as captain, ex­
pects to be called within the next few
days.
Wheat— Bulk basis for No. 1 grade:
Hard white, $2.05. Soft white, $2.03.
W hite club, $2.01. Red Walla, $1.98.
No. 2 grade, 3c less; No. 3 grade, 6c
less. Other grades handled by sample.
Flour — Patents, $10 per barrel;
whole wheat, $9.60; graham, $9.20;
barley flour, $14.50@15.00; rye flour,
$10.75@12.75; corn meal, white, $6.50;
I yellow, $6.25 per barrel.
Millfeed— N et mill prices, car lots:
Bran> $30 00 ^
^
shorts, $32;
middlings, $39; mixed cars and less
than carloads, 50c more; rolled barley,
|75@76; rolled oats, $73.
The deep sea fishing is advancing in
profitableness for the several individ-
j uals and companies who are sending
out boats to fish in the grounds be-
tween Marshfield and Cape Blanco on
the south, and Heceta Head on the
1 north. The halibut banks have com-
menced givin g up their denizens ear-
Corn— Whole, $77 per ton; cracked,
tier than usual, and several boats have
$78.
brought in good catches o f that vari­
Hay — Buying prices,
delivered:
ety, while ling cod and red and black
snapper are seen in market almost Eastern Oregon timothy, $29@30 per
ton; valley timothy, $25(0,26; alfalfa,
daily.
$24@24.50; valley grain hay, $22;
Senator Eddy, o f Roaeburg, was in clover, $19@20.00; straw, $9.00@10.
Salem Friday and reported that the
Butter— Cubes, extras, 37 Jc; prime
State Highway commission w ill ar­
firsts, 37c; prints, extras, 42c; car-
ranged to assist the farmers o f Doug­
i tons, lc extra; butterfat, No. 1, 41c
las county during the haying season.
delivered.
Senator Eddy some time ago requested
Eggs— Ranch, current receipts, 34c:
that work be suspended on the Pacific
Highway in that county, so that teams candled, 35c; selects, 36c per dozen.
P o u ltry — Hens, 27c; broilers, 40c;
could be released for the use o f farm­
ers.
The commission's action, Mr. j ducks, 32c; geese, 20c; turkeys, live,
Eddy says, was a little too late for 26@27c; dressed, 37c per pound.
spring' farm work. However, plans
Veal— Fancy, 18J@19e.
have been made to give what help can
Pork— Fancy, 23@23|c per pound.
be given at harvest time.
Sack Vegetables— Carrots, $1.15 per
The Coos County military board has sack : turnips, $1.50; parsnips, $1.25;
named 30 men for the two new drafts. beets, $2.
The tgtard has listed 39 eligibles, be­
Potatoes— Oregon Burbanks, 75c@:
lieving the extra number w ill provide
$1 per hundred; new California, 10c
for exemptions and for those who are
per pound; sweet potatoes, 10c per
now in service.
pound.
Junction City citizens, who have
Onions— Jobbing prices, l @ l j c per
been besieged during the past week by pound.
undesirable visitors, recently rounded
up a tramp who came to the city in a
Cattle—
A pril 29, 1918.
filthy condition, gave him a shower Med. to choice steers... . $14.00@ 15.00
bath in the city hall and took him to Good to med. steers........ 13.000; 14.00
the city limits, where he was told to Com. to good steers........ 11.00@12.00
move on.
Choice cows and heifers. 13.00@14.00
Coos Bay cities, particularly Marsh­ Com. to good cows and h f 7.25@, 10.75
5.00@ 7.00
field, almost begged for men o f means Canners..........................
7.00@12.00
to build homes to house the fam ilies o f Bulls................................
8.76@13.00
workmen who went there to swell the Calves..............................
forces at the shipyards and sawmills, Stockers and fe e d e r s .... 6.50@. 9.50
Hogs—
but the call fell on deaf or indifferent
ears for five months before houses Prime m ixed....................$17.75@.18.00
Medium m ixed............... 17.50@17.75
were secured.
Rough h e a v ies............... 16.60@ 16.75
Arrangements have been completed P ig s ................................. 15.50@16.75
by a group o f cranberry growers for Bulk.................................
17.85
the erection o f a cranberry warehouse
Sheep—
20.00
at Allendale, 11 miles south o f Astoria. Prime spring lam b«....... $
The warehouse at Astoria was operat­ Heavy lambs................... 16.50@18.00
ed to capacity last season, and a much Yearlings........................ 15.00@15.50
larger yield is expected from the bogs W ethers......... ................ 13.00@13.60
o f this district this year.
Ew es................................ 12.00@12.50