USA > Ohio > Allen County > A standard history of Allen county, Ohio : an authentic narrative of the past, with particular attention to the modern era in the commercial, industrial, educational, civic and social development > Part 58
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A Delphos soldier while "Somewhere in France" wrote to his father : "We are here to defend and make free the people of the world," which was almost the same phraseology as voiced by President Woodrow Wil- son : "Make the world a safe place for democracy." Little did the peo- ple of Allen County think at the time what the murder of an Austrian prince in the summer of 1914 meant to them; resting secure in their remoteness, the farmer continued to till his fields; the laborer remained at his employment, and the business or professional man followed his usual routine with undisturbed equanimity. The preparation for war in Europe went on, and one nation after another declared war against its neighbors until farseeing Americans realized the possibility of this coun- try's participation in it ; history does not record another struggle of man against man of equal magnitude with the World war. The world wars before the beginning of the Christian era were small affairs compared with it. The conquests of Alexander were not in a class with the ambi- tions of Germany .. While the Romans once swayed the world, most of their great battles pale into insignificance in comparison with the recent struggles on European battlefields ; their successes resulted from trained and disciplined legions armed with superior weapons against half savage, poorly disciplined and inadequately armed adversaries ; where thousands were engaged in mortal combat the World war had millions, and soldiers on both sides were equipped with the latest death-dealing devices known to modern warfare; it was a case of diamond cut diamond, although the armed soldiers only numbered about one-fifth of the actual mobilization ; the remotest village and farm contributed its quota in the World war.
Someone writes: "Only a few years ago-until the time the World war began, America was overrun with tramps-the genus hobo, the tie- walker, the 'sidedoor sleeper' occupant, whose only care was 'bumming a handout,' or finding a suitable place for a 'flop.' Weary Willie toiled not, neither did he spin; he made himself believe he was always looking for work. *
* * At any rate he is gone; the 'work or fight' order during the war proved his undoing ; it was no longer a matter of personal choice as to whether he would or would not work. * * War and the need of speeding up production, made it imperative that all idle hands find something to do; before the 'work or fight' order was promulgated, the bane of the life of the railway trainman was the tramp who was ever on the go, from one center of population to another, and who did not believe in the little formality of paying carfare on passenger trains; he preferred to bum his way on the freight trains," and since the war seems to have removed him, it is interesting to know that he had not made his advent until after the first American centennial exposition when so many foreigners were attracted to this country. Until then the tramp was unknown in the United States.
Since Lima industry was represented on the war front by the Liberty truck, Lima shared with the rest of the world in the emoluments of war; there were a number of profitable war contracts awarded to Lima manu- facturers ; one local concern says: "While Gramm-Bernstein feel a par-
WESTERN UNION TELEGRAM
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RECUITED AT 113 WEST HIGH ST LIMA OHIO
SS CH ME 35 GOVT U S
WASHINGTON D C 548 # M OCT 9 1917
GRAMY BERNSTEIN MOTOR TRUCK CO
CONGRATULATIONS TO COMPANY ANO VR AUSTIN FOR THCER Ä°MAGNIFICENT ACHIEVEMENT IN PUTTING THE FIRST WAR BABY THROUGH THAFE GAYS AHEAD OF SCHEDULE
SHARES PER OR FOZH
662 ₱ 4
USA
President Wilson inspects Liberty Truck
President Wilson inspects Druck
%
Thos. Edison inspects Liberty Truck
Secretary Baker at Wheel
J.S.A.
Thos Edison inspects Liberty Motor
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HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY
donable pride in the unusual recognition accorded them in this great World war task, still they have greater pleasure and satisfaction in the thought that they were equipped with facilities and experience which they could devote to so worthy an undertaking." Memorial Hall was a busy center in wartime; the soldiers inducted into the service there repre- sented a radius many miles in every direction from Lima; they did not all live in Allen County ; strangers sojourning in the community volun- teered and helped to swell the number of local recruits; all Allen County boys lined up there and luncheons were served to everybody entering the service ; they were facing the uncertainties of warfare, and the community was interested in them.
While World war boys enlisted for service, when the armistice was signed they wanted out of the service; they tell the story of the Ala- bama negro who broke ranks and when questioned by an officer, he answered : "I'se gwine back to Alabama. I 'listed for de duration o' de war and now de war is over," and with that argument he passed several lines amusing everybody, the officers knowing that he would meet a restraining influence in the rear ; when he reached the commanding officer, he made the same explanation ; the officer explained and the Alabama negro explained, but with a little discretion the fellow was induced to return to the ranks. The painful aftermath of the struggle when the boys were no longer needed on the firing line, and they were needed at home was a test of patriotism; the boys and the homefolk, too, were impatient. The "red tape" of the war department exasperated them.
AMERICAN LEGION-Dr. E. D. Sinks, commander of the American Legion of Ohio, William P. Gallaghar Post No. 96, reports that 3,260 young men are known to have enlisted from Allen County; this report does not include 100 officers, and perhaps 250 men from Allen County who are accredited to other localities ; many who enlisted in Allen County belong in other communities ; while there are approximately 3,500 young men from Allen County who went into the service no separate depart- ment has the names of all of them, and not all of the patriots went to the front ; the draft boards who served without compensation were patriots. The Allen County draft board: F. M. Watt and Clarence Breese repre- senting the county outside of Lima, and James J. Weadock, George H. Quail, Dr. T. R. Thomas and J. L. Van Pelt volunteered their service, and the satisfaction of a duty discharged is their entire recompense. When war was declared, April 6, 1917, the draft board reported for duty and remained until the end of the war; they filled out questionnaires and classified the men for service; they returned some to the farms because there is just as much patriotism in producing food as in bearing arms.
The members of the board would not designate slackers ; sometimes when young men did not respond to their requisition it was found they had already entered the service ; there is no exact record since many vol- unteers had not been checked off of the local records. There were not many conscientious objectors, and a fine spirit of patriotism was mani- fested by the young men within the draft age in Allen County; while some were entitled to exemption who did not claim it, none seemed to want to evade service. An inspector visiting the Allen County draft board complimented the local patriotism, and there was little difficulty in any community. After the United States declared war on Germany, all recruiting stations were closed, and everything was left to the draft boards to handle in order to avoid confusion and misunderstanding.
The Lima recruiting office was reopened in March, 1919, and since August that year Sergeant Robert H. Long has had charge of it. While each recruiting officer has a list, his successor is not furnished with a
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HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY
copy, and Sergeant Long was unable to report only for his own term of service. The Lima auxiliary station draws from Allen, Auglaize, Mercer, Van Wert and Putnam counties, but there are more volunteers from Allen. From August to the end of 1919 there were eighty-six recruits from the Lima station and thirty-one were from Allen County. from January 1, 1920, to Thanksgiving the station had 167 recruits with seventy-nine of them from Allen County. The population and military spirit both center stronger in Allen County. Chief H. M. Downing, in charge of the Lima Naval Station, said that thirty-three counties in western Ohio report through Cincinnati and that there are navy recruit- ing stations as follows: Middletown, Dayton, Springfield, Columbus, Marion and Lima.
The Lima Naval Recruiting Station embraces Allen, Putnam, Auglaize, Mercer, Van Wert and Paulding counties. From the point of numbers Allen leads and Van Wert is second, the Lima district showing an average of twenty-two recruits each month, in two, three and four-year enlistments. From March 1, 1920, to the Thanksgiving period
CONVOY OF LIBERTY TRUCKS, IN PUBLIC SQUARE, LIMA, BEFORE LEAVING FOR WASHINGTON
Chief Downing had shipped out 200 navy recruits from the district and there are more Allen County boys on the high seas than people are aware of who are not in touch with the question. Through its convoy activities the U. S. Navy played an important part in the World war; some enthusiasts say the Navy won the war through its ability to trans- port the soldiers. It carried many Americans to the war zones, and many Allen County boys encountered submarines in ocean travel. The Navy offers educational advantages and its opportunities for travel is the lure of many young men who want to see the world.
It is estimated that in all Allen County contributed 3,500 soldiers to the World war. There were 200 in the Navy and twenty-five in the Marine corps, and the remainder were in the Army. The Allen County mortality reaches about 125 men, forty from Lima and the others from other towns and the Allen County farms. Some died overseas and some in training camps. More Allen County soldiers died from influ- enza than from wounds incurred in the war. While some bodies have already been returned from overseas and others are promised, there are families who do not ask such a thing. While Mrs. Theodore Roosevelt was privileged to stand at the grave of her son, Quentin Roosevelt, she
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HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY
did not disturb the long rest in the grave. There are Allen County mothers who would crave the privilege but who will never visit Flanders.
While there is a draft board list, a Red Cross list and the War Department records, and while Elmer McClain has attempted to com- bine all the names, none feel that there is a correct list of Allen County soldiers in the World war. While the American Legion was much in evidence on the second Armistice day, November 11, 1920, in Lima, and there are posts in Delphos, Bluffton and Spencerville, while all joined in a street parade, there is again the question of the unknown dead. There are such graves at Fort Amanda and there are Allen County soldiers resting in other parts of the world. The World war involved the death struggle between autocracy and democracy, and again the selfishness of nations revealed itself in the deliberations of the Peace Conference. The result has been a sad disappointment for those ideal- ists who thought all of the world's dross would be effaced by the deluge of blood. Allen County soldiers are known to have joined the Cana- dian forces before the United States had entered the struggle, and it has been proved that the patriotism of the present generation equals that of the fathers and the grandfathers in the different wars.
While unknown soldiers lie buried at Fort Amanda, there are Allen County soldiers in unknown graves in other parts of the world, and some lie buried at the bottom of the sea. To the soldiers who died at Gettysburg, Chancellorsville, Lookout Mountain and to the boys who died in the Argonne Forest, or at Chateau Thierry-to all Americans who died on any field of conflict, or who went down to the depths of the sea a sacrifice to the freedom of mankind, Decoration Day is still observed in much the same way it was celebrated fifty years ago, the spirits of the dead which sanctify the day still aflame in the souls of their friends all along the blazed trail of patriotism. There are returned Allen County soldiers, and there are Allen County soldiers afield, and while the Bible says the hairs of their head are numbered, a complete military record seems an impossibility. The confusion ensued when the recruiting stations suspended and the draft board took hold of things.
While there were a lot of swivel chair army clerks, there seemed to be want of system in handling things. The same thing occurred in the Civil war, and the Terrell reports are inaccurate. When the com- munity was wrought up over war prospects, B. A. Gramm was named chairman of the Allen County Council of Defense, and Mrs. Kent W. Hughes of the woman's branch, but in order to avoid overlapping of duties, Mrs. Hughes resigned and Mrs. Lena B. Davis, who was active in Red Cross work, continued the woman's work in connection with the Council of Defense. It participated in every department of war activ- ities, co-operating with and strengthening them; it advocated conserva- tion in everything. The local council stressed the welfare of women and children, emphasizing the necessity of maintaining educational stand- ards by keeping all children in school in the trying hours of the coun- try's need. There were times that tried the souls of all. The Council of Defense had charge of food conservation, and as a war worker in different departments, Mrs. Hughes covered Allen County four times. In her different appeals to the public she met with ready response everywhere. She had some knowledge of other counties, and as a unit Allen County was all that was required of it. The women of Allen County all worked to win the war and there were no differences because of personal ambitions. The War Board was a clearing house and all departments subordinated to it. The women correlated all war
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HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY
activities, and while recreational work for training camps was empha- sized, all was harmony.
As chairman of the War Savings Department, H. E. Simonton reports that Allen County's quota was $1,297,000, and that it over- reached the amount by $70,000, showing a total of $1,367,000, and in reaching this sum he encountered some conscientious objectors who neither went to the front nor invested in bonds or saving stamps. The showing was different in 1919 when the war was over, and while Ohio as a whole only took 25 per cent of its quota, Allen County reached 30 per cent. While it was a good relative showing, the people did not incline to make a sacrifice again. While the committee on War Savings learned a great deal about Allen County, they found a great deal of loyal co-operation, both through individual and combination efforts, and, aside from patriotism, habits of thrift and economy were instilled into the lives of the young, the children of the public schools taking thrift stamps to the limit of their ability.
The Allen County Chapter American Red Cross was organized for war activities with S. S. Wheeler, chairman, and J. H. O'Connor, sec- retary. Mrs. Lena B. Davis, as chairman of woman's work with the Red Cross, is still in charge of its activities. As a war relief measure the Allen County chapter, which included all organizations, enrolled 6,778 members, and the report on file in the office of the president reads : "Many men and women left their daily work and gave time and energy to this campaign, about 8,000 in all. There were twenty-seven efficient working units in Allen County." The National League for Women's Service which was functioning in Allen County at the beginning of the war, became identified with the Red Cross, and as its president Mrs. Davis was given charge of woman's work. While the Red Cross work was begun as a Lima chapter, it was deemed necessary to enlist all of Allen County. Again "Lima never failed" was made to mean "Allen County never failed," and finally relief work was being done in sixty- one Allen County stations. There were 2,000 women coming to the Red Cross workshops or doing the work in their own homes.
While some women only gave one afternoon a week to the Red Cross workshops, others spent many afternoons there. Women with home duties made sacrifices in order to do relief work, and in order to better understand the requirements, Mrs. J. K. Bannister went to Washington to learn about surgical dressings. In turn she taught 100 women, who taught the work to others, and the work turned out from the Lima workshops was as well done as that from larger cities. It was excep- tional for the work in surgical dressings to pass inspection but it did in Lima. Mrs. J. L. Foust had charge of the garment workers, and Mrs. A. A. Schiewe was in charge of general sewing. While it was a stock story about the mother who demanded her own wheat bread because she had given her son to the service, that same woman was encountered in Allen County. There were no paid secretaries and the women of Allen County were surprised to know what they had accomplished through united effort. Some of them had sons in the service and their hearts were in it.
In the first national Red Cross drive for $100,000,000 the allotment to Allen County was $50,000, beside all the war savings and liberty bond subscriptions. It was an outright gift, people saying "Give, give, give until you feel it, and then give," with the result that the amount was oversubscribed and the Christmas membership campaign in 1917 reached 13,000. The second Allen County drive in 1918 was for $60,000, and despite the ravages of the Flu it was plus, and then came the armistice,
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HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY
and on November 20, 1918, the final county-wide meeting was held in Memorial Hall. It was a time of rejoicing for all. The reports show that the Allen County Chapter Red Cross made and contributed 378,696 gar- ments, 64,334 surgical dressings, 7,577 knitted articles, 1,871 hospital garments, 3,549 comfort kits, 7,517 pieces of linen given in showers to Red Cross hospitals and 13,710 pounds of clothing sent to Belgium.
The Red Cross Chapters paid no rent, heat or light bills; they paid no salaries or drayage. All was volunteer service, the work rooms and all comforts being donated patriotically by the Elks, Masons, Knights of Columbus, Business Woman's Club, Ohio Electric Railway Company, Holmes Block, Opera House Block, Savings Block, Crossley Block, Cen- tral High School in the vacation period, Memorial Hall and Chamber of Commerce. In Delphos the Red Cross work was done in the Commer- cial Club. In Spencerville the Red Cross used the Citizens' Bank, Plikard Brothers and the Progressive Association rooms. In the rural commu- nities the school houses and the township houses were used by the Red Cross. In some instances business men donated the use of rooms at a decided advantage to them. The Allen County "boys" were away and all made the sacrifice gladly. They were thinking about "When the Boys Come Home."
In Lima all drayage was donated by the Solar Refinery Company. The Allen County Red Cross Chapter co-operated with the Board of Health in the Flu epidemic in obtaining nurses, and in loaning them to other communities. The local nurses established a great reputation for their efficiency. The men were busy when funds were raised, but the women worked all of the time. They gave up all club and social engagements that in any way conflicted with Red Cross activities. The women of Allen County quit their homes because their "boys" were at the front, and the closing sentence in the Red Cross report reads: "No great crisis in Christian civilization ever faltered for lack of woman's work, courage and willing sacrifice." The Red Cross still maintains visiting nurses, Miss Marie Miller being the special nurse supervising and directing the activities under the leadership of Mrs. Davis. While Mrs. Davis takes care of the business, she does not have personal con- tact with the applicants for relief. The Red Cross is still the greatest mother in the world. Clara Barton little realized what her effort would later mean to humanity.
WORLD WAR MILITARY AND NAVAL LIST-As a "court of last resort," an appeal was made to Elmert McClain whose "card system" list of Allen County soldiers in the World war was frequently mentioned as being more complete than any other, and in an effort to approach accuracy with it, he appealed to the newspapers and to many citizens. He checked his list with other lists, eliminating and adding names in an effort to limit it to bona fide Allen County soldiery.
Mr. McClain, who enlisted in the World war and did transport duty, had personal knowledge of many Allen County enlisted men, and with him it was a service of love and gratitude; his knowledge of the young men from Allen County enabled him to do more acceptable work than would have been possible by one unacquainted with the soldiers and sailors of the community. He characterizes the appended list as : "Allen County men who served in the military or naval service in the World war," and he adds the statement: "In spite of all effort to make it so, the compiler knows that it is not in every respect either perfectly com- plete or perfectly accurate, but it is the most complete and accurate list in existence; here is one example of the many difficulties encountered : Many young men from Allen County enlisted in various parts of the
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HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY
United States throughout the war, and no official list of these men exists. This list was compiled from the following sources :
1. Names furnished by ex-service men at the request of the compiler.
2. Young Men's Christian Association offices at various camps and by the Lima Young Men's Christian Association.
3. The American Legion.
4. The Federal Employment Bureau.
5. The local citizens committee.
6. The Allen County recorder's office.
7. Lima city directory for 1919.
8. Township chairmen in the Victory Loan campaign.
9. The Knights of Columbus.
10. The Red Cross.
11. The local draft board.
12. The Allen County Historical Society.
Mr. McClain says of the mortuary list, the Allen County honor roll of men who died in the military or naval service, that especial care was taken in compiling it; every newspaper in Allen County was requested to lend assistance, and the William Paul Gallagher Post of the American Legion was appealed to in the matter. He also commends Mrs. Irene Mills Jackson, executive secretary of the Home Service Bureau of the American Red Cross, and Mrs. James Pillars, secretary of the Allen County Historical and Archeological Society, for their activities in securing the mortuary list, as well as other efficient service.
The military and naval list follows-the flower of Allen County citi- zenship who volunteered to "make the world safe for democracy":
List compiled by Elmer McClain.
Aab, F. D.
Amato, Geo. Ambler, O. M.
Applas, Willard Archer, Earl
Abrams, John C.
Accantius, Andrew
Ackerman, Arthur C.
Archinal, Henry
Ackerman, C. L.
Amrine, Edward
Archinal, Russell
Adams, Geo.
Amstutz, Arthur
Ardner, H. Armentrout, Dale
Adams, John Thomas
Amstutz, Edwin
Adams, Zeno
Amstutz, Menno
Armstrong, Don
Agerter, John Frederick
Amstutz, Monroe
Armstrong, Merle J.
Aldrich, Fred H.
Amstutz, William C.
Armstrong, Lewis
Albert, Louis W.
Amstutz, Abraham D.
Arnold, Wilbur
Albrecht, Samuel, Jr.
Amstutz, Harry
Arrington, Raymond Ashley, Clark
Alexander, Carl
Anderson, John Anderson, Lovee
Ashton, Don A.
Algar, George
Allemeir, Norman F.
Anderson, Harry D.
Atwood, J. F.
Allen, Benjamin F.
Anderson, David R
Allen, Carl H.
Anderson, J. W.
Auers, W. C.
Allen, Harvey A.
Andra, George
Augsberger, Fred
Allen, Fred T.
Andrew, Herman
Augsburger, Clyde
Allen, Pearl H.
Andrews, Elmer R.
Augsburger Donald Leon Austin, Wilbur
Allgower, Edgar W.
Andrews, Chas. W.
Allinger, Neil J.
Andrews, Douglas
Alspach, Don
Andrews, Nelson G. Angles, Robt. Sam
Ayers, Harmon
Alstetter. Oscar Godfrey
Anneser, Lester
Althoff, Benjamin
Anspach, Scot F. Anspauch, Irvin
Altman, L.
Anthony, J.
Baber, Royal
Altenberger, Frank
Anzelus, Mike
Althans, Hiram W.
Apostol, Harry
Bacome, Robert P. Baduring, Joe
Alexander, Turner Abe- dine
Anderson, Walter Anderson, Bert
Ashton, Edwin
Atmur, Kenneth
Auer, George G.
Allgire, George Cary
Andrews, Ralph W.
Austutz, Monroe
Averly, Lloyd
Alstetter, Bud
Ayers, Chas. Arthur
Ayers, Leo V.
Altstetter, Oscar G.
Ambler, William Theo- dore
Archer, Leonard
HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY
461
Bady, W. H.
Baggs, Dobie Bahr, Vernon E. Bailey, Clem O.
Baum, Fred A. Bauman, Raymond F. Baumgardner, Benjamin Baumgardner, Donaven A. Baumgardner, Orlo Baumgardner, Stewart C. Baumgartner, Martin W. Baumgartner, Carl Syl- vester
Bersee, John P. Best, Arthur Best, Leo
Best, Lloyd I.
Betts, Leo M.
Betz, Roy
Beyer, Theodore H.
Bailey, James R.
Baird, John
Baird, Thomas F. Baker, Dennis W.
Biemz, Earl F.
Baker, Floyd Baker, Alden E.
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