The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson, S.C.) 1914-1917, 1914-11-17
TOUR OF EUROPE


added appreciation Of your own coun-
try which it inspires.
Now. JUS: d few words about the
war. so far as my observation of It
went was In Paris the night Jaures
was assassinated-July 31-and
stopped at a hotel across the street
from the Care dc l'Est, whence troops
and supplies were being entrained all
night. Under the circumstances one
would have expected volatile peo-
pie like the Parisians to be wildly ex-
cited, but. to my surprise, though the
station, the street and the square
were packed with citizens, they were
quiet. Whenea company marched into
the station, the crowds cheered heart
lily. enthusiastically, but not excit-
edly; and when they sang the Mar SELL
laise (Which they did frequently they
sang 1t colemnly-a very difficult
thing to realize. The whole scene i'm
pressed me with the fact that the
French people did not want war, that
they realized the horrors and -respon-
sibilities it entailed, but neither were
they afraid to fight, and IL IT we're
forced on them they were prepareA to
carry 1t through until the other party
cried Hold! enough
In England I found the same atti-.
tude-reluctant to go to war, once
theS Kaiser's puerilel diplomacy and
treacherous invasion of Belgium
forced them to do SO, the British peo-
pie dropped politics and practiced
patriotism. They went quietly, meth
odically and energetically ABOUT their
preparations with grim dwetermi-
nation that BODIED little good for their
enemies. Home rule and suffragettes
dropped into the background, the par
ties in Parliament became a unit and
voted any money, men or supplies the
government asked for The Ulster
Volunteers, enlisted to oppose homo
rule, offered their services for duty
in the field; Sir John French, who
had resigned the command OF the
army last spring rather than lead 1t
against the Ulsterites, was offered
command and all the world knows
how faithfully and ably he has dis
charged his duty; the suffragettes
dropped bombs and hatpins and be-
gan scraping lint and knitting the
socks Kitchener called for. The
PRINCE Of Wales started q fund to
raise 100000 pounds for the relief of
those women and children whose
breadwinners had enlisted; In less
than three weeks the fund had reach
ed one million pounds and was still
mounting.
So quietly and thoroughly ddi
Kitchener do his work that no one
outside the official circles even sus-
pected that he had an army ready to
move until the day after Sir John
French's army landed at Boulogne!
Even the soldiers Themselves did not
know their destination when ordered
to embark.
The kindness of the British (both
public and priyate) to distressed
Americans surpasses all praise, Ev-
cry American / saw In London had
something to tell of English generos-
ity and courtesy.
American sympathies are with the
allies, rightly 80. I think; but we
must not lose sight OF the fact that
the Germans are q splendid and noble
people and that this war was not
made by the German pzop.o, but hy
the German officials Why, then, do
not the people refuse 70 fight In such
an unjust war? For the same reason
that Americans would have enlisted
last spring had President Wilson
forced war on Mexico, thought most
of us would have thought It foolish
and needless war. So, when the em-
peror called for them, the Germans
patriotically responded and are put
ting up magnificent fight in bad
cause. AS to the outcome. believe
that eventually the allies will win, but
only after avery stubborn fight. Then
hape to see the splendid German
people given chapce-undere q re-
publican form of .government-to
realize their enlightened ideals gof
culture and science, untrammeled by
the med:aeval POLITICAL theories OF
tho E3use tof Hohenzollern.
MILLEpGE i. BONHANd, .JR.
Times may be hard with you but do