Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-11-07
PRESIDENT POINCARE SENDS
A MESSAGE OF APPRECIATION
Grateful for Practical Sympathy Shown
By Americans in Frances
Hour of Trial.

One got the impression that he Was en-
tering the house OF a private gentleman.
gentleman Of great taste and great
nation.
We passed at last through four rooms.
in which were the secretaries of the presI-
dent. and as we passed the ma jor domo
spoke our names, and the different gentle
men half rose and bowed. 1t was all so
quiet 50 calm. SO free from telephones
and typewriters that you felt that by
mistake you had been ushered into the
library of n student or a cabinet minister
Then in the fourth room was the presi-
dent Without this room were pre-
scented to NJ. Sainsere. the personal sec
rotary of the president. and without fur
Their ceremony NJ. Benazet opened the
door. and in the smallest room of all in
troduced me to NJ. Poincare. His portraits
have rendered his features familiar, but
they do not give sufficiently the impress
sion l received of kindness, flrmness and
great dignity.
He returned to his desk and spoke in
low voice of peculiar charm As
though the better to have the stranger
understand. he spoke slowly, selecting his
words:
Effective American Sympathy.
Il have a great admiration" he said.
for the effectiveness with which Amer
cans have shown their sympathy with
France. They have sent doctors, nurses
and volunteers to drive the ambulances to
carry the wounded. / have visited the
hospitals at Neuilly and ether places
they are admirable
The one at Neuilly was formerly a
college, but with ingenuity they have
converted it into a hospital. most com
plete and most valuable The American
colony in Paris has shown a friendship
we greatly appreciate. Your ambassador
L have met several times Our relations
| q
/ asked if 1 might repeat what We
had said. The president gave his as
sent and after a pause, as though. now
he was to be quoted. he wished to en-
phasize what he had said, continued:
My wife, who distributes articles of
comfort, sent to the wounded and to
families in need. tells me that Ameri-
cans are among the most generous
contributors. Many articles come anony-
mously, money, clothing and layettes
for the soldiers. We recognize and
appreciate the manner in which, while
preserving a strict neutrality, your
countrymen and women have shown
their sympathy"
Letter From Col. Roosevelt
presented a letter for him from ex-
President Roosevelt. 1t was explained
that this was the second for him I had
had from Col. Roosevelt, but that when
I was a prisoner of the Germans l
had judged it wise to swallow the first
one, and that l had requested Col.
Roosevelt to write the second one on
thin paper. The president smiled and
passed the letter critically between his
thumb and forefinger. This one" he
said, lis quite digestible.'
Then he gave me a message to Col.
Roosevelt and, with the unconscious
ness of real courtesy, himself opened
the door for us.
l carried away the impression of a
kind and distinguished gentleman.
who. in the midst of the greatest crisis
in history, could find time to dictate
message of appreciation to a cor
respondent guiltily conscious that he
had wasted the precious moments of
great officer. but also through the
pleasure he had received unrepentant.