The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-02-08

If in language, literature, customs
and institutions the United States is
the child of England, born Of her ira
vail and nour1shed at her breast; if in
| its development, material, intellectual
and spiritual, the great American re-
public is indebted to the millions OF
sons and daughters of other lands De
yond the seas who have brought to
the New World the diverse ctv1ltza-
! t1ons of the Old; yet there Is one ma
ton one people, to whom gratitude is
most due for inspiring in the breasts
of the founders Of the republic the
| PRINCIPLES and ideals of democracy.
! Every civilized country beneath the
! sun is in debt to France for many of
1 the best features of it's civilization.
The genius of the French, their ideals
| Of liberty, fraternity, and equaI1ty'
have permeated every land. All OF US
lhave exaggerated their vices and rid
fculed their weaknesses-wit envy In
our hearts for their glorious achieve
ments and admiration for their ster-
| ling virtues.
! It is appropriate at this time to re-
call the debt which the great Ameri-
can republic owes to the great repuo-
lie of Europe, for this Sunday marks
the 138th anniversary of the day when
France ofHcia1ly acknowledged the IN
dependence Of the United States and
promised an alliance, This event, the
marked the real independence. of the
American republic
Say that the French king and his
advisers were animated more by hat
red of England than fby love of Amer
lea or of republicanism in reaching
this monentous decision; say that the
French alliance with the struggling
colonies was inspirtd by se1fishness;
say what you VIII, and yet, in conclu-
sion, say that the great masses OF the
IL NSI@- TO- "a
portents Of their own great storm,
forced the issue upon a chosen few
who fondly Imagined themselves the
masters of Frances destiny.
1t was the philosophy of F,renchmen
which made possible the American
Declaration of Independence; and 1t
was the aid OF Frenchmen which made
that immortal document more than a
scrap Of paper Whatever the sym
pathy of Americans in the great war
now raging, whatever the ties OF blood
and language and tradition, this fact
should not be forgotten.
France achieved repu blicanism only
after many long and bloody struggles,
but today she stands as the great sis
ter to Miss Columbia, 1t is this fact,
as much as the part played by mon
arcf1ical France in the American Rev
o1utfon which has calsed SO many
leaders of opinion in the United States
to give public expression to their sym
pathies with France in these days of
trial This thought, 50 often in the
minds of Americans has perhaps new
er been better expressed toan by
Charles Edward Russell, the socialist
leader and author:
/, s'Of course we are on the side of
France. Where else could we be?' If
we have any belief in democracy, lib
erty justice, and civilization. there is
no other place for Why be afraid
to say so? OF course France is fight
| ing our battle Why be afraid to say
| so? And if France falls there falls in
Europe every ideal to which this coun-
try is committed and every hope for
that democracy that has been reared
slowly through many generations
and at such a cost. Avery American
heart turns to France in her hour of
supreme trial with affection and
sympathy that no words could ade-
quately express"
The sisterhood of the United States
and France, as the two great repub-
lies OF the New and Old Worlds, has
its symbol in that magnificent gift of
the French people, the Statue Of Lib
erty in New York harbor. At the
gateway of North America it standm.
symbolic of the best gift of the Old
World to the New,
| Another gift from France to Amer
lea which is even more significant of
the present relations Of the two re-
publfcs is the collection &C four-score
pictures recently Installed in the Unit
| ed States Museum at Washington.
While the foremost of the present-day
artists of France are represented in
this gift. perhaps the most striking
work is the crayon drawing by An
! tafne Ca1bet, which depicts two young
: and beautiful women embracing each
other. One of them, representing
France, is posed in an attitude sug-
gestive of grief. while the other is elo-
quent of tender conmiseration and
sympathy.
The installation of this collection =
the National Museum attracted little
attention, although the presentation
ceremonies in Paris aroused great en-
thusiasm in France. NJ. Manotaux, in
his presentation address, offered the
gift as "a permanent proof of the
faithfulness and gratitude Of the sis
ter republic and to mark that it is all
France thanking all America Among
the artists represented are Auguste
Rodin, Jean Paul Laurens. Paul AL
bert Laurens, Carolu Duran. Abel
Truchet. Henri 70, Antonin Mercie,
Victor Eeff off1n and Paul Emile Chabas
/ the creator of September Morn
The relations between France and
| the United States have usually been