Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1917-04-22
America in War Will As tound the World, Particul-
 arly Germany, He Says.
DEEDS OF CHARITY
 ARE UNFORGOTTEN
Praise for President Wilson, Ambas. SadOr Gerard and Chairman Hoover of Belgian Relief. Is Expressed by
 Head of British Commission.

With the Balfour party, April 21.-- | Great Britan's high commissioners /, to the international var council 1n | Washington next week, set foot on American soil today ard now are on | their way to the capitol.
 Arthur James Balfour, secretary of state for foreign affairs for the em- | rire, was the central figure of the | party that included some of Great l Britain's most prominent men. AS q | genial smile spread over his features, | the premier consented to brief in. terview. Warmly expressing appreci. l ation of all the United States has done l as neutral in charitable and relief work in Belgium and in German prison camps, he warmly expressed his conviction that this country, in it's
 war efforts, would astound the world,
 particularly Germany.
 Have q Common Duty. "It cannot but be-" he said, "that those whose national roots go down
 into the same past as ours, who share
 our language, our literature, our | laws, our religion, everything that ! makes a great nation--it cannot but i be that time will come when they
 will feel that they and we have
 common duty to perform, common
 office to fulfill among the nations of
 the world"
 l While unable to grant regular in- ] terview before presenting himself l1
 President Wilson, MT. BalfOur will
 lingly consented to say few words
 as to his general hopes for the con-
 ference and the fundamental pur- poses behind it. A verbatum copy follows. 4te4
 "All will agree that my first duty
 as head of diplomatic mission is to
 pay my respects to the head of the
 state to which have been sent, and no public expression of opinion on
 polins of policy would, I think, be
 useful or even tolerab,e, until have
 had the honor of conferring with
 your president and learning h's
 views. I have not come here to make speeches or indulge in interviews;
 but to do what I can to make cooper ation easy and effective between those
 who are striving with all their power to bring about lasting peace by the only means that can secure it, name ly, a successful war.
 Without, however, violating the rule I have just laid down, there are two things which I may permit n.y. self to say; one, on my own behalf, the other on behalf of my countrymen in general.
 "On my own behalf, let me express
 the deepest qualification I feel at be- ing connected in. any capacity what ever with events which associate our countries in common effort for a great ideal.
 "On behalf of my countrymen, let
 me express our gratitude for all that l the citizens of the United States of | America have done to mitigate the lot
 of those who, in the allied countries, have suffered from the cruelties of the most deliberately cruel of all
 wars. To name no others, the efforts of MT. Gerard to alleviate the condi-
 tion of British and other prisoners of war in Germany, and the admins trative genius which Mg. Hoover has | ungrudgingly devoted to the relief of
 the unhappy Belgians and French in the territories still in the enemy's occupation, will never be forgotten;
 while an inexhaustibie stream of charitable effort has supplied medical ] and nursing skill to the service of the 1 wounded and sick.
 | Are Memorable Activities. "These are the memorable doings of beneficent neutrality. But the days of neutrality are, I rejoice to
 think, at an end; and the first page
 is being turned in a new chapter iii
 the history of mankind. Your prest-
 dent, in a most apt an vivid phrase. has proclaimed that the world must
 be safe for democracy. Democraciess I (Continued on Page 2)