The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1917-04-26

electric lighting.
But that is a small matter and I
only mention it because It happened
to strike me as one Of my earliest ex-
periences in this city.
"Of course, the more tragic side of
the war is never and can not ever be
absent from our minds. l saw with
great relief this morning in the news
paper that the son of MIR. Bonar Law,
| our chancellor of the exchequer, was
| wounded and missing in some Of the
operations now going on in Palestine;
and instinctively cast my mind back
but as an Illustration it seems to me
impressive. went over the melancholy
list and if my memory serves me right,
out of the small number of cabinet
| members. members of the cabinet
which were serving the state when the
war broke out in August, 1914, one
has been killed in action. four at least
have lost sons ana now Mr.. Ronar
Laws son is wounded and missing
not. hope, lost to us, but still in n
position from which he may not re-
turn to his friends.
Tragedy in France.
This is the sort Of things that have
| happened in quite a small and narrow
ly restricted class of men, but it Is
| charac acteristic of what is happening
throughout the whole country.
The condition of France in that re-
spect is evidently even more fun of
sorrow and tragedy than our own, be-
cause we had not great army, we
had but Il small army. when the war
broke out, whereas the French army
was of the great continental type, was
on a war footing from the very in
ception of military operations engaged
in sanguinary conflict with the COM
mon enemy.
I'VE have today coming amongst us
n mission from France I doubt not
! will receive a welcome not less warm,
not less heartfelt, than that which
you so generously and encouragingly
extended to us. That was and certainly
will he increased by the reflection that
| one of the mission is Marshal Joffre
who will go down through all time as
the general in command of the allied
forces at one of the most critical mo-
ments in the worlds history.
II remember when I was here there
| was a book given out in the schools
| called THE Fifteen Decisive Battles
Vo$
| they all quite deserve that title, but
there can be no doubt or question that
| among the decisive battles of the world
| the battle of the Marne was the most
| decisive. 1t was a turning point in the
| history of mankind and I'rejoice that
! ing among us and will join uA the
| British nation, in laying before the
people of the United States gratitude
for their sympathy which they have
shown and are showing and our warm
confidence in the value Of the assist
ance, which they are affording the al
lied cause.
! 'Gentlemen, 1 do not believe that
the magnitude of that assistance can
by any possibility be exaggerated. am
| told that there are some doubling
critics who seem to think that the
object of the mission of France and
Great Britain to this country is to
| inveigle the United States out of its
traditional policy and entangle it in
formal alliance, secret or public, with
European powers. l cannot imagine any
rumor with less foundation, nor can
imagine a policy SO utterly unneces
sary.
Confident Of Y. S.
"Our confidence in this assistance
which we are going to get from this
country Is not based upon such shall
low considerations as those which arise
increase the undoubted confidence with
which we look to the United States
who have come into this war and are
going to see the war through. If there
is any certainty in human affairs. thai
is certain.
Two years and a half have gone
since the war began and the great
public on this side of the Atlantic has
been watching with deepening interes
the ood-stained drama going or
across the ocean and l am well con
vinced that as each month has passed
so has the conviction grown anon.
you that after all 1t is no small o
petty interest that is involved in thi
war; it is no struggle for so man!
square miles of territory for SOM
aquisition, some satisfaction of small
national ambition. 1t was nothing
short of the full consciousness that tn
liberties of mankind are really involve,
in the issue of this struggle that wa
, animating the allied countries.
With such q cause the American
public has always been in full sym
pathy and now, after watching
q through all these months, you hav
found yourselves impelled to join i
4 the great conflict. l feel perfectl