The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1917-04-07
EDITOR THE TINES:

EDITOR THE TINES:
The other day | noticed among
your editors an appeal for gen.
crosby to France, and l may say
that 1t finds ready echo in my
heart, and should in the heart OF
every true American.
When, 140 years ago, this
country was kicking In its swad-
ding clothes and the first faint
infant cries of world liberty were
feebly stirring for expression,
when a few scattered millions OF
hardy soil-bred pioneers were
fighting for existence against the
greatest power on earth, when
the future looked dark and drear
and dubious and the freedom of
the coming ages lowered in the
balance, twas there that fair
France (the chosen Home of
Chivalry and the Garden of Ro-
mance) freely gave men and
money to our aid.
AS Columbus left Spain on the
Pinta to open up a new world for
the oppressed millions of the
earth, SO Lafayette in the no-less-
historic "Victorie" sailed away
from the port of Bordeaux, not
indeed to discover new world,
but on what was even a greater
mission--to help drag from the
yelled face of freedom the cowl
that had from the worlds birth
tobscured the radiant beauty OF
her glance.
Yes, the best blood and treas
ure of poor France we're fOrcibly
plighted with all the warmth and
generosity of her Gallo heart
and in all the long years that
have interviewed, has she ever
stopped to remind us of oul
debts?
No, she has showered upon Ut
other tokens of her love and ad
miration. The colossal statue o.
Liberty-emblem sublime-tha
stands upon the very threshold
of our eastern portal welcoming
to our shores the heavy laden mil
lions OF the earth, is but another
mark of her esteem. And what
have we given in return?
We, who are so proud OF oul
largess, we who have always
stood out in the forefront when
ever an appeal for the unfortun
ates of the world has been sound
ed, must we ever remain forget
full of our debt to France? France
lis crushed and bleeding now. Hel
temples and cities and nobles'
works of art are battered and de-
stroyed, but she stands firm with
her fair face appraised to- the
stars, bled white, it may be, will
the struggle, but lit with the fine
fire of freedom, at bay with thu
most merciless, faithless ant
barbaric power that ever dis
graced the council of nations. Car
we look stolidly, supinely on In
this, her crucial hour OF neet
and trial, and stand by our very
own inaction, guilty OF that
basest, blacklist and most unfor>
givable of all the sins-ingrati-
tude?
No, we are not cheap; we have
always been generous, II thought
less at times. France has shown
she has a soul. eW too have a
soul, and let 1t be as between
France and ourselves as Count
Rochambeau, descendant OF
Lafayette, said on his last trip to
America: Entire nous, entire
vous, a la vie, la mort"
We are big and strong and rich
now. This is our chance, and let
us go the limit and come back at
her in good old generous Yankee
fashion and show herself and the
world that we have a heart and
soul. Let us show her that we
are not unmindful Of the inesti-
mable favor she did us when she
helped us to stand and walk way
back in the days of our puny
struggling childhood.
w. H. FITZGERALD.
Rosedale.