Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-07-29
STARS AND STRIPES
WITH TRLCOLOR FLY
AT VERDUN CITADEL
Colors Precede Army in Position at
Front as Tribute of French
Fighters to America.
Great Task Before Men From United States
is to Become Biggest Force World Has
Euer Produced to Crush Foe

troops moving and our supplies right
behind them.
I say nothing of our activities in the
air. which may take SO great a part in
winning the war The airplanes are
only an arm of the service. ! proceed
from the front to the rear. to the base
of our organization in France. on sea.
What America Must Do.
Now comes the portion Of my message
the most important of all. From the
time an American Sammy steps off
transport that lands in France to the
time he kills or gets killed In the
trenches of the enemy everything that
happens to him must be made possible
by America. Aside from the very in
tensive training that France is giving
the first detachment of our forces al
ready here. we must depend upon no
body: we must do everything for our
trained by the detachment already
here. so that the French troops now
having them in hand can go back to
the line. America must bring them here
and keep them here; she must feed
them and transport them: she must
supply every single item that is neces-
Sary.
There is no use to say the sea is too
wide. the ships too few and the task
too, difficult. True. It Is far greater
1t makes San Juan seem like base
ball game and building OF the Panama
canal like the afternoon of the child
at play. In connection with the allied
plans. the generals of our army must
make their own plans. Our inte1li-
gence department must depend first, on
itself We must plan and map our own
ground; we must conduct our own
fight. We are to have an army all our
own in the allied line; it must be all
to fhA Lost H,,&f Wy
are committed to this task; we must
see 1t through, and the quicker every
American realizes how hard and big it
is the better. There is no use sending
over hundreds og pairs OF mules with
only dozens OF sets Of harness. 1t is
useless to send officers and horses and
forget to send brides and saddles.
America has had three years to watch
the mistakes by the allies. so If we go
ahead making the same mistakes to
which our distance from the conflict
lends even greater Importance, we will
have no one to blame but our precious
selves.
Message Of Officers and Men.
To this task every officer and every
man now in this training camp has
dedicated his life. The day is not far dis
tant when 1t will be his privilege to spend
his blood for the principles upon which
his country is founded and for the free
dom and peace she has priced so highly
1t Is the message of our officers and
men that l am sending, and nothing
more. 1 have tried for three years to
give an understanding by cable of the
magnitude Of this task. II ever 1t would
be necessary that we take it up. Our
army is here now, and true to American
standards only a very few weeks have
been necessary for 1t to gather to itself
a complete understanding Of its size to-
day compared with its job in hand
I was on the quay when Gen. Per-
shing set foot on French soil, and when
the same troops with whom am living
today marched of their transports.
Even in the short time 1 have known
them I can see great campaign, not
SO much in the way they look, although
they seem much harder now than then,
but In the way they think.
An officer at whose mess I lunched
summed up the situation. He said:
This army has had to forget prac-