New-York tribune., 1917-12-27
To Decorate or Not to Decorate
Plea That Military Honors Be Kept tor rags

to offer 20 the generous heart o. ,..s
whether individually or eollectively. We
the decoration Jet there 20 as now N, f..- a
ragere, the cord Of colors which ever,
may wear, sign Of his proud stsndin, 'n
member OF glorious corps.
on the great "Day OF Flags, last Julv -,
the most sacred Of the flags Of Frspss ..en ,..'
borne in tsttered, faded, blood stained .,l..
Gor through the heart-and the hes,.s-,
Paris, witnessed the decorating Of tbs r..
eiga Legion with the fourraeers :, -
Medaile Militaire. which IL was tbs C..
regiment 10 receive. This gave Il. Ala. :,
the heroic troops OF France, the right IA o..
the green and yellow cord. Since tas0 -.
Legion has won the ultimate honor fand g.,
knows the Legion has won Il inde,S1 a..
fourrageEo of the Legion of Honor-hr,.s.
scarlet. Those who won the blood-r,d es,,
so one writes me from France, will news, \.
gent again 20 the first line trenches: h.,..
forth they are Frances guard Of houo,
The beauty OF the fourragere is thai a.
honor transferred from the individual "A Is.
corps, beneath q flag which is in its turn ,Ss
symbol Of the soldiers faith-what b. sv1,.
for. In IL the brave have their recoenitio,
and if in any army corps there are few vsa
merit 10 such personal distinction the fsu,.
ragere does not falsely advertise a per,or,,
hero, yet the least worthy nay be helped "a
put on worthiness thereby. The honor Il no,
to him, yet IL may honorably uphtt him .ov.
ard itself
Our Medal OF Honor
For acts Of yalor 50 extraordinarily Ou..
shining the mu.tituda as 20 demand extraor.
dinary recognition, we have already one pure.
ly American decora.ion-the Medal of Honor
awarded b. act Of Congress. This Is a supegS
award indeed from q mans whole eountry
which any soldier may well coyet. Il ous,.
20 be kept more rare than the Victoria Croi,
even. = would seem 10 cover all cases no;
met By the decoration Of the fsg.
We are as a people misresd BY others lail
peoples are, but We enjoy almost primaeyl
The popular impression Of US still in Euror,
Is that we are a hard-headed, materials.ie
race-a vision Of Us which they arc having
some difficulty in squaring With the "id.al.
ism" II is now fashionable 10 attribute 70 Us
since April :. Before this war is over We
, shall have increased that difficulty for then
:nlmeasurably, one hopes. France, indeed, ha,
already begun 20 catch glimpses Of US; she
has coined the phrase Of the dollar idealiste7
Since April y.
But. in the main, Europe still miscOneeiys,
Us. and is not TO blame Tor il. We large
~ misconceive ourselves, and, at that, boss.
Of the misconception.
Actually say this sdyisedly-ws are
perhaps Of all the peoples OF earth the less.
money loving, the least materislistic; we il Is
who are the true Missionaries, the real, roman
tic dreamers OF the world, our "big business
men being the most romantic and visionary
OF us all. II IL at once the source OF our
virtues, our sorrows and our sins. We are
that people equally apt TO it out toy ship,
10 follow forlorn hope, 20 perform sudden
miracle, or to be lured By camouhsge Of
fine phrases 70 mistake neutrality for peace.
But. under all this, We arc something else,
and it is because we have something else,
dominant, national, saving trait-our sweet
and sound sense Of humor. Sooner or later,
by grace OF il, all our visions take proportion
and most Of our dreams come true, in spite
of our innumerable faults.
Such people have no need ef indictments;
they create their own. Such people, II n
also true, will be less burt by the evil latent
in decorations than another, for though we
may love them, we shall also laugh at them.
The matter is not, perhaps. OF first impor'
tance either way. And yet, being American,
and so dreamer, am haunted By that vision
Of a proud, young army marching back from
q victorious war without spolls, without
adornments, bringing back nothing bus'thei'
country's honor, and bearing with them Tor
sole decoration one radiant flag.
Or would it be too glorious TO be decent
so to fame democracy before world