The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1918-11-30
CORPORAL CRU
SPEAKS BEFORE
FQRTN|GHTLY
Gives Vivid Sidelight Word Pic
ture of Great War
PRAISES U. S. TROOPS
Williams College Professor Tells Aud.
ience That America Has Many
Problems Yet to Solve.

Corp. j. Norton Cru, professor OF
French at Williams college, who re-
turned to his native country with the
opening of the European war and who
is no stranger to Bennington audi.
ences, spoke Friday evening at the
Congregational chapel under the aus.
pices of the Fortnightly club. The
audience nearly filled the chapel and
more intensely. interesting address
has not been delivered in Bennington
since the beginning Of the war.
Corp. Cru marched TO the platform
to the strains of the Marcellaise, while
the audience stood at attention and
was introduced by the committee
chairman, Mrs. George M. Hawks.
The only decoration in the room was
large French tricoler in the rear OF
the stage which made striking back
ground for the soldier in the olive
green that he has worn since the very
beginning of the great conflict.
While the address was entertaining
enough to hold the close attention on
the audience for more than an hour,
the striking feature was the amount
Of information that was crowded in
10 the speakers remark. His whole
nd licsS wa Information. In the be-
ginning he briefly sketched the car.
eer OF the American army in France
and il is safe to say that he told the
members of his audience facts of
which few of them had previous
knowledge.
Corp. Cru was actually on the
scene when the American army sus-
taired its first casualties IN France
and his tribute to the courage and re-
sourcefulness of small detachment
OF regulars who repulsed Boche
RAID on their first night in the trenches
@as thrilling word picture. He told
Of the great record of the American
marines made at Belleau Wood and of
The offensive begun at Chateau
Fhierry and which marked the begin
ming of the end of Germanys grip on
fraDcc
ln q brief analysis ii is impossible to
touch upon half of the striking fea-
tures of the address. He told of the
close friendship between the Ameri-
| Aatata NONA4Elc > anu lilc p6Oulb
chat has come into existence during
Che short period that the former have
been engaged in the war, how the lit
ds children have learned to sing
cover There, hoW The boys from
America had helped the French farm
ers suiher their crops and spoke OF
numt rous incidents that have bridged
The wide gap created by the ocean be-
tween
THO speaker laid particular en-
lphJsis upon the niece sslty for a con-
unued activity on the part OF every
one iu carrying out the work made
necessary by the war The lighting
Is ended hc said. but the war contin-
ues There Is "a vast amount Of re
con mct0n 10 be accomplished and
ide men IN uniform will need many
th.ngs for months to come.
Ia closing he said that he was glad
iAat the war ended when and in the
manner it came to close. While he
did Lot 20 tate in as many words, he
ntiHated that the desire to see the
German country devastated predomin-
ated to a greater extent among civil
au5 than among men who had an ac-
tlal part n the fighting. The soldiers
rad seen enough destruction. He
cautioned his audience against hero
worship after the troops came home
AMI emphasized the assertion that the
Boche, while brutal and contemplate,
was no coward. II the German fight
ing man were lacking in courage then
it has taken the allied nations more
than four years to defeat race OF
towards. The Boche never was ''on
the run. He made his opponents pay
dearly for every yard of ground,