Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1918-07-11
WILSON HELD
WORLD GUIDE
BY ASQUITH
Former British Premier
Pays Great Tribute to
President in Speech.

London. July 11.-Sincere praise
of President Wilson's leadership in
the war and his advocacy of a lea
que of nations after the war was
given by Herbert H. AsQuith, the
former premier. in an address last
night at the national liberal club.
/ The occasion was a hospitality
dinner to American officers" at
which 500 prominent Englishmen
were present. The dinner resolv-
ed itself into a meeting of ovation
for the president.
Vice Admiral Sims. commander
of the American naval forces II the
war zone, paid tribute to the CO.
operation of the British and
American navies and declared:
The submarine menace is now
at an end, for we are destroying
them faster than the Germans can
build them"
Major General Biddle, command
er of the American forces in Eng
land. evoked long cheers when he
announced that American troops
were stationed at from seventy to
eighty different points in England
and Scotland.
Former Premier Asquith. in the
course of a speech urged the i'm
portance Of President Wilson's
idea of a league of nations as the
most urgent of all peace prob
lems," and said:
Links Him With Washington.
The United States as a nation
has had the very good fortune that
in the supreme crisis of her ma
tiOnal history the man whom she
most needed for inspiration and
guidance has always appeared.
Thus came Washington and Lin
coin. Washington and Lincoln are
illustriOus names which have pass
ed into history We must not at
tempt to anticipate history's judg-
ment upon men still living, but l
Will venture to say that President
Wilson has been the head OF
American government in times no
less trying than any in its history.
He has done this in state pa
pers which are worthy to live side
by side with the most inspiring
utterances of his most famous pre-
decessors.
1T is one thing to embrace a
good cause. 1t is another to push
1t to a victorious issue. If a ma
tion is to hold its own on the bat
tlefield these days it must be
equipped on the sea and land with
the strongest battalions, the best
and fastest ships, adequate organl-
ZatiOn Of transport and supply, and
even with a superiority in all the
\ p@I 4 4
aggression and defense which the
ingenuity of modern warfare has
devised.
World Owes Debt to Wilson.
''PrObabiy the world owes its
greatest debt to President Wilson
fo~ helping men whose vision has
been blurred and blinded by the
smoke of the battlefields to lift up
their eyes and to look through it
and beyond it. 1t is very difficult
in time OF war to keep a steady
head and a clean tongue. Presi-
dent Wilson does both.
I'VE cannot ask ourselves too
often what we are fighting for.
President Wilson has done more
than any other statesman to con-
CeulTdte Ine minus OF MS own peO-
pie, of the allies, and even of enc
my peoples upon a league of ma
tion3 as our dominating world aim.
Must Have Clean Peace.
There can be no clean peace
which does not clear away the
causes of war. 1t seems to me all
important that both here and in
America we should realize and
act as though we realized 1t, that
league OF nations is neither q
vague political abstraction nor an
empty rhetorical formula, but
concrete and a definite ideal. This
is a large step in advance on the
road of human progress. but 1t can
and must be taken, and when the
goal is reached, due honor will be
paid 10 President Wilson as the
~ nil