The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1918-12-20
PRESIDENT WILSON'S
TRIBUTE TO FRANCE


President and Madame Poincare
gave luncheon at the Palais d'Elysee
in honor of President and Mrs. Will
son. In his address to President Will
son, President Poincare said:
"Mr. President: Paris and France
awaited you with Impotence. They
are eager to acclaim in you the illus
trious democrat whose words and
deeds were inspired by exalted
thought, the philosopher delghting in
q the solution of universal laws from
particular events, the eminent states
man who had found way to express
the highest political and moral truths
in formulas which bear the stamp of
Immortality.
"They had also a passionate desire
to offer thanks, in your person, to
the great republic of which you are
the chief, for the invaluable assist
ance which had been given spontane-
ously during this war, to the defend
ers of right and liberty.
Gwen before America had resolved
to intervene in the struggle, she had
shown to the wounded and the or
phans of France solicitude and a
generosity the memory of which will
always be enshrined in our hearts.
"The liberalty of your Red Cross,
the countless gifts of your fellow cit
liens, the inspiring initiative of Amer
lean women anticipated your military
and naval acton and showed the world
to which side your sympathies in
clined. And on the day when you
flung yourselves into the battle with
what determination your great people
and yourself prepared for united sue
cess.
"Some months ago you cabled to
me that the United States would send
ever-increasing forces until the day
had been reached in which the allied
armies were able to submerge the en-
envy under an overwhelming flow of
new divisions and in effect for more
than a year a steady stream of youth
and energy has been poured out upon
the shores of France. -.
"No sooner had they landed that
your gallant battalions, fired by their
chief, Gen. Pershing, flung themselves
into the combat with such manly
contempt of danger, such smiling
disregard of death, that our longer
experience Of this terrible war often
moved US to counsel prudence. They
brought with them, in arriving here,
the enthusiasm of crusaders leaving
for the Holy Land.
at is their right today to look with
pride upon the work accomplished and
to feel assured that they have power
fully aided by their courage and their
faith.
Eager as they were to meet the
enemy, they did not know when they
arrived the enormity of his crimes.
That they might know haw the Ger
man armies make war, it had been
necessary that they see towns sys-
tematically burned down, mines flood
ed, factories reduced to ashes, or
chards devastated, cathedrals shelled
and fired-all that deliberated saw
agery aimed to destroy, national
wealth, nature and beauty which the
imagination could not conceive at a
distance from the men and things that
have endured it and today bear wit
ness to it.
"You, Mr.. President, will be able to
measure with your own eyes the ex
tent of the disasters and the French
Government will make known to you
the authentic documents in which the
German general staff developed with
astounding cynicism its program of
pillage and industrial humiliation.
Your noble conscience will pronounce
a verdict on these facts.
"Should this guilt remain unpun-
ished, could it be renewed, the most
splendid victories would be in vain.
"Mr. President, France has strug-
gled has endured and has suffered
during four long years; she has bled
at every vein; she has lost the best of
her children; she mournsf for her
youth. She yearns now even as you
do for peace of justice and security.
at was not that she might be eX-
posed once again to aggression that
she submitted to such sacrifices. Nor
was it in order that criminals should
go unpublished, that they might lift
their heads again to make ready for
new crimes, that under your strong
leadership America ARMED herself and
crossed the ocean,, ., 49,.
Faithful to the memory of Lafay-
cite and Rochambeau, she came to the
aid of France because France herself
was faithful to her traditions. Our
common ideal has triumphed. To-
gether we have defended the vital
principles of free nations.
"Now we must build together such
a peace as will forbid the deliberate
and hypocritical renewing of an or
ganism aiming at conquest and OPP
preston.
'"Peace must make amends for the
misery and sadness of yesterday. and |
it, must be a guarantee against the |
dangers of tomorrow The associa-
tion which has been formed for the |
purpose of war between the United
States and Allies, and which contains
the seed of the permanent institutions
Of which you 'hayea spoken so elo-
will find ,fro1n this day, for-l