The Washington herald., 1918-12-26
HARMONY, SAYS WILSON
AS HE EATS WITH BOYS
Talk of Differences Over Terms All Wrong
President Declares to Men, at Real Xmas
( Dinner; Welcomed by Gen. Pershing.

by your confidence and Dy your sup
port, have made the success of our
army, and ITO you as our commander
in-chief may 1 now present the ma
tons victorious army"
President Wilson then spoke as fol-
lows:
Gen. Pershing and fellow comrades:
I wish that l could give to each one
Of you the message that 1 know you
are longing to receive from those at
home who love you. I cannot do
that, but can tell you how every one
has put heart into it. You have done
your duty and something more. You
have done your duty and done it with
spirit which gave it distinction and
glory.
Did All They Came ITO Do.
''And now we are to hail the
fruits of everything. You con-
quered what you came over for, and
you have done what it was appoint
ed you to do. 1 know what you
expected of me. Sometime ago
gentleman from one of the coun-
tries with which ws are associated
was discussing with me the moral
aspects of this war and 1 said if we
did not insist upon the high pur-
pose which we have accomplished
the end would not be justified.
| Everybody at home Is proud OF
YOU and has followed every move
ment of this great army with con-
] hdence and affection. Now the
whole people of the United States
| are waiting to welcome you home
with an acclaim which probably has
never greeted any other army, be-
cause our country is like this coun-
try, we have been so proud of the
stand taken, for which this war was
entered by the United States.
Allied Leaders United.
''You knew what we expected OF
YOU and you did it. know what you
and the people at home expected or
| me, and 1 am happy to say, my fel-
low countrymen, that do not find IN
the hearts of great leaders. with whom
II is my privilege now to cooperate,
| any difference of principle or or
fundamental purpose. 1t happened
| that it was the privilege of America
! to present the chart for peace"
And now the process of settlement
has been rendered comparatively SIM
pie by the fact that all the nations
concerned have accepted that chart
and BY the application Of these prin-
ciples the world will now know that
the nations that fought this war as
well as the soldiers who represented
them are ready to make good, nor
only in the assertion of their own
interests but make good in the es-
tablishnent ofspeace upon the pernaa-
nent foundatlon of right and OF JUS
tieec ylBeesase this is not a war IN
which the soldiers of the free ma
zlSo ufa
l commanded, but you have no mas
tiers. Your very commanders repre-
| sent you in representing the nation
of which you constitute so dis
tinguished a part.
A Peoples Peace.
And the kind of people and every
body concerned in the settlement
known that it must be a peoples
peace and that nothing must be done
| in the settlement OF the issues of the
war which is not as handsome as the
great achievements of the armies Of
the United States and the allies.
1T is difficult, very difficult, men,
! in any normal speech like this, TO
show you my real heart. You men
probably do not realize with what
anxious attention and care we have
| followed every step you have ad-
vanced and how proud we are that
every step was in advance and not in
retreat; that every time you set your
| face in any direction you kept your
faces in that direction. A thrill has
gone through my heart, as it has gone
through the heart of every American,
with almost every gun that was fired
and every stroke that was struck in
the gallant fighting that you have
done, and there has been only one re-
| gret in America and that was the
regret that every man there felt that
he was not in France, too.
Soldiers Deserve Trust.
ut has been a hard thing to per-
form tasks in the United States; it
has been a hard thing to take part in
directing what you did without COM
| ing over here and helping you do it.
1t has taken a lot of moral courage
! to stay at home, but we are proud to
back you up everywhere that 1t was
possible to back you up, and now 1
am happy to find what splendid names
you have made for yourselves among
the civilian population of France as
well as among your comrades in
arms of the French, and it is fine
testimony to you men that these peo-
pie like you and love you and trust
you, and the finest part of it all is
that you deserve their trust.
Il feel comradeship with you to-
day which is delightful as look down
upon these undisturbed fields and
think of the terrible scenes through
which you have gone and realized how
the quiet of peace, the tranquility of
settled hopes, has descended upon US,
and while it is hard far away from
home confidently to bid you a merry
Christmas, can, think, confidently
promise you happy New Year, and
can from the bottom of my heart
say God bless you"