New-York tribune., 1918-06-09
Unknown Americans

tinually saying first of this one that he
"casts the BULL" and then of another that
he deals in shot air." until you would sup
pose that everybody was doing it. One
says: "Beholdl l will do miracle while
you wait" A crowd gathers, not in Won
der, but in vanity. Twenty voices say as
one: "Why should we wait, you silly
optimist? Besides, you are not doing it
the right way. Let us show you how"
Big talk is accounted our besetting sin.
Yet, in our innate selves we are q shy,
modest and conservative people, more dis
posed to belitte our achievements than
to exaggerate them. Not only is this
the essential truth about us, but every
one already knows it, though pretending
it isn't SO.
1t is contradiction as old as human
nature. Ask any one in the world who
are the most boastful people, and the
answer will be, "The Americans" That
is the superficial opinion. Ask anywhere
in the world who are the most achieving
people, and the answer will be the same,
"The Americans.
There are two aspects to every people
as to every individual, one minor and one
major, inconsistent with each other. Fal-
staff is thought to be the most arrant and
boastful coward in literature. 1t is bis
notorious character. But his real char
acter is that of brave and chivalrous
man, and if this were not true we could
not laugh at him in his false moments.
The Falstaff we laugh at for cowardce
is a contradiction of the inner man. That
is why we laugh. A coward in fact would
be an abject, pitiable figure. But we love
Falstaff, and would unhesitatingly set out
with him on perilous errand. There is
the test. Likewise, a really boastful peo-
pie, fooling themselves with "hot air."
could not be imagined to take the role we
have assumed in this war.
On getting into the war we allowed
our feelings to run. We delighted in
symbolic pictures of our strength. We
crushed the Hohenzollerns in thousand
heroic, imaginative ways. We talked of
incredible things-of airplanes without
number, of bridge of ships, and of
American soldiers smashing the Germans
back to the Rhine We recall cartoon
by our own "Ding" showing Uncle Sam
leaping at one leap across the Atlantic
Ocean, sword in his hand, his arms and
legs flying, and on the horizon the Kaiser
and Crown Prince with their helmets
raised off their heads by the terror in
their hair.
But these were the overfowing emo
tions of actions undischarged. Nobody
was fooled, least of all our allies. They
may have said, Hear the Yankees
boast" but that was a surface Judgment
which never for an instant weakened
their faith that we should win the war.
We doubt if the Germans, with all their
official scoffing, were fooled. They began
at once to prepare for race against time
with us-with 100000 900 of the most
naivelwdangerous people in the world.
Of the deeper things, the things Of
spirit, we never boast. The valorous per-
formances of our marines and soldiers on
the battle line-who boasts Of thenn2 We
do not. The French and the English do
Since the first appearance of our men on
the other side the foreign writers have
been much more enthusiastic about their
behavior, their determined faces and
great physique" their fighting. their
American writers. Why? Because we
take all that for granted. They are ours
and we know them.
On the editorial staff of an American
newspaper it is hard to find one who re-
spends to the foreign praise Of our men
in action with enough emotion to write a
gallant piece of comment. This week we
suggested to the editorial writing staff as
group that some one do an editorial
appreciation Of the facts. All Of one ac-
cord replied, "But what is to be said
about it? Wouldn't they be like that?"
This is perhaps the infinite compl-
ment. But it isn't boasting
Recently we sat in refreshnent room
OF railroad station conversing casually
with foreign officer Suddenly tall men
IN olive drab began to come in by groups
to wash up. They were on their way.
The officer, though he tried to 80 on talk
ing, couldn't keep his eyes off the men,
and his responses became more and more
absent as they continued to crowd in.
"My God" he exclaimed. "where do
they come FROM"
Then we looked at them Not one
seemed less than six feet tall They were
a thin, hard, big-fsted. rag-faced lot Of