Evening star., 1918-12-02
PRESIDENT TELLS CONGRESS
1T WILL KNOW OF ALL HE
DOES AT PEACE CONFERENC CE
TEXT OF PRESIDENTS ADDRESS
MADE TO CONGRESS TODAY

Gentlemen of the Congress: The year
fore You to fulfill my constitutional
DUTY to give to the Congress from
time to time information on the state
OF the Union has been so crowded
with great events, great processes
and great results that l cannot hope
to give you an adequate picture of its
transactions or of the far-reach1ng
changes which have been wrought IN
the life of our nation and of the Worlo.
You have yourselves witnessed these
things, as I have. 1t is too soon 70 70
assess them; and we who stand IN
the midst of them and are part OF
them are less qualified than men OF
another generation will be TO say
what they mean, or even what tney
have been. But some great outstano-
ing facts are unmistakabie ana COZ
stitute, in a sense. part OF the pupilc
business with which it is our outy
to deal. To state them is to set the
stage for the legislative ana eSecu
tive action which must grow out OF
them and which we have yet to shape
and determine.
A year ago we had sent 145.91S men
overseas. Since then we have sent
1885, ,513. an average of 162.542 eacn
month. the number in fact rising. IN
May last to 245.951, in June to 2IS,16o'
in July to Boise, and continuing TO
September-in August 289.57O and IN
September 257,43s. No such move
ment of troops ever took place beIore,
across 5000 miles Of sea, followed oy
adequate equipment and supplies; ana
carried safely through extraordinary
dangers of attack-dangers which
were alike strange and infinitely diff
ficult to guard against. In all this
movement only 75S men were lost by
enemy attack-630 of whom were
upon a single English transport
which was sunk near the Orkney
Islands.
Given Support of Industries.
I need not tell you what lay back
of this great movement of men and
material. 1t is not invidious to say
that back of it lay a supporting or
ganization of the industries of the
country and of all it's productive ac-
tivities more complete, more thorough
in method and effective in result, more
spirited and unanimous in purpose and
effort than any other great belligerent
had been able to effect. We profited
greatly by the experience Of the ma
tions which had already been engaged
for nearly three years in the exigent
and exacting business, their every re-
source and every executive proficiency
taxed to the utmost. We were their
pupils. But we learned quickly and
acted with promptness and readl-
great pride that we were able to serve
the world with unparalleled energy and
quick accomplishment .
But it is not the physical scale and
executive efficiency OF preparation,
supply. equipment and dispatch that
and quality Of the officers and men
we sent over and Of the sailors who
kept the seas. and the spirit or the
nation that stood behind them. No
soldiers or sailors ever proved them
selves more quickly ready for the
test Of battle or. acquitted themselves
with more splendid courage and
achievement when put to the test.
Those Of us who played some part
in directing the great processes ,,,t,, by
forward to the final triumph may
now forget all that and delight our
thoughts with the story of what our
men did. Their officers understood
undertaken and performed it with an
audacity, efficiency and unhesitating
courage that touch the story of con-
voy and battle with imperishable
distinction at every turn. whether the
enterprise was great or. smallEfrom
their great chiefs. Pershing and Sims.
down to the youngest lieutenant; and
their men were worthy of them-such
men as hardly need to be command
ed, and go to their terrible adven-
lure blithely and with the quick in
tellisence of those who know Just
what it is they would accomplish.
| am proud to be the fellow country
man of men of such stuff and valor.
Those Of us who stayed at nome dld our
duty; the war could not have been won
or the gallant men who fought 1t given
their opportunity to win 1t otherwise:
but for many long day we shall think
ourselves 'taccurs'd we were not there,
and hold our manhoods cheap while any
Mihiel or Thierry. The memory of those
days of triumphant battle will go with
these fortunate men to their graves;
and each will have his favortte memory.
"old men forget; yet al shal 5e forgot,
hut he'll remember with advantages
what feats he did that day!
Turn Tide to Victory.
What we all thank God for with deep
est gratitude is that our men went In
force into the line of battle just at the
critical moment, when the whole fate
of the world seemed to hang IN the bal
the ranks Of freedom in time to turn
the whole tide and sweep Of the fateful
strugsle-turn it once for all. SO that
thenceforth it was back, back, back for
their enemies. always back. never again
forward! After that it was only a scant
four months before the commanders Of
the central empires knew themselves
beaten, and now their very empires are
And throughout it all how fine the
spirit Of the nation was-what unity Of
purpose. what untiring zeal! What
elevation Of purpose ran through all its
splendid display Of strength. its untir-
ing accomplishment. I. have said that
those Of US who stayed at home to do
the work of organization and supply will
always wish that we had been with the
men who We sustained by our labor,
but we can never be ashamed. 1t has
been an inspiring thing to be here in the
midst Of fine men who had turned aside
from every private interest Of their
own and devoted the whole of their
trained capacity to the tasks that sup
piled the sinews of the whole great un-
dertaking. The patriotism. the unsel-
fishness, the thoroughgoing devotion and
distinguished capacity that marked their
toilsome labors. day after day, month
after month, have made them f1t mates
and comrades of the men in the trenches