The Nenana daily news. (Nenana, Alaska) 1918-1921, 1918-05-13
OUR DEBT OF GRATITUDE AND
FRIENDSHIP FOR FRANCE
By Geo. w. Pennington

friend or neighbor contend that the
American people are making a griev-
Gus, even dangerous blunder, in send
ing the flower of our young man.
hood across the ocean to engage in
ar on the European continent.
In reply to that statement, let me
remind you that there is no duty
in this life that we respond 20 or
perform with greater joy and pride
than to pay our debts of honor and
gratitude, and it is my wish tonight
to take a backward glance with you
over short period of our Colonial
history. and sum up the debt of
gratitude and loyal friendship. that
we owe to France. Remember,
this is not the first time we have
had desperate encounter with the
same "Prussian Autocracy" that is
cursing the world today. 1t was
this self-same tyranny that we
fought during our Revolutionary war
our war of independence ana
had it not been for the timely aid
and loyal friendship of beloved
France, we never should have been
able to bring that long and weary
struggle to successful issue.
If you will glance at any modern
history, it will take but moment to
learn, that for a great many years,
the English nation was governed by
the German house of Hanover.
George l and George II were both,
in their time, ELECTORS of Hanover"
and they entertained very light
regard for their English SUBJECTS
They We're each born in the German
principality of Hanover, and when
they came to London neither of
them could speak the English Ian
guage, and they never did learn to
speak it fluently, or even moder-
ately we'll.
George III, it is true, was born
in London, but his wife, the queen,
was German. His most intimate
friends and courtiers were of the
same nationality, and he thought far
more of the Electoraly of Hanover
than of his English dominions. The
soldiers that he admired the most,
and in whom he placed the greatest
dependence, were the same bar
barians that the American patriots
called the "Hessian Devils" and the
services of these bribed mercenaries
were paid for out of the blood
money wrung from our Colonial
forefathers.
Most of US can recall the fact,
! than in 1871, the cause of the
of the American colonies had sunk
to the very lowest ebb We had
been fighting |; sing game, most
of the time, for seven long, weary
year. Sir Henry Clinton held New
York with twelve thousand regulars
and German Hessians. They were
at that time the best equipped and
most thoroughly trained army in the
world; while Washington, in despera-
ton, chung to the Hudson river
heights with half-naked and shift
j ing company of American patriots,
defeated in many battles, discour-
arge and hungry; and now at this
crisis reduced to their last cup of
chicory and their last round of
ammunition.
Believe me, my friends, it was
indeed desperate situation; and
when we review our Colonial history
at this late day, we marvel at the
! fortitude and stubborn courage of
the Colonial troops. Washington
was on the verge of despair. In
writing to Col. John Laurens, who,
at that time, was our agent at the
Court of France, he said: "If France
fails to come to our aid at this criti-
cal time, it will be forever too late
to attempt it hereafter, for the need
of food, ammunition and clothing
will very soon bring us to disaster
and overwhelming defeat"
But France did not fail. Her
brave men came, and came on time.
1t is true at this particular time,