The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1918-12-22

MI DER was not long ago at
= = the front in command of
battalion of the 2s4th Infantry Regi-
ment, French army. and while there
was brought in contact with two A. +.
F.. divisions. For the last four months
he has been in the United States
working at Camp Meade and Camp
Travis with the Eleventh and Eigh-
teenth United States Army Divisions.
On the eve Of his return to France
he is highly enthusiastic in praise of
our soldiers, both officers and men, and
of American war relief workers. wom-
en- especially. He also makes. through
THE SUN, an indignant rejoinder to the
much discussed Kent interview, pub
lished in q Baltimore newspaper,
which purported to expose the gravest
war time discord betweeen French
statesmen and military leaders on the
one hand and the American authorities
overseas on the other.
II cannot sufficiently say how much
I admire the splendid spirit Of your
fne boys" said Major Mercardier
"and how much we all love them IN
France We admire and love them for
their fighting qualities, their splendid
manhood and the way In which they
have proved themselves worthy 10
rank with the finest troops in the
world.
There are indeed no drawer fighters
than these glorious boys OF yours
and our own dear boys, after their
four years and half of stubborn,
tenacious fight against an ever grow
ing enemy, have been indeed proud
and happy to have fought side by
side with the Americans for the finish
I'VE also loved them because of
their courteousness. their friendliness
toward everybody. and because they
are Americans. This love. this Ideal
love between France and America, is
not new thing. 1t Is now 140 years
old. But on those battlehelds where
side by side our boys and yours have
been fighting during the wars last
months 20 achieve the triumph OF
liberty these ties have been strength
ened and cemented by the mingled
blood OF glorious martyrs until they
are now unhreakable.
Horn 10 he Friends and Allies.
French and Americans may not
have the same langua ge-and that
ought TO be quickly remedied by our
learning each others language; ii
would be to our mutual profit-but
they have tho same soul, the same
ideals. the same love OF individual and
national freedom. They were born TO
be friends and allies.
81 know well how powerful, how
clever. how insidious Is the German
propaganda actually being carried on
| to sunder US. to make us distrust each
Qther-yes. and perhaps even quar-
rel. But II I believe as firmly in the
great danger as do in the shameful
ness OF this dirty propaganda I do
not really fear its results.
"a free American citizen looks at
things as they are, not as q German
propa gandist tries to represent them
to him, either in conversation. news
papers, plays or movies, American
citizens, as have observed, study
things carefully for themselves. They
know the terrible sufterings OF the
poor invaded countries-Belgium
Serbia, italy, France. They know and
! nave mao OF CdH nave pIOOlS
| laid before them OF many German
atrocities. II not OF all.
"They know OF the barbaric and
methodical destruction OF the invaded
part OF our poor France, the battle
field OF liberty. They know all about
German 'Kultur' and all about the
designs OF the Germans when the
enemy thought he would be victorious
over our country and tho other coun-
tries OF the world.
Ferocious Leaders OF KuItur.
"The Germans themselves published
what they intended doing with us.
and the best OF their professors and
learned men. their leaders of 'Kultur.
were the most ferocious in the idea,
for instance. of destroying France
forever and imposing the German
ideal OF might above right and their
own autocratic domination upon the
whole world.
IAN true Americans. particularly, I
guess all the boys who have fought