Rockingham post-dispatch. [volume] (Rockingham, N.C.) 1917-1965, 1919-02-27

6EB, N10 LnSy lOHffu AANS SnOS0 Wa v
strange men, reckless of danger not
only, but reckless because they seem.
ed to see something, that made that
danger worth while. Men have tes-
tilted to me in Europe that our men
were possessed by something that
they could only call religious fer
vor. They we're not Hike any OF the
other soldiers. They had a vision,
they had a dream, and, fighting in the
dream they turned the whole tide Of
battle and It never came back.
Tribute Of a HVmorist.
One OF our American humorists
meeting the criticism that American
soldiers were not trained long enough,
said:
"E takes only half as long to train
an American soldier as any other, be-
cause you only have to train him one
way, and he did only go one way,
and he never came back until he could
do 1t when he pleased"
And now do yea realize that this
confidence we have established
throughout the world imposes a bur
den upon us-if you choose TO call
it burden. 1t 10 one of those bur
dens which any nation onght 70 be
proud to carry. Any man who resists
the present tides that run In the
world will find himself thrown upon
shore so high and barren that II
will seem as If he had been separated
from his human kind forever.
The Europe that I left the other
day was full of something that It had
never felt till its heart so full be80fs
1t was full Of hope. The Europe OF
tn esecond year OF the war; the Eu
rope Of the third year of the war, was
sinking to sort Of stubborn desper
alton. They did not see any great
thing to be achieved even when the
war should be won. They hoped
there would be some salvage; they
hoped that they could clear their ter
ritories of invading armies; they
hoped they could SGT up their homes
and start their industries afresh. But
they thought it would simply be the
resumption of the old life that Eu
rope had-led in fear, led in anxiety
led in constant suspicious watchful
ness. Icy never dreamed that i
would be Europe Of settled peact
and of justified hope.
All Peoples Buoyed Up.
4.
this new magic, that all the peoples
Of Europe are buoyed up and conf
dent in the spirit of hope, because
they believe that we are at the ev'
tions viii understand one another
when nations will support one anoth
er in every just cause, when nation
will unite every moral and every ply
steal strength to see that the RICH
hall prevail.
II America were at this juncture t,
fail the world, what would come O
it? l do not mean any disrespect t,
any other great people when sa!
, that America is the hope of the world
and if she does not justify that hopt
the results are unthiHkable. Men will
be thrown back upon the bitterness
of disappointment not only, but tn,
bitterness of despair. All nations
will be set up as hostile camps again
the men at the peace conference will
go home with their heads upon thei
breasts, knowing that they have fail
ed-for they were hidden not to com,
home from there until they did some
thing more than sign a treaty o
peace.
Suppose we sign the treaty Of peac,
and that it is the most satisfactor.
treaty Of peace that the confusing ele
ments of the modern world will al
ford and go home and think about on
labors; we will know that we hav,
left written upon the historic table a
Versailles, upon which Vergeness ant
Benjamin Franklin wrote their names
nothing but modern scrap Of paper
No nations united to defend no grea
|, forces combined to make it good, n,
assurance given to the downtroddel
; and fearful people of the world tina
they shall be safe. Any man VIII
thinks that America will take par
in giving the world any such rebuff
and disappointment as that does no
know America.
Challenge to Critics.
I invite him to test the sentiment
of the nation. We set this up to maxi
men free, and we did not confine on
conception and purpose to America
and now we will make men free.
we did not do that, the fame of Amer
lea would be gone and all her power
, would be dissipated. She then woul'
have to keep her power for those nal
: row, selfish, provincial purposes whicI
seem so dear to some minds that hav,
no sweep beyond the nearest horizon
should welcome no sweeter chal
lenge than that. have fighting bloo'
in me and it is sometimes deligh
to let it have scope, but if it is {
challenge on this occasion it will b
an indulgence. Think of the picture
think Of the utter blackness tina
would fall on the world-America ha
failed. America made little essa,