The Topeka state journal., 1919-05-30

nOnOf cus. anu Tie udy AOW
becomes in its largest, most compre-
hensive sense. sacred to the memory
of those who have displayed the high
est qualities of mankind and have laid
down their lives at the call of their
country.
We will build new monuments to
our old heroes and our new; our West
minister Abbeys will exist here and
there in the fields of France and here
at home where the bodies of our dead
are gathered. Each place will be a
part of the national inheritance, and
as we yearly decorate their graves and
recount their sacrifices, the memory
of their example will become more and
more an inspiration to those who in
herit the freedom they have saved, to
make it wider and finer.
NEWTON D. BAKER,
Secretary of War.
Memorial day is being observed In
two thousand cemeteries in France,
which hold the remains of a hundred
thousand American soldiers, with just
as much reverence and devotion as
marks the observance of the day in
this country.
Memorial exercises for the Ameri-
can soldiers who lost their lives in
France were planned by direction of
General Pershing, who is taking part
in the ceremony at one OF the largest
cemeteries for American dead in
France.
This is not the first memorial day
to be held for the American dead in
France; but this celebration is much
more elaborate than the one held last
year, when, despite the difficulties of
war, the French populace Joined with
the American eXpeditionary force in
paying tribute to the Americans who
had fallen. Each American grave
there were not so many then-had a
French citizen as caretaker, and
these volunteers have kept the Ameri-
can graves green ever since.
In preparation for Memorial Day,
American burial grounds in France
have been constantly undergoing i'm
provement since the ending of the
war. At the dedication of an American
cemetery at Clermont-Ferrand, du-
Puy-de-Dome, one of the most beau
to the American soldiers General San
| tant of the French army said:
There are eat this moment, in some
part of your great country, mothers,
wives. fiancees, who weep for the dear
vanished ones and wonder where they
are resting. Their grief brings them
nearer still to the women of France,
| who for more than four years have
been enduring the same ordeals, and
with bravery.
Your comrades are today lying in
| the ground which has been blessed
and consecrated by your chaplains,
and which is kept for them
About twenty other American SOL
diers are buried in the cemetery of our
city. side by side with their comrades
of the French army. Your dead do
not then rest in a strange land, but in
a friendly land, in this country of
France which will be soft and light for
their last sleep.
THE traveller who will walk on this
great road which runs close to your
graves, will stop and turn aside from
his path in order to salute the children
of the United States buried in the rich
children will come to decorate the
graves and pray for those who have
given their life for the great cause
which we defended in common"
Despite the fact that the present
plans of the war department are to
bring the bodies of our dead back to
America. a sentiment is growing up in
this country, on the part of kinsmen of
the fallen soldiers and others, not to
disturb the bodies. One of the parents
of fallen soldiers who felt this way was
the late Colonel Roosevelt. who de-
sired that the body of his son, Lieut..
Quentin Roosevelt, have permanent
resting place in France. The war de-
| partment is receiving numerous letters
from parents and relatives endorsing
the plan. Typical of these letters is
| one from Rear Admiral Gustay Kaem-
merling, U. S. N, whose son was Killed
| in action. He writes:
at was only my desire not to be
premature that prevented my taking
action sooner with a view to obtaining
the departments sanction that the
remains of my son, Gordon Kaemmer-
| ling, first lieutenant, 23rd infantry,
who fell in action at Chateau Thierry
on June 6, be allowed to rest where
| they were placed in the immediate
/ vicinity where he fell,
Now that the armistice has been
declared, it would seem proper to ac-
| quaint you with the earnest wishes OF
both the mother and father.
''He, like other truly patriotic
Americans, loved France so dearly
and had such a reverence for her
bravery and the soul of her people.
| that we feel he would have chosen
to lie where he fell. There could
surely be no spot more sacred and
fitting for his splendid young body to
| rest-far more than any burial ground
that might be selected in his native
country. In fact. it seems like sacri-
lege to remove the bodies from their
sacred resting place"
Here's what mother, who lost two
sons. thinks about the plan:
"'In the first place you doubtless
know that my two boys have been
killed in France. I wish their bodies
to be left in the country in which they
died. and If buried in a suitable place
not to be moved. This, 1 fell, is not
an unreasonable request I want to
know the exact locality of their
graves. so I can visit them and mark
them"
/ Scores OF newspapers thruout the
country are opposed to returning the
bodies to this country.
General Parshing has instructed the
war department by cable that Marshal
Petain, of the French army. in a most
courteous letter has informed him
that France would be happy and
proud to retain the bodies of the
Americans who have fallen upon her
soil" General Pershing has asked for
information as to the wishes of the
families of young men who fell in
France, so that he can recommend