Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1919-07-10
CONTINUED from Page one)

had already closed the gap the
enemy had succeeded in open
ing for their advance upon
Paris-had already turned the
tide Of battle back towards the
frontiers Of France and begun
the rout that was to save Eu-
rope and the world. There
after the Germans were to be
always forced back, back, were
never to thrust successfully
again And yet there was no
confident hope. Anxious men
and women, leading spirits OF
France, attended the celebra-
ton of the Fourth of July last
year in Paris out Of generous
courtesy-with no heart for
festivity, little zest for hope
They came away with some
: thing new at their hearts; they
have themselves told US so.
The mere sight of our men-of
their vigor, of the sacrifice that
showed itself in every move
ment Of the stalwart figures
and every turn OF their swing
ing march, in their steady,
comprehendins eyes and easy
discipline, in the indomitable
air that added spirit to every
thing they did-made everyone
who saw them that memorable
day realize that something
had happened that was much
more than a mere incident in
the fighting, something very
different from she mere arrival
of fresh troops. A great moral
force had flung itself into the
force Of those spirited men
struggle. The fine physical
spoke Of something more than
bodily vigor. They carried the
great ideals Of a free people at
their hearts and with that Wis
ion were unconquerabIe. Their
very presence brought reas-
surance; their fighting made
victory certain.
Recognized as Crusaders.
They were recognized as
crusaders, and as their thous-
ands swelled to millions, their
strength was seen to mean
salvation. And they were fit
men to carry such a hope and
make good the assurance it
forecast. Finer men never
went into battle; and their Of
ficers were worthy of them.
This is not the occasion upon
which to utter a eulogY of the
armies America sent t. France,
but perhaps, since / am speak
ing of their mission, 1 may
speak also OF the pride l shar-
ed with every American who
saw or dealt with them there.
They were the sort of men
America would wish to be rep
resented by, the sort of men
every Amc lean would wish to
claim as fellow conntrymen
and comrades in a great cause.
They were terrible in battle,
and gentle and helpful out OF
it, remembering the mothers
and the sisters, the wives and
the little children at home.
They were free men under
arms, not forgetting their
ideals of duty in the midst OF
tasks of violence. l am proud
to have had the privilege of
being associated with them
and Of calling myself their
leader.
Soldiers Embodiment Of g. s.
But 1 speak now OF what
they meant to the men by
whose sides they fought and to
the people with whom they
mingled with such utter sim
plicity, as friends, who asked
only to be of service. They
were for all the visible en-
bodiment Of America What
they did made America and all
that she stood for a living re
ality in the thoughts not only
Of the people of France, but
also OF tens of millions of men
and women throughout all the
toiling nations of a world
standing everywhere in peril
of it's freedom and the loss of
everything it held dear, in
deadly fear that its bonds were
never to be loosed. its hopes
forever to be Knocked and dis
appointed.
Duty To Remove Fear.
The compuIsion of what they
stood for was upon us who rep
resented America at the peace
table. It was our duty to see
to it that every decision we
took part in contributed, so far
as we were able to influence it
to quiet the fears, and realize
the hopes of the peoples who
had been living in that shad-
ow, the nations that had come
by our assistance to their free
dom. It was our duty to do
everything that it was within
our power to do to make the
triumphs of freedom and of
right a lasting triumph in the
assurance of which men might
everywhere live without fear.
Old Entangfements in Way.
Old entanglements of every
kind stood in the way,-prom-
ises which governments had
made to one another in the
days when might and right
were confused and the power
of the victor was without re-
straint. Engagements which
contemplated any dispositions
of territory, any extensions of
sovereignty that might seem to
be to the interest OF those who
had the power to insist upon
them had been entered into
without thought of what the
Dao1Ia coucarnad MIGHT uieb