Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1919-02-27
WILSON LAUNCHES
FIGHT ..El||Rj|'L|.EAG|uE| ! / / d
ThR oWs DOWN GAUNTLET TO
OPPONENTS AT BOSTON. @
ACCORDED RO0sING WELCOME
President Tells Audience Greatest
Thing He Has to Report is Aunited
States Is Trusted Through
Il out the Entire World"

,s.sts5 lsas ~
Boston, Mass, Feb. ,25 New Eng
land gave President Wilson a rousing
welcome When he reached here Mon
day nfter two months stay abroad.
This city probably never has seen u
greater crowd than gathered at every
point OF vantage along the route.
d In less than three hours after hs
set foot on home soil, the president
began to fight at home as he has
fought abroad for a league of nations.
He threw down the gauntlet to those
who distrust the proposed concert OF
governments, based, he said, on the
American ideals which had won the
war for Justice and humanity.
Before a responsive audience that
filed the biggest auditorium in the
city, the president spoke as follows:
Governor Coolidge. Mr.. Mayor,
fellow citizens: I wonder if YOU are
half as glad to see me as ! am to
see you? It warns my heart to see a
great body of my fellow citizens
again. In some respects during the
recent months I have been very
lonely, indeed, without your comrade-
ship and counsel. and tried at every
step Of the work, which fell. to ME to
recall what was sure would be your
counsel with regard to THE great mat-
ters which We're under consiaeration.
81 do. not want you to think that
i have not been appreciatiye of the
extraordinarily generous . reception
which was given to me on the other
side, In aging that IT makes me very
happy to get home again. | do not
mean to: say that i was not very deep
" touched, by the cries that came
from the great crowds on the other
side. But I want to say to you in
all honesty that l felt them to be a
call of greeting to you rather than ty
me. }' NJ va IS
81 did not feel that the greeting
was personal. had in my heart the
OvercrOwding pride of being your rep
.resentatiye and of receiving ~ the
plaudits Of men everywhere who felt
that your hearts beat with theirs in
the cause Of liberty gssSa. 8;t Il
II can't tell you the inspiration
that came from the sentiments that
come out of those simple voices of
the crowd. AMI the. proudest thing
j have TO report to you is that this
great country Of ours lis trusted
throughout the world.
81 have not come to report the pro.
sceedings sor the results Of the pro-
ceedings of, the peace conference !;
that would sbe premature can say
that have received Every happy Inn
pressions from, this conference; and
the realization of the necessity of the
setting up of new. standards OF right in
the world. .s
Because the men who are in con.
ference in Paris realize as keenly as
any American can realize that they
are not the masters of their people;
that they are the servants of their
people, and that the spirit of their
people has awakened to a new pur-
pose and new conception. of their
power. to realize that purpose, and
that no man dare go home from that
conference and report anything less
noble than was expected of it, &.
The Dnference seems to you to go
slowly from day to day in Paris. Tt
seems to so slowly but Il wonder if
Won realize the complexity or the task
which it has undertaken? 1t seems
rs If the settlements Of this war, af
feet, and affect directly, every great
and / sometimes think every small,
nation in the world, and no one de
cision can prudently be made. which
is not properly linked in with the great
series Of other decisions which must
accompany it. And it must be reckon
ed in with the final result if the real
quality and character of that result
is to be properly judged. .st
what we are doing is to hear the
whole case; hear it from the mouths
of the men most interested: hear it
from those who are officially com.
missjOned TO state 1T; hear the rival
claims; hear the claims that affect
new nationalfties, that affect new
areas Of the world; that affect new
commercial and economic connec-
tfons that have been, established by
the great world war through which
we have gone. And 81 have been
struck By the noderatenessy Of those
who 4 have represented .national
.clsims. l. can testify that II have
nowhere seen the gleatn of passion.
I have seen earnestness, i haye seer
tears come to the eyes Of men who
plead for down-tro lden people whom
they were privileged to speak for;
but they were not the tears of am
glishs they were the tears of ardent
hope. 3s al
And don't see how any man can
TAIL to have been subdued by these