The Ward County independent. [volume] (Minot, Ward County, N.D.) 1902-1965, 1919-11-13
CONDITIONS AS viewed
BY RETURNED SOLDIER
VIM. C. Davis Reads Strong Paper at
the Minot Rotary Monday, Giving
Some Minor Pointers That
Should Not be Overlooked.

The Minot Rotary club held an in
teresting session Monday. The three
new members, Arthur G. Crane, Fay
N. Fuller and Cap Aaker took the Ro.
tary Vow. Francis Murphy delivered
a rousing address on Roosevelt and
each member who had known the,
great American stood and in few
words recited some interesting Incl
dents in connection with that acquain-
tanceship. 1
A paper was read by Glenn Colcord,
who was in charge of the meeting,
touching on after war relations be-
tween employer and employe. Will
liam C. Davis, the Independents con-
tribution to the great war, read a very
paper, giving the view
point of the returning soldier. 1t Isl
of such Importance that we publish
the paper in full:
Mr.. Chairman and Members of the
Rotary Club:
The way to go into thing is to go
into it, whether that thing is an ocean
or an article. If one is going to take
plunge into the sea there IS no sense
in standing on the shore and trailing a
toe in the cold water. Jump IN and
get it over with. Likewise in an ar
ticle such as this is planned to be
there is no virtue in beginning mildly
and working up to what is in mind.
Consequently l shall begin these few
field notes on the workings Of recon-
struction from a soldiers standpoint
as | have seen them from my own OBJ
servations and without gloves on.
First, want to deal with q subject
that directly does not come in the line
of reconstruction, but indirectly it
does, and that is on the ''Unpopularity
of the Americans in Europe This
may sound to you as somewhat
startling assertion, but facts cannot
be ignored. There are, indeed, certain
truths, which, like mushrooms grow
best in the dark, but there surely can
be no harm in discussing publicly
what every returned soldier privately
knows. Aside from the fact that the
entrance of America into the war was
the turning point to victory and that
our army of young men put new hope
into the Allies hearts they could never
be convinced that we were fighting
anybody's fight but our own. From
their viewpoint the A. E. F. was in
France to fight for the human liberty
OF the United States and were not
paying their debt to Lafayette, as many
newspaper reports would have led
you to believe. During the days after
the armistice the soldiers found time
hanging pretty heavy and at times
may have been a little rough, but
merely for the want of excitement
d. o1,,> n.
sitive, and our wild west sprawls IN
cafes and on the boulevards made him
regard US as barbarians, though We
acted no differently than we would II
Jour own country. Our popularity ex,
/ tended no further than with the mad
i amoiselles and with them only as LONG
as our chocolate, cigarettes and pruneS
/. held out. The Frenchman could MOI
I get accustomed to our ways, and wna1
lis true Of the Frenchman is true o.
the European as whole, This on {
.smalI plan brings out the fact tha'
European psychology and American
psychology are wholly different. 4
matter which our leaders and busines!
men must learn if they expect to dea
successfully with continental Europe
/ The second factor is the failure o:
4 American principles to make headwa!
lin the Peace conference. We. all un
derstand the peace terms handed t.
/ Germany and her allies were to b.
| based on Wilson's fourteen points
| Their ideals were hard to be realized
lat first by the masses of Europe, they
Iclashed so sharply with their expert
ences of humanity and government
/; But slowly, very slowly, they came tt
! believe in them, because they wer.
desperate and wanted to- believe. /
1 was as though new era were dawn
ing and they accepted Wilson as tn,
spokesman Of great nation from be
ynnd the sea, preaching the universe
|brutherhood of man. It may tax,
fifty years to get the truth Of wha
, happened at Paris, but one thing i!
certain, in the scramble for spoils, il
the dickering and log-rolling and CON-
promise of the conference American
/ iideals-covered in the fourteen point:
were shot to shreds. And why
/ Because our President did not stanc
1 by his guns. Had our President made
! good his threat to take ship for home
and laid all the facts Of the dickerings
! and negotiations before the world
/ there would have rallied to his sup.
port such hosts in every land that the
reactionary classes would have receiv.
ed the jolt Of their lives. Whatever
! the President did or did not do, Europe
decided the American principles haG
| failed, and returned to the viewpoin,
Of life in which they had been reared
distrust and suspicious.
European politics has refused to ac-
icept our ideals, therefore, I say that
the sooner we get out Of Europe and
stay out the better off we will be. II
we are to furnish men and money to
!, police the countries that the peace
conference is trying to wish of onto
/, us it is going to be = big drain on ouI
man power and finances, neither Of
which We can spare at the present
Just how long / haven't the least no
tion, one guess Is as good % another
but it is going 70 be . long time. A
longer time than Il ID going 70 take
the European nations 70 recuperate
/, from this war and again put them.
selves = : position tc compete for Il,
gxy