The Washington times., 1919-02-25

most stuck-up man in the world. And
il has been an infinite pleasure to me
to see those gallant soldiers OF ours,
Of whom the Constitution OF the
United States made me the proud
commander You may be proud of
the Twenty-sixth division, but COM
manded the Twenty-sixth division
daughter and applause), and see
what they did under my direction.
And everybody praises the American
soldier with the feeling that in prais-
ing him he is subtracting from the
credit OF no one else.
"T have been searching for the
fundamental fact that converted
Europe to believe in us. Before this
war, Europe did not believe in US as
she does now. She did not believe
in US throughout the first three
years OF the war. She seems really
to have believed that we were hold
ing of because we thought we could
make more by staying out than by
coming in. And all OF sudden, iE
short eighteen months, the whole
verdict Is reversed.
There can be but one explanation
for it. They saw what we did
that without making a single claim
we put all our men and all our
means at the disposal Of those who
were lighting for their homes, in the
first instance. but for a cause, the
cause OF human right and justice,
and that we went in, not to sup
port their national claims, but to
support the great cause which they
held in common.
"And when they saw that America
not only held ideals. but acted ideals.
they were converted TO America and
became firm partisans OF those Ideals
81 met a group OF scholars when I
was in Paris. Some gentlemen from
one OF the Greek universities who
had come to see me, and in whose
presence, or rather in the presence
OF whose traditions Of learning, ] EcIt
very young, indeed. And ! told them
that I had had one OF the delight
fuI revenges that sometimes comes
to a man. All my life l had heard
men speak with a sort Of condescen-
sion OF idealists, and particularly of
those separated. enClOistered persons
whom they choose TO term academic
who were in the habit OF utterinS
ideals in the free atmosphere when
they clash with nobody in particular.
Nothing But Ideals
And I said have had this sweet
revenge. Speaking with perfect
frankness in the name OF the United
States, I have uttered as the objects
OF this great war, ideals, and moth
ing but ideals. and the war has been
won by that inspiration. Men were
fighting with tense muscle and low
cred head until they came to realize
those things feeling they were fight
ing for their lives and their cOun-
try, and when these accounts OF what
il was all about reached them from
America, they lifted their heads, they
raised their eyes TO heaven; then
they saw men in khaki coming across
the sea in the spirit of crusaders
and they found that these were
strange men. reckless Of danger not
only but reckless because they seem
ed to see something that made that
danger worth while.
Men have testified to me in Eu-
rope that our men were possessed
by something that they could only
call a religious fervOr. They were
not like any Of the other soldiers.
They had a vision; they had a dream
and they were fighting in tn" dream.
and fighting in the dream they turn
ed the whole tide Of battle and II
never came back
zone OF our American humorists
meeting the criticism that American
soldiers were not trained Ions
enough. said: Tt takes only half as
long TO train an American soldier as
any other, because you only have to
train him to go one way and he did
only go one way and he never came
back until he could do il when ne
pleased.
And now do you realize that this
confidence we have established
throughout the world imposes a bur
den upon Us--if you choose to call i'll
burden. 1t is one of those bur
dens which any nation ought to be
proud to carry. Amy man who re-
sists the present tides that run in
the world will find himself thrown
upon a shore so high and barren
that it will seem as il he had been
separated from his human kind for
ever.
81 invite him to test the sentiments
Of the nation. We set this nation
up to make men free, and we did
not coufne our conception and pur-
pose to America, and now we will
make men free. II we did not do
that, all the fame OF America would
be dissipated. She would then have