Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1919-02-27
AMERICA IS HOPE
Of WORLD, SAYS
The president
WILSON DEFENDS LEAGUE or
NATIONS III BOSTON SPEECH
AND CHALLENGES CRITICS.
MUST GAIN LASTING PEACE
Declares This Country Would Shirt
Full Duty by Stepping Aside arc
Leaving Small Nations 10 Wort
Out Their Own Destin:es.

Out Their Own Destin.es.
Boston, Feb. 25.-Presidcnt Wilson
delivered his first speech at Mechan
les hail in this city upon his retuii
TO the United States from France
He spoke as follows:
4 wander if you are half as gIa6
to see me as l am to see you? l,
warns my heart to see a great body
OF my fellow citizens again, because il
some respects during the raceu.
months | have been very lonely il
deed without your c0mradeship an
counsel and l tried at every step 0.
the work which fell to me to recall
what [ was sure would be your coun-
sci with regard to the great matter
Which were under consideration.
Il do not want you to think that
have not been appTeciative Of the ez
traordinary generous reception Whicl
was given TO me Oh the ether s.ie
in saying that it makes me yel, hag
py TO get home again | do not mean
to say that / was not very doepll
touched by the cries thai came frol
the great crowds on the other side
But | want to say to you in all hon
esty that | felt them 10 be call
greeting TO you, rather than to me
Plaudts for u. S.
Il did not feel that the greeting we.
personal | had in my heart The over
crowning pride OF being your repre-
sentative, and of receiving the plaul
Its Of men everywhere who felt tia
your hearts beat with theirs in thl
cause of liberty. There was no mis-
taking the tone in the voices o. those
great crowds. ii was not a tone G.
mere greeting, it was not a tone 0
mere generous welcome; it was thl
calling Of comrade to comrade, tiil
cry that comes from men who say
We have waited for this day when the
friends of liberty should come across
the sea and shake hands with US Il
see that a new world was CONSTRUCTED
upon new basis and foundation 0l
justice and right | can't tell you the
inspiration that came from the sentf
ments that came out Of those simple
voices in the crowd And the PROUD
est thing | have to report to you is
that this great country Of ours is
trusted throughout the world.
Right Now Rules.
Il have not come to report the pro
ccedings or the results Of the pro
ceeding Of the peace conference; thai
would be premature. / can say that
have received very happy impression
from this conference; the impTes5i0l
that while there are many difference
of judgment, While there are some di.
VCrgencies OF object, there is never
theIess a common spirit and a com
mon Yraiization Of the necessity OF
setting up new standards OF right III
the world Because the men who art
in conference realize as keenly az
any American can realize that they
are not the masters of their people,
that they are the servants OF thcn
people and that the spirit OF their pee
pie has awakened to a new purpose
and a new conception of their poweI
TO realize that purpose and that no
man dare so home from that confer
ence and report anything less noble
than was expected of it. .
The conference seems to you 10 go
slowly; from DAY to day in Paris il
seems to so slowly; but l wonder i
you realize the CompieXity of the
task which ii has undertaken. Il
seems if the settlements of this war
affect, and affect directly every great,
and I sometimes think, every small
nation in the world and no one deci-
sion can be made which is not prop
erly linked in with the great series
Of other decisions which must accom-
pany il, and it be reckoned on with
the final result if the real quality and
character of that result is to be prop,
erly judged,
Hear All Sides.
What we are doing is to hear the
whole ease: hear it from the mouths
OF the men most interested; hear it
from those who are officially commits
stoned to state it; hear the rival
claims: hear the claims that affect
new nationalities, that affect new
areas of the world, that affect new
commercial and economic cOnnec
tions that have been established by
the great world war through which
we have gone. And l have been
struck by the moderateness of those
who have represented national claims
= can testify that believe l have
nowhere seen the gieam Of passion.
have seen earnestness. l have seer
tears cCme 10 the eyes of men whC
plead fer downtrodden peoples whom
they were privileged to speak for,
but they we're not tears of anger, the!
we're tears OF ardent hope. | don
see how any man cun fail 10 have
been subdued by these pleas, subduet
to this feeling, that he was not ther'
TO assert an individual judgment c
lis own, but to try to assist the caust
Of hun aniJy.
"And in the midst OF it all every in