Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1919-01-02
TROOPS SACRIFICE
NOT MADE IN Vain
So President Wilson Tells Amer.
lean Infantrymen On Eve of
Going to England

" L Nv SdCI ilICtS lncy HdNc Hldue. Sld1u-
ing with barred head in a field near
Langres, over which Caesar had march
ed with his legions centuries ago, the
President told 10000 American infantry
men that, now they had done their part
to win the ideals for which America
entered the war, they could depend
upon him to see that they were pre-
served.
The President came up from Paris
TO spend Christmas day with the men
who have done such a great part in the
winning of the war. Historic old Chau-
mont, headquarters of the American
army, did Itself proud in it's reception.
In its homely way it rivalled Paris, and
in the depth of It's sincerity 1t fully
equalled it.
The Oldest inhabitant was out with
his age old silk hat: the prettiest little
girl was out in her native costume.
The streets were lined with American
and French troops and the sidewalks
were choked with Frenchmen cheering
themselves hoarse.
The moss grown roofs of the houses
were loaded with folks from the country
side who cared nothing for the raw. chill
wind that swept over the land or for the
occasional rain or the touch of snow.
CHAUMONT GOES WILD
Cold, gray cloud banks shut out the
sun and the ground was wet and sodden.
hut there was no dampness in the well
come. Chaumont simply went wild. The
American troops, muddy, cold and soaked.
but happy, seemed just as enthusiastic
as the county people.
The Presidents train arrived at nine
O'Clock In the morning and the party
went at once to the CITY Hall, where there
was n formal reception, some speeches
and the presentation of flowers. Less
than a 10th of those invited could crowd
into the small room, which already had
in place a tablet concentrating the
Presidents visit. There were speeches,
all in French by the general commanding
the district, the mayor and the project.
PRESIDENT ALL SMILES
The President nodded appreciatiyely
and smiled from time to time. Just as
he began to make his reply. the military
band in the square outside broke into
the strains of THE Battle Hymn of the
Republic" and the President spoke to
the dramatic accompaniment of the notes
of the famous old American fighting
hymn.
The preliminary ceremony was soon
over. and the President and his party
TOOK motor cars to Langres, where
selected troops from six divisions were
waiting to be reviewed. They were gath
cred in a field, which might be likened
geographically to tn battle field of Get
tysburg. 1t lies on a gentle slope be-
tween two elevations. with a range Of
hills on either side and a road running
along the top of one of them.
FLOWERS FOR MRS. WILSON
Just as the caravan came up on to
the crest overlooking the troops, a very
old French woman standing at the road
side waved frantically at the passing
cars to take in a boquet of flowers she
wanted to give Mrs. Wilson. The long
line of cars had swept on. showering the
d.smayed old woman with mud, when the
President caught the situation and, stop
ping the line. sent a colonel back through
the mud to get the old woman's flowers.
Having taken them, the car proceeded.
A temporary board walk had been built
over the quagmire OF the reviewing field
to the stand. and there the President took
his place, surrounded by General PERISH
ing, Mrs. Wilson, Rear Admiral Grayson,
General Liggctt, General Alexander and
General Hale, commanding the 26th regi-
ment.
A raw wind swept the place with a
vicious bite and while the band was
playing the members Of the presidential
party were glad to stamp time.
PERSHING PRESENTS vICTORS
General Persh.ng opened the ceremony
with a brief speech in which he pre-
sented the victorious army to the Presi-
dent
The President addressed the troops as
my fellow countrymen' and a silence.
which he characterized as the quiet of
peace, settled down over the spot as
every man Of the 10000 stood at atten-
ton and strained to catch the Presidents
words.
AS the President spoke he was unin-
terrupted except for the occasional neigh
ing of a handsome black horse ridden
by a general. For a moment as he spoke
the sun broke through a rift in the clouds
and lit up the scene. the massed troops
in their khaki looking like great waves
and hummocks of winter-killed grasses
in the fields: then, like long flashes of
dulled winter sunshine. Some persons
of the party remarked that they. indeed.
were the sunshine which had dispelled
the gray mist.
AN HISTORIC OCCASION
the Presldent spoke for about five min
utes, earnestly and as loudly as he could.
Probably half of the troops heard him.
They all seemed to recognize the his
toric significance of the occasion. There
stood before them an American President,
the first in history to review an Amer
lean army on foreign soil. There stood
a President for whom no like privilege
had been available since Lincoln stood
on the firing line with his troops north
of Washington. Certainly no other
President of modern times had reviewed
so large a body of fighting men fresh
from the battlefelds.
Langres is not a battlefield; it is not
a devastated section of France. AS a
matter of fact. It has not seen n battle
for more than 100 years. 1t is one of the
portions of this country saved from the
ravages OF the invading hordes by the
men who were review by the President
there to-day.
Thai this reviewing place does not
stand on the rim of the crater of n
volcano did not diminish the signif-
ance of the event, for every man talk
ing part in the review had seen action.
War crosses were plentiful; the men
had been through all and were veter-
ans in every sense of the word.
There was an unmistakable flash of
wholesome pride in the Presidents
eye n a catch in his throat as he
looked at them and remarked what a
privilege 1t would be to nave been one
OF them.
TROOPS ARE REVIEWED