Greenbrier independent. [volume] (Lewisburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1980, 1919-06-13
Altogether we ship

SnlpS mad 10 be altered 10 carry
the l ,145 locomotives that we sent,
there were problems in connection
with the shipping of flat cars ''ready
&c run; there was also a cross
channel fleet that had to be assem-
Lied, but these things were all done,
not slowly, but at top speed.
With what result? Before our aid
was deemed a possibility we were
relieving Franch and English divi-
Sions in quiet sectors; in May, 1913,
Il year after our declaration of war,
we fought side by side with vetcr-
ans at Cantigny; in June we met
the Germans hand to hand in Bel
leau Wood and proved ourselves
their masters; in July, with the
Germans almost at the gates of Par
is, we disdained the general retreat.
and won the battle of Chateau
Thierry, a victory that was the turn
ing point of the war.
In September we wiped out the
ST. Mihiel salient, held by the Ger
mans against everyIattack for four
long years; in October we dealt
the PrusSianS that succession of ter
| rible hammer blows-twenty-eig
American divisions in the firing
line-that drove them back up the
Mouse until we entered the out
skirts of Sedan and definitely cut
the Grman supply line. That was
the wars end!
And it is in the face Of these
glories and tremendous achieve
ments that we whine and nag and
meanly quarrel! We train and
transport and support sufficient men
in a year and a half TO meet the
picked shock battalions of the Ger
mans and whip them until their
courage turned TO water! And we
can't even take time to cheer, so
eager are we to take up that favorite
indoor American sport classically
called "belly-aching."
Who does not remember the ridi-
Guile and abuse heaped upon Jose
phus Daniels? No lie was spared
to brand him as utterly unfit, and
for all the world to hear and be-
lieve, it was declared that he had
demoraliZed the personnel and
turned the navy itself into Junk
pile. Yet when war came, it was
seen that our first line of defense
sailed the seas in invincibility. Our
destroyers proved themselves in
the war zone, our mine layers drop
ped the submarine barrage that
made the North Sea safe, our Off
GERS, with their courage, initiative
and inventive genius gave new force
to the fight against the U-boats. Our
navy guarded over two million men
on the way to France; our navy es-
corted tonnage to France with
loss of only O.009 per cent. and ton
mage out of France with loss of
0,O13 per cent. Just because it is
our navy, is it to be shamed?
There are other prides that may
not be overlooked, for instance, the
care given these men. When the
scandals and incompetencies; i, of
1898 are rmemberd, great salts
faction can be taken in the homes
ties and effencies of 1917. Billions
expended without a single revela-
ton of administrative dishonesty,
booming critics to search for in
cidental corruption that would be
pathetic were it not ignobIe. And
from first TO last not an "embalmed
beef' horror such as shamed the
Spanish-American war, not case
of "paper-soled Shoes. not a single
duplication of the "fever cams"
that brought unnecessary grief into
thousands of American homes in
1898.
The death rate per thousand dur
ing the war with Spain was 26. In
the war just ended, the death rate
per thousand was GA in the United
States, and Al in the American Ex-
peditionary Force, and it must be
remembered that even these pcrcen-
tages were made much larger by
the influenza epidemic that swept
the country. No soldiers of any ma
ton ever received such care.
Among the $4,000 officers of the
Medical Corps were the best men
specialists in every 'line-and not
even the sons of the rich in civil
life were given more painstaking
attention than that bestowed upon
the humblest private.
When the facts stand so clear,
must we wait for the judgment of
history to declare it a great task
greatly discharged? Are the ambi-
tons of politicians more to be re-
garded than the credit deserved by
American genius and courage? Is
an election in 1920 TO atrophy all
sense Of justice?
Consider sources. Not fighting
men. not even war correspondents
on the ground from first TO last,
stand revealed as "critics" but stay
at home politicians, writers who
stuck to their peace-time salaries
throughout, and haphazard visitors,
Il - II. 4