The Elk Mountain pilot., 1919-06-26

.
chief of the American armies; and how when
Washington did arrive. Lafayette Of the
very first to lead storming party: how Admiral
de Grasses fleet did all and more than could be
expected of 1t. until Lord CORVALLIS and his
army had surrendered and been disarmed. are
facts that every good American knows
In this final struggle the whole force Of the
colonies consisted of 1000 men of washlngton's
army, 5000 under Rochambeau and 5000 Of De
Grasses French marines and sailors
Would it have been possible for us to win with.
out the aid of France1 Washington and Frank.
lin believed not. Fifty years afterward when
the question asked of Charles Carroll Of
Carrollton then the only man alive who had
signed the Declaration Of Independence that
venerable Christian and statesman replied:
at was Gods WILL"
1t Will always be a much-vexed question how
much financial aid France rendered America. II
seems impossible to straighten out the account.
Professor Marion of the College Of France has
expressed the opinion that the total expenditures
were fully 2,O0O.OOO.OOO livres. Much information
will be found In his "HistOire Financfere de Ia
France depuis 1715." Fiske in his Critical
Period" puts the expenditure of France at 1.4OO,'
100000 francs. Trevelyan states the following
in a note to his american RevOlution:" ut was
calculated that between the years 177S and 17S3
the war with England cost the French treasury
f4S,OOO,OOO. 1t the main cause of those hnan'
clal difficulties which led Immediately up to the
Revolution of 1885," This would be equivalent
to 200 900 900 Mvres (francs). or $24OOOOOOO. at
a time when the purchasing power Of money was
nearly three times what It Is In our day
When victory ours Lafayette went home
to France He came back for short time In
1884. Then came the French revolution. Lafay-
cite from first to last consistently advocated
limited constitutional monarchy for France. His
experiences were many. including five years In
an Austrian prison. from which he was released
by Napoleon In 1877.
In 1924. when Lafayette was sixty-seven, he wal
invited by President Monroe to visit the United
States. He came as the guest of the nation In
pursuance Of an unanimous resolution passed by
congress. The occasion the dedication Of
Bunker Hill monument. He made . triumphhl
tour Of the twenty-fOur states of the Unioii
Every possible honor shOwered upon him
Probably the most moving event in she whole tour
was his visit to the tomb Of Washington. The
climax was the ceremony at Bunker Hill.
Lafayette lived ten years longer. When Pres
ident Andrew Jackson heard the news Of his death
in 1894 he ordered on behalf of the whole Ameri
can people "that the same honors be rendered
upon this occasion at the different military ano
naval stations as were observed upon the deceast
of Washington. the Father Of HIS Country ano
his contemporary in arms
Lafayette has been dead IS years His clay Is
dust But his soul still lives. 1t has breathet
courage into the breasts Of war-worn French sol
diers 1t has wept over the deported. enslavet
and outraged women of his native land-over the
slaughter of the innocents. And who may doubt
that his soul called across the ocean:
"Help us, America! Help us as helped you"
At first we did not hear, or If hearing. did moi
answer. But at last we heard and Needed ant
went The fighting men of France, staggering
with wounds dizzy with fatigue. and the womer
of France, white with horror over an impending
fate worse than death. saw the Star-Spangiet
Banner afar and cried In thankfulness:
1.-THE Americans are coming!
We arr1ved-young. husky smiling, larkinl
fighting men. The French loved us for our look,
and our ways But could we fsht7 Then camt
June and ChateauThierry. when we stopped thu
flower OF the German shock troops in their tracks
attacked in turn. put the Hun on the run ant
kept him running! No wonder all france wen
delirious with joy.
That was what we promised through 'Blaci
Jack" Persh!ng. when he sauted at the tomb ir
the little cemetery of Picpus in Paris and said:
Lafayette. we are here
And we made the promise good. He and his
Young husky, smiling, larking. fighting men strucl
the finishing blow which guaranteed that French
men may pursue their honest toll in peace ant
that French women. with babe at breast ma,
sleep at night without fear Of the Beast.
Such was Lafayette great soul, gallant
soul the living embodiment of the noblest idea
for which men can generously live and gloriously
die.
1.-The liberty we hold secure.
The soil which tread,
That air Of freedom that we breathe,
The flag that floats o'erhead;
That nation whose history
The sun shall never set
All that we have and hold we owe