The Wheeling intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1903-1961, 1919-01-13
By RAYMOND G. cARRo1L

In the towns and townlc;s back Of
thc old front. hind IN" trench system
thai held for four years. thrr" is traE-
"dy wiIhtl III" Elndn"SS nf tn" great
victory. President Wilson's projected
visit To III" places Of American Valor
thrusts them INTO v."w again. ''He will
not ind them AS "" left them said
III" colonel "f a FIrSi Division artillery
regiment on lcas" TO Paris.
swollen way out Of their normal size
by III" presence ~ hundreds. yes. thou
sands. "f soldiers billct"d upon them.
they attained, II momcntary l"rnl fame
that rival"d London or Paris. Now.
they are empty uc their gucSts--Dcm-
basic. Sommcrvillrr. Eiuvillc. Bau@-
mont. names which carry the memory
back to tn" first training period with
thc French in October 1917: RrYnun"x.
A+lsauvlle. l.u"ry. Mcnl-la-Tnur--nut
If which nu7 army first walked alone in
january. 1918. and Honvill"rs. Ehcp"iS,
Brcteuil Tnriigny. F'rulSSy. from which
we went To takS our first real savage
bite nr the enemy NJ Cantigny four
months later. And further TO the rear
Of these groups. respectively. We have
the largo cities Of Nancy. Toul and
Rcauvais highly favored with reminis-
cenceS OF tn" Yanks.
As our army rrods Rhneward sinking
caissons and boots into pastures new.
srectcd by strange faces the American
khaki-clads often think Of those old
towns and tnwnlcis--and the girls there
they used II know; III" pretty, tantaliz-
ing mad"moisrlles from whom the first
French lessons were taken. Suggests
the pleasantly Of serious searches made
for these wartinn" girls. say. ten.
twenty ar thirty years hence ] have
in mind black-ryed sara. who pulled
Tho last railroad gate of the Neufrha-
t"au road and $"uwl"d saraE rly until
she had been rewarded with thanks
C"m"rriD: JacQuelin-. The little blohde.
vino sold post cards and pipes in the
shcll-riddlcd shop a; Bret"ui!. and
strawberry hecked Juli>ttc. the wing
footed waitress in the big hotel nj
BrauraiS Also numerous others. our
boys no longer daily in the warm pres
cnce Of their charms.
Goncl ike the ghosts Of other days.
tho army has lrf, these girls behind.
likewise the towns and to~nlcts.
fancy they are living In the quiet. hum
drum way Of tho days before the war.
Only the graves Of the American dead
there 10 remind ;hcm OF our short. STAG
cato stay.
King George camr and went We
have had street virws OF King Albert
Of R"lgium Both drew larE" crowds.
for with tho rapidly diminishing circl"
Of kings Their" is larg" interest in tn"
followers. Looking at Albert. ono
American in tn" crowd v"nturcd: II
bet You he could be elected mayor OF
Grand Rapids"
On.-star, two-star and thrce-star gen.
erals riding around. in glass cases arc
visible abnv" the heads OF the crowds
Bands arr playing. Countless lines OF
bobbIng steel picknts. bayonets carried
BY marching soldiers. and miles and
miles of restored electric illumination:
Paris Is again the center Of the world.
1t Is always possible 10 remove the
stains Of war. Only the scars remain.
Motorrd 10 Versailles. the smart little
town Of , regular. streets spacious
squares and many fine buildings eleven
miles from Paris. mushroomcd since the
days Of the French republic around the
magnificent palace gardens and "AQue'
due de Maintcnon' created upon n sandy
and arid plain BY Louis " in the six
t~enth century. IN the modern Tria1on
Palace Hotel near the Bassin de N"7-
tune viewed tho place whore the
Allies war council drew up the arnis-
ticc terms. Outside French soldiers
stood guard. They p"ered cautiously
through tho rain from little shelter
houses painted like barber poles and
salutcd passing officers with the snap
that the poIlu alone possesses.
Two years before the war I had
stopped in this very hotel. I well re-
member the presence there OF numeT-
our German tourists. They swarmcd
all over tho town. Subjects OF the
kaiser used TO specialize in visiting Yer
saillos. where the grandfather Of Will
liam the Wandcrcr" this new name) was
proclaimed German Emperor in 1871.
They liked TO come to the last seat or
imperialism IN France and speculate
uron how SOON before the next war
with France" would commence.
thought permanently lodged in the
German mind.
The upper portion az III" hotel is oc-
cupicd by the offices Of the four prin-
cipal powers. We share ono fonr with
the Italians and below us arc tho Offices
Of the British and tho French. In mod
est rooms equipped with desks ind f1l-
ing cases. located Colonel L. s. Grant.
30. and Lieutenant Colonel Wallace.
They act as aides To General Bliss.
whom also saw. Colonel Grant is tall
and slender. while Lieutenant Colonel
Wallace is tall and moro heavily pro-
nortioncd Goth have tho charm Of
army diplomats and are we'll rrrscd in
International customs. An elevator that
once carried handsomely Enwned women
dropped us 10 tn" ground hoor Tor an
Inspection of tho promises. British.
French and italian officers wcr" in evil
dcnce along III" corridors.
At the very center Of thr hotel is tho
chamber whore thr council did it's DELHI
Grating. Gnld-hrucad"l curtains drapc
windows that hutton down In IN" floor
and opt-l out upon an attractir" t"rrac"d
rordon. \ long table extends III" center
of the room and around its historic
edges sat during all tho nervous periods
of this summer Lloyd George. Colonel
House, Premier Clrmcnr"au and their
military associates and advisers. Small
tables wcrc ranged around the SIDES OF
;ln largo room for III" secretaries. tn"
nrringS OF the interior ar" or T"d. cr"at-
inr an atmosphere uf warmth. In the
rear Of tho ground floor IS buffet for
tho personnel Of th" council. open at oil
hours.
Now tina, the work nr 'hr war council
Is finished. | am assured that " Is per
uissihlr IN stat" som" IT Tho details ol
the procedure" which in mcasur" Will
he followed by III" p"ac" dnlihrratorS.
40 Sir.,Hc raphir record was made Of the
war councils discussions. All was writ
ton nut lahnrI"uSly in lnnghand att"r
iust what WAS Ia =" int" IN" record had
iccr ,rr..J uror This absence Of
shorthand was largely due ~ III" fact
rank ,,f i0rS the