The Wheeling intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1903-1961, 1919-07-11
PRESIDENTS ADDRESS
fcuus4ansd from PaSo ons.)

fCunktnnsd from P1go cne)
: eauss our material interests were direct
Nv threatened or because any special
treaty. obligations to which we were
] parties had been violated but only pc
, cause we saw the supremacy. and even
! the validity OF right everywhere put IN
! Jeopardy and free government likely 10
ba everywhere imperiled BY the lntoler-
able aggression Of power which re-
spected neither right nor Obligation ana
whose very system OF government rlout-
! ed the rights Of the citizen as against
the autocratic authority or ms COVER
nors. And In the settlements OF inc
peace We have sought no special repara-
ton for ourselves but only the restora-
tton Of right and assurance OF liberty
evervvhere that the effects Of tho set
Element werc 10 be felt. We entered the
war a. the dislntereSted champions or
rirht and we interested ourselves In the
terms OF the peace in no othr capacity.
The hopes OF tho nations allied against
the central powers were at very 10"
ebb when our soldiers began TO pour
across the sea There was everywhere
amongst them. except in their stoueeSt
spirits, q sombre foreboding OF disaster.
Tho u;ar ended in November, eight
months ago. but you have only to recaii
What was feared in midsummer last
four short months before the armisticc'
what II was that our timely aid accom-
plished alike for their morale and 1heii
physical safety. Thai first never 10 pe
forTotten action at Chateau Thierry hao
already taken place. Our reooup'ao'o
soldiers and marines had already closed
the zap tho enemy had succeeded In
opening for their advance upon rams
had already turned the tide or pat1le
back towards the frontiers or france
and begun the rout that was TO save
Europe and the world. Thereafter the
Germans were to be always forced oack'
hack. where never 10 push FORWARD
or.4n- And vet there was no confident
none Anxious men and women. leao'ng
npir,ta Of France attended the celeora-
ton Of the Fourth OF July last year ou'
NJ generous copftesy-with no heart loF
fastivity, little zest for hope.
But-they came away with sometnins
revy in their hearts. They have then-
selves told Us 50. The mere Hsn1 VI
our rnen-oP their vigor, OF the conn
dence that showed itself in every move
rnent Of their stalwart figures and every
turn or their swinging march, In 'hell'
steady comprehending eyes and easy oiS
cipline, In the indomitaoie air tna1 ~
ed spirit to everything they dio-nlaoe
everyone who saw them that Heii'otaO
5sv -eaI1ze that something had happen
"a that was much more than nero
incident in the lighting. something very
dIf1erent from the mere arrival OF fresn
4roons- A great moral force had Huns
IA~alS into the stugHle. The nne pnSsl-
cal force Of those spirited men spoke o.
sonething more than bodily Hisor'
They carried the great ideals or At1e
neople at their hearts and with tnaI 'is-
ion were unconquerable. Their very
nresence brought reinsurance; tne4'
drhtinE made victory certain.
They were recognized as CRUSADERS
and az their thousands swelfsd TO MIL
lions, their strength was seen 10 mean
salvation. And they were MT men 20
=, carry such hope and mako gooo inc
assurance Il forecast. Finer men never
went into battle. and their ofncers were
rvortbv Of them. This is not the occa-
sion upon which TO utter an euiosS ot
the American army sent to France out
nerhaps as I am speaking Of their mis-
sion I nay speak also Of the PRIDE
sbared with every American who saw or
!. 5ealt with the enemy there. They were
the sort Of men American would wish 10
, he rapresented by. the sort Of men every
American would wish to call fellow men
l.,
and comrades. They were terrloie III
: hattie and helpful out Of it. remember
=. ing the mothers, the wives and the little
. children at home. They were free men
. un1cr arms. not forgetting their ideals
e. NJ duty in the midst of violence. i am
nrou,I 10 have had the privilege OF beinG
sssociatcd with them and OF calling my
e. self their leader.
PM sneak now Of what they meant
tn the men by whose sides they toughe
:, and 10 the people with whom they min
- rled With such utter simplicity as
,. friends who asked only to be or service
> They were for all the visible emoodt-
= ,oemt of America. What they all made
's .nocrica and all that she stood for a
b" living reality in the thought not only
y or the people Of France, but also or tens
of millions Of men and women through
ont eli the tolllng nations or worlo
standing everywhere in peril OF its Tree
, dom and Of the loss of everything II
held dear. in deadly fear that its bonds
were never to be located, its hopes lot
- ever TO be Knocked and disappointed.
And the compulsion OF what they stoo
for was upon US who represented Amer
lea at the peace table. 1t was our ouIJ
+o see to II that every decision we took
mart In contributed. so far as we were
able to influence IT. to quiet the fears
and realize the hopes Of the peoples VINO
had been living in that shadow the ma
tIons that had come, by our assistance
To their freedom. 1t was our duty TO d.
everything that 1t was within our power
to do to make the triumph OF freedom
and Of right lasting triumph in the
assurance Of which men might every
where live without fear.
Old ertanglements OF every KIND $1,000
IN the way-promises which govern
y ments had made to one another in the
\. days'when might and right were confus
"a and the power Of the victor was with
ant restraint. engagements which con