davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-09-28
he Blusl1ing King Hero Who Comes This Week
Once a Police Reporter in Brooklyn
While Travelling About
The World Inc0g

what fumbling, legitimate but irrep.
arabic! Above all, tho necessary
words, precise, unalterable, would not
have been said at the necessary
moment. Thanks to him, the heroic
line is as straight, neat and magnificent
as that of ThermopylD prolonged"
King Albert came to the Belgian
throne because of the deaths Of the
Count dc Hainaut, King Leopold's son,
at the age Of ten; and of Prince
Baldwin, his own brother, who was
mysteriously killed. His own father
was in line for the succession, but re-
nounced his claims. Prince Albert, son
Of the Count of Flanders, was the only
remaining male offspring of the Bel
gian Cohcrgs. The Count of Flanders
was the younger brother of King
Leopold.
The King. was delicate as boy. Like
his royal uncle. he was devoted to
bicycling, which he had been advised
to take up for his health's sake. Even
after he had entered the army he rode
his cycle, and his colonel once reported
that his devotion to the wheel was
affecting his craftsmanship.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-09-28

thirty-four years old, having been born
in 1878.
The accession was marked by splen-
did pageantry, in marked contrast to
that of the preceding day, which was Il
day OF mourning for the late King.
His address on that occasion was
tactful and forcefu, He paid a great
tribute to the statesmanly vision of his
late uncle in developing the resources
of the Congo and then came at once t.
tn" subject close to his heart, saying:
W { must continue our unshakablc at
tachmcnt 20 constitutional liberty and
the love OF independence and thus hold
sacred our patrimony while advancing,
toward the peaceful conquests in the
fields of labor and science. In the
Congo the nation wishes policy of
humanity and progress enforced. The
mission OF colonization cannot be other
than mission of high civilization.
"Thc throne has it's prerogatives
and its responsibilities. The sover-
cign must be the servant of the law
and the supporter of social peace
love my country and the Queen
shares with ne an unaltcrabie fidelity
to Belgium, which we are intoxicating
also in our children.
"Yonr welcome touches me deeply
and shall endeavor to deserve the
confidence shown IN me, and now. be
fore the country, | pledge myself to
do my duty scrupulously and to con-
secratc all my strength and nv whole
life to the service of the father
land
From the day Of his accession he de
voted himself to the cause of social
reforms and TO the elimination of the
Congo evils, which he regarded as Il
blot upon the national cscutcheon.
Under has leadership it was only "A
matter of a few years before the evils
were so reduced as no longer TO occupy
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-09-28


tlvity conceded with he birth Of II.
millennium
The royal family stood for the re-
tim OF peace The * Was az the
head Of the army wh'eh e4d won that
peace by IT'S sacrifice Two DIVISIONS Of
'he he. gan army oec. py 0r thing
axe hiteen miles 81 roads marched IN
the procession- acconI-a bat
'a'lons Of the French. Amer caa aal
British troops. with Az. efy This
procession Wa Tar dow ae sAent
road while the front "As pass * iown
the Rue kofale.
Il ne day was Ike mias mmer Many
a'fpi1nes turned q s-Hef i'as 'a re
sun % me. p'1Nea fantastic tf'. es aish
u 'he oine. ''.e's 'e' 'fot s'f.amers
." ,ne 'io"o Every Nihe'" ha.ceny
F'oi ana street kioss "as packed over
'Ne "h''e f'1'e. fe' on tas
o"'eoi'''s mao i''ot.iei themselves win
nun 'ro"s immature j. ~ ana cars SAT-
'neh'u"is 'i"t t-ry fA's'i c'a-
''hua.'s. thousands 'Na- '.t efea APP
p' "aeh the route "f me natafe all re
roads leading - 'ne "ie "7sae and
lhe Dou'eFa'd An.pae' "e'e -Ssd.
l ne c'0''a was 'npArse '' .e 'of;s
re '""ere nouns oe'efe 'ae kings
arrival. ! found three hf't.sa dtseaor'
enFe!opea By an ardent cre@a OF 'se
Inc OF march and aifaia 'e move ei'aes
Way h-sie"i nee0ie hifs' mo no
national song at any pfaa Ping or q,
none at All
a one Place 'o' yo@'k "onen' m
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-09-28
4 Contrast in Rulers

King Leopold had studiously avoided
ny direct intercourse with the work
ing classes. To them he was a man
apart, whose mandate was their law.
But the prince mingled with his people
Of all classes. He took an eager in
tcrest in social questions. He shared
with the toilcrs the hardships of their
occupations. In 1897, at Seraing, near
Lieac, he toiled in coal pit At an
other time he stocked the furnaces Of a
steel foundry. He said: I'VE must meet
every opportunity that offers itself to
come III real contact with the working
population Of the country"
IN public address he said The
wellbeing OF the laborcr is only pos
sible if industry is nourishing" He
attended the sessions of the Senate and
took Il keen interest in all discussions
of labor problems. He constantly as
serted this doctrine: "Belgian's trade
must expand. To expand properly oar
manufacturing and business men must
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-09-28

tho fall, when it raincd necessarily,
many OF these trails We're prac-
tically impossible. Horses and feed
were scarce, and the Russian con-
voyances very primitive. The small
Siberian ponies often dropped dead
On the road from sheer starvation.
Supplies had to be transported over
land for distances up to 400 miles.
1t was hard, trying task to keep
supplied the troops scattered over
that vast territory, and much of the
suffering was caused by the inabil-
lty to get proper transport to move
supplies quickly.
! don't know what the "'Y" did in
France, but their work in Russia de-
serves tie highest praise. The "Y''
labor ed under the same difficulties
that the troops had to contend with.
Its representatives followed the
troops everywhere, even to the re-
hottest outpost and dugout, bring
ing cheer and comfort to the men.
The Y. W. c. A. conducted host
ess house in Archangel, and the
women took turns assisting the Y.
NJ. c. A. on some of the fronts.
The Red Cross did excellent worl.
among the civilian population
throughout the occupied territory.
They also furnished many comforts
to the men, and made frequent is
sues of food whenever it was pos
sible.
The Bolsheviki had better fighting
equipment than the Allies, and more
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-09-28
fneritobie Whys

Before the armistice there was at
least some Notwithstanding to
hight for. After the arnistice the
men often asked why they were
lighting. They felt like they had been
forgotten in their own country.
Everything they received was from
another country. Their own country
didn't seem to even know just where
they were. If the reports got
through, then why didn't the United
States do something" they asked.
Why didn't they send reinforce
ments? Why didn't they come out and
tell the boys what was keeping them
in Russia" These were some of the
questions they were continually ask
ing. They were killing and being
killed, and they knew not WHY; and
at the same time the very govern
ment they were fighting was main
tanning offices in the metropolis of
America.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-09-28
Reds Well Equipped

Eighty per cent of the ammuni-
ton they .h1ew at US bore the ~.
S" mark. They even had Browning
machine guns; at least they left
behind, after one fight, some Brown
ing gun barrels.
If there is an impression that the
Russian is not a fighter, let me cor
rect it at once When men march in
lines in the face of machine guns
counting their steps as they advance,
and when they keep coming after
line upon line has been wiped out
they have courage. The Bolshevilli,
Tor the most part, fought hard and
exceedingly well. At other times
they fought only passively. Prisoners
told of the starvation, disease and
turmoil in interior Russia; that they
We're forced 20 fight; that they we're
torclbly taken from their families
and pushed into the army; that their
wives and children could get food
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-09-28
~
Facts

a LBERT LEOPOLD CLEMENT MARIA MELNRAD,
"A King of the Belgians. First European sovereign to
Uis;t the United States while regning.
Born in Brussels April 8, 1875. He is forty-four
years DID, Father, Philip, Count of Flanders. Mother,
Princess Mary of Hohenzollern. His 1uife is Queen
Elizabeth Princess of Bavaria, Union, he married in
Munich in 1900.
Three children: The Crovn Prince Leopold Philip,
Duke of Brabant, t0ho born in Brussels Noven
Der 3, 1901 Prince Carl Theodore Count of Flanders
born in Brussels October 10, 1903 and Princess
Marie, born in Ostend August 4, 1906
Only monarch to lead his troops into battle at the
outset of the
While still Crown Prince, Albert worked in the
mines, droue railway engines and performed other
manual labor that brought hin, contact Nth the
iaboring classes.
Toured the Worid ;ncognifo ascertain facts about
merchant marine and broaden his experience gen.
orally.
Is enthusiastic cv;aor, and has been under fire
IN both plane and balloon.
In 1918 General Persh;ng luas decorated Nth the
Belgian Order, Che Grand Cross Of Order Of Leo
pold, by King Albert.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-09-28
The Cardinal and the King

The activities Of Cardinal MERCER
in heartening the people of Belgium
were one of the greatest sources of
comfort to the King. He felt that
Cardinal MERCER had assumed one OF
the greatest possible burdens and re-
lieved him accordingly. Frequently
he sent messages, by circuitous but
always successful routes. to the Cardi-
nal expressing his great gratitude.
Then the cabal was organized against
the Cardinal following his arrest, and
presentations were made to the Pope
that the great churchman was iniuring
the cause more than he was helping it..
The King took matters into his own
hands and addressed personal mes
sage to the Vatican, as follows:
THE heart of Your Holiness
must have been deeply affected by
the arrest of a high digntary of
the Church, member Of the Sacred
College, who, though paying re
speet to the situation de facto of
the occupicr of the country, could
not remain silent in the presence
of The merciless wrongs committed
toward his parishioners and the
Ill treatment inflicted on so many
priests in my country.
Il express to the venerable head
Of the Roman Church my great
admiration for the conduct Of
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-09-28
Nerer Despair

He suffered as no king has suffered
But never was there word Of DESPAIR
He protested bitterly sometimes
against the outrages OF the Germans.
whom he called barDarisns, and went
among his troops, as news Of iresn
atrocities came, telling them that they
must be prepared for even greater
sacrifices.
But even as he had suffered, he came
to know the glory of triumph, for, on,v
eleven days after the signing of the
armistice, he reantered Brussels, this
tine no longer as the leader Of an
apparently lost cause, but as a king
restored TO his kingdom with the great
ness of his people reflected in his own
person. All the sutferings. all the
wrongs of those preceding years. were
forgotten in the dclirium Of delight
of the moment of his reentry. He
went accompanied by the Queen, his
two sons, the Princes Leopold and
Charles, and the little Princess Marie
Jose.
The royal party entered brussels at
the Porte dc Flandre and proceeded at
once to the Place de la Nation. All the
way WAS lined by singing, shouting
crowds. Such an ovation had never
been known even ii Brussels. Flowers
were strewn IN the streets and troops
OF all the Allied armies acted as
escorts.
"'Ihe London Daily Malls CORE
spondent, describing the scenes, said: Il
Rave seen many great ceremonies at
many places. 1t is easy to be superla
tive, but have neYer seen so vast and
various crowd so carried away by a
tumnit OF fervor. Put a modern artil-
itly narrage into terms of delight and
You have some Indifferent measure Of
the concentrated ecstasy of people
who felt that their release from cap
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-09-28
4 ribnfe

The BurgomaSter, like the King ano
Cardinal MERCER, was one o. me great
outstanding figures Of the war There
fore his words had an added sniA~
cance. This was his tribute to the
King:
The capital. by its enthusiastic re-
ception, witnesses IS admiring graft
tude to the sovereign who returns to it
covered with glory Of the purest
quality; to the Queen, who lived
throughout the war among our soldiers.
isvishing upon them treasures Of kind
ness and devotion without lint. to the
princes, who symbolic in our eyes the
future OF the country. and to The heroic
victorious troops, who chased the
enemy from our country and thanks 10
whom Belgium regains her place among
the free and independent nations
Long live the KING and Queen and
royal family and the Belgian armies.
Long live the Alhes!"
But the tribute that touched the
King as deeply as any was from the
people of the United States. as ex-
pressed by President Wilson. This was
in the form Of a cablegram that reached
him at the end of his triumphal journey.
ii follows
AT the moment that you reenter
Brussels at the head of your vicrori-
Gus army, may | not express the
great JOY that IT gives to nc and to
the American people TO hal your re-
turn to your capital, .arking your
final triumph III this way, which has
cost your nation so much suffering.
hut from which II win arse in new
strenyth o a higher destiny?
WOODROW WILSON"
Soon after hi- return 20 the capital
the King announced that he would de-
vote his attention to soc'a' reforms and
to the rehabilitation Of Be gian industry
and then would make VISIT 20 America
t. extend the thanks Of his people to
TIE nation that came to their aid when
they were in dire need. He had taken
au tdSc " every pY9Siote opPot u
nifty TO thanh America in the course Of
statements to the representatives OF
Anne rican newspapers. but he said the
only way in which he could express MS
peoples gratitude tttngly would be By
visiting America and telling the people
Of this country at first hand OF the
gratitude of the Belgians.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-09-28


IA who did not want to be king,
and did not expect to be,
whose kingly honors were
forced upon him by two deaths, and
whose reign has made little people
great-this is Albert, ruler of the Bel
gians. Iris week he and his Queen,
Elizabeth, formerly Bavarian Prin-
cess are to visit this country as guests
of tho nation. The King and Queen
are coming to America to tell the
people of this land of the gratitude of
their own people for the succor that
was extended to them in the early days
OF the war and for the military sup
port that brought the conflict to close
and restored them to their capital.
Tall. of soldierly bearing, but visit
ful-eyed, he is strikingly handsome
man. In times of stress he seems even
more than ordinarily erect. The visit
fitness vanishes and his eyes fash He
becomes commanding figure 4 ira
dition has grown about him that when
the invasion of the little kingdom be-
came certainty he caused the picked
troops of Belgium to be paraded and
made speech consisting of just two
sentences, as follows:
Fellow soldiers, when that great
military commander, julius Caesar,
wrote his Commentaries on the Gallo
wars he said, 'Horum omnium FORTS
SINH stunt Beige which, translated,
means, OF all these the bravest arc the
Belgians. Live UP to your traditions"
The King Of the Belgians has been
one of the most compelling figures of
modern times. When the issue was
forced he decided instantly Some called
him foolhardy. The Germans made
that estimate Of him the subject Of
their most intensive propaganda among
the Belgian people. But the world
loves certain kinds Of fools. And the
courage, the decision, the idealism Of
the man made an appeal to the hearts
OF his people. No amount Of propa-
ganda could displace him from their
affections. True, there were some. even
IN Belgium, that sold their souls But
the example of Albert had increased
most mems valuations of themselves.
They had learned to reckon in spiritual
terms, and gold was but dross in com
parison.
Came then the tales Of the stubborn
resistance of Namur and of Liege And
the King? He was where he ought to
have been-with his men, heartening
them, fighting with them, sharing their
hardships; in truth a king among men
And the Queen? She, too, was doing
her duty. Sometimes she was with the
soldiers, sometimes with their families
She was heroic, splendid!
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-09-28
The Spirit Of Belgium.

The King saw the al ance Of the IN
,vader; saw his cities ruined, his indus
tries laid waste, his libraries ran
sacked, his banks looted, his people in
chains. But he was uncomfortable He
was the spirit incarnate Of Belgium.
His own beautiful city of Alost-it
has been called Il "fairy story in carved
stone'-was doomed. The King knew
1t. He knew wh,t would be the ire
mendously disheartcning effect Of its
capitulation. 'Ne knew, too, that his
was dual role. Not only must he
fight IN the front lines; but back home
AS their King he must tell the people
what was best; he must advise the
evacuation and prophesy the days OF
the return, though those days must
have seemed far Off to him then. There
were 32,00o residents Of the old city.
The King himself gave the order to
evacuate, and. under cover of the night.
me exodus began. In the morning there
was not an unarmcd civilian left and
tho hing and his brave forces were
ready to witness the wreck and ruin of
the old city-thcy knew well, by then.
just what the coming Of tho invader
meant
SO he went, from city to city, until
there was left TO him only that small
unoccupled corner. Antwerp and Brus-
sells were IN the hands of the enemy.
tic was king without country. Yet
his army, succored by his allies. fourht
bravely on and to the very end of the
war held tcnaciously to its portion If
the line.
By virtue OF his crown the King
Was the commander in-chief of the Bel
gian army. He had studied strategy.
He had been schooed in the art of war.
But opposing him was the great
genius Of the German military estab-
lishment, and associated with him was
the genius of the Allied forces.
His own generals were we'll versed
in the art of war. But they felt that
decisions must lie with the King. so,
one after another, in many instances,
they submitted plans that were widely
at variance. The King had TO make the
decisions between them.
His own military preparation had
been as thorough as circumstances |
you'd permit; but he had been study
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-09-28

only if the breadwinner served in
the Red army. The army got the
best OF everything, the non-comba-
tants scarcely anything. have
wished a thousand times that those
IN this country who have listened
to or read Bolshevik propaganda
could talk for few moments with
these starved Russians who have
been subjected to the Red terror"
The least that can be said of the
Americans in North Russia is,
They did their best For nine
months they were continually fight
ing. The 339th Infantry probably
saw more real action than the ma
jority Of outfits in France. But un-
der what different circumstances The
weather was abominable. In the
fai 1t ralned every day, and the ONLY
shelter the men had was what thew
could construct with their shelter
halves and boughs of pine trees.
They were always wet, i'll fed and
cold. The hikes through the woods
were generally through ankle-deep
tundra. Companies would be scat
tered over territory many miles in
area. Then there were the long win
ter nights. One does not know the
monotony and loneliness of these arc
tic nights until he has stood on sem
try duty day after day. staring into
'he darkness of the pine woods in
front of him. For days the men never
saw the sun, and it was light from
about 10 in the morning until 2 in the
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-09-28

Cardinal MERCER, who, like the
glorious prelate of the olden times,
has dared to oppose perjury with
truth and to proclaim the indis-
putablc right Of the cause Of JUS
tice. In the face of the universal
conscience, beg Your Holiness to
believe in my respectful feeling
and my fiial devotion.
"ALBFRT."
To the King of the Bclgians the worn
of the Commission for the Relief Of
Belgium under Herbert Hoover was Z
source of never-failing wonder Ils
marvelled at the generosity OF the
American people and their genius foi
organization.
He believed almost from the first
that America would ultimately be
forced into the war When the Amcii-
can troops finally took their places IN
the line, two divisions OF thcm in bis
own country, he looked upon 1t as the
Of his own dream.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-09-28

tend with for a long time was the
inability to get proper fighting
equipment. When VIC first hit the
front line all we had was the Rus
sian rife. Finally, we got hold Of
couple Of Lewis guns per COM
pany.
When 1t came to eating, the Yank
III North Russia struck snag. He
had been accustomed to the ample
American ration, and the British ra-
ton didn't appeal to him or satisfy
him even when he got it all, which
was very seldom during the first few
months. In September we never
got sufficient to eat. The men were
always hungry, and they could buy
nothing. We got bully beef, hard
tack and tea in small quantities
three times a day. a company
would get perhaps quarter of beef
c"ce week, and maybe enough
jam and bread for one meal a dav.
but it was impossible to get enough
to feed the men what they needed
to combat the severe climatic condi-
tions and continued exposures.
They complained pitifully of con-
slant hunger.
After October / the ration got
better. We received some rice and
oatmeal, peas or beans, canned milk,
and occasionally coffee. We also
got lard and oleomargarine, and
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-09-28

afternoon. The thermometer dropped
to so and 60 degrees below zero
There were no reinforcements and
not sufficient men to properly hold
the lines Of communication, and
there Was always the fear of being
cut OH and surrounded. Small de-
tachments were often dispatched to
lone posts in the woods, twenty or
thirty miles from the main BODY
The enemy always had vast superb
GRITTY in numbers.