Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-07-10

ward again. And yet there was no
confident hope. Rnxious men and
women. leading spirits of France.
attended the celebration of the
Fourth of July last yea rim Paris
cut of generous courtesy-with no
heart for festivity, little zest for
hope. But they came away with
something new at thei rhearts:
they have themselves told US so.
The mere sight of our men--of
their vigor, of the confidence that
showed itself in every movement
of their stalwart figures and every
turn of their swinging march, in
their steady, comprehending eyes
and easy discipline. in the indomit
able air that added spirit to every
thing they did-made every one
saw them that memorable day real
lze that something had happened
that was much more than a mere
incident in the fighting. something
very different from the mere ar
rival of fresh troops. A great moral
force had flung itself into the
struggle. The fine physical force
of those spirited men spoke of
something more than bodily vigor.
They carried the great ideals of a
free people at their hearts and with
that vision were unconquerable.
Their very presence brought reas-
surance; their fighting made VIC
tory certain.
They were recognized as crusad-
ers, and as their thousands swelled
to millions their strength was seen
to mean salvation. And they were
mt men to carry such a hope and
make good the assurance it fore
cast. Finer men never went into
battle, and their officers were
worthy of them. This is not the
occasion upon which to utter a
eulogy of the armies America sent
to France, but perhaps. since 1 am
speaking of their mission, 1 may
speak also of the pride 1 shared
with every American who saw or
dealt with them there. They were
the sort of men America would
wish to be represented by. The
sort of men every American would
wish to claim as fellowcountrymen
and comrades in a great cause.
They were terrible in battle, and
gentle and helpful out of it, re-
membering the mothers and the
sisters. the wives and the little
children at home. They were free
men under arms. not forgetting
their ideals of duty in the midst of
tasks of violence. l am proud to
have had the privilege of being as
ISOLATED with them and of calling
myself their leader.
But I speak now of what they
meant to the men by whose sides
they fought and to the people with
whom they mingled with such ut
ter simplicity. as friends who asked
only to be of service. They were
for all the visible embodiment of
America. What they did made
America and all that she stood for
a living reality in the thoughts not
only of the people of France, but
also of tens of millions of men and
women throughout all thetoiling
nations of a world standing every
where in peril of it's freedom and
of the loss Of everything it held
dear, in deadly fear that its bonds
were never to be leosed, its hopes
forever to be Knocked and disap-
pointed
And the compulsion of what they
stood for was upon us who repre-
scented America at the peace table.
1t was our duty to see to it that
every decision we took part in
contributed. SO far as We were able
to influence it, to quiet the fears
and realize the hopes Of the peo-
pies who had been living in that
shadow. the nations that had come
by our assistance to their freedom.
1t was our duty to do everything
that IT was within our power to
do 10 make the triumph of freedom
and OF right a lasting triumph
in the assurance of which men
might everywhere live without
fear.
Old entanglements of every kind
stood in the way-promises which
governments had made to one an
other in the days when might and
right were confused and the power
of the victor was without re-
straint. Engagements which con-
templated any dispositions Of ter
ritory. any extensions of SOW
ereignty that might seem to he to
the interest of those who had the
power to insist upon them, had
been entered into without thought
of what the peoples concerned
might wish or profit by; and these
could not always be honorably
brushed aside. 1t was not easy to
graft the new order of ideas on
the old and some of the fruits of
the grating may. fear. for a
time he bitter. But With very
few exceptions, the men Who sat