The Clio messenger., 1919-07-03

chief Of the American armies; and how when
Washington did arrive, Lafayette was one of the
very first to lead a 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 dsarmed, are
facts that every good American knows
In this final struggle the whole force of the
colonies consisted of 1000 men Of Washington's
army, 5000 under Rochambeau and 5000 of De
Grasses French marines and sailors
Would 1t have been possible for to win with
out the aid of France? Washington and Frank.
lin believed not. Fifty years afterward when
the question was asked Of Charles Carroll OF
Carrollton, Their the only man alive who had
signed the Declaration of independence that
venerable Christian and statesman REPLIED
"It was Gods WILL"
1t will always be much-vexed question how
much financial aid France rendered America. 1t
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,0O0OO0 ivres. Much information
will be found in his "Hstoire Financiere 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 note to his american Revolution: :" 1T was
calculated that between the years 1778 and 1888
the war with England cost the French treasury
f4S,000OOO. 1t was the main cause of those hnan'
cal difficulties which led Immediately up to the
Revolution of 17S9" This would be equivalent
to 1,2OOOOOOOO Hvres (francs) or $240,OOO,OOO at
q time when the purchasing power OF money was
nearly three times what 1t Is In our day.
When victory was ours Lafayette went home
to France. He came back for a short time in
1884 Then came the French revolution. Lafay'
cite from first to last consistently advocated a
limited constitutional monarchy for France His
experiences were many, including five years In
an Austrian prison, from which he was released
by Napoleon in 1897.
In 1924, when Lafayette was slxty-seven, he was
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 was the dedication OF
Bunker Hill monument. He made triumphhl
tour of the twenty-four states Of the Union
Every possible honor was showered upon him.
Probably the most moving event in the whole tour
was his visit to the tomb Of Washington. The
climax the ceremony at Bunker Hill.
Lafayette lived ten years longer. When Pres
ident Andrew Jackson heard the news of his death
in 1884 he ordered on behalf of the whole Ameri.
can people that the same honors be rendered
upon this occasion at the different military ana
naval stations as were observed upon the decease
of Washington, the Father Of His Country and
his contemporary in arms"
Lafayette has been dead So years His clay IS
dust. But his soul still lives. 1t has breathed
courage into the breasts of war-worn French SOL
diers. 1t has wept the deported, enslaved
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 as helped you :"
At first did not hear or If hearing, did not
answer. But Mt last heard and needed and
went. The fighting men of France, staggering
III. 1i11x, f,t;, ,,,I fhn ~
Of France, white with horror over an impending
fate worse than death, the Star-Spangled
Banner afar and cried in thankfulness:
"The Americans are coming
We arrived-young husky, smiling, larkinS
fighting men. The French loved us for our looks
and our ways. But could we fight? Then came
June and Chateau-Thlery, when we stopped the
flower of the German shock troops In their tracks,
attacked in turn. put the Hun on the run and
kept him runnlngl No wonder all France went
delirious with joy.
That was what we promised through "Black
Jack" Pershng. when he saluted at the tomb in
the little cemetery of Picpus in Paris and said:
Lafayette, we are here"
And we made the promise good. He ard his
young husky, smiling arking fighting men struck
the finishing blow which guaranteed that French
men may pursue their honest toll in peace and
that French women, with babe at breast, may
sleep at night without fear of the Beast.
Such was Lafayette-a great soul, gallant
soul, the living embodiment of the nobest ideal
for which can generously live and gloriousy
die
'"The liberty we hold secure,
The soil on which we tread,
That air Of freedom that we breathe,
The flag that floats o'erhead;
That nation on whose history
The sun shall never set
All that we have and hold we owe
To France-and Lafayette"