Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1919-01-30
WILSON VISITS
BATTLE AREAS
Goes to Chateau Thierry First
Trip Ends in the Ruins of
Rheims Cathedral

Paris, Sunday, Jan. 26. (By the Associ-
ated Press )-Presldent Wilson to-day
made his first trip to the battle front
ana devastated regions, visiting Chateau
Ihierry and Rheims. At the close of a
'our that took him through dozen RACED
villages. ending in the ruins of the his
toric cathedral at Rheims, he said:
NO one can put into words the i'm
pressions l have received amongst such
scenes Of desolation and ruin"
That was Mr.. Wilson only expression
OF his feelgs after a trip that every
frenchman has been hoping he would
make before he takes part in deciding
what Is to be exacted from Germany for
'he devastation Of northern France.
accompanied by Mrs. Wilson, Admiral
Grayson and very small party. Mr.
wilson left the Murat residence early
To-Day and motored to Chateau Thierry.
where lunch was eaten. The partv then
proceeded by motor to Rheims, PASSING
through many ruined villages and alone
the old fighting lines After visitins .
Hheims the presidential party boarded n
special and returned to Paris. The last
part Of the motor trip was made in a
snow storm "
Tne first fighting ground was reached
as the party neared Belleau Wood. i'm
mortalized in the history of the war nv
tne gallant fighting of American marines
Inc motor cars turned Off the main
roads and crawled perilously through
PACK lanes to bring the President close
20 the place where. the fighting took
pace. The farmers were blowing the
shel-cratered fields as the President
STOOD by the graves of hundred or more
american boys who gave their lives al
that point and looked across the stra.
tesic valley to Belfeau Wood, a tangled
NESS Vi tree trunk underbrush but now
anationaI monument to the marines
attef whom the French government has
named the place.
colonel Edward N. Watson who ron,
na,'ueu an artillery battalion in the fgh,
ana was later chief of staff of the mr.
Division in the Argonne fighting Stood
beside President Wilson and Briead,a,
General William W. Harris and told the
story of the battle.
Then Mr.. Wilson drove IN the bu, o,,.,
which the American troops smashed tbe
crack RUSSIAN divisions mustered there
10 crush the greenhouse and wber.
'ne advance on Paris was cenrered.
rms was near Chateau Thierrv NJ
wilson saw the ruins Of bridges owe,
WHICH the Americans thrust back the
enemy line and the shell-marked hous..
wnlch survived the battles.
Inc mayor Of Chateau Thierry greeted
MI Wilson. who responded nuite ~
.oIhiaiiy. He then drove on towari
..neims' passing along the old battle lIne
between long lanes Of barbed wire an.
eahsiements now rusting away in thx
| nrst winter Of peace; between long n,dd,
.renches reaching over hills and don,v
| INTO holiows as far as the eve could GOO
ana past the wrecks Of dugouts. ammu,
nitlon dumps. aviator sheds, hosnita,s
barracks and all the other litter left h,
the defeated enemy in his flight.
| american. as we'll as French. Rrave,
| lie along the roadside. There were csr
man graves. too. Desecrated cemetaris,
| were FOUND In many cases. There wa,
constant panorama of DESTROYED -,
onarred Vineyards. gardens and homes
| Inc president was welcomed at Rhain,
py the mayor and a COMMITTEES 70 who,
MT wilson explained that he had mo-
come 10 the devastated regions soone,
because ne had been wholly engaged a
"ris with the business of making peace
Deiore going to the cathedral, he passe,
'nrough the streets Of a deserted cit,
~mcn once was the home Of 115,OOO peo
p,e' oul where less than 5000 are nov
1nhs OUT an existence among the ruins
| V's!'eu req Cross canteens wher,
ufeus OF destitute persons are fet
ana cay and the hospital wher.
the sick and injured are cared for.
| light blanket of snow covered N,
ground as the President drove nm IN ~
cathedral, and Rheims, ravished an,
naked In all its misery and desn,s .,nr,
looked ike a graveyard In the MOONLIGHT
l Ihere were more crows in the air. cir
cling over the ruined town, than tber
We're human beings below In the littere,
streets. Cardinal Lucon, archbishon n
Rheims. who stood steadfastly by NJ
charge Tor four years, during which tim
scarcely day passed without q 0erma,
smell hurting death into the city, met tn
PRESIDENT at the fence Of rough board
| winch now excludes curiosity seekers an,
| encloses the rubbish into which this mos
historic ediflce has been reduced. TIL
cardinal conducted Mr. Wilson to tn
| nave OF the cathedral. where in 1914 tn
| Germans during their short occupation
| or the city placed their wounded, an,
| then. being forced to evacuate, burne,
their mon 70 death by incendiary shell
that fired the roof, but did not damag
| the walls.
All over the tagging, worn smootl
through the years by millions of fee
bringing Frenchmen to an hours devo
ton. were piled heaps Of rubbish rem
nants Of statuary and frescoes and frag
ments of columns and sculptures whicl
were accounted the most perfect an
complete examples Of Gothic art.
AS the President and the Cardina
stood together looking upward, while tn
| prelate briefly recounted the story o
four years OF constant struggle. the
looked straight through to the cloude
sky.
The snow furry that was covering tn
bare ruins of the oity outside also wa
laying blanket inside the cathedral.
The chalky stone Of Champagne, o
which the cathedral was built, Is scalin
or from the effects Of German fre an,
the falling snow fakes were mixed witt
an almost constant dropping of frag
| ments.
Pausing n moment before the scene O
the crucif1xion above the north door an,
before the painting Of the coronation O
the Virgin over the central door, Mr.
Wilson silently viewed the destruction
wrought upon those masterpieces by tn
burning Of the scafrolding when the Ger
mans set hre to tho roof Of the edifice
The President followed the cardinal I,
the ruins Of the chapel whore old-tim
kings watched through the night at tn,
time Of the Amounting. and to the ruin
Of the museum. where priceless Flemish
tapestries were ruined. He was show,
whore thousands Of shells thrown from
German batteries on two sides burs
| he