Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1919-02-27

does now. She did not believe in us
throughout the first three years of the
war. She seems really to have believed
that we were holding off because we
tho ought we could make more by stay
ing out than by going in. And all Of
a sudden in short IS months. the
whole verdict is reversed There can
be but one explanation for It. They
saw what we did--that without maxi
Ing n single claim we put all our men
and all our means Mt the disposal Of
those who were fighting for their
homes, In the first instance, but for a
cause. the cause of human rights and
justice and that we went in, not to
support their national claims, but to
support tho great cause which they
held in common. And when they saw
that America not only held ideals but
acted Ideals, they were converted to
America and became firm partisans of
those ideals.
U. S. SOLDIERS UNLIKE OTHERS
j met a group of scholars when ] was
In Paris-some gentlemen from one Of the
Greek universities who had come to see
me. and In whose presence, or rather in
the presence of whose traditions of
learning, l felt very young indeed told
revenges that sometimes comes to n man.
All my life had heard men speak with
sort of condescenson of ideals and
OF idealists. and particularly those
separated, encloistered persons whom
they chose to term academic. who were
in the habit of uttering ideals in the free
atmosphere when they clash with nobody
n particular. And l said l have had this
weet revenge. Speaking with perfect
rankness in the name of the people of
ne United States | have uttered as the
oJects or this great war ideals, and
othing but ideals, and the war has been
on by that inspiration. Men were fight
Y with tense muscle and lowered head
NIL they came to realize those things.
'eiing they were fighting for their lives
IA their country, and when these
cents or what 1t was all about reached
'em from America they lifted their
ads, they raised their eyes to heaven,
Acn they saw men in khaki coming
ross the sea in the spirit of crusaders
they found that these were strange
n. reckless of danger not only. but
'kless because they seemed to see
Aething that made that danger worth
lie. Men have testified to me in
rope that our men were possessed by
ching that they could only call q
=ious fervor. They were not like any
he other soldiers. They had vision
had dream, and they were fight.
in the dream, and fighting in the
sdm they turned the whole tide of
attic and 1t never came back.
One of our American humorists. meat
ing the criticism that American soldiers
were not trained long enough said at
takes only half as long to train an Amer
lean soldier as any other, because YOU
only have to train him one way and he
did only go one way. and he never came
back until he could do it when he pleased. -
And now do you realize that this conf
dence we have established throughout the
world imposes n burden upon us-if YOU
| choose to call it one. 1t is one of these
burdens which any nation ought to be
proud to carry. Any man who resists the
present tides that run In the world will
| find himself thrown upon shore so high
| and barren that it will seem as If he had
been separated from his human kind for.
ever.
EUROPE FULL OF HOPE
The Europe that ] left the other day was
| full Of something that it had never felt
| fill its heart so full before. 1t was full of
hope. The Europe of the second year OF
the war. the Europe of the third year OF
| the war; was sinking to sort of stub
| born desperation. They did not see any
| great thing to be achieved even when the
war should be won, They hoped there
, would be some salvage: they hoped tina,
| they could set up their homes and start
| their industries afresh. i5ut they thought
| 1t would simply be the resumption of the
| old life that Europe has Ied-ed in fear
led in anxiety. led in constant suspicious
| watchfuness They never dreamed that
| 1t would be n Europe of settled peace and
| Of justified hope.
| And now these ideals have wrought this
new magic, that all the people of Europe
| are buoyed up and confident in the spirit
| of hope, because they believe that we are
| at the eve of a new age in the world when
| nations will understand one another
when nations will support one another In
every just cause. when nations will unite
every moral and every physical strength
to see that the right shall prevail.
| AMERICA MUST NOT FAIL.
| If America at this junction were tc
fail the world, what would come OF
| 1t? / do lot mean any disrespect &c
any other great people when ! say
that America is the hope of the world
and If she does not Justify that hop,
the results are unthinkable. Men will
be thrown back upon the bitterness,
| of disappointment not only. but tn,
| bitterness of despair
| All nations will be set up as hostl,
camps again; the men at the peac,
conference will go home with theil
heads upon their breasts, knowing
that they have failed-for they wer,
hidden not to come home from Their,
until they did something more thar
sign "A treaty of peace.
Suppose we sign the treaty of peac,
and that It is the most satisfactory
treaty of peace that the confusing
elements of the modern world viii
afford and go back home and thinl
about our labors, we Will know tina
we have left written upon the histori,
table at Versailles, upon which Yer
gennes and Benjamin Franklin wrot.
their names, nothing but moder,
scrap of paper. No nations united I,
defend IL, no great forces combined I,
make IL good, no assurances given Il
the down-trodden and fearful peopl,
of the world that they shall be safe
Any man who thinks that Americ.
will take part in giving the world an,
such rebuff and disappointment as tina
does not know America.
ADMITS HIS FIGHTING BLOOD
i,,,i,a him TO test the sentiments NJ