New Mexico state record. (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1914-19??, 1919-06-27

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 disarmed as
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 1900 Of De
Grasses French marines and sailors
Would n have been possible for us 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. then the only man alive who had
signed the Declaration OF independence. that
venerable Christian and statesman replied:
at was Gods WILL"
1t will always be a much vexed question how
much financial aid France rendered America. II
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,OOO.OOO,OO0 livres. Much information
will be found In his "Histoire Financiere de Ia
France depuis 1715." Fiske In his Critical
PERIOD puts the expenditure OF France at 1,4OO,.
0OOyO 900 fsancs. Trevelyan states the following
In a note 10 his American Revolution :" ut was
calculated that between the years 177S and 1888
the war with England cost the French treasury
4S.OO0.0OO. 1t was the main cause Of those anan.
cial difficulties which led Immediately up to the
Revolution of 1889" This would be equivalent
to 1.2OO, O 5000 livres (francs). or S240,0OO,OO O. at
"A time when the purchasing power of money was
nearly three times what IT 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 1891.
In 1924, when Lafayette was slxty-seven, he was
invited by President Monroe to visit the United
States. He anne 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 a %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 was the ceremony at Bunker Hill.
Lafayette lived ten years longer. When Pres
ident Andrew jackson heard the news of his death
in 1894. he ordered on behalf of the whole Amen-
can people that the same honors be rendered
upon this occasion at the different military and
naval stations as were observed upon the deceasc
of Washington. the Father Of His Country. and
his contemporary In arms"
Lafayette has been dead 81 years. His clay Ia
dust. But his soul still lives. II has breathed
courage into the breasts Of war-worn French SOL
diers. II has wept over 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 us as | helped you"
At first we did not hear. or If hearing, did not
answer. But at last we heard and needed and
went. The fighting men of France, staggering
with wounds. dizzy with fatigue. and the women
OF France, white with horror over an impending
fate worse than death. saw the Star-Spangled
Banner afar and cried in thnnkfulness:
THE Americans are coming"
We arriyed-young. husky. smiling. larkins
fighting men. The French loved us for our looks
and our ways. But could we fght3 Then came
June and Chateau hierry. when We stopped the
flower Of the German shock troops in their tracks.
attacked in turn. put the Hun on the run AMI
kept hin running! No wonder all France went
delirious with JOY.
That was what We promised through BLACK
Jack" Pershing. 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 and his
young. husky. smiling. larking. 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 Mt night without fear OF the Beast.
Such was Lafayette great soul. a gallant
soul. the living embodiment Of the noblest Ideal
for which men can generously live and glorously
die.
The liberty We hold secure.
The soil on which we tread.
That air Of freedom that we breathe,
The flag that floats ~oerhead;
That nation on whose history
The sun shall never set
All that we have and hold ne owe