Weekly journal-miner., 1920-03-10

armies. One fourth of this period of actuAb deprivation of food with
 the pros sPect of much longer period
 would have compelled the allies to
 at least meet the peace demands of
 the enemy and the practical defeat it
 would involve. But by the voluntary
 sacrifices by the American people for
 long period, of about 20 per ceni
 of their normal consumption of food, this critical situation was met and overcome. This alone was ma jor factor in winning the war and practically every man, woman and child in the United States directly contributed to it.
 By very largely contributing to the support of the Belgian people for four years, Belgium was undoubtedly l kept on the side of the allies, which was another important factor in win ming the war The American Red Cross, the Y. NJ. C. A., the Knights of Columbus and the Salvation Army | combined to make a very important factor to the same end. And all these things were done by voluntary contributions by the American peo- pie independent of their contribu- tions by loans and taxation. The world had never before known such generosity.
 But all this docs not mean that the allies did not take a stupendous part in the war before and after the United States went into it. But it does mean that to crush the German military machine after more than 40 years of construction and prepara- ton was the greatest military task that was ever undertaken in the world, and it means that between the utmost the allies could have done and what was actually done, there was a very large part to do and America did it, and should get the credit for it without discount and without depreciation.
 Much stress is put oil the assist ance given by the allies to the Unit ed States before 1t entered the war and to the great obligation it i'm posed In the first part of this ar ticle I have at least tried 10 show that such assistance was not abso- lutely necessary. At any rate it was not asked for. Neither was it pur- posely given. It was purely an in- cident of the combined efforts of all the allies to save themselves indi- vidually from various degrees of de- struction. Not a single life nor a single dollar was sacrificed with the object or purpose of helping the United States in any way. What, then was the excnt and what was the character of the obligation: Some cxpounder of international law will have to answer this. But ad- hitting all that is claimed for it, it 1 has been met many fold ill the ser-i vice returned.
 It is to be regretted that the spirit shown by the allies ill different ways and in different quarters since the end of the war should make ncces- sary defense of Americas position in the war But there is abundant proof that the spirit of non-appre- | citation exists pretty generally. Even as this review is being written the dispatches bring the information . that in the French chamber of dep uties resolution was unanimously 1 adopted" asking that the war debts of the allies and associated powers be pooled 10 indemnify the partici- pants in the great war" This means of course that as the United States was late in going into the war, it must pay the penalty by assuming, in addition to its own, large share of the allies war indebtedness. It has no other purpose. 1 believe it was all Italian financial expert who first conceived and developed this scheme
 Ii is therefore evident that there IS much need in at least some of the allied countries for American prop aganda that will enlighten the peo- pie on the importance of Americas part ill the war and will also impress upon them that the great generosity of the American people must not be mistaken for idiocy or imbccility. Accurate knowledge on these points may prevent serious future misunder- standings
 From July %, 1914, to November II, 1918, l followed closely and anx- iously the progress Of the great war. From the first to the last my sym pathies were with the entente allies because believed in the justice of their cause. l rcjoiccd at their sue