New-York tribune., 1920-02-23
Presentation of 5000 Testi-
monials to Relatives APP
propriately Ma de on
Washington's Birthday
High Army Officers There
American Sacrifices Saved
Our Country, Representa-
tive of Paris Declares


on the birthday Of Washington, FRIEND
and ally Of Lafayette-rendered rev.
erent homage to New York's victoriou.
dead. In series Of public gathering.
held at various points in the create,
city, in which distinguished soldiers Of
the Allied armies participated, more
than 5000 "certifcates of gratitude
were presented by representatives OF
the French government to relatives anc
friends of soldiers who died In defense
of Frances western frontiers.
Mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters
filed into four great armories, at the
call of the War Camp Community Ser
vice, working under the auspices of the
American Legion. Officers of the Amer.
lean Expeditionary Forces and Of the
British and Canadian forces aided in
the ceremonial, and representatives OF
the French High Commission. specially
delegated for this duty, spoke ardent
words of praise and gratitude on behalf
of their native land. Famous singers
of the Metropolitan and the Chicago
Grand Opera companies thrilled the
emotionally tensed audiences with "The
Star-Spangled Banner" and the MAR
seillsise."
Similar Programs Followed
In Manhattan the distribution OF
Frances tribute to Americas war be-
reaved was made in the 7th Regiment
Armory, at Park Avenue and Sixty
sixth Street, and in the 69th Regiment
Armory, at Twenty-ffth Street and
Lexington Avenue. In the Bronx the
ceremonial took place in the 22d Regi-
ment Armory, at 168th Street and Fort
Washington Avenue, and in Brooklyn at
the 18th Coast Defense Regiment Ar.
In each distributing center the same
general procedure was followed. Over
seas chaplains opened the meetings
with prayer. Brief addresses were
made by distinguished American Off
GERS and by the representatives of the
French government. There was a
period of community singing and the
singing of the two national anthems; j;
then the benediction, the bug.er's call
of taps and the presentation of the GER
tificstes.
The occasion did not pass without
it's significant allusion, for at the 7th
Regiment Armory, Major General John
F. Organ, after paying a tribute to
visions who had served under him in
France, which moved many of his hear
ers to tears, implored all those rela-
tives of soldiers killed in battle who
were present carefully to consider all
the circumstances before making any
move to bring home the bodies of
their dead heroes.
Warning to Parents of Dead
ioto
ment which moves you to wish to bring
home to America your dead" General
O'Ryan said. "If after due considera-
tion of all the facts and circumstances 9
surro unding this action it is still your
desire to bring these boys back to
America, l pledge my aid and the aid
Of all my officers in your behalf; but
do urge that you take no action which
is not the fruit of very earnest and
prolonged thought.
"The instinct which leads you to wish
to have these dear remains Transported
to American soil is a natural one to
the bereaved Of every civilized commu-
nifty. But l ask you to remember and
to understand that the war zone was
not civilized. 1t was plain hell. No
pictures which you can see can repro
duce it for you. You should act only
in the full knowledge of the circum-
stances, and you should know that in a
great many cases the bodies of the men
who fell in battle were buried without
protective covering, that they were
not embalmed and that in countless
instances these bodies we're exposed
after death to the devastating fire Of
German shells. 1t was inevitable that
this should be so.
"There will be great deal of sor-
row and attendant disappointment if
this wholesale removal Of the dead is
carried through, and certain percent
age Of CHASTITY errors is bound to oc-
cur. Nevertheless, the final decision
rests with you. l wish that your deci-
sion shall be reached only through a
proper understanding of all the circum-
stances"
Colonel Willard C. Fisk presided al
the 7th Regiment Armorv ceremonial
Colonel Fisk said, after General O'Ryar
had spoken, that his son, Captain E
Clinton Fisk, who died leading the Isl
Battalion of the 77th Regiment, will
lie where he fell on the field of battle.
Says Americans Saved France
On behalf of the French government
Captain Vladimir V. Archamski ex
pressed the gratitude Of his native
the Americans "There is no doubt il
the minds of the peop Of France" hi
said, "that the Americans saved France
for u.s."
Colonel John A. Cooper, late of the
Canadian expeditionary forces, repre-
sented the British War Veterans AS
sociation. Nine. Yvonne Gall and Nine
Alma Clayburg, of the Chicago Crane
Opera Company, sang the nationa
anthems of France and America.
Colonel A. <. Anderson Of the 165tf
Infantry was chairman of the cere
monial at the 69th Regiment Armory
Captain Blaise represented the French
government and Colonel V. M. Ftz
hugh the British War Veterans.
Major Henry H. Curran, President o1
the Borough of Manhattan, who made
the principal address, declared Amer
ica's response to Frances priceless gift
of liberty to this country was repre-.
sented by $4,000 crosses marking the
graves of American dead in France
Nine. Gilmore de Cisneros sang the
national anthems.
Major F. H. La Guardia, President
Of the Board of Aldermen, was the
chief speaker Mt the Bronx gathering
and Major Robert Dumont represented
the French government, while il
Brooklyn Colonel Maurice Hue pre-
sented the certificates on behalf of the
republic. Judge Frederick C. Crane
accepted them in the name of the
Brooklyn residents who were bereavee
through the war.
Similar ceremonies ware carriad ov,