The Washington times., 1921-11-06

unlucky, is TO be a holy day
I'm America. AS the prelude TO the
gathering OF the Disarmament Con-
ference, the President OF the United
States is to march at the head OF a
distinguished procession through
1.-The National Capital while all Amer
ica uncovers and does honor to the
men of the allied forces, whose sac
rifice and valour terminated war at
the eleventh hour OF the eleventh
day OF the eleventh month of the
year 1918.
/ wonder II the people OF America
and other allied nations also-can
ever forget the thrill and solemn
thanksgiving when the knowledge
that war was over fully dawned
upon themf II seemed too good TO
be true. More than four long years
it had gone on, with the cost OF
1854, 900 men who were killed in
battle or died of their wounds and
not less than one hundred and fifty
billion dollars In money. This was
not the whole cost, for 1t is esti-
mated that war in disease and fam
ine as we'll as in battle demanded
the lives of thirty million men,
women and children, while six thou
sand ships, including two hundred
warships, were sunk.
The ecstasy of joy that swept over
the world on November IL, 1918. was
heightened because 1t came sooner
than military leaders dared to hope.
Nobody in France who was any
body ventured to predict the end Of
war before the summer of 1919 and
most of them feared 1t might run
into 1920. 1t well on this Armis-
tice Day celebration to remember
that the hopes of concluding war in
the late summer of 1919 rested upon
the knowledge of Americas ability
by that time to put four million men
on the fighting line and stud the
seas with craft and mines to destroy
the submarine menace.
AMERICAS ONLY HOPE.
The four years of war had caused
such losses in man power in Britain
and France and Italy as to make 1t
impossible for those noble people to
add greatly to their man power or
ships or munitions. All they had
was enlisted, of men and women and
possessions. But the loss of millions
of the flower of their youth and the
exhaustion of resources made any
large new strength in overshadow.
ing numbers dependent upon a mo-
bilized America. The glory of 1t
was, too. that America was fully mo-
bilized and had gotten its gait so
well that from the early summer of
1918 the world saw there was no
limit to its willingness and ability.
1t was that knowledge that seeped
into all minds in Germany in the
fall OF 1918 that weakened the
morale and hastened the end. L
wish to emphasize this fact on the
Sunday before this Armistcie Day.
Two notions, without shadow of
foundation. have been dinned into
the ears of the world. tending to dis
honor Americas dead and Americas
fighting men who came back. They
are:
l. That II was a mistake to have
signed the armistice, that the SOL
diers on the front opposed such in
conclusive ending of the war, and
that If the soldiers had been con-
suited their vote would have been
ION to Berlin" no matter what the
cost. AS we prepare for this armis-
tice celebration is It not wise to
remove these misconceptions pro-
duced by a well-organized propa-
ganda? 1 have talked to soldiers
who were on the front that day-to
eminent commanders and to pri-
Yates. There was no such feeling"
erals. ION the other hand, there was
beyond words to ex-
press. The men were ready to go
forward II necessary to win the
demands. But they would
have felt they wero ordered to bs
murdered II their leaders had per-
sisted in war when tho enemy was
ready to accept fully tho conditions
President Wilson had imposed and
which the allied nations had en-
dorsed as tho joint demand"
REAL BITTERNESS.
Tho only real bitterness I have
ever heard soldiers express-or
mothers In America-was in re-
gard to the American soldiers who.
as they thought-"unnecess
lost their lives in the engagements
on the morning Of the eleventh be-
fore IL o'clock. The fact that this
deep feeling OF resentment exists
Is the strongest proof that II was
far removed from the peril
OF death in battle. who began and
engineered the propaganda that
there was error in securing by the