The citizen. [volume] (Berea, Ky.) 1899-1958, 1921-10-06
TO THE AMERICAN LEGION
Address Of Ex-President Frost. Octo.
Der I, 1921

Berea is proud to welcome you
here tonight. We hope each one Of
YOU had had twenty handshakes al
already, and here is a combination
shake from all Berea. You have
come here on a patriotic errand, for
the sake Of your comrades who fell
in the war, and for the sake Of the
cause that they died for. You have
also come To meet one another and
enjoy this social hour. This is
time when duty and pleasure are
combined. We are glad you are
here.
This is my first opportunity to ex-
press my deep qualification that the
Perea Post has been named after my
son.
So far as | am aware, he was the
only man from Berea itself to give
his life in the World War. Cleve-
land Cady Frost was born in Berea.
He was named after his great uncle,
who was a trustee of Berea College
and a distinguished architect in New
York City. He had a good Puritan
and fighting ancestry. He was ninth
in decent from Edmund Frost, who
came to Cambridge from England in
1885, and counted among his ances-
try Zachariah Goodell, whose COM
mission I have here as Lieutenant in
the Revolutionary War, as well as
Rev. John Wilson, who was the first
minister in Boston. He was forward
in all student activities of our acad.
envy and college and literary society
work. For the last part of his
course, he went to Yale and became
a member of the first training camp
in field artillery. He was thrown
out of the service for physical de-
fects and underwent surgical opera
ton in order to make himself fit.
He was then appointed to give in
struction to a company of Yale stu
dents in the officers training camp,
and they have testified to their ap-
probation by presenting us with this
memorial silver cup. Then, sudden.
~ he was transferred from the train
ing camp to active service, and put
in command of a company of one
hundred and thirty men, who sailed
from New York on the transport
Ticonderoga, which was principally
loaded with horses for. the army. In
mid-ocean the machinery of the YES
sci proved defective and she fell be.
hind the feet. He realized their
danger and told his men not to I'M
dress at night. At day.break he was
standing on the bridge beside the
Captain of the vessel when a subma-
rine appeared and, with its first shot,
took away their wireless telegraph.
BY the second shot, the Captain of
the vessel was wounded and Lieuten-
and Frost instantly killed. The sub
marine shot to pieces the life boats
except one. To this they attached
rope and then submerged. Fortu-
nately that rope parted and thus
twenty-five men of the crew and com.
pany of soldiers survived, to be
picked up in a starving condition
four days later.
Gentlemen, that is war with the
Germans. It was the providence or
the chance Of war that some should
meet its extreme calamities and
others should escape. Every soldier
who enlisted risked such death as
that. Any one of you might have
been there.
Now, young men, let me speak
seriously to you regarding your re-
sponsibility as survivors of such a
war. You will always have a certain
dignity and influence because you are
veterans 1t is odd to call such
young men as you are veterans" but
soldiers are always young. My great
grandfather in the Revolutionary
War was only sixteen.
Now, this dignity and influence
which has come to you is not some-
thing merely to be enjoyed, but
something to be used all your life
time for the public good. You will
stand for all good citizenship-the
best men and the best policy for each
office-public welfare before private
gain.
But there are two principles which
are especially for you to advocate
the principles for which this World
War was fought. The first of these
principles is Democracy. Democracy
means the rule of the people; it
means an equal chance for every
man; il means impartial justice; il