The Holly chieftain., 1922-08-31

striking distance OF the enemy. AS they passed
the retreating French they met with cries Of.
you're zigzag; you're crazy. Sure death ahead
There is no hope; go back" But these eager,
smooth-faced Americans, who had never smelled
the smoke Of battle were not made of the stun
that goes back when the enemy is in front Un-
perturbed, they landed in the mud and under
cover Of the woods formed their lines and calmly
waited for the dawn when about 5000 Americans
met and held and stopped five German divisions.
tApplause.] So fierce and unfaltering was the
attack that the enemy took 1t for granted that
there were unlimited reserves In the rear.
'The miracle was performed, the march on Paris
stopped, the oncoming hordes turned back, the
ChateauTherry drive began, the destiny Of civi-
llzatiOn changed. fApplause.l
1.-THE soul of America had because It had
broken the cocksure spirit of the enemy, had re-
kindled in the breasts of the dropping allies .
morale that ran from one end of the lines to tho
other. For the supersodier of the world. with
tremendous advantage Of numbers. had been out
supered by few simple, modest, untrained Ameri.
cans; and these same Americans were here IN
great numbers, and they were coming by the thou
sands The war could end in but one way. At the
height of the ChateauThierry drive, when the pail
Of that terrible certain daily advance, when tho
shelling Of Paris and the nightmare of air raids
was too recent to be forgotten, not soul could
be found in the ranks of any army or in any walk
In life so but he free to admit that 1t was
the American soldier who won the war turned the
tide saved them Wnen tney naO incl: DackS to the
wall. Yet now, when 1t Is all safely over, there
are those who ungratefully say 'We"would have
won, anyway They would, like HI. IApplausel
"Our boys were far from their homes II put
shame into the hearts OF men who were fighting
for their very hearth sides and families to see
such daring and spirit in lads who needed no spur.
II began June 9 at Belleau Wood and continued
through the Aisne- Marne drive, the Somme cam
paign St Mihiel. Ypres-Lys through the Meuse-
Argonne clear up to November II. Six months
and the Job was done.
.Reared on American SOIL imbibing her prin-
ciples of freedom the American soldier did not
need years Of intense training. He was used to
thinking nnd deciding In pinch. every man was
an officer The intelligence of the American
equipped him to understand the war game quickly.
Heroes every one, they dared to move apart
twenty thirty, fifty, sixty feet they dared to fight
alone and die alone. The average run of the En-
ropean soldier has not the private initiative to
fight alone and die alone. He fights best In mass
where he sees the form Of his companion ahead,
feels the rub Of the elbow of his pal at his SIDE
hears the tread Of his comrade In the He must
have n crowd to give spirit and soul to do and de-
The American soldier, because of his individual
development has soul power that dares stand alone
The European must group this soul power to pro-
duce the necessary courage The American soldier
Is a lion who dares forage alone Wolves hunt in
packs The American soldier is eagle who
dares soar aloft In the awful solltudes. Swallows
hover in thousands. The American soldier dares
to die right now. The European soldier tomorrow
Ask the German soldier officer who won tho
war, and he will tell you that it was the Amert
cans That It was the Americans who advanced
into no mans land without hesitation, and came
on with that dogged determination that sharp
shooter, machine-gun nest ambush, hand grenades
rifles concealed mines gas Shells curtains Of fra
small and big artillery, the blasts OF hell itself
could not stop. [Appause.l
ut is the soul in the breasts of these boys up
here In the gallery that Is going to count. It Is the
soul that measures the size of the man. whether
on the battlefield In the conflict Of life, our
blind friends In the gallery have been tried and
found not wanting"