The Story of General Pershing Part 12

However, there were two other visits which the American commander desired to make while he was in Paris. In Picpus Cemetery, Paris, was the tomb of Lafayette. The friendship of the young marquis, his enthusiasm for the ideals of democracy and the aid he had given the colonies in America in their struggles for independence nearly a century and a half before this time, had made his name as familiar as it was beloved in the United States. He had been the personal friend of Washington, his visit to America after the new nation had been formed, his gifts and his example alike had added to the esteem in which he was held there. As Lafayette had come from France to help America so now Pershing had come from America to help France. What could be more fitting than for the American commander to manifest publicly the memories of the deep appreciation which cl.u.s.tered about the name of Lafayette?

Accordingly General Pershing and a half-dozen of his officers were taken to the tomb in Picpus Cemetery. There the little party was met by the Marquis and the Count de Chambrun who are direct descendants of Lafayette. Two orderlies carried a wreath of American Beauty roses which was to be placed on the tomb of the ardent young Frenchman. There were no formal or public services--the occasion being more like a token of the personal feelings of the representative of one great nation for the honored dead who had been the representative of another. The oft quoted remark of General Pershing, "Lafayette, we are here," added to the impressiveness.

General Pershing was welcomed at the cemetery quietly by the two descendants of Lafayette and by them was conducted to the tomb. The General and his fellow officers stood at salute while the orderlies were placing the wreath of roses on the marble slab that marked the final resting place of the brave and brilliant young French soldier.

In spite of the simplicity of the beautiful ceremony, however, the enthusiastic people of Paris felt that somehow they must express their appreciation of the tender and dignified tribute to one of their honored dead. Great throngs lined the streets through which the party pa.s.sed, while a vast concourse a.s.sembled in the vicinity of Picpus Cemetery.

Their quickly aroused sentiments had been deeply stirred. A glimpse of the pa.s.sing American General was sufficient to deepen this appeal and the cheers that greeted the Americans were fervent and heartfelt.

The third day was to be the last of the formal ceremonies. General Pershing paid the formal and official calls expected of him, had luncheon with Marshal Joffre and then visited the French Senate. As soon as he and Amba.s.sador Sharp were discovered in the diplomatic box, every senator sprang to his feet and the cheering was loud and long--"Vive l'Amerique!" "Vive l'Pershing!" It almost seemed as if the dignified senators were determined to make their salvos louder and more genuinely enthusiastic than any that had yet been heard by the distinguished visitor. Again and again General Pershing bowed in acknowledgment of his generous reception.

At last when the senators once more took their seats, Premier Ribot referred to the presence of the soldier from the United States and called upon M. Viviani to speak in acknowledgment of the event. Eloquent as Viviani is known to be, it is said that never had his words been more expressive or appealing than on this momentous occasion. Repeatedly he was compelled to pause and wait for the applause to cease before he was able to continue his address. In his final words he referred to his own recent visit to the United States and in vivid phrases pictured the conditions as he had found them there. The ideals of civilization, the rights of free peoples, the heritage received from sires who had dearly paid for that which they bequeathed their children were to be defended and upheld. Savagery, brutality, disregard for national and individual rights were to be overthrown. Because of the ideals under which the United States had been reared and the freedom the nation had enjoyed the people were determined to share in the battle for the same privileges to be enjoyed by all mankind.

The response of the audience was instantaneous. Leaping to their feet they shouted, "Vivent les Etats Unis!" "Vive l'Amerique!" "Vive l'Pershing!" Not until after General Pershing once more arose and again and again bowed in acknowledgment of the soul stirring tribute to him, and through him to the nation of which he was a part, was quiet restored. Even then the Senate unanimously voted a recess of a half-hour to permit the Senators personally to meet and greet the American Commander. Antonin Dubost, President of the Senate, escorted General Pershing through the imposing lobby of the Luxembourg and introduced him to the members of the Senate, one by one. The occasion served as a fitting climax to three such days as General Pershing never before had seen and the world never had known.

Of Pershing's coming to France and of his gracious, quiet manner of receiving the welcome of Paris, and his dignity that fitted every occasion, the Paris newspapers, made much. The outstanding quality, however, appeared to be his simplicity. Georges Clemenceau wrote the following tribute when the three days of welcome pa.s.sed:

"Paris has given its final welcome to General Pershing. We are justified in hoping that the acclamations of our fellow-citizens, with whom are mingled crowds of soldiers on leave, have shown him clearly right at the start in what spirit we are waging this bloodiest of wars: with what invincible determination never to falter in any fiber of our nerves or muscles.

"What does France stand for to-day but the most striking proof of the perseverance of the French spirit? I can even say that never was such a prolongation of such terrible sacrifices demanded from our people and never was it so simply and so easily obtained.

"Unless I misjudge America, General Pershing, fully conscious of the importance of his mission, has received from the cordial and joyous enthusiasm of the Parisians that kind of fraternal encouragement, which is never superfluous, even when one needs it not. Let him have no doubt that he, too, has brought encouragement to us, the whole of France that followed with its eyes his pa.s.sage along the boulevards, all our hearts, that salute his coming in joy at the supreme grandeur of America's might enrolled under the standard of right. This idea M. Viviani, just back from America, splendidly developed in his eloquent speech to the Chamber in the presence of General Pershing.

"General Pershing himself, less dramatic, has given us in three phrases devoid of artificiality an impression of exceptionally virile force. It was no rhetoric, but the pure simplicity of the soldier who is here to act and who fears to promise more than he will perform. No bad sign this for those of us who have grown weary of pompous words, when we must pay so dearly for each failure of performance.

"Not long ago the Germans laughed at 'the contemptible English army' and we hear now that they regard the American army as too ridiculous for words. Well, the British have taught even Hindenburg himself what virile force can do toward filling gaps in organization. Now the arrival of Pershing brings Hindenburg news that the Americans are setting to work in their turn--those Americans whose performance in the war of secession showed them capable of such 'improvisation' of war as the world has never seen--and I think the Kaiser must be beginning to wonder whether he has not trusted rather blindly in his 'German tribal G.o.d.' He has loosed the lion from its cage, and now finds that the lion has teeth and claws to rend him.

"The Kaiser had given us but a few weeks in which to realize that the success of his submarine campaign would impose the silence of terror on the human conscience throughout the world. Well, painful as he must find it, Pershing's arrival in Paris, with its consequent military action, cannot fail to prove to him that, after all, the moral forces he ignored must always be taken into consideration in forecasting human probabilities.

Those learned Boches have yet to understand that in the course of his intellectual evolution man has achieved the setting of moral right above brute force; that might is taking its stand beside right to accomplish the greatest revolution in the history of mankind.

"That is the lesson Pershing's coming has taught us, and that is why we rejoice."

Another graceful tribute was that of Maurice de Waleffe who wrote:

"'There is no longer any Pyrenees,' said Louis XIV when he married a Spanish princess. 'There is no longer an ocean,' Pershing might say with greater justice as he is about to mingle with ours the democratic blood of his soldiers. The fusion of Europe and America is the enormous fact to note.

Henceforth there is but one human race, in the Old World as in the New, and we can repeat the words of Goethe at the battle of Valmy: 'From to-day a new order of things begins.'"

In the evening after his first day of work, at the opera the enthusiasm of Paris found one more outlet for its admiration of the American General whose physical strength and bearing, whose poise and kindly appreciation of his welcome again found expression. The General arrived at the close of the first act. It was now the turn for the society of Paris to express itself. The wildest enthusiasm instantly seized upon the audience as soon as his arrival became known. As he entered his box, which was draped with the American colors, the orchestra quickly struck up the national anthem, for the moment drowning even the wild cheering of the crowded house. The curtain rose and Mme. Richardson, holding aloft a large American flag as she advanced to the front of the stage, began in English to sing the Star Spangled Banner. After each stanza the wild cheering seemed to increase in volume and enthusiasm. Then Mlle.

Marthe Chenal followed and began to sing La Ma.r.s.eillaise. It was now the turn of the American officers and soldiers present to cheer for France; and cheer they did. A chorus of soldiers and sailors accompanied each singer. When General Pershing departed from the opera house the throngs a.s.sembled on the streets joined in another outburst. By this time even the slowest of Americans must have been fully aware that the French were glad that the commander of the Army of the United States was in Paris.

The new problem confronting the American General was stupendous. His recommendations were to be final at Washington. In his duties he was to have the a.s.sistance of Marshal Joffre, whose ability as a soldier and whose position as the official representative of France would mean much to General Pershing. The British War Office (May 28, 1917) had said that including those already serving in French or British armies there shortly would be 100,000 American soldiers on French soil. Within a year the number was to exceed 1,000,000 and hundreds of thousands more were to follow. No such numbers or speed in transporting troops 3,500 miles had ever been known before. And in France plans must be formed, organizations made, great buildings must be erected, military measures must be adopted--and General John Joseph Pershing must be the directing power. What a task! Small cause for surprise is it that he solemnly said to a prominent clergyman before his departure from America that he "felt the need of all the help that could be given him,--human and divine."

Already in France Americans were drilling in preparation for active fighting. Among these were detachments of college students from Harvard, Princeton, Yale, University of Chicago, Williams, University of California, and many other American colleges, but a vast concourse of men from every cla.s.s and condition in life in the United States was making ready to join their fellow soldiers across the sea. From no man in all the world was more expected than from General Pershing. And the expectations were resting on strong foundations if the manner in which he carried himself in the four trying days in London and in the three days of formal ceremonies in France and then in the beginnings of his heavy labors in preparing for the demands of Americans who were yet to come, were indications. By many he was declared to be the personification of the best type West Point could produce.

CHAPTER XV

FOURTH OF JULY IN FRANCE AND BASTILE DAY IN AMERICA

THE manifestation of the feeling of France and England for the United States as shown to General Pershing was still further in evidence when the national holiday of each nation was celebrated. In this celebration all three nations united. "Never did I expect to see a day like the Fourth of July this year in London," wrote an American stopping in that city. "The flag of the United States was everywhere in evidence. I don't think Great Britain ever saw so many American flags at one time. The streets almost seemed to be lined with them. They were hanging from windows, stretched across the streets and sidewalks, carried in the hands of the pa.s.sing people and everywhere were in evidence. Bands were playing the Star Spangled Banner, public meetings were held, addresses were made and dinners given--all showing that the new feeling between the countries was not only friendly but also most intensely cordial.

From the King and Queen to the humblest newsboy the enthusiasm was everywhere to be seen." And what was true in London was true also throughout the kingdom.

From the front General Pershing received the following telegram:

"DEAR GEN. PERSHING: In behalf of myself and the whole army in France and Flanders I beg you to accept for yourself and the troops of your command my warmest greetings on American Independence Day.

"Fourth of July this year soldiers of America, France and Great Britain will spend side by side for the first time in history in defense of the great principle of liberty, which is the proudest inheritance and the most cherished possession of their several nations.

"That liberty which the British, Americans and French won for themselves they will not fail to hold not only for themselves but for the world.

With the heartiest good wishes for you and your gallant army,

"Yours very sincerely, "D. HAIG, "Field Marshal."

To this hearty message of congratulation and good will General Pershing sent the following response to the Commander in Chief of the British Army in France and Flanders:

"MY DEAR SIR DOUGLAS: Independence Day greetings from the British armies in France, extended by its distinguished Commander in Chief, are most deeply appreciated by all ranks of the American forces.

The firm unity of purpose that on the Fourth of July this year so strongly binds the great allied nations together stands as a new declaration and a new guarantee that the sacred principles of liberty shall not perish but shall be extended to all peoples.

"With the most earnest good wishes from myself and entire command to you and our brave British brothers in arms, I remain, always in great respect and high esteem,

"Yours very sincerely, "JOHN J. PERSHING."

In Paris also the celebration was an evidence of the same or even greater enthusiasm. Flags, bands, cheers, songs, public meetings and addresses--these all were like a repet.i.tion of the scenes that had greeted the arrival of the American commander on the soil of France.

Once more General Pershing was the idol of the day, because in this way the French people best believed they could express their deep appreciation of the part America was promptly taking in the fight for freedom.

The response of America was equally strong when ten days later the great country, more than 3,000 miles away, joined in a hearty celebration of the French national holiday--Bastile Day. As Lafayette had brought to and presented to the United States the key to the famous old prison so it seemed almost as if the key had unlocked the doors of every American heart. The French flag was flying from thousands of buildings. The French national air was heard on every side.

In America, too, just as there had been a brief time before in France, there were great a.s.semblies quickly aroused to the highest pitch of enthusiasm by the words of orators describing the marvelous heroism and devotion of France in the present world war. As one famous, speaker said, "France had not only found her soul and surprised the world by her devotion; she had even surprised herself."

Perhaps the celebration in America reached its highest point in a vast meeting in the Madison Square Garden in New York City on the evening of July 14th. One newspaper glowingly described the vast concourse that filled the Garden: "It isn't too much to say that perhaps the air quivered no more violently around the Bastile on that great day in Paris 129 years ago, than it did in Madison Square Garden last night when at the apex of a day of glorious tribute to France a tall young man wearing the horizon blue of the French army and noted throughout the world for his singing, sang with splendid fervor France's--and now in a way our own--'La Ma.r.s.eillaise.'"

The Garden fairly rocked with the applause, as banners and flags were waved in the hands of the excited, shouting throng. French soldiers with the little marks upon their sleeves that showed the bravery on the battlefield of the men privileged to wear them, soldiers and sailors of many lands, war-nurses in their cool white costumes, men who had fought in France, Belgium, Serbia, Italy, at Gallipoli, at the Marne and at Verdun--and many more were there to a.s.sist in expressing the feelings of America for her ally.

"They shall not pa.s.s"--it was almost like the determination of the men that doggedly stood before and blocked the Germans as they did their utmost to drive through Verdun.

A message from General Foch was read by the chairman, Charles E. Hughes.

"After four years of struggle the plans of the enemy for domination are stopped," began Judge Hughes, but he also was compelled to "stop" until the deafening applause that interrupted the reading of the message from the great French commander had quieted down sufficiently to enable him to proceed. After several minutes pa.s.sed he resumed. "He (the enemy) sees the numbers of his adversaries increase each day and the young American army bring into the battle a valor and a faith without equal; is not this a sure pledge of the definite triumph of the just cause?"

If the true answer to the question of the commander of all the armies of the allies was to be measured by the mighty roar that spontaneously arose, then the General must have been convinced as well as satisfied.

"We are doing more to-night than paying tribute," declared the chairman.

"We are here to make our pledge. We make our pledge to the people of France. We make our pledge and it is the pledge of a people able to redeem it."

Secretary of the Navy Daniels read a message from President Wilson: "America greets France on this day of stirring memories, with a heart full of warm friendship and of devotion to the great cause in which the two peoples are now so happily united. July 14th, like our own July 4th, has taken on a new significance not only for France but for the world.

As France celebrated our Fourth of July, so do we celebrate her Fourteenth, keenly conscious of a comradeship of arms and of purpose of which we are deeply proud.