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Show Wallace Lauds past of france IN ip Id American Ambassador Is Chief Speaker at Thanksgiving Thanks-giving Dinner at Paris. Louis Barthou, Former Premier, Pre-mier, Expresses Appreciation Apprecia-tion for U. S. Friendship. ' PARIS, Nov. 2t5. Three hundred Americans Ameri-cans celebrated Thanksgiving this evening by dining together at the Hotel Qua! -dOrsai. some of their distinguished feVench friends joining them. Alexander BUHerand, governor of Alsace, had ac-Jtcepted ac-Jtcepted an invitation to represent the fYeneh government, but was detained in Jptrassburg. Louis Barthou, former premier, pre-mier, who spoke in his stead, expressed warmly France's appreciation of America's Amer-ica's Intimate friendship. Troopers of jtho Republican guard, in dress uniform ; and with drawn sabers, were stationed 5ehind the gest tables. Dr. Ernest H. dines. president of the American club rj( Paris, before introducing the speakers bf the evening, said in part: J "We meet tonight on the eve of another .Thanksgiving day and in the midst of prevailing unrest. We may ask ourselves Swhy w are giving thanks, just as, perhaps, per-haps, those ancestors of ours who first landed on Plymouth Rock may have asked themselves why they were thankful after their precarious and arduous voyage. It Twas not simply for material comfort and ood. but they were thankful that their principles had survived, and so we here Seel that the victory which has been won "is for the triumph of great principles and Vause for thanksgiving tonight and for -future years." World France's Debtor. Hugh C. Wallace, the American ambassador, am-bassador, after alluding to his thankfulness thankful-ness for the progress of President Wilson toward recovery from his illness, said: "To my friends of France I would recall 'ihat after the battle of Salamis, which -feaved the civilization of the west from an Seastern attack, the commanders of the "Creeks voted to choose from their num-jper num-jper him who had most contributed to the jrv.ctory. Each commander apparently roted for himself, as is the wont of human jpature. but all voted for Themistocles. J "While perhaps each of the allied and associated powers might feel constrained Bo say a word in behalf of itself, they fproukJ. after the first and second Marne jkattles. acclaim France, just as the Greek jrpnerals acclaimed Themistocles. France '.did not want war. She withdrew her Jjroops ten kilometers from the frontier an order to prevent a border incident, tiut when an implacable enemy forced her. 3n self-defense to draw the sword, she irew it without hesitation and offered herself a w.'lin: sacrifice. The sacrifice aras tremendous, victory overwhelm 3"g- Victory Overwhelming. "The ambitious monarch who declared 3fcvar is a fugitive and an exile from his cot n try. His throne, created by the sword and supported by the bayonet, has been overthrown and a republic has been raised by a dejected people upon the ruins of an empire. The Germans knew what lhey had done in France, and In the hour lof defeat took counsel of their greatest Sear- the fear of vengeance and retribution. retribu-tion. To keep the allied army out of Germany Ger-many they surrendered at once their "hopes, their honor and their army. Gott mitt uns was henceforth to be translated safety first.' I "Thus it was that, while northern SFrance was devastated, the German territory terri-tory and frontiers remain unscathed. Thus it was that the American troopH, ;jnarching from victorious France into conquered Germany, exchanged a scene 'jDf desolation for a land which bore no !Aiarks of war and where nothing had been destroyed but honor. I "We were grateful to Franco which -ituctained the cause of liberty in the old iworld and throughout the world. Truer It is today than ever before, and it -lias been recognized ever since Thomas Jefferson first said It., Jtevery man has two countries, his 4wn and France' ; arid in addressing you and congratulating you and thanking yon, I find It difficult not to address you as my fellow countrymen." , Ambassador Wallace. In conclusion, said that the fruits of victory must be gathered gath-ered by work. "If we all," he declared, "in our several sev-eral ways accept the gospel of work, your irorld and my world will be saved, for today as never before our salvation is not only prayer, is not only faith, It la work." |