Show PRESIDENT CHALLENGES CHALLENGES' CRITICS TO TEST AMERICAN SENTIMENT I Indicates in His Boston Address Address Ad Ad- dress Eagerness to Battle for League of f Nations Wilson Declares That Americans Who Would Have Their Country Fall The World Are Lacking In Broad Vision Boston President President Woodrow Wilson Witson Wit Wile son Just back from Europe delivered an address in Mechanics Mechanics' hall hail Monday l afternoon February 24 to La which he threw down the gauntlet to those who distrust t tl the proposed concert of gOVernments governments gov gOV- based he Iso declared on the American ideals which li hare 6 won the war for Justice and humanity The complete text of the presidents address follows I wonder wonders If you jou OU are arc half as glad to see me as I am to te see tee you It warms my heart to see a great body of my fellow citizens again because in some respects during th the the- recent months month'S I have been ver very lonely Indeed without your comradeship and counsel and imd I tried at every ever step of the work which fell to o me pe t to 9 re recall l what I X was sure ure would be your our counsel with regard to the great matters which were under consideration I do not want you ou to think that I have not been appreciative of the e ex extraordinarily generous reception which was given to me tue on the other side In saying that It makes me roe very happy i ito to get home borne again I do not mean to say that I was not very deeply touched by the cries that came from the great crowds on the other side But I want to say to you In all lI honesty that I felt them then to be a call of ot greeting t to you rath rather r than to me I did not feel that the gre greeting was personal I had in my heart the overcrowding overcrowding over crowding pride of being your our representative representative and of receiving thi th the plaudits of men everywhere where who felt that your hearts beat with theirs in the cause of liberty There was no mistaking the tone In Inthe Inthe inthe the voices of those great crowds crowd It was not a tone of mere greeting It was not a tone of mere e mere generous welcome welcome welcome wel wel- come It was the calling of comrade to comrade the cries cries that come from men who say slY We e. e have haye Y waited fo for for- t this l d day when the friends menus of or liberty come across the sea and shake hands with us to see that a new world was constructed upon a new basis basL and foundation of justice and right I cant can't tell you the Inspiration that came from the sentiments that came out of those simple voices of the crow crowd d. d And th the pro proudest dest thing I have to report to you jou ou is that this great country of ours Is trusted throughout the world I have not come to report the proceedings proceedings proceedings pro pro- or the results result of the proceedIngs proceedings proceedings proceed proceed- ings of the peace conference that would be premature I can say that I have received r very happy Impressions from this conference conference conference confer confer- ence the Impression that while there are many differences of ot judgment while there are some divergences of object there Is nevertheless a common common com corn mon spirit and a common realization of the necessity of setting up new v standards of right In the world Not Masters but Servants Because the men who are are In conference conference conference con con- ference in Paris realize as keenly as ns any American can realize that they are te not tl th the masters r Q f I eople that they ar are the s Of f their I people and that the the spirit spirit of ot their PC people peo peD- pie l ha has as awakened inval ned to a new purpose and a n v ne W conception ot of their tr power poyer to o realize that purpose and that no noman noman man tuna tare dare go home from that conference conference confer confer- ence and report anything less noble than was expected of it I The conference seems to you OU to go slowly from day to day in Paris It seems to go slowly but I wonder if It you realize the complexity of the ta task k which it has undertaken It seems as asIf asIt asif If It the settlements of the war affect and affect directly every great and I sometimes think every small nation In Inthe inthe the world and and ana anano no one decision can prudently be made which Is not properly properly properly prop prop- erly linked in with the great series of other decisions which must accompany it And it must be reckoned in with the final result If It the real quality and of that result Is to be properly judged What we are doing is to hear the whole case hear it from the mouths of the In men inca n most Interested hear it from those thoe who are officially commissioned commissioned commissioned commis commis- to state It hear the rival claims hear the claims that affect new nev areas of world that affect new commercial and economic connections connections connections that have been established b by bythe bythe the great world war through which we have gone Claims of Nations Moderate I 1 have been struck by the moderateness moderate moderate- ness of those who have represented national claims I can testify that I have haye nowhere seen the gleam of pas pas- sion I have seen earnestness I have seen tears come corne to the eyes ees of ot men vim vho ho pleaded for trodden down people I whom they were privileged to speak for but they they- were they were not the tears of or I anguish the they were the tears of ardent i S S SAnd hope And I dont don't see how an any man can tail fall to have been subdued by these pleas subdued to this feeling feelIng- that he was not there to assert an individual Judgment judgment Judg judg- ment of ot his own o but to try to assist the cause of humanity In the midst of It all every Interest seeks out first of all aU when It re reaches ches Paris the representatives o the United United Unit Unit- ed States Why Because and I think I am am stating stating- the most wonderful wonder wonder- ful fact In history because because there ther is no nation in Europe that suspects the motive of the United States Hard to to- Forget Differ Differences It Is Impossible for men to believe bellee I that all ambitions have all all of a sudI sudden sud sudS den been foregone They remember I territory that was coveted they re re- was member rights that it was att attempted to extort they rem remember political ambitions am urn- which it was attempted to realize real ize and Ize-and and while they believe that men have havo come into a different temp tempers they cannot forget these things tug j so they do not resort to one for tOl dispassionate t til ti t thi rant milt In y They to that Y nat Sn n which has won the oil III vi distinction of being re reminded regarded as ashe the he friend of ot Whenever it was desired to send a 1 small force of soldiers to occupy a al apieCe apiece l piece CCO of territory where hero It is though nobody else lse will vIii be welcome they ask IsIt I sIt for American soldiers And where other soldiers would be he looked upon with suspicion and perhaps meet wit vIti resistance the American soldier Is welcomed th acclaim I have so many grounds for pride on the other ther side of the water I am very thank thank- l fV-l tji 11 the he are no not grounds rounds for personal personal per per- pride e. e S SAnd And it has been an Infinite pleasure to me to se see seO those gallant soldiers of or ours of ot whom the constitution of the United States made me the proud com com- mander You may be proud of the Twenty sixth division but I command the Twenty-sixth Twenty division and see sec what they did under my direction I And everybody praises the tha American sol sor dier with the feeling that in praising him he lle is subtracting from the credit of no one eles Amer America a Acted Her Ideals I have haye been sear searching for the fundamental fundamental fun fun- fact that converted Europe to believe In us Before the war Europe Europe Europe Eu Eu- rope did not believe in us as she does now sh She did not believe In us throughout the first three years of th the war She seems really to have believed believed be be- hewed that Hlat we were Yere holding off because because because be be- cause we thought we wo could make more by staying out than titan by going In And all of a sudden in a short eighteen months the whole verdict is There can be but one explanation e for it Th They y saw saw- what we did that did that without without with with- lout out making a single claim we put all allour allour I our men and all our aU-our our means at the dISposal disposal dis dIS- of those who were fighting for their homes in the first instance but for a cause the cause of human rights lights and justice and that we went In not notto notto notto to support their national claims but butto butto butto to support the great cause which they held in common And when they saw saw that America not only held ideals ileah but acted ideals they were ere converted to America and became firm partisans of those Id ideals als Fighting for Lives an and Country I Men l were vere fighting with and lowered lowered- head until they came to realize those things feeling they were fighting for their lives and their country country coun coun- try and when these accents of what It was all aU about reached them from America they lifted their their- heads they raised their eyes to heaven when they saw men In khaki coming across the sea In iii th the spirit of crusaders and they found that these were strange men reckless of danger not only but re rec- rec less less' because they seemed to see something something something some some- thing that made that danger worth while t Men have hae testified to m me In Europe that our men were possessed by something something something some some- thing that they could only call can a religions religious reli rell gions ferver They were not like any of the other soldiers They had a they had a dream and they they were lighting In the dream and figuring figh figur in lag ing in the dream they turned the the whole tide of battle and It never came back And now do j you u realize that this confidence l fJ 1 we have established f throughout the world worM imposes ti a burden bur bur- bur I bur burden den upon us us-if us if you choose e call aU Ita it ita ita I a burden It Is one of those burdens which any nation ought to be proud to carry Any man luau who resists the present tides tides- that run In the world will find himself thrown upon a shore shoreS S sp high and barren that it will wilt seem as asIf asif asif if he lie had been separated from his Ills huan human human hu hu- hu- hu man an kind forever t Europe Continent o of Hope The Europe that I left the other ether day was full of something that It had never felt toll fin its heart so full fun before It was full fun of hope The Europe of the second year of the war the Europe of the third year of the war was sinking to a sort of s sl Si desperation They did not see any great thing thing- to ue ne achieved even eyen w when hen the war should oe DC won They hoped there would be some salvage they hoped that they could clear their territories of invading ar armies armies armies' ar- ar mies mies' they hoped they could set up their homes and start their Industries afresh But they thought it would woula simply be the resumption of oft the old life lite that Europe had led led led-led led In fear led In anxiety led in constant I cious clous watchfulness They never dreamed that it would be a a Europe of settled peace and of justified hope And now these ideals have wrought this new magic that all the peoples or Europe are buoyed up and confident in inthe inthe inthe the spirit of hope be because ause they believe believe believe be be- lieve that we are at the eve of ot a new age In the world when nations will understand one another when nations will vill support one another In every just cause when nations will unite every moral and every ph physical strength to 10 see that the right shall prevail We Must Not Fail Fall the World If f America were at this juncture to world what would come of it I do not mean any disrespect to any any I Iother other great people when I say say that America is the hope of the world and If she does not Justify that hope hove the tue t results are unthinkable Men will wilt De ne thrown back upon the bitterness ot or I disappointment not only but the bitterness bitterness bit bit- of despair All Alt nations will be beset be beset set up as hostile camps cams again r the themen themen themen men at the tile p peace ace conference will j go go o home with their heads upon their breasts knowing that they have haTe failed I Ifor for for they were bidden pot to come com home from there until they did somethIng something some some- some 1 I thing more than sign a treaty of peace j i Suppose we sign the treaty of peace and that It Is the most satisfactory i treaty of ace pace that the confusing confusing- ele cle- Cle- Cle elements ments meats of the modern modem world orld will afford I and go home borne and think about our labors la Ia- bors we will know that we have left lett I written upon the historic table at VerS Verr Ver Ver- I IS Ir S r S sallies upon which Ver Vergenne l and Benjamin Franklin wrote their names nothing but lut a modern scrap of paper no nations united to defend it k no great forces combined to make It good no assurance assurance given to the trodden down i land and fearful people of the world that tha thaI I the they shall shall- be safe Any man who thinks that America will take part In giving the tue world any such rebuff nm and disappointment as es that does docs not know America Invited to Test Sentiment 1 I Invite him him t to o test the of the nation We set this up to make men fr fre und anti v we sc 11 no not op no conception n and aia purpose to lu and now we c will make men free 1 It If Itye we ye did not do that the fame of ot Amen Amerl ca would be gone and all her powers power would l I Q dissipated She then would I have ha to kC keep p nl Mr power for those narrow narrow narrow nar nar- row selfish provincial purposes seem so dear to some minds that havo have no sweep the tue nearest horizon I should welcome no sw sweeter sweeten challenge than that I have haye fighting blood In m mme me ant and It Is sometimes a delight to le leIt let It have scope but If It Is a challenge on this tills occasion It will be an gence Think of the picture think of ot th the utter uttern 1 th L y 1 On n Ulf or d I f Ai ei bl has lIe 1 I 1 America Amerl a lnA ina made le e a n. little essay at g ir Hy then theft withdrew 1 2 America said We lVe are arc your friends but It was only for today not for tomorrow America said Here Is our power powel t to vindicate right and then the next day said Let right Let right take care of Itself and we will take care of ourselves America Amen Amer ica said We set up Ui p a light to lead men along the paths of liberty but we have lowered it it Is Js Intended d donly only to light oui own wn path We sd sel up a great Ideal of liberty and then we said Liberty Is a thing that you must win for yourself your Do not call can upon us and think of the world that we Ve would leave heave I New Nations Must Be Shielded Do you ou realize how v many new nations na an- ions t-ions are going to be set up In the tIle i presence of old and powerful nations Europe In and left there if left by us without a disinterested friend Do you believe in the Polish cause as I Ido Ido Ido do Are you oU going to set up Poland immature Inexperienced as yet unorganized unorganized unorganized and leave her with a circle of armies around her lien Do you OU believe in the aspirations of the Sio Czecho yaks valts and the Slavs Jugo as I do Do you know how many powers would be quick to pounce upon them If 11 there were vere not the guarantees of the world behind their |