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Show ILL HGESJEBIG MANY OLD MEN OP FRANCS FIQHTINQ 8101 DY BID WITH IT8 YOUTH. MOVELAQUE CITES DEVOTION Fathers an tn Thre Looking From the Trench for the Inspiring Sight j of the Mar and MHpM on Dattl j Front. j By EDWARD B. CLARK. Washington At a conference with the Washington correspondents Rinllo t norelaqti. superintendent of public Instruction In France, spoke of tho devotion de-votion to their country of Frenchmen far beyond the supposed limit of military mili-tary age. lie told of men thrwt fcore years ot ago and older who have been In tho front lino for tho lnm two years ot tho war. lie mentioned one of thein by name, Reno THlllandler, ono of the noted scholars of France, who at the age of slxty-ono years lnWwted upon entering the ranks as a private and who for two years has held his own In tho llghtlug with tho young men. I Thero was a cdnddeoce connected i with the citing of the caso of Rone ' Talllandler. I was present at the conference con-ference with Monsieur llovelnque. Tho I mention of Talllandler's nnuio brought a picture before my eye. In Into Miiy, 1013, 1, In company with , my wife, met Madame Talllandler In ' 1'arK mill Hhotold us of tho determination determi-nation of her husband to go to tho j front. The next day my wlfo saw Mm..nnc Tnlllnndler iigaln, and tills Frenchwoman, prmulor thnn tho proverbial pro-verbial 'prldo, said to her. "Ho Is gone." For two year lacking a fow weeks Rone Tnlllnndler, scholar of France, now slxty-threa yeurs of ago, has been lighting In the trencher side by side with the youth of Franco and Is giving big whole strength and Ms whole heart to the cuuso of democrucy. Looking for Our Help. "Tho young men and the old men, for the fathers aro ut tho front, nre looking buck today from tho trenches In Franco for the Inspiring sight of the American flag." , So siwko a member of the French commission to ma. "It rauat be," he sntd, "that the American people know whnt a whole-souled, full-hearted and j full-armed participation In this vur will mean to thorn, to Franco and to the whole country. It Is unquustlonably true that tho Frenchmen now In Washington deslro not only tho full co-operation of tho American people In this war, but'thelr full sympathy. Thoy want the young men of America to know the full lengths to which tha spirit of sacrlilco Is carrying th young, the mlddlu uged and the old of Franc. They want the American youth to appreciate tho devotion de-votion of these Frenchmen to tho causo'of democracy and thus to be spurred to renewed willingness to help them In the Held against the enemy, not alouo of France, Great Brltnln, Russia sad Italy, bat of th United States of Amortca. The Frenckuisa say nothing about It directly, but It Is known their sharp fear Is that there Is apathy In certain purtH of the United Stutes concerning the war. One of the main reason why their desire Is that the Amerlcnn dlrlnlon shall go qslckly to tke lighting light-ing field Is because they know that tho Instant the young men begin to write homo to America, their experiences and the pictures they draw of tho devotion de-votion of the French soldiers to their coantry will move young Americans Into a heart and spirit for this struggle In behalf of the Republican Institution. Institu-tion. They want the story sent to the home of America from the young men of these hemes who are at tho front doing their duty to the Institutions Institu-tions their forefathers founded. Tee Far Off For Asareolatlen. It Is apparent that the French visitors vis-itors realise that the aloofueM ef the United State trea the scenes of the connlct lsrgely Is responsible for the lack of full appreciation of the need which exists for American support nnd for fall-hearted Amerlcsn effort. Letters Let-ters from the froat written by American' Ameri-can' boys will d mora than anything eto, thoy think, te stir the heme heart. There no longer exists any real doubt In Washington concerning one of the ilmt military projects of this government. gov-ernment. The Frenchmen met with strong opposition at too first, to their suggestion, mad only after their views had been asked, that an Amer-Uan Amer-Uan dlTlslen should be sent to tho front. Some of the American military authorities and particularly the civilian civili-an In tb war department hud no thought of tu real value which the sight of an American flag at tho front would have as an Inspiriting Influence. Tito story ha been told by the B'rcnchinen of tho wotoderful effect produced psychologically on tho Ocr-mnn Ocr-mnn army by tho first sight of tho Russian uniform at a soctlon of the front In France. The Germans had no knowledge, of course, of the number num-ber of Russians which had coinu Into Franco and their thought wbb that j hordes of Ru-nlan soldiers, had been brought to tho West. Tlwro was con-M'.qtient con-M'.qtient depression In tho German ranks. Tliu rererso was tho effect of ' courbo upon tho French troops. They binv another ling, another uniform, nnd tinother breed of men lighting for them, and tho desire to light ewn more valiantly than beforo wis quick-cued quick-cued to renewed life. So tho Amerlcnn odlcern today nro being tulil It will bo when the Amur-i.-un ling. tio American uniform, mid tho American breed of men fchnll appear ap-pear on the front In France. |
