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history can settle some of these mooted questions, but multitudes of people seem to be firmly convinced that the Administration is extremely skillful in passing the buck.

Still, in spite of all the confusion caused by facility in shifting responsibility, any one who is in Washington and in contact with influential men on both the legislative and administrative branches of the Government--as I have been for the past week cannot but recognize that a sudden change has come over the Administration in consequence of the widespread criticism which has broken out since the opening of the new year. Senator Chamberlain may have allowed his dramatic instinct to run away with his logical powers when he read those two heartrending letters about the dead soldiers as though they were evidence of the Medical Corps' demoralization, and his facts concerning the breakdown of the Quartermaster and Ordnance Departments may not have been quite sufficient to rivet the charge of utter failure upon the Administration, but his speech had a salutary effect and galvanized the War Department into more vigorous activity. Since the Senate Military Committee began its investigations there has been a new resolution apparent in military circles, and even Mr. Baker seems to have laid aside his cavalier manner in favor of a responsive and teachable spirit.

There are a thousand jobs in America which Mr. Baker could fill more perfectly than the one he now holds. It is no secret that he did not want the War portfolio. And it has been stated with an air of positive knowledge that he offered to resign, but the President would not hear of it. "Secretary Daniels weathered the storm, why not Secretary Baker?" Mr. Wilson asks. The cases are totally different. There is no doubt now that the agitation against the Secretary of the Navy was started largely and augmented constantly by the liquor interests, and besides that the "Hon. Josephus Daniels" was a name with which Gilbert and Sullivan could have juggled for two hours of delicious opéra bouffe. The criticism upon Mr. Baker has been almost entirely from calm and experienced business men-men of both political parties and from every section of the country. And it has not been leveled at his opinions, but at his defects as an administrator. The work of the War Department at this stage is more industrial than military in its nature, and that is why thoughtful people feel that there must be a large degree of truth in the charges made. Military defects are hardly visible at this stage; if serious ones have been made, we shall read them later in letters of blood and sorrow.

the United States is able to produce three million tons of shipping in 1918, it will be accomplishing a wonderful feat." Lincoln Colcord, an authority on shipping, is quite positive that we shall not build much more than 1,500,000 tons. (Philadelphia "Public Ledger," February 2, 1918.) He says that Mr. Baker has already passed the buck to E. N. Hurley, Chairman of the Shipping Board, and prophesies that when the country knows the facts the Administration will make Mr. Hurley the scapegoat, which would be a great National calamity. Perhaps Mr. Baker knows how he is going to carry a million and a half of troops to Europe in 1918, and then feed, clothe, and munition them. If he does, there surely cannot be any harm in letting the country know.

Perhaps the most persistent question asked in Washington is whether Mr. Stettinius will be given the powers necessary for the accomplishment of his task. At present he is under Colonel Pierce, and Colonel Pierce represents the General Staff. If Mr. Wilson will agree to a modification of the Ministry of Munitions Bill, by which Congress shall give Mr. Stettinius the powers necessary for building up a forceful department, or if the President will definitely transfer some of his own powers to Mr. Stettinius, we shall begin to get results at once.

Congress is genuinely in earnest in wishing to help the Administration. Only hypersensitiveness or an unquiet conscience could construe the actions of the Senate Military Committee as an inimical attitude. Senator Chamberlain's speech on the floor of the Senate was not made as Chairman of the Military Affairs Committee, but as a "personal privilege." His word had been questioned by the President, and he put his facts before the court. Even the bills to which the President has such strong objections-the War Cabinet and the Ministry of Munitions Bills-were conceived and framed, not to hamper or curtail the Commander-in-Chief, but to give him competent aids in the prosecution of the war. By thus liberating him from any care concerning preparations at home the Senate Military Committee hoped to free him for those tremendously urgent and exacting duties which seem to have fallen upon him as the spokesman of the Allied nations. But it is useless to argue the pros and cons of those bills; the President does not want them, and even if one should pass the Senate in its present form it would be only to meet a swift death in the House. In view of the Congressional elections in the fall, the President absolutely controls the lower chamber-no Congressman would ever dare face his constituents with the President's disapproval branded upon him. Mr. Wilson is as absolutely master of the situation as was Gulliver among the Lilliputians.

One of the most discouraging aspects of the Washington situation is that the members of the Administration appear to be comfortably satisfied with themselves. There is something almost Pharisaical about their attitude-"Lord, I thank thee that I am not as other men-or even as this Republican." The President, Mr. Baker, Mr. Daniels, Mr. McAdoo, have all pointed out how well they have handled a stupendous task, and they imply that no one could have done any better in view of all the circumstances. It is noticeable, however, that their stocktaking runs no further back than April, 1917, and calmly ignores all the lost antecedents.

Let us grant, for the time being, that most of the defects and deficiencies in war material-artillery, small guns, ammunition, clothing-may be made up; but what can ever make up the shipping deficiency? That business has been blundered and bungled from the beginning. We were led to believe that American skill and resources could produce six million tons of shipping in about a year. Then came the controversy between General Goethals and Mr. Denman over the material of construction, which dragged great names through the mud and held up production during several vital months. Then, only last week, Mr. J. W. Powell, of the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation, testified before the Senate Commerce Committee: "If

This is America's war, and we are in it as Americans—not as Democrats or Republicans. Any outcropping of partisan spirit should be put under the ban instantly. One of the high officials of the Government preached that to me with eloquence and sincerity the other day. Then he drifted into a discussion of Mr. Baker. I took the position that Mr. Baker was a liability to the Administration, and his continuance in the War Office weakened public confidence. At least, I said, that was the way I read the mind of the people. "Supposing Mr. Baker is not as inefficient as the general public thinks," I argued. "It would seem that to restore the confidence of the Nation is the most urgent necessity at this moment."

"But can you suggest a man for the place?" the official asked.

"Yes," I said; "Mr. Elihu Root. If he were appointed, every one would be gratified, and Mr. Wilson would be praised for rising to the Lincoln level in the Stanton appointment." "Impossible," came the reply; "it couldn't be done. We are committed to the party system of government. I deplore it exceedingly myself, but it is inevitable."

So there is a growing feeling that the non-partisanship should all be exercised by the Republicans. And I hope that the Republicans will be large enough and generous enough to play the rôle, at least during the present crisis. The question which came most often and most persistently to my mind during the week I lived almost exclusively in the Administration atmos phere was whether the Administration realized how tremendously the people of America had been gripped by the great spiritual issues involved in the war. No message from the Presi dent evoked such a response as the one he gave in answer to his Holiness the Pope, in which he laid down as the first and paramount condition an overthrow of the present militaristic rulers of Germany, whose word was worthless and whose most solemn bond was invalid; there must be a final crushing defeat of autocracy. The President's more recent utterance, known as the "Fourteen Terms," omits all reference to the overthrow of autocracy, or of making the world safe for democracy, and presents a bargain counter. So people are asking, and where they cannot ask it for lack of precise phraseology they are manifest

ing their question in a hundred forms of unrest, whether the great spiritual element has slipped from the soul of the Administration and all efforts are now being made for a negotiated peace, a “peace without victories,' a shoddy peace, a peace

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which will make all the vast sacrifices of the past three and a half years utterly vain.

One gets the feeling in Washington that the rank and file of the people of America are spiritually far ahead of the Administration in their attitude toward the war. The people are thinking of its costs, its sacrifices, its tragedies, its emoluments to the race, with a truer and finer temper than that which one meets in official Washington. I am not nearly so much afraid of the Administration falling down in matters of material equip ment as I am of a dimming or diminishing of that glorious sacrificial spirit which now burns in the hearts of the people. We do not want to turn back at Gethsemane.

For we must win the war decisively. That is the only thing America is living for to-day, its one purpose and function in the world, the end for which it is willing to give all and suffer all. What is needed now in Washington is a stream of spiritual and industrial energy which shall force its way into the ship-building, the Ordnance Department, the manufacture of high explosives an energy which will brook no obstacle and scorn to employ an excuse, an energy which will produce the instruments necessary to winning a decisive victory for democracy. It does not matter so very much whether it is the result of the Senate Munitions Bill, or whether it shall be a reorganization of the War Industries Board by the President himself; it does not matter much whether it is Mr. Stettinius or Mr. Baruch, or both combined with others; the only thing that matters is that it shall be energy-experienced, plenary, and resistless energy. Washington, D. C., Fébruary 4, 1918.

Next week we shall publish a Washington letter from Dr. Odell entitled "Who Is the United States?"-THE EDITORS.

PERSONAL MEMORIES OF LINCOLN

I-PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADDRESS AT GETTYSBURG

BY AN EYE-WITNESS, JUNIUS B. REMENSNYDER

Dr. Remensnyder, the writer of this article, was a student in Pennsylvania College at Gettysburg during the Civil War. It was his good fortune to be present when President Lincoln, on November 19, 1863, delivered his famous address. It was the idea of Governor Curtin, of Pennsylvania, to make of Cemetery Hill a National burying-ground, and it was the most appropriate conceivable place, because it marked the "high tide" of the Confederacy, and because here were buried over thirty-five hundred Northern soldiers who died to save the Union in the battle of July 2 and 3, 1863. Few men are now living who were old enough to appreciate the meaning of that address and who were also actually present at its delivery. In more ways than one this account has a personal quality which gives it special value.-THE EDITORS.

THE date for the consecration of the cemetery at Gettys

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burg (November 19, 1863) was set in response to the sug gestion of the Hon. Edward Everett, who had been invited by the Governors of the several States to be the orator of the occasion. No formal address by President Lincoln seems to have been thought of. Mr. Everett was easily the most cultured speaker in the United States, it being generally thought that, if upon any one, the mantle of Daniel Webster had fallen upon his shoulders. Still, it occurred to Judge Wills, the President of the Cemetery Association, that, after the oration, it would be fitting that President Lincoln in a few words should formally dedicate the cemetery to the memory of the brave heroes here sleeping their last sleep.

So in his letter of invitation Judge Wills wrote: "It is the desire that, after the oration, you, as Chief Executive of the Nation, formally set apart these grounds to their sacred use by a few appropriate remarks."

President Lincoln accepted the invitation and left Washington on November 18, 1863, for Gettysburg. With Governor Curtin, Secretary Seward, and Edward Everett, he went to Judge Wills's house as his guest. The house faced the central square, and when the students (of whom I was one) learned where the President was staying the square was thronged and made painfully vocal with college cries. But the students were determined to see the President and have a speech for themselves. Loud and long-continued calls brought no response. At last, when our patience was almost exhausted, the President, who had been at dinner, which our turbulence had not permitted him to enjoy peace, appeared upon the balcony. He waved his hand, and, as far as I can remember, uttered these few words:" I am worn and tired. You would like to have me deliver a speech on the great events and issues in which our Nation is now so deeply engaged. But you must remember that I occupy a conspicuous station, where all eyes are turned upon me, and where every word I speak is reported and given exceptional import. Hence I should say nothing except it had been carefully prepared. I have had no time to think, and where one cannot say anything worth hearing he had better say nothing. Goodnight."

There was nothing particularly oratorical in this speech, nor did the students think it very complimentary after their tedious wait. So, with a feeling of disappointment, and by no means

favorably impressed, we retired from the scene. President Lincoln had correctly sized the situation. It mattered very little what he said to our thoughtless student body, that merely desired to have its curiosity gratified. He would save himself, and we with others could well wait for the morrow. This little speech made to the college students that night, I believe, has never before been reported.

The next Thursday, November 19, proved to be beautiful. All Gettysburg was alive with crowds, soldiers, distinguished Americans, banners, and music. The procession, President Lincoln on horseback leading, started for Cemetery Hill at about ten o'clock. As I was perfectly familiar with the ground, and by nature not indisposed to improve my opportunity, a fellow-student and I secured what we thought the best place for seeing and hearing. We stood perhaps thirty feet in front of the stand which had been erected for the speakers on the central knoll of the cemetery.

The chief interest centered in the address of the Hon. Edward Everett. His great reputation as an accomplished orator naturally excited the student imagination, which expected to hear in him an American Cicero. And it was an admirable oration, clothed in elegant diction, delivered in a cultured manner, and at times, especially in the parts descriptive of the sacrifices of the soldiers and the solicitude of the anxious at home, very moving and impassioned. It occupied about two hours in the delivery, and at the close was greeted with great applause.

All this while I could not but notice President Lincoln. He was seated in a very tall rocker that looked as if especially made for his gaunt frame. He appeared bored by the address. Its great length and the brilliant rays of the sun pouring upon him, as upon the crowd, seemed to make him uneasy. He swayed restlessly to and fro, assuming all manner of attitudes, giving the appearance of decided weariness. When Mr. Everett's address was concluded, President Lincoln rose, adjusted his glasses, and with the utmost deliberation, and no show whatever of oratorical attempt, proceeded to read his address.

This seemed to be written on a large sheet or sheets of paper, which, either from scarce-suppressed emotion or a slight breeze, fluttered in his hands. His voice, somewhat rasping, was forcible and penetrating, and evidently reached the farthest ear of the crowd.

I must confess that I was not expecting anything remarkable

in the address. President Lincoln did not have the unique reputation then that he later came to have. I looked upon him as a thoroughly honest man, of simple rugged strength, but somewhat uncouth in person and in style, which impression had been deepened in me by his nervous, ungainly manner during the lengthy preceding speech.

But all these impressions vanished from the moment the great leader began to read. His simple power and pathos at once held me. Every sentence seemed perfectly to voice the great historymaking epoch through which the Nation was passing. The address appeared to gather up and utter in terse phrase all the mighty issues of the hour. Its force, its clear-cut sentences, its strong monosyllables, were notable. And then the beauty of it! The elevation of thought, the depth of reverence for the martyred dead, the generic truths of democracy, the tender sympathy, were uttered with a rhythmical flow of words that left a musical cadence on the ear. The time, in the midst of the great war for the Union; the scene, the crucial battlefield of the struggle, the hills and woods about us still echoing with the roar of guns and artillery; and, above all, the thousands of hero graves encircling us, contributed to heighten the moral grandeur of the moment. Then, too, more impressive even than the address, the personality of the man himself, incarnating the great issues, shone forth with a compelling power.

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At all events, I found myself quite carried away with emotion. I was as greatly surprised as I was enthralled. The sentences that had most impressed me were: "The world will little note nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here ;" and especially this one, which Mr. Lincoln uttered with a tone of dignity equal to the strength of the thought: "That we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain, that this Nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom." This noble sentence long rang in my ears.

After the applause had subsided I turned to my friend, Wieting, and said, "What do you think of it?" He answered: "Pretty well done for Old Abe! How did you like it?" I replied: "That speech is a classic; it will take its place in English literature."

Such are my impressions of this great hour in President Lincoln's life, gathered from my vivid memories, and also from the records of my diary.

The grandeur and beauty of this immortal address were not at once recognized. But when it had spread throughout the world, and men had time to take its measure, it soon came to be recognized, as it now is, as one of the two or three addresses most memorable in the political annals of the race; nor is there any fear that it will ever be displaced from this peak of solitary eminence.

II-THREE PICTURES OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN
BY LUCY S. BAINBRIDGE

HREE pictures I have of Abraham Lincoln-pictures
that can never fade while life lasts. They are not photo-
graphs upon paper, but graven upon heart and mind.

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“But father has been here since Cleveland was a village, and every one knows his record. Surely he is distinguished enough, and as his daughter I could go, and I mean to go, and I am going to shake his hand. So there!"

In a blue dress a red-haired girl with red, white, and blue ribbons was presented. Taking my hand in his, Mr. Lincoln covered it with his other big, warm hand, and for the instant held it. Looking down with a smile, as though he saw the funny side of it all-a smile on that rugged, homely face which made it handsome--he said, " Daughter, I am right glad to see you.' The only other part of this memory picture is that of his turning me over to the little woman in hoops and tiny ruffles who stood beside him.

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That girl was such a hero-worshiper that for days her right hand was kept wrapped up so that there would be no need to wash off the warm, loving grasp of Mr. Lincoln.

PICTURE NUMBER TWO

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The Civil War was calling men and women to duty. are coming, Father Abraham, six hundred thousand strong, sang the men. But there was need of women as nurses. That was before the day when well-equipped, trained nurses were ready for service. Among the many agencies for relief was one got up by the Ohio Military Agent. A party of Ohio men were to go to help as best they could, under the leadership of an earnest, practical Methodist minister. One experienced woman was ready to go, and, as one woman could not go alone, I was added as a junior member of the group.

We had been tried at Aquia Creek, where the poor bruised and broken men were brought from Fredericksburg after the battle on their way to Washington hospitals. Our party had been sent to several different points where there was plenty of

opportunity for all our ministry under the direction of the doctors in charge. We had been so close to the front that we had heard the cannonading, and had cared for the men, black from the rifle-pits. At last our party were at City Point; our supplies did not arrive as quickly as had we. The barrels and boxes and bundles were on their way, so that the first night at the Point we had only a tent. The grass was thick and clean, and could serve as bed and chair. Johnny, the drummer boy, rolled in a log, saying, "Here's a pillow for you, Sister Ohio." At dusk a tap on our tent pole showed us a caller. Will you ladies take in for the night," asked an officer, "Miss Barton? There is no place for her to-night. She has business in the morning at headquarters. We cannot place her, as our supplies are not here."

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We gave to Clara Barton a most cordial welcome. She slept beside me, with the grass for a mattress, part of the log for a pillow, and half of my mother's big warm plaid blanket-shawl for a covering. In the morning, when she had gone, I was standing at the tent door, looking out upon the scene of the camp activity, when not far away, just good photographic distance, stood those two great men, Lincoln and Grant, in earnest conversation. There were only a few flags flying and there was no music; no glimpse of a funny story on those strong, sad lips. The President looked as though he might have been awake a large part of the long night and in prayer. At a respectful distance from the two men stood a soldier, as motionless as a statue. They did not see me, and I was careful not to move; but upon my heart and mind there is graven a picture in which every line of that face, that bent form, the earnest attention as he listened or spoke to the General near him, stands out to-day.

PICTURE NUMBER THREE

The body of our martyred President was to rest on its journey to Springfield, Illinois, at Cleveland, Ohio. In the center of the public square very hastily a pavilion was erected, where the body would lie in state. Flags drooped at half-mast; bands rehearsed the saddest of sad music; a committee of young women, decorated with sashes of black, with busy fingers made up huge rosettes and trimmings of black and of white cambric with which to make more pleasing the pavilion where the dead hero should rest. With drawn faces and many a sob, the people came, one after another, to look upon that quiet form, wondering, wondering who could guide the ship of state now that our captain had fallen. The city mourned, the Nation mourned; and to-day, after all the years, we do not forget to love and praise and honor Abraham Lincoln.

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WARSHIPS AND INTERNATIONAL FRIENDSHIP THE VISIT OF A YANKEE FLEET TO SOUTH AMERICA AND WHAT IT HAS ACCOMPLISHED

BY SAMUEL G. INMAN

EXECUTIVE SECRETARY OF THE COMMITTEE ON CO-OPERATION IN LATIN AMERICA

MOON after the entrance of this country into the great war,

in the course of the negotiations and interchange of communications on that momentous subject between South American countries and the Government of the United States, a detachment of the fleet of the United States Navy in the Pacific, consisting of four vessels-the North Dakota, the Pueblo, the Frederick, and the Pittsburgh-was detailed to visit South America. These four vessels, second-class battle-ships, are all of the same type-a picture of one appears on page 247. They passed out of the Pacific in June, 1917, through the Panama Canal, into the Atlantic Ocean, and made as their first point of call one of the northern ports of Brazil. When they entered that harbor, it was problematic whether the war exigencies would permit them to stay more than twenty-four hours, but immediately upon their arrival they received a telegraphic invitation from Rio de Janeiro, the capital of Brazil, to visit that metropolis. The problem thus being happily solved as to Brazil, official invitations for the four vessels of the fleet to visit Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay, and Buenos Aires, that of Argentina, soon followed.

This detachment, which is generally referred to in South America as La Flota (fleet) Norte Americana, is under the command of Admiral Caperton, who has had long experience in Latin America. It carries a complement of about four thousand men. This visit of Admiral Caperton's war-ships to Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina constitutes one of the most important events in the development of closer international relations between North and South America. I was in these three countries during the time of the fleet's visit, having arrived in South America in April, 1917. I returned to New York in the latter part of October.

Back of all of North America's protests of friendship Latin America has thought that she saw a threatening of force. It was natural that some should connect the fleet's visit with this suggestion of force. This was especially true in Argentina, where even after the fleet's arrival some of the prominent men of the country retained the idea that the visit had been forced upon them. It was most interesting, however, to see the way in which a direct acquaintance with our admiral and his men changed this attitude. I recall particularly a conversation that I had with a prominent professor in the University of Buenos Aires. Before the fleet's visit we had talked over carefully various problems connected with the enlargement of friendship between our two countries. He had expressed his belief that Argentina should cultivate closer relations with the United States than with any other country. While I was away from the city, however, he made an address at a public meeting in one of the large theaters protesting against the Government's inviting the North American fleet. On my return to the city we met at his club on the Avenida de Mayo. As the Latins do, we talked around and about many questions, until I finally said to him:

"I am soon returning to the United States, and shall have opportunity of speaking to my people concerning these problems of friendship about which we have been talking. I should like to know your final recommendations as to how these may be better cultivated."

Quick as a flash, he turned to me with an upraised hand and said: "Don't force us! This matter of the visit of your fleet doesn't set well with me at all, because it seems that you are forcing us to take a position that we are not yet ready to take. I believe, as your country believed for a long time, that the best thing for Argentina is neutrality. If your protests of friend

ship and of allowing us to shape our own policies are sincere, then you have no right to force us into a position which really neans a declaration of hostilities."

My reply was as follows: "I appreciate what you say and cannot entirely answer it, for I do not know the secrets of our State Department. I am sure, however, that it has reasons for what it has done in connection with the fleet's visit to Buenos Aires, if it has suggested the visit, as you claim it has. But I do know the hearts of our people. I believe that I understand the purposes of President Wilson and his Cabinet, that they are thoroughly in accord with the public declarations made by the President concerning our desire for friendship with Latin America and for allowing each nation to direct its own policies. At a time like this is it not necessary for us to trust one another? Some day you and I will know what only our Governments now know. Then I am sure that there will be a satisfactory explanation."

Spontaneously he reached forward his hand and exclaimed: ou are right. We will trust one another!"

"You

This incident may be said to be typical both of the fears of the intelligent and cultured South Americans and of their real fundamental desire to be at friendship with us.

Before Argentina invited the fleet there had, indeed, been a remarkable struggle between the people on the one side and the Government and pro-German elements on the other. I was in Argentina during the month of this struggle, and have witnessed no more interesting incident regarding national relationships in fifteen years in Latin America. The President of Argentina strongly resisted giving the invitation, and later has resisted the breaking of relationships with Germany. He was accused of being under the control of the Germans. I judge the situation rather differently, however. He is in many ways a Socialist and a pacifist. I am willing to attribute to him the same honest motives in keeping out of war as I attributed to our own President. But no doubt he will be driven by such revelations as have recently been made concerning Germany's plotting against what she calls "veneered Indians" to follow the same path as President Wilson.

Over against this opposition was an influential committee which favored the invitation to the fleet and gave a great demonstration in one of the theaters of Buenos Aires on the Fourth of July. A former Minister of Foreign Relations presided, and many of the most prominent men in Argentina took part. The United States Ambassador, Mr. Stimson, made a notable address, the more impressive because, unlike most of our diplomats sent to South America, he was able to pronounce it in forceful Spanish. The following illustration moved the audience to enthusiastic applause. Referring to the wonderful monument in Mendoza which commemorates the unselfish service of Argentina in delivering Chile and Peru from the Spaniards, he said: "You have a great monument that stands on the hill of Gloria looking westward to the slope of the Andes. It has a thousand bronze figures springing from the living rock; it is the most marvelous monument of modern times. It commemorates the patient, unselfish devotion of the Argentine people and their victorious march across the Andes under San Martin. As yet we of North America have no monument like yours of Mendoza. But may the time come when our deeds shall justify one; when the world will look upon our entry into this great war for the rights of the peoples of Europe as we all look upon that mighty epopee when San Martin led his Argentines across the snows to liberate the peoples of South America! We are crossing the Atlantic as he crossed the Andes. Never have we doubted in my country that, in this our time of trial, we should have the sympathy of the people of Argentina. Argentina, which first bore the torch of liberty to her sister Spanish peoples, will gladly see us take up this torch and carry it on to those peoples who are more enslaved to-day than any ever were in the days of the Holy Alliance."

One of the leading literary men of Argentina, indeed of South America, is Dr. Lugones. In a remarkable address at this meeting he said:

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When President Wilson founded with his immortal Message the League of Honor among the nations, this historic fact established two things of greatest importance: That each nation is, above all, a moral entity, and that therefore there are no great

nations and no small nations before the equality of right. Thus has been enlarged the Monroe Doctrine, which heretofore had only guaranteed the integrity of the American nations with a certain theoretical efficacy. Such is the conception of our adhesion to the policy of the United States; what we are asking is the continuation of our historic attitude; otherwise the United States is pursuing the principles of democracy when the rest of America is breaking them. These principles bring serious responsibilities. Among others is that of co-operating with those who see themselves obliged to use the force that they have in order to defend their honor, which they find attacked by despots, and in order that this honor by which they live shall triumph. Otherwise such honor becomes simply a voice covering shame. The league of which President Wilson has spoken now exists. It is necessary for us to enter or to stay outside forever. The reception of the American squadron will lack the necessary significance if it does not have this result: To declare our solidarity with the international policies of the United States and to cooperate effectively in the enterprise which this fleet should accomplish.'

This great meeting had the desired effect, in spite of the strong opposition above noted, and the fleet was invited to visit Buenos Aires. A splendid reception was given it. The pressure that was put on the Government to invite the fleet naturally created a very delicate situation, and here Admiral Caperton showed most remarkable tact and wisdom.

Equally important was the effect produced by the behavior of the four thousand sailors who manned the fleet. As visitors they made a most favorable impression. The uniform was an introduction everywhere. Not only the members of the Englishspeaking colonies but the South Americans who could speak English talked with the boys on the street cars, in the stores, and wherever they were found. The boys were, truth to tell, homesick, and didn't mind saying that they were. They were eager to talk about mother and mother's religion. I have never seen, in many years of travel in different parts of the world, such a readiness to confess homesickness and such an outward desire for friendship. These boys were not the old tars that had been members of the Navy for many years. I met several of them who were young physicians, lawyers, and civil engineers. Most of them had been recently recruited in the Western States, and represented normal North American life.

In talking to an old tar who had been in the Navy for some fifteen years, I was greatly edified when he said: "These days are certainly some different from the old ones. We don't have anything to drink on board now, and the boys don't seem to care about drinking like we used to. Why, when we came to South America before we had the policemen taking to the trees! But now it is all different. And I guess it's a good deal better." The difference was not merely in the character of these American sailors, but in the recognition by their hosts and hostesses of the fact that they were of a new sort. Those acquainted with Latin-American customs know how the young girls of South American countries are surrounded with all kinds of restrictions, never allowed to receive young men except in the presence of others, and always accompanied by a chaperon on the streets. But on this occasion the mothers of the girls employed in the large packing-houses of Montevideo told their daughters that they had such confidence in their North American visitors that they might go up to any man wearing an American uniform and invite him home to tea! This so astounded the American residents in Montevideo that some of them took it upon themselves to impress the boys with the idea that great confidence was being placed in them, and with the absolute necessity that they should not abuse it. And, so far as they were able to find out, no advantage in a single case was taken of this remarkable letting down of social conventions. There were, of course, some amusing incidents resulting, as when an American sailor found himself looking across the tea table at a Uruguayan señorita, neither of them being able to use more of a common language than a smile. The boys who were able to pick up children who spoke both languages, to act as interpreters, were the envy of all the others!

In Montevideo the whole programme and reception were prac tically directed by the Young Men's Christian Association, to which the Government turned over a large building near the

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