and Sneaton and Corporals Brown and Glover were of straight English extraction. Corporal Le Bœuf is of French-Canadian extraction. These are only some of the names that occur to me. In the regiment at large the range was greater.
All of these men were straight Americans and nothing else. All of these men thought of themselves as Americans. Once I heard one of the men in conversation outside my headquarters. He had been born in a foreign country. He didn't like the way that country was doing in the war. He alluded to the citizens of that country, the country of his birth, as "them cold-footed rascals." It never even occurred to him that there was anything funny in this. He thought of himself as an American, the men to whom he was talking thought of him as an American.
An excellent soldier born in Germany was brought back to me one day as we were advancing into the lines. The officer in charge reported that the man had been caught talking to German prisoners, which was something strictly forbidden. He appeared before me. I knew him to be a good sort and said to him, "What is the matter, how did this come about?" He said, "Well, sir, I know I should not have done it and I won't do it again, but I suddenly saw in that batch of prisoners someone from the town where I was born." This man was killed in action shortly afterward fighting for this country.
I have been told of a leave train sent to Italy with American soldiers born in Italy on it in order that they might see their people. Doubt was expressed in the minds of the higher command as to whether it was an advisable move, inasmuch as it was thought probable that many of the men would overstay their leave or possibly try to desert and stay there. Not one man out of the 1200 did either. An officer who talked with these men on their return said that conversations ran much like this: "Cipiloni, have a fine time on your leave?" "Yes, sir." "See your family?" "Yes, sir." "Get back in time all right?" "Yes, sir, got back to the train fourteen hours before it left, sir. I was afraid, sir, if I missed this train, I might get left behind when the division started for home."
When replacements came to us, some of them could not even speak English. After they had been with the troops two or three months the same men would not only be speaking English, but would speak it by preference. I have seen two Italians, born in the same district in Italy, laboriously conversing with one another in English rather than use the tongue to which they were born, with which they were naturally much more familiar.
From these and many other reasons, the army is the least of this country's fears as far as Bolshevism and its kindred anarchies are concerned. All over the country you will find the service men keen to put down demonstrations of this sort. They are keen of their own accord, not prompted by anyone. The other day I was in a city where a Bolshevist meeting had been broken up by some service men. I knew one of the men who was concerned in this. I asked him how it occurred. He said. "Why, sir, it was this way. I was talking to some of the fellows down at the W. C. C. S. and a guy says to us, 'They've got a red-flag meeting on for to-night.' I said to some of the men, 'That ain't the flag we know anything about, or fought for. Let's go down and bust them birds up.'"
The service man feels that this is his country. His first and foremost concern is for the United States. He wants the institutions of this country to stand. He has given himself, and where one has given of one's self the interest is deepest. He has bought a share of stock of the United States. As a stockholder he intends to do what he can to see that the concern is run properly.
In order to keep alive and active this spirit of sturdy loyalty, a vested interest of some type obtained by his own labor should be aimed at for every one of as many citizens as possible. This country will have to move forward with a program of sane, constructive, carefully thought-out liberalism.
It may be necessary in doing this to modify or change certain things in this community in the future, but the service man, I believe, intends, as far as he is able, to see that those changes and modifications are carried out in such a way as will not destroy or injure the national fabric and institutions.
Again, first, last, and always, the service man is an American!