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Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume IX, Issue 172, 7 July 1919, Page 4

It has been one thing set against the American President that, while he was on his February visit from Versailles to his own country, he had much to tell his fellow-citizens with regard to the high appreciation in which their war efforts were held by the Allies but very little to sav as to what the Allies themselves had done both before and after the United States joined them. Nothing has reached us to show that he has as yet repaired this oversight. Possibly he has not so far formed opportunity for so doing, but this should now be afforded him on his return to his own land after the conclusion of peace. While their President har. been thus remiss or negligent in this respect, and so has put their relatively minor, thought quite important, part in winning the war in tbe wrong perspective for a true conception by his countrymen of the various factors in this great undertakin, American men of action have done what they could to repair his omission. Bot hAdmiral Sims am’ General Pershing were quick and eager to acknowledge that America’s millions of men would have been helpless to help in time had. it not been for the transport facilities and protection provided by the British Mercantile Marine and Royal Naw. Now we have General. Biddle, superintendent of the American military base in England, giving his grateful acknowledgment for the assistance tendered him by Great Britain while ®he had so much of het own to overtake.

At the farewell luncheon General Riddle said that out of 2,000,000 soldiers who went from America to France, over 1,000,000 passel through England, sometimes at the rate of 200,000 a month. By the time the war ended they ha dcomfortable hutted camps in that country capable of aecommodaitng 40,000 men. It was wonderful, the American General went on to say, how Britain, although supplying so much to her own forces, wa sable to supply the Americans with so much—everything from white mice and guinea pigs to complete ambulance trains and big guns. Goods toa value of over a billion dollars (£200,000,000) had been ordered in Britain when peace came. For example, a 500-m:le telegraphic line and a cable were laid connecting the base in Englan I with Headquarters in France at a cost of £700,000. The Quartermaster’s Department bought over £20.000.000 worth of gods. Ten thousand beds were sent out to the Medical Department. Splendid hospita. s were evacuated and.banded over/n England by the British authorities and 35,000* Americans were taken care of. There were 5,000 American nurses and men on duty in these hes.pitals. Forty-eight complete ambu lance trains were bought. The Orders Department gave orders amounting to £50.000.000. including 400,000.000 rounds of rifle ammunition. Tn all their dealings with the British Government, he concluded, thev had been treated liberally, opeply. and fairly.