hicago, New York and our galaxy of states might be
among the great democracies which "made the world safe for democracy."

THIS REGIMENT A REPRESENTATIVE OF ALL

We have mentioned the 8th Illinois especially because this regiment was
gathered principally from Chicago and the West. Let it be understood,
however, that it is simply a representative regiment of Negro soldiers.
They deserve well of our country. They too crossed the seas and faced
death with a smile. Why? Because their country called them. In the
peaceful days of progress ahead we are sure they will ever remember the
experiences of war and by acts and words continue to labor for the good
of our country.

SUMMARY OF DEEDS OF THE ILLINOIS 8th

Let us sum up in an easily remembered form the work of this regiment in
France:

Suffered 50 per cent casualties; lost ninety-five men and one officer
killed outright.

Lost only one prisoner to the Germans in all the months they fought.

Captured many German cannon and many German machine guns.

Participated in the final drive against the Germans on the French
sector, advancing in the final stages of the war as far as thirty-five
kilometers in one day.

Were the first Allied troops to enter the French fortress of Laon when
it was wrested from the Germans after four years of war.

Won twenty-two American Distinguished Service Crosses and sixty-eight
French War Crosses.

Fought the last battle of the war, capturing a German wagon train of
fifty wagons and crews, a half hour after the armistice went into
effect.

Refused to fraternize with the Germans even after the armistice was
signed.

THE TERMS IMPOSED ON GERMANY

With the signing of the armistice terms, November 11, 1918, the actual
fighting in the world war came to an end but the statesmen of the allied
nations were faced by a task of extraordinary difficulty. We must
remember that not until after the armistice was signed was any of German
soil exposed to invasion. Her cities and villages were intact, her land
had not been churned by exploding shells. Not only were her factories in
good working condition, but they were packed with costly machinery
stolen from French and Belgian factories. Her very churches were adorned
with masterpieces of art from plundered cathedrals of Western Europe and
innumerable private homes possessed articles of furniture and
bric-a-brac stolen from wrecked homes in France and Belgium, before they
were totally d