Best Part of Parade That Which Did Not Parade: the Maimed and Those Left Over­seas to Sanctify the Soil of France, Maj. Rupert Hughes, Novelist, Writes-Sees Cause for City's Thanksgiving in Fact That Victorious Americans Marched Along the Avenue Instead of Gray-clad Hordes Led by a Hindenburg or a Ludendorff. By MAJ. RUPERT HUGHES America's Foremost Novelist (Author, "The Unpardonable Sin," "The Cup of Fury," "What Wil People Say," "We Can't Have Everything.") (Written exclusively for The Washington Herald.) In other times conquerors returning from their wars rode up thf main street of their old home towns with samples of their captures to show their rejoicing subjects. But Woodrow Wilson walked up j Pennsylvania avenue among his fellow citizens wearing a shining silk helmet, a full suit of broadcloth armor, a breastplate of starched linen, and well creased greaves. He had no snarling lions or tigers at heel, but airplanes over­head provided a roar that drown­ed the' bands and the cheers of bystanders. He had no Vercingetorix or Thusnelda walking at the tail of his chariot; and it was just as well, though it would have been pleasant to see the Kaiser with drooping mustaches hiking along. War Destroyed Ancient Records This war has been destructive of ancient records. And Presi­dent Wilson's return was as re­markable as his unprecedented .voyage abroad. The seas that Germany tried to render impass­able are once more free, and once more only the storms disturb them. For this return to nature, President Wilson, his Cabinet, the army and navy, and a multitude of co-operating agencies deserve eternal fame; for a more glorious victory over a more dangerous enemy was! never won. The only complaint one might make of the ceremony yesterday afternoon was that it did not come up to the grandeur of the occa- ] sion. But nothing could do that. Most Impressive Part That Not In Parade Thf bcif: irt of the parade was tha part that did no- wounded men on the sidelines or in the carriages, and the men 'left behind in France to sanctify her soil. Mingled with the men who came back strong and well, were the1 men whom fortune denied the privilege of going overseas. They; wanted to go so badly that they can never quite be satisfied with peace. Yet their readiness was the reserves of the fighting line andK it is the reserves that decide the day. President Wilson comes home loaded with such honors as per-! haps no man ever received before in the history of this world. He; comes from making peace to make war on those whom he lias yet to convince of his dream. But whatever may be the fate of this ideal, let none fail to learn! from the superb parade which passed up Pennsylvania avenue yesterday afternoon, one vital lesson: The thing that made this peace u' possible was our ability for war. i MAJ. RUPERT HUGHES. Peace Came Only After U. S. Prowess Was Proved Peace did not come until we made great armies, supremely ready, and hurled them into the actual battleline; and not even then, until they proved by their fierce scorn of danger, torment, and death that they would match life with life and blood with blood to the end of the game. We won life by fighting for it and bought pc. c< Willi war. If our armies had not been huge, well trained, well equipped, atid fear­less, we would have seen not our revered President, but Live odious Von Hindenburg or some other foreign warrior riding tip \tmsyl- vania avenue through lines qf silent slaves, as the field-gt. y flood rolled through Brussels. The power and the glory go together in the worldly world, and history has known no nobler day than this; when a iVco republic | scatters flowers before thf leader and the soldiers that: asserted its majestic vigor in the field of war. Thousands Cheer Returned Heroes as Airplanes Whirr Mars, war god, used returned Dis­trict troops yesterday afternoon to demonstrate his death-dealing contriv­ances when "Our City's" boys passed up the Avenue in the welcome home parade manning the same camou­flaged trench apparatus which he clung to against the Hun in No Man's Land. Washington gazed at it passively, glad that today her sons are through with "the devil's playthings," and joyous in the significance of the pa­rade which wholeheartedly welcomed (back into civilian life at the bench of their former occupation. It was just 12:58 p.m. when President Wilson rolled up to the Peace Monu­ment with Mrs. Wilson in the White House motor car. Parade Starts Promptly. The President waved her a parting adieu and took his place at the head of the procession and promptly at 1 p. m., Chief Marshal Melvin D. Hazen gave the signal for the line to proceed. It would have been hard to select a more perfect day for marching, ' smiling skies and just enough ting i in the atmosphere to animate the ' paraders making the setting ideal. i President Wilson, marching he- i tween District Commissioner Louis Brownlow and Robert N. Harper, 1 never looked healthier or happier. He wore the Wilsonian smile while waiting for the battery of camera s men from the animated weeklies to a register his features for the films and ho smiled continually while doffing '' his .hat to the salvos of applause. Applause Never Vociferous. This applause while enthusiastic at It all times was never vociferous. Washingtonians appear to have become -customed to the sight of the na- r S- tion's Chief Executive, and it was to one of the Secret Service men who v_ remarked that the greetings on for- eign shores during the recent visit were more noisy and demonstrative. Not since the inaugural parade has i- Pennsylvania avenue held greater ig crowds. From the Peace Monument d. to the Treasury the sidewalks were y, jammed with humanity. Roof-tops h were crowded, shop windows were id packed with seated and standing CONTINUED ON PAGE FOUR. 79 'NIGHTIES' I STIRS HIS IRE Princess "Pat's" Wardrobe Arouses One Briton. London. Feb. 27.-Into the grave and weighty deliberations of Britain's in­dustrial congress today a flash of ; amusement was injected, and the great hall shook with laughter, though the remark that caused it was in a way , a messages of misery. Alderman Ben Turner was responsible for the merri­ment when he said: "Thousands of people are unable to buy coal or food. Yet they see that some remarkable increases in profits j are made by big firms. "Read the newspapers. One woman has seventy-nine nighties. How many women are there in this country who have none!" j Premier Lloyd George joined in the laughter. The allusion was to Princess "Pat," married today, whose trous-1 scau contains that number of sleeping robes.