Mr. President. You have sent to France your young soldiers. Eager though they were to meet the enemy they were unaware when they arrived of the monstrous crimes of the Germans. To obtain a proper view of the German conduct of the war, they had to witness the burnt-down cities, the flooded mines and, the crumbling factories. You will have the opportunity, Mr. President, to inspect with your own eyes the extent of that disaster. Do you think President Wilson would have been happy with this welcome?

The French government will also show you documents in which the German General Staff described its plan of plunder and industrial destruction.

President Poincaré of France in a speech of welcome to President Wilson in December 1918.