The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Army Distinguished Service Medal to Mr. John F. Stevens, a United States Civilian, for exceptionally meritorious and distinguished services to the Government of the United States, in a duty of great responsibility during World War I, as head of the Railway Advisory Commission to Russia and Special Advisor of the Russian Ministry of Ways Communication. In the midst of revolutionary conditions Mr. Stevens has pursued his undertaking to rehabilitate Russia by the restoration of railway traffic. In a distant country, far from immediate support, he has maintained an unflagging devotion to duty which is now beginning to show the valuable results of his labor.