South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1914-11-24
YOU CAN. IF YOU WILL.

YOU CAN. II YOU WILL.
Why not a sane and safe Thanks
giving-along with Goodwill week?
Pres't Wilson has called attentio
TO the fact that our nation has espe
ciaI reason 10 be thankful this veal
IL is not engaged in the horrible busi
ness OF war. II has crops that almos
beat all records in every respect.
has made progress toward the ideal
Of true christianity and civilization
And, if custom is carried out, we
spend Thanksgiving about like this:
Some sincere thanking Of the Lore
Much football, dancing and othe
tndulgences of ordinary holidays.
The utmost stufing Of stomachs. a
means and capacity will permit
II would be impious to speculate o.
just what satisfaction the Lord get
out Of our way Of observing Thanks
giving day. But we may safely sa
that it is not too much. but much to
little. And yet how easy to make tn
day more as we know He would Xix
It. Read what a Constant Reader
writes this paper:
There's going TO be a new
program for my family this
Thanksgiving day. First thing
going to thank God. in my heart
II not on my knees, for all I've
had during the year and for what
I've still got. Oh, yes Business
is not so good, the grind is some
thing fierce, and we've he'd TO
pinch at every point, but the same
has been true of all my fellows.
and when l see homes burning
human scOrpses rOtting. wives and
children wandering hungry and
homeless over that beautiful for
eign world, while / have my wife
and babies IN my arms, safe and
cared for, my heart goes out TO
God. And so. on Thanksgiving
morning, my children are going to
hear their father talk some about
the goodness of the Almighty who
has protected them from war,
famine and pestilence, while mil
tons Of their fellow beings were
suffering
And don't you believe that
wife or mother is going TO spend
most Of her day drawing a tur-
key, stufing and roasting il, stew
ing cranberries. baking pies and
tOrturing her soul over the out
come of other Injuries in pan.
oven or kettle. Not for me "A
bloated stomach and petrifed
liver that leave a fellow cursing
his costly folly instead Of thanks
giving. and Indifferent to God and
everything else. Why, the turkey
and extra iXings alone will cost
me So. SO. We'll have just an or
binary and substantial dinner and
the difference between the cost of
that and the usual gastrOnOmic
blowout shall go for shoes and
blankets and bread for those
poor. miserable children and
mothers both here and across the
ocean. Should I take, on my
Thanksgiving day, my Over-fed
family into Gods presence, He
might point to the hungry moth
ers, staggering out of the way of
man-killing engines on Flanders
roadways, to the groups of naked
children lying in Belgian fence
corners crying for milk. or per-
haps to some scene here in our
own city, and say, These are your
sisters, these are your children,
and the terrible winter is at hand
No, I'm not going TO praise God
with my stomach. I'm going to
turn my senSeless luXuries into
the necessities that will save my
Odd sort of notion, isn't it? BJ
suppose that the millions Of Ameri
cans who will over-stuff themselvC
on Thanksgiving day all carried on
this idea? IL would mean millions {
shoes for the freezing feet of children
millions OF loaves of bread for starvs
ing innocents. millions of blankets 10
homeless. helpless sufferers. Wha
matters the nationality Of those WON
en- and children, or whether they ar
here or in Europe? They're our sis
tiers, our children, under the Heave
10 which you pretend to be grateful o
Thanksgiving day.
There have been scores Of America
Thanksgiving days. All of them hay
been devoted 10 a little genuin
Thanksgiving to Cod. much stufing G
the inwards. and a lot OF sporting an
other demonstrations of our extraorC
mary goodness to ourselves. Why nc
an American Thanksgiving day tha
shall stand in history as mOnumer
TO American sense and love of hu
manity? There never Will be a bette
opportunity or stronger reason for i
It only means converting luXuries W
don't need into necessaries for lack {
which thousands OF our fellow-chi'
dren will surely freeze, starve an
perish from among us.