The Hawaiian gazette., 1915-11-19

"A MONO the letters from clefgynheh who have
= sent to the Conference Committee on Ma
tional Preparedness their approval Of the sugges-
ton that Thanksgiving sermons be devoted as
largely as possible to national preparedness, fire.
quent reference has been made to one Biblical
warning: "Whosoever heareth the sound Of the
trumpet and taketh not the warning; If the sword
come and take him away, his blood shall be upon
his own head #git ,eHilhslf ss.,I -
One such letter is from Rev. George Eaves of
Birmingham, Alabama in, which he says:
ia Il am fully awake 70 the tremendous peril
that Is looming larger ia Europe as affecting
this nation and alsoto the puerility Of Bryan
ism. The Blast Of the trumpet is in our ears.
Our boyhood and young manhood should be-
gin at once universal education. lust as
boy without muscles and the rough and tum-
bic struggle with his associates is failure
so must the nation be which negects a thor
ough training of its physical resources for the
first business of self-protection, What we
ought to aim at therefore is concurrent
educational system standardized by federal
authority, and military training which no
boy of normal health can escape
This puts it up to the citizens in the only
logical way and opens the door also to cit-
zenshp capable Of discharging the business
of self-government by adequate education
in France and nothing is more sure than that
the armed democracy Of Europe would never
have started war nor that even France would
haye passed her children through the fire
unto the Moloch of revenge for 1870.
In different parts of the country clergymen
have already preached on preparedness, as for
instance Rev. S. Parker Cadman of BROOKLYN
not because they are men of miljtaristic tenden-
cies but because they feel that the great inAu-
ence Of the church can be very properly used in
helping to resolve into suitable action the desire
of the whole nation that the late history of Bel
GUM and of Poland shall not be duplicated in the
pages of American history, : s.3. yl-, *.
The Conference Committee on National Pre-
paredness representing with it's allied societies
about one million persons. looks for very gen
eral response to its suggestion that cergymen
discuss preparedness in their Thanksgiving ser
mons The committee feels that crisis in the
life of the nation is not merely approaching but
that it is here, and that the crisis may be safely
passed only if the whole people can be awakened
to the fact that American history has already so
repeated itself that now it is every mans bust
ness to bear a part in the defense of the nation
not for war but against war.
Real gratitude is but poorly expressed in
words The requirements of this Thanksgiving
if it be sincerely observed, call for universal
resolution WHICH shall, embrace the safe, keeping
of our spiritual and civil freedom as well as our
lives and our worldly goods. To}give thanks for
bounteous crops while doing nothing to put the
harvest under cover for protection against COM
ing storms would excite ridieule. The harvest
of civilization in American from Plymouth Rock
down to the present must now be put under
cover and given protection.
The least that can be done in expressing graft
tude for national blessedness is to take care of the
good things that we have In view of that self
evident truth the murmur of peace at any price
is analogous to the thought, present ease and
idleness at any price"