The Detroit times., 1915-10-20
Thanksgiving
~ Or. FRANK CRANE
Copyright. 1916. by Frank Crane)

ana maugre the feaStlngS with WHICH Wy
celebrate it, touch of seriousness all
ways clings to the occasion.
From the beginning we have never
omitted its observance, not even durinlc
the war of the sixties, not even in the
lean and panic years of 1887, 1857, 1875
1898, and 1907. There were always
enough of us glad to be alive and that
1T is as well with us as it is" as the
deacon's phrase goes.
! 1t may not be bad idea in this year,
of grace 1915 to take stock of our blessy
ings.
OF course we have faults, unjust conf
ditions, sufFerings. dangers, and the
usual quota Of undesirable elements inr
cident to the human family in all times
and places. Only Thanksgiving Day is
not the occasion for complaints nor
alarms. Let us rather look about and
see wherein Destiny has been good ID
! us. 'Tis wholesome exercise, and y
commendable habit.
The first thil-Ahat comes to all ouY
minds is the unspeakable calamity on
the war that RACES among our brother1
in Europe. By the mercy of fate we arg
spared that.
The choicest Of our young men ar3
not being infected. dismembered. on
slain upon the battlefield 1t is n/thd
blood Of our boys that is being poureJ
down the sink hole Of race pride and
governmental incompetency
We are spared the bhghting hates tha9
are wars bitterest by-products; we are
nursing no long fury Of resentmenq
against another people.
The systems and ideals of governmen1
uron this western continent are SUCH
, that we not only live in friendly rivalry
4 and intelligent cooperation, but we SEED
no possibility Of things ever being other1
wise. One-half of the world has climb
mated war even from its thought. Ihaq
is something.
We are the least endangered of any
nation. In spite Of alarmists, 1T is hard
TO sec what object any nation could have1
in attacking us. AS near as safety cam
be assured upon this sublunary sphere
we are safe.
We are prospecting materially. 1t is|
but pose when we affect 10 desplseI
prosperity. We all want it and labor for1
il. and ought to be decently thankful
when we get it.
There are always those who howl
calamity loudest when skies are clearest.I
II is cantankerous human nature TO fearl
something i'll is bound TO happen whenI
we are all happy. But it is the rottenestI
IGNORANCE Of superstition. Men of senseI
ought not 70 be afraid to laugh when|
thev feel good. even if tomorrow mayI
bring the gripes.
Our farms are teeming. We have hadI
bumper crops. The good God has filled|
our bins with corn wheat, oats, and ap-l
pies. Cotton nourishes
We have been able to send millions OIL
dollars worth of provisions to unfor-I
tunate Pelgium one of the most splendid
acts of history.
With magnificent self-restraint wei
have played the big brother to Cuba,
Mexico, and Haiti.
Representatives Of our sister Amerl-l
can republic have several times sat with
us in humane council on Pan-AmericanI
affairs.
War is always fraught with unexpect-I
ed dangers. but our rulers have piloted
us so far safely through the troubled
waters. We are not the enemy Of Ger-I
MANY nor Of England. We stand the one
great exponent of humanity, even above
patriotism.
While we have had our strikes and
labor wars, on the whole our great strug-
gle toward a righteous economical ad-
| iustment of the producing forces Of
labor and capital has proceeded with re-
markable dignity and intelligence.
The cause of education was never
more popular. Our vast system of free
public schools steadily increases the in
! teliqence Of our citizens.
Big business grows bigger, yet has
been marked with an increasing sens-
tiveness to it's responsibility, and with
the feeling of the necessity of maintain
| ing public favor.
The south is advancing, the east was
never buster, the north overflows with
abundance, the west booms.
Our experiment is democracy has not
vet failed. A hundred million self-gov-
erning people pursue their fortunes in
reasonable fellowship, uncursed by Sec
tonal hate, unterrifed of foreign ag-
gression.
We are not so CONTINUOUSLY religious
as we were, but we have deal more