Rogue River courier. (Grants Pass, Or.) 19??-1918, 1917-11-08

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This VIII do we'll enough when the
hostile pnrty is child, and II was
thus We fougai Spain In '9S. and
thus We subdued Geronimo and Sit
ting Bull. but this war IN the World
War II II being fought by nations
whose armies are only their cutting
edge; and II our own nation In not
q nation at war with Its whole soul
and body. then II IL a nation on the
way TO pay the price for indifference
to warnings that blaze It's whole sky
blood red.
The army IL truly but the cutting
edge of Il nation at war; the full
strength OF the nation must WELD II.
aud II IN the nation that must keep
the cutting edge keen. and must
clean and sharpen II after battle. 80
much In mere self-preseryation.
What helps the soldier helps the ma
ton. The nation depends upon him
and he depends upon the nation; u
IN all one engine. and n one part
fails the whole will fail. The foot
IL as much In battle as the cutting
edge OF the weapon in the hand:
the iaborer at home Is as much a.
part Of the war as the soldier. What
helps the soldier helps me. Again
therefore | do not give" when !
do my share "for him" ] must. for
myself. do my share for him" J
must for my children. must for
my nation I shall have none. be
part OF none. J am In battle when
the soldier Is In battle; and he will
not fail unless fail him. He has
gone the limit" he Is the cutting
edge and he never fails so long as
his nation never fails him. When
nations are al war. the soldier II
not beaten until the nation is beaten.
An unbeaten nation. a nation
which means not TO be beaten. keeps
It's soldiers fit" morally and ment-
ally and physically. II II doesn't do
that IL Is beaten, or is going to he
beaten and let not one OF MS for
moment forget that while the Red
Cross succors and restores the In
jured soldier. the most important
working mechanism yet devised and
put into practical operation for
Keeping the soldier in sound and
wholesome moral and mental and
physical condition is the Young
Mems Christian Association. as or
ganlzed for war work.
Now, the government is putting
the soldiers in the field. equipped
with guns and gunpowder. ready to
fight: and the government Is taking
the money from us to pay the sol
der and to pay for his weapons and
Transportation. The government has
taken our money for these things.
we say, but Il has acted only as our
agent---the nations agent--in thus
spending the nations money as the
nation had to have that money spent
in the cause OF the nations ideal OF
liberty, without which the nations
life is not worth living. But the
government has left IL to other agen-
cies TO DO other things; yet two OF
these things are as necessary to vic
tory (which depends on the soul and
body OF the soldier) as are the SOL
dier's weapons and his transporta-
|tion TO the field OF battle; and these
1.-TWO things are the work covered by
1.-The Red Cross and that performed
by the Young Mems Christian Asso-
citation behind the lines. The work
done by the Y. M. G. A. in prison
camps is a work of humanitarlanism
but that done behind the lines is
one OF the great ingredients OF vic
tory.
We dare not neglect IL or slight It,.
We dare not refuse to give" to Ii
because We have given to so many
things" The government does not
act as our agent here; nor, In this.
do we compel ourselves, in the form
OF taxes. to recognize that we are all
at war and all in the war. None
the less, our support of the war Y.
W. c. A. is compulsory. because II is
compelled by three things: common
sense. necessity and conscience.
Common sense tells us that what
ever makes u mans soul and body
healthier. resting him and revitaliz-
ing him after the unspeakable druds-
cry OF the trenches, keeping his
mind to wholesome alleviations and
cheering cleanliness during his off
hours-common sense tells us that
whatever does this makes him a bet
ter soldier. And information tells
us that this is precisely the work