Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1917-05-06
WHERE DO YOU BELONG?

! WHERE DO YOU BELONG?
The great question that comes to
many Of us In times Of the nations
I stress should be what shall We do that
| viii most benefit the land we love.
/ II is not so much a question of what
we should like to do, but what we can
| do and do best. The soldier in the
| trenches or the tackle on shipboard is
not all there is TO upholding the flag.
| There Is a glamor to the soldier bust
ness that captures the Imagination,
and very often we find that the
glamor is gone when we try It in
actual fact Soldering in this day
and age is a serious business. There
Is great deal OF monotony about it:
there IS much that is disagreeable and
discouragng Enthusiasm for the
flag is good thing, but those Of us
who 20 to war expecting to reap glory
and honor will have to be possessed
Of great patience and determined
endurance, as well as a conscientious
, decision to devote ourselves to what
ever We are set at with as much thor
oncss as tho the life Of the nation de-
pended on our doing that one thing.
Camp life may be anything but en-
thusing, yet camp life is a very neces-
sary part of warfare, and glorious
deeds would never be done had not
the doer been prepared for such an
event by months and maybe years Of
training for the business
And what is true OF soldering is
largely trde Of our patriotic duty in
other lines Love Of country is not
worth much that cannot show itself
in more ways than cheering the flag
or wearing the colors in your button
hole. Patriotism does not even stop
at resentIng seditious conduct in
| others. We have had many cases OF
people talking too freely about their
| sympathy with the enemy, and they
have Jared roughly from their fellows
I'm most cases. Sedition is despisable
and worthy Of any punishment, but
!
noise about suppressmg sedition may
not be the best patriots after all. True
patriotism impels a man to do some
thing that will advance his country's
welfare, and no amount OF noise or
display will make up for a disinclina-
tion to do what you can best do or
what you are called on to do when
your country needs you.
There are many things besides car
rying "A gun that ambitious ones can
do, and do we'll for the cause. Every
| body cannot go to the front and face
! the enemy Some are disqualified
from so doing. Besides there are
/ other important needs Of the country
besides soldiers. Should everybody
| take up arms the nation would be in
bad fin Therefore. II you cannot
| go 70 war or II your work is vital to
1 tho nations effectiveness, possess
yourselves in patience and do with all
| your might what lies in the path Of
| duty The real call OF duty may be
rrosaic, but it will be a call just the
same For the present it may consist
Of staying on the farm and putting in
a crop. The skilled mechanic is prob
, ably doing his very best for the coun-
try by remaining at his lathe. Trained
men IN many callings besides soldiers
are needed, and needed even more
vitality than the fighting men. for
without the farmer and the mechanic
the work of the soldier would be badly
crippled and soon come to naught
We cannot win wars in n flash. II so,
we might think of overwhelming an
enemy with numbers Wars Of the
twentieth century are long and bitter
trials of endurance and skill, rather
than Of sheer bravery.
The stream of old men who want
10 be aviators of landlubbers who
would like to command submarines,
and of amsteur strategists who think
they ought to he appointed to advise
the general army board, is ineNhausti-
BILE. There is no lack of material OF
this kind, material which, II used at
all, would require a year or two of
Intensive training to be worth any
thing at all. hut there is a scarcity OF
those who say, put me whore ! can
serve my country chest" What the
nation most needs is men and women
TO do the things they can do well, 1t
is an occasic for honest introspec-
tiou \ lot Of people need to come /.
down out Of the clouds and put their .
feet on the solid ground of practical F..
efficiency They need not fear that |
their patriotism will be questioned be-
cause they are humbly employed. I.
when the call comes for men to do F.
great things they will be selected from /.
those who have done the little things
well.