Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-11-29
WHY WE MUST EAT TURKEY


THIS day brings with it the perennial
- question. What have ", to he thank !
ful for?" From England and France
come the greetings OF famous men, who
frankly say that what they have to be
most thankful for is that the United
States is at war, Can we echo that senti.
ment? Can we honestly say, THANK God,
we are at war? Some Americans seem
10 think that it is in negative spirit
that we fight that our war is not to press
a good cause forward but merely to drag
a bad cause down. They think the war is
q necessary evil and that as soon as the
C.boats. which caused US Ia take UP arms
are crushed we can patch up a quick
truce with evil.
But those who regard life as one long
battle see this war as simply Il new phase
of an ancient conflict. War We have with
us always Christendom has been at war
with Turkey for thousand years. II
may be a bad pun, but it is a good symbol
that Christians must eat Turkey every
Thanksgiving Day. We must eat Turkey.
We must forever fight and thank heaven
we want to tight the evil spirit that OPP
presses men and aliases women, which Is
not confined to the realm of the Sultan,
4, Il. yyl
are willing to give UP the Cross and sell
their souls for power and gold. The
Crescent floats over Wilhelmstrasse.
Those who do not want to fight the
Sultan Of Germany are those who do not
want to fight evil in any form.
World war we have had with us for
half a century and more, but only in the
last three years has it broken out into
open conflict. There was war in the
making in lS4S, when the Prussian demo
Gratis got their King in a corner and all
but forced hlm to become a liberal. But
they were tricked by peaceful, lying
promises There was world war in the
air when Prussia robbed Denmark of
Schleswig. Holstein. But England's Ger
man Queen talked peace when there was
no peace and the tragedy went on,
Europe stood by when Germany sacked
France in 1871, preferriug unrighteous
peace to justice. And for another genera
ton the Sultans of Germany nibbied new
bits of territory, made open alliance with
the Sultan of Islam, set their spies in
every corner of the world, armed them.
selves to the teeth-and all the world
cried Peace" just as Germans cry it
now. Peace, peace, that was what Ger.
many wanted in 1914-peace that would
let her bully the world into agreeing to
new pacitist conquests. Her armies were a
gigantic bluff, not meant to fight but TO
conquer by threat. The Sultan believed
he had acquired a strength that the world
would not dare to challenge. He was
honestly amazed when England, withour
an army, declared war; when America,
without an army. declared war. lie
could not understand how the civilization
of Christendom could rush, half,armed,
, into. battle for an ideal that had nothing
10 do with power or gold, Turkey.in.
Germany would no more fight for an ideal
than Turkey -in-Asia would. lie could not
understand. lie does not understand yet
We can indeed give thanks that evil
the evil that fights Christendom, has
come out into the open for honest war.
fare and that we are at last able to see
clearly where we can deal it mortal
blows Already it is apparent that the
clear vision Of the difference between
right and wrong, which keeps the Allies
fighting, is opening their eyes to wrongs
they had been blind TO in peace times.
AN seek democracy at home as they
never sought 1t before We have learned
8 to fight harder against the food autocrat
the coal autocrat the housing autocrat
the capitalist autocrat and the labor
sutocrat at home through fighting against
the archautocrat overseas The world
but man Will never ae safe N ne is not
elsays lighting.