Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1917-04-10
YOUR LOYALTY AND NINE

this evening of giving expression to its degree of loyalty
to the country and the president of the nation in the
patriotic mass meeting to be held in tho city auditorium.
There will be inspiring music by the Grand Forks
Military band, and the singing Of some Of the nations
hymns of patriotism by the entire audience, led by a cho-
rus of 100 trained singers. The boys Of the National
Guard will be there in a body. There will be addresses
by able speakers whose loyalty cannot be doubted, and
resolutions will be presented setting forth the sentiment
of the community regarding the war into which the gov
ernment of the United States has been forced by the wan
ton. ruthless, cruel methods pursued by the imperial Ger
man government.
There will not, however, be one person in the vast
audience who wished to see the United States involved
in the great struggle.
True enough. we did not want war. But one of our
own great mon has well said: There are things worse
than war"
The loss Of national honor is one of the things that
is worse than war;"
And the United States would have lost it's national
honor If this government had not resented the continued
violation of rights and the destruction of American lives,
and the utter defiance of repeated warnings that the con-
tinuance Of these practices would mean the necessity Of
our taking steps to protect ourselves.
There was no way~to protect ourselves but to resort
to arms. Germany already was making war on us.
War was not of our own choosing or our own making.
Imperial Prussianized Germany was making war on us
and we could not longer turn the other cheek and re-
tain our own self-respect or Of the respect of the world
and of the generations to come.
And now that we are at war, there is but one thing
to dove must fight.
To fight must be to win.
To win we must be loyal-loyal to the last drop of
blood and the last cent of treasure and the last breath of
sacrifice, II need be.
We pray and hope it will not be necessary to make
sacrifices such as have been made by other nations who
have been fighting our battles for nearly three years. But
we have no choice.
True enough, it is easy. perhaps. for the man beyond
the age Of first CALI military service to say we must
fight" when 1T is the other and younger men who must
first take up the nations honor and defend it. But it is
also true that we must bear the burdens of war-and the
sorrows-and be ready to sacrifice to whatever extent
may be required. And if it be Gods will, we must be
ready to take our stand in whatever place or station the
nations life may need.
But loyalty is not bred of sorddness. Loyalty is a
thing of inspiration-of a desire to be of service. We may
sing the Battle Hymn Of the Republic" and America"
with tears in our eyes and choking in our voices-but it
will not be with sorrow.
1t will be with the pride of loyalty in the bosom and
a touch Of the inspiration that swelled the hearts of the
writer's of these immortal hymns.
We will recall that America has never yet held back
at the call of duty, and we will carry the zeal that gave
the victories to our forefathers.
Not hero worship; not a desire for militia rism: not q
wish to slay our fellow, man-no, a thousand times no.
We war that the rights Of the weak shall be recognized
and that the principles Of democracy that: has made
America the haven of all nations for more than a century
and a quarter shall not be wiped from the earth.
Let the grand old nag wave in hundreds of loyal
hands. Let the voices Of the hundreds and thousands
sing the hymns of the nations loyalty as in other days
that tried mems souls. Let there be applause and shouts
Of loyal approval Of our president and our nations war
riors. But above and through all, let there be the sim
cere prayer that peace shall soon come: not to us alone,
but to all the world. and that through our aid the great
aim Of it all may be accomplshed-tha the rights of the
weak shall be as safe as those Of the strong and that war
shall forever be banished from the earth.
That, at the bottom, is the foundation of our loyalty
today.