The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1914-1938, 1917-12-06
Letters from the People
Mr.. Editor:

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Mr.. Editor:
Saint Luke tells us of a man VIII
, gave a big marriage supper and in
vited many Of his friends in to he'll
him enjoy it, but they with one con
sent began to make excuses and di,
not go. It seems inexplicable tina
anyone should refuse to attend wed
ding feast. A few years ago at {
wedding in high life where royalty
figured, the mob and crush of women
was almost as great as can be seer
in Kennewick at the opening of the
annual clearance sales. AS those Bi.
BILE characters have likely forgotten
the incident, will open the next act
Our Uncle Sam keeps show most
wondrous and most rare, filled with
every sort of beast, to please man
or scare. In this famous collection is
an animal taken in the age and domain
of Bismarck. It's most striking char
acteristic is that it is always trying
to make it's fellows believe it is doing
one thing when it is planning and do
ing the very opposite. Tho tractable
and docile it has never shown much
affection toward its keeper (our I'm
cle) and at times. it has had its back
up as if about to put something over.
Of late years Uncle has noticed lot
of bumps all over it's head and shout
ders. Upon close inspection those
bumps have proved to be concealed
horns, and very sharp horns at that,
and they are all pointed right at IN
Gle Sam, too. Also there has appear
ed in the once dreamy eyes hidden
fire, there is defiant toss of the head
and swing of the tail which plainly
says: "Look out, old man, when the
time comes I'll get your goat" Uncle
sent word to some of his TRUSTEES to
come in and rope the thing and cut off
the worst looking horns before some
one gets hurt. The boys, used to =
one and two-horned job, stood off at
a respectable distance and looked at
the thing cross-eyed. When it lower
ed its head and covered itself with
dirt and glory, which meant trip to
the hospital, they backed off and told
Uncle to go straight down.
It was then that Uncle Sam brought
his hand down flat, hard and firm, and
brought every man in the nation to
attention. ".Here, you boys come with
me and you young fellows be ready
when l send for you. We are going |
to dig out ell them gol dern horns if |
we have to skin the critter alive"
Then there arose such a wall of an
guish as has not been heard since So
dom and Gomorah went up in smoke.
Here our parable connects up with
real life. Some, tho not all, began
with one consent to make excuses. Are
they not on file with every exemption
board in the land? Could these ex-
cuses be made public we would hang
our heads in shame and stink out of
town thru the back alley, to think that
our fellow men, created in the like
ness and image of God, endowed with
physical powers for both offense and
defense and given mental faculties to
1irect those powers, should again
apse back into Darwin's gibbering,
;hattering monkey, hanging by his
,ail to the top of the tallest tree, ready
% swing to any point of safety.
Now, notice closely the striking re-
'emblance of those excuses tho twenty ,
centuries intervene. Then it was five
Yoke of oxen; now too big a farm, or
perhaps two farms, that obstructs the
'ath of duty and in both periods the
aking of wife is very fertile soil
or excuses.
Many of the excuses are valid and
reasonable. The young man who can
lot go because of too large farm to
ook after is helping to verify that I
pen sheer that this is a war for the t
apitalist. In answer to such excuses I
he government should step right in 6
nd take over all such lands at fair /
entail. Then go out into the highways
nd conscript the slackers, the idlers, t
he go-easys and those burdened with
90 much religion and conscience that s
hey cannot fight to defend their own G
no they have no conscience about G
ating the bread of liberty that has Y
cen paid for with the blood of others. Q
III these should be put on these reser- f
ations under guard in charge of ag- b
icultural experts, given soldiers grub n
ours and pay and set to grinding out e