The Morgan City daily review. (Morgan City, La.) 1916-1920, 1917-07-27
OUR
BY Henry Dwight Sedwick of the
Vigilantes.

by denry OWISnt Oeu"iSA " sAS
Vigilantes.
War is a hateful and q mad
thing. It embodies the maximum OF
human wickedness and human folly.
To turn this strange and wonderful
experience, life-this brief time be-
tween the darkness to which we go
that offers to man a beautiful
world to look at, the boundless in
terest of knowledge, the happiness
of friendship, the enjoyment of Ia
Dor, the blessing Of the deeper af-
fections, to turn all this into sham
bles and hatred, is monstrous, the
doing Of devils.
But the wickedness and waste of
it must not blind US to some good to
be got from it.
In the first place there is Russia
redeemed from tyranny, there will
be Germany, we hope, rescued from
her military madness, and at home
there will be some recompense for
our privations and ~sufferings. The
country will be consolidated as
never before; East and West, North
and South, will find sectional differ
ences well nigh ~obliterated. The
Western farmer will find the Wall
Street banker a man devoted to the
general good, whose chief fault is
not to be a revolutionary reformer,
and the Wall Street banker will feel
that the Western farmer should
have his economic condition anchor
ated. People may live three thous-
and miles apart, but a common
emotion will make them neighbors,
far quicker than steam and electri-
city.
Then we hope that the incidence
Of taxation will fall on Injuries dur
ing the war and will continue to fall
on Injuries after the war, 50 that
now and hereafter to indulge greatly
in luxury will be the sign of . slack
er in patriotism.
Then we believe that q league Of
democratic nations will be the be-
ginning of . real human union, will
realize the old dream Of Christianity
"a Christendom in which all men
shall be brothers; that no nation viii
seek to keep . market solely for it.
self, that protective duties will be
suppressed by international amity,
the sword be beaten into . plough
share, and military preparedness he
regarded q The last rsmnant Of the
Middle Ages,
But most Of al our country will
have a greater Significance for all Of
rs. Now we are censeious that we
are Irish, Gsrmans, Italians, Swedes.
men Of Jewish, English. Or Scotch
descent; We feel that we ara part Of
a composite whole. that America Is >
sort Of agglutination Of pieces taken
ra:most ct random from the old
weEfd. The war will change al Of
this. It is common suffering and
~common sacrifice that creates . ma
ton. Not common blood, nor COM
mon speech, nor > common litera-
turc. mol Shakespeare and the Bible,
b.. it is the fact Of having strivea
and suffered for the ideal which the
country holds up, that creates and
sanctifies q nation.
All this taxation, all the Liberty
Loans, all the gifts Of the Red Cross
all the partings with our soldiers and
sailors, all the blood to be shed. ali
tho wounds and death to be endured,
will c~onsecrate the citizens Of Amer
ica, will unite the forty-eight states,
white folks and colored, rich and
poor, men Of German with men Of
French descent, men Of English with
men Of Irish blood, into M great
Delf-eonscious. organism, animated
" . purpose Of ordinary men, and
VII give % each American the sense
1t a great personal respons'bllil:. ,
snd great personal ss~lf-reso:et, n~-
cause he Il . citizen Of such a r.-
generate nation.
zach eesd y Til ~ must not
lie ashss1 = - Aidst Of. ~ tlasse
>~-h -