The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1917-08-24
RESPONSE TO THE
CALL OF PATRIOTISM.

CALL Or "a hOI ION.
Mr.. Bryan has been criticised for
making the statement that million
of men would respond to the coun-
try's call to the cOlors over night.
Commenting on this utterance OF
Mr.. Bryan's, Mr. w. B, Geroe, of To
ledo, Ohio, says that in response to
the presidents call for ten million
registration for service in the Amer
lean army and ten million young men,
the flower of the nations youth, reg
istered in twelve hours.
THE president asked America for
the sinews of war. He said: we want
two billion OF dollars and we gave
him three billion in six days.
THE American women said we
want a hundred million dollars for the
use Of that most unselfish Of all chart
ties, The American Red Cross, and we
gave them a hundred and twenty mil
lion in six days-'Oh, not in hesitat-
ing or uncertain tone.
I'VE sent our afayette-America' 5
Lafayette-in the person Of General
Pershing with his brown-clad Sam
mics to our friends Of other days, the
people of the French republic, and We
have sent to our allies the swiftest
of our navy We have given to the
suffering and starving Of war-stricken
countries millions in food and cloth
ing.
We have sent 10 our fighting allies
millions in provisions and in NUM-
tons of war-and the most sacred of
our contributions, the women nurses
Of the Red Cross With words and
deeds we make our meaning known.
Is there any other nation that could
have done all this? From our work
shops and from our fields we can feed
and cloth the world if need be.
Had there been a barrier of hatred
or barrier of indifference between
America and her allies, how long
think you, could this well planned
war Of the enemy have lasted? Amer
lean spirit and American resources
has saved all civilization from a hor-
rible disgrace There is no doubt
about it, our allies know it, the whole
world knows it, and that is waht it
means to be able to say am an
American. Can there be a greater
heritage to any man
Can there be a more glorious in
heritance that that of Savior of the
life and liberty Of the world? We
should thank the Almighty that We
were physically able to draw Amer
ica's sword in defense of freedom and
OF Christianity Never before in the
history of the world has one country
been called upon to rescue the Univer-
sal God of freedom, and that natioe
the youth, the STRIPPING Of yesterday
the United States of America
In defense of his statement MI
Bryan through the COmmoner says
When Mr. Bryan said that if Amer
lea were asailed a million men would
leap to arms, the war-mad organs oil
opinion hooted at the idea. No alien
enemy has yet set foot on American
soil as a member of an expedition of
but from April 9Th, the tins
when the president and congress de
clared state of war existed between
the United States and Germany, untilI
July 18th, $4,000 men had voluntarily
ENTERED the military and naval service
OF the country. This means that az
least a million men offered their serv-
ices. This occurred in the face of
the fact that it was known that the
draft was coming, by which
thousands of those who volunteered
would have escaped Sc. vice. Taken
in connection with the fact that 1900
goo individuals bought Liberty Bends
does not indicate that devotion to
country is dead"