The Washington herald., 1917-05-13

imperatively necessary. Their first duty
will be to raise a great fund out of which
to draw the resources for the perform
ance Of their duty, and / do not believe
that It will be necessary to appeal to the
American people to respond to their call
for funds, because the heart of this coun-
try is in the war. Its heart will express
itself in the gifts that will be poured out
for these humane purposes.
II say the heart of the country is in
this war because it would not have gone
Into 1t II its heart had not been prepared
for 1t. 1t would not have gone into It
If it had not FIRST believed that here was
an opportunity to express the character
Of the United States. We have gone in
with no special grievance of our own, be-
cause we have always said that we were
the friend and servants of mankind. We
look for no profit. We look for no advan-
tage. We will accept no ADVANTAGE out
OF this war. We go because we believe
that the very principles Of the American
republic are now at stake and must be
Vlndlcated. In such a contest therefore
we shall not fail to respond to the call
to service that comes through the instru-
mentality of this particular organization
No War of Amateurs.
'.And I think II not inapproprIata 70
say this: There will be MANY express
sions Of the spirit Of sympathy and
mercy and philanthropy. and think that
IL Is very necessary that we should not
disperse out activities in these lines too
much; that we should keep constantly
In view the desire to have the utmost
concentration and efficiency Of effort.
and 1 hope that most, II not all, Of the
phianthropic activities Of this war may
be exercised, II not through the Red
NNTnaa than i
sututed and experienced organization
This is no war for amateurs This is
no war for mere spontaneous impulse
II means grim business on every side
or II, ana II is the mere counsel Of
prudence that in our phIlanthropic as
well as IN our fighting we should act
through the instrumentaIities already
prepared to our hands and already ex-
pertenced In the tasks which are going
TO be assigned to them. This should be
merely the expression Of the practical
genius of America itself, and I believe
that the practical genius OF America will
dlctate that the efforts In this war in
this particular field should be concen-
trateo In experienced hands as our ef-
FORTS in other fields will be.
There is another thing that Is
slgnihcant and delightful to my thought
ABOUT the fact that this building should
be dedicated to the mercy Of tho women
both OF the North and Of the South. 1t
Is sort of landmark Of the unity to
which the people have been brought so
iar as an old question which tore our
hearts In days gone by is concerned, and
1 pray God that the outcome OF this
struggle may be that every other element
OF difference amongst us will be oblter-
ated and that some day historians will
remember these momentous years as the
years which made a single people out
or the great body of those who call
themselves Americans.
The evidences are already many that
this Is happening. The divisions which
were predicted have not occurred and viii
not occur. The spirit OF this people is
already united and when effort and suf-
tering ana sacrifice have completed the
union men will not longer speak on
any lines either OF race or association