The Fargo forum and daily republican., 1917-07-13
WEST DOING ITS
SHARE IN MAKING
PREPARATIONS
Not so Much Noise, but En-
listments and Work Out
strip Far East Sections

New York Times: Two men. one
from the Atlantic seaboard and the
other from the Middle West. met the
other day in Washington.
"Oh, you just ought to see our
town." exclaimed the fastener en-
Enthusiastically. Flags everywhere!
Everybody has hung out the Stars
and Stripes and almost everybody
has Joined the tricolor and the union
jack with our fiag!"
"How's enlistment going?" asked
the other.
'Enlistments are pretty slow. 50
far. We've not done much along that
line"
WELL" rejoined the man from the
Middle West, we're not doing any
| stunts with Old Glory out my way
and we amt doing a lot Of hollering,
either, but my state has filled its
quota, nearly all the able bodied
young men in my town have enlisted,
or Joined the national guard or an
ambulance unit, and the others are
working on farms, and the girls are
making gardens and the women
are"
Never mind! Don't rub II in"
A traveller through the Middle West
came back a few days ago with the
impression that the region was filled
with a fine spirit for war service,
that there was everywhere an earn
est effort and striking efficiency. The
people, to be sure, were not doing
any special stunts with Old Glory"
but they had rolled up their sleeves
and buckled down to work for all
they were worth.
"our War" In the West.
But there Is a plainly apparent
difference between the attitude of the
West and that of the Eastern sea-
board toward the war. One senses
1t soon after leaving the coast and
II grows steadily more evident as one
goes westward. Briefly, 1t is that the
East is as much interested in the
fortunes Of our European Allies as ii
is in the United States, while the
West is thinking very little about
France and England, but IL stirred
to the bottom Of its heart by the
fact that our country is at war. The
West takes its patriotism as 1t does
Its religion, solemnly and unquestion-
ingly, with as profound a conviction
of one as Of the other, and IL Is that
kind of spirit, with it's zeal and faith
expressed in works, that one en-
counters now in mid-Western cities
and towns and homes.
The only states that, at this writ
ing, have filled the quota Of enlist
ments assigned to them as their
respective shares to bring the reg
ular army up to war strength are
Western and Middle Western states.
Manifestly, 1t Is not fair to compare
the total enlistments in populous
states like New York with thinly
peopled ones such as Nevada. The
only just comparison is that which
works out the percentage Of enlist
ment to population. Nevada and
quota, did so more than a month
ago, and along after them have come
Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Indiana,
Illinois, Oregon and Michigan.
Turning Out Soldiers.
1t is not only by enlistments in the
regular army that the war activity
Of the Western people may be Judged.
They are adding to their national
guard strength, enlisting In the navy.
forming batteries OF artillery, and
training for the officers reserve.
Kansas, for instance, whose per-
centage Of enlistments to population
is welt ahead Of that Of New York, |
has just recruited and mustered into |
regiment Of infantry, doing the whole |
thing in 80 days, and in addition has
made ready five batteries Of artillery,
a battalion Of signal troops, another
of engineers and a motor ammunition |
train.
A surprising interest in the navy |
is manifest all through the West |
surprising, that is. when 1t is consid- |
cred that not one person In thou |
sand in the Middle Western region |
has ever seen a battle ship or a |
Jackie in naval uniform; and surpris- |
ing also when one knows how little |
the Middle West has heretofore |
known or cared about the sea arm |
Of Uncle Sans fighting forces. A |
veritabIe network of women's organ !
izations or committees affiliated with |
the navy league spreads all over the |
West, in large cities and small towns |
alike, and their members are hard at |
work knitting sweaters and wristlets |
and helmets for the boys at sea, add |
ing to their members, circulating lit |
erature about their work and instrucs |
tions for the knitting. In homes and |
public places and on the trains the |
knitters are in evidence with their |
busy needles and yarns Of battle |
gray.
Party Spirit Submerged.
Party spirit. which only a few
months ago ran high and bitter in
the Middle West, has almost disap-
peared. For Republican and Demo-
crat alike the country Is merely |
Uncle Sam engaged in the grim busi-
ness Of fighting our war and needing
our help.
Ex-senator Bristow, Of Kansas,
now head Of the state public utilities
recently sent letters from
Washington to his paper, The Salina
Journal, in which he gave credence
to some of the whispering gallery
gossip that is always prevalent in |