The herald., 1918-02-14
The Poisoned
Dove
By Richard Washburn Child

lew monluS ago. "A TepOIltI bh llIc
pier in San Francisco said, "What do
they think in the far East about when
the war will endY'
That was the first expression about
the war heard by an American return
ing TO his native country and aching
to know what Americans at home had
been thinking, planning, doing, how
we were expressing our manhood and
womanhOod, whether we would soon
find u way TO mobilize America and
throw the giant force of her against
the menace of men.
l heard this query with a SIckened
spirit. The reporter would never have
asked the question unless in behalf of
the readers of his paper. Gould this
| represent the spirit of the people
the spirit of America?
l had heard the same question In
England back in the days when the
Teppelns had just begun To come over
London with the slogan women and
children first"
'Over there" however, they learned
with the sound of this question in their
ears. They have learned that insid
iously, quietly, imperceptibly, the per-
sistent tap, tap, tap of this little ques
ton weakens the cause, turns the edge
of determination, enters the subcOn-
scious mind like a slow disease drain
ing off fighting spirit, manhood, and
| the dash and power of the one purpose.
and beats upon that which should be
the unbreakable will Of people who
must win.
More Dangerous Here.
For America, this question haunting
! the minds of its citizens is more dan
gerous than it was lover there" Our
| soft prosperity, our distance from the
| struggle, temptS weak men to cling TO
the comforts of peace. We have not
| felt the GAIT of war. Not yet have we
| learned the pain of that full deep
| thrust of regret that when democracy
| called for us, we, the pioneers of lib
erty, asked why and how and when
| but, at first, did not come. We have
not learned even the prelude of that
day when the war will have seized
upon and wrung our hearts, when the
ghosts of our men come back to sit in
| the farmhouse kitchen or in the leather
chairs of the club, to click the latches
of village gates, and march in invisible
brigades up the asphalted avenues.
So the flabby men and women among
US still go on asking in that voice of
childish eagerness, How long will the
war last?'
And the selfish retailer, trader, or
| financier, fat with gain and ease or
lean with avarice, thinking of the eff
/ feet of peace upon the market, asks,
what would be your guess about the
end of the warp
And even the thOughtless and the
| ignorant and emptyAeaded, whe would
] otherwise say, as this hot enough for
! your" or do you think it's going to
SNOWY" say now, "Well, when will the
war end?"
The Two Types.
Test the spirit of these questions by
the two types-thOse who ask them
! and those who do not. Which is the
type of person whom you would trust
| for character, courage, and sense, for
unflinching determination when some
thing has been begun, to 'see it
thrOugh?'
1 remember leaving Kitchener's Of
| fee in London to visit the recruiting
at Scotland Yard. Six feet four inches
| and go pounds Of retired British army
veteran, hardened, Redeemed, grizzled,
was my escort. That was in 1915.
There's too much wondering when
the war will end" said he. "My three
boys have gone"
"To FranceT said I, misunder-
standing.
ITO rest" he said, Strengthening.
skilled in action. Perhaps it's that
which makes me squirm when 1 hear
any Britisher guessing about the end
of the war. My good sense would tell
me anyway. If you see two men fight
ing, would you put bet on him who
was wondering when it would be
over?"
"No."
"Nor /. When they ask me when
the war will end, L say, Something
like year or two after the PrnSsians
think it time to STOP"
For contest between two men, two
| football teams, two nations, or two
great alliances struggling in the great
est war of all, over the greatest Issue
of all, there can be no other doctrine.
When John Paul Jones antagonists
asked him if he was ready to stop
fighting and he answered that he had
not begun to fight, it was not John
Paul Jones but his enemy who was
wondering "when il would be over"
No man, no woman who contributes
even by innocent, thOughtless mouth
ing to a mental attitude expressed in
wondering when the war will be over
Is fulfilling the obligation of Americans
to 60 straight and hard and together
for the one united, persistent purpose
to which the United States has dedi-
Gated our strength. A Job Is to be
done. A job is to be finished.
Dangling Peace as Bait.
Germany will be glad at any moment
to divert US from the idea that the job