The commercial. (Union City, Tenn.) 190?-193?, 1918-07-19
What VIII Your Answer BET


written telling the next generations
how the United States made so many
sacrifices and thereby brought uni
versal peace to the whole world and
every nation in every part of the
world, will be singing praises of our
Government.
These histories will then be
taught from the primary depart
ments to the universities of our coun-
try, and no doubt the little tot, after
listening to his teacher explain how
all these wonders were accomplished
by the bravery and sacrificial spirit
of the people of the United States,
will go home after his school hours
are over and crawl upon his fathers
knee, the father whom he has always
loved and. whose thoughts and ac-
lions he has always thought were
right, and will ask this question,
Papa, what did you do to help win
that war;" Some fathers, am glad
to say, can answer, II went when
my country called" or II volun-
teered and went to fight, altho l was
not compelled to go, because of my
age"
But the answers of others must be
something like these:
The thirty-one year-old man who
had no dependents: "The draft law
didn't touch me and / was not foolish
enough to volunteer, son. let those
foolish eighteen and ninteen-year-
old boys do all that"
The Stacker within the draft age
must say: II got up crackerjack
affidavit, about dependency and got
by on it, and didn't have to CO."
The husband of the society woman
will probably say this: "You know,
son, we had no children before the
war but you were born about year
after it started, so l had to stay at
home and play with you while your
mother caught up with her social
duties that she missed while you
were little.
The farmer: II had to stay at
home and farm, son, and l sold hogs
for 16 .nts a pound, wheat for
1925 and l really think l should
have gotten $3.50. I sold my corn
for $3.50 to 50, and then / bought
more land so could say to the Gov
eminent man when he came around
that l was in debt and did not have
any money to buy Government
bonds"
The county Office holder: Under
Crowder's ruling, l didn't have to
go. There was no Howell King blood
in me. / consider him foolish to re-
sign the sheriff's Office for $40 a
month job and take a chance of get
ting shot besides"
The lawyer: 1T took all my time
to keep bootleggers, pistol toters
and hell raisers out of the peniten-
tiary, but l made patriotic four-min-
ute speeches and advised the voters,
on the side, that would be candi-
date a the next election and don't
you know that after doing this dur
ing the entire war period, one of
those one-legged soldiers came back
and the foolish people of my county
elected him to the Office l was after
by reclamation. 1t was pity for me
that he didn't die on the operating
table while in France.
The Government Office holder:
After holding good fat position
for years and years before the war
and during the war, my Congressman
didn't have the nerve to re-appoipt
me and appointed the wife of SOL
der boy who was killed in the
trenches, and said that public senti-
ment demanded it. The reason
didn't volunteer, you see, son, is be-
cause had to hold that Office.
But the doctors, we think, in most
cases, will be able to answer this
innocent question and say, Abiding
by the teachings of my profession,
when the call was made, / volunteer
ed because / considered it my duty
to my country as we'll as to-humanity
and went forward and administered
to the sick and wounded soldier boys
and stayed with them until the last. :"
And we think, too, when the dear
little son or daughter crawls upon
the mothers knee and asks her this
question, the answers will be some
thing like these:
The young, able bodied girl will
say, II worked in the box factories
making boxes to carry the ammuni-
ton to the battlefield to kill the
damnable huns, and altho 1 was of
fered position where l could have
worn better clothes, felt it my duty
to do this class of work because it
L.. Il.