Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1918-11-12
THE AMBITION TO SERVE
By George K. Brown of
 Vigilantes.

By George E. Brown of
 Vigilantes.
 A young man in big office said to me: Great Caesar! I'd give ten pears salary to be in the La Fayette Esca- drille.'
 Another young fellow in a machine shop was grieving himself thin be- cause he couldn't get into lieutenants uniform at one jump.
 To the aspiring young secretary in the big office l said: "True service is humble, and it's first rule is accept ance of whatever duty"
 To the braWny young machinist I quoted: Loyalty vaunteth not itself In gold braid; he also serves who only stands in readiness to work or fight There could be no ambitious service at the front, In the sky, on land, or under the sea had not nation of 1 consecNted men and women given i thclr strength and patience to the humble, tedious tasks of production and preparation---cven of conscrva- tion and defiai Everybody loves man in uniform. But every man in uniform loves and praises the spirit of the steadfast service of the man at the blow, the forge and the bench, as he does the devotion of the women who knit and cook and make hospitals into homes of loving kindness and new hope.
 1t isn't altogether front-rank fight, men. It is universal conflict with a single enemy. Manhood against the Beast. Positions arc important only as we fill them with efficiency and hon, 1 or.
 Trench lines are necessary; bench lines, in shop and mill vitally SO
 There must be foundry before ev- i cry cannon; a WtNau farm before ev- cry loaf of bread.
 If you get into a uniform, honor it, if need be, with your life, and glory our cause with sleeples service and un- questioning devotion. Be ready for any sacrifice.
 a blow, keep it straight and clean and deep, for you will be building the sure foundations of endurance, victory and | peace.
 Or. maybe, you are a high-school girl, inspired to heroism and great personal sacrifice by the story of Sara Lee, angel of '',Thc Little House of Mercy.
 Perhaps guiding fate will call you 1 to some desolate. b,Jod- drenched sec tor on the west front, or where, in the shattered rose gardens of Bulgaria, the prayers of stricken Serbian sol 1 diers ask for -solacc of gentle hands ! and the restoring care of well-trained sympathy.
 But if duty sets you down behind 1 a whirring machine a war plant, or gives to your care and industry some gardens rows afeld. or even puts you in an elevator or behind store coun- ter. be proud of your trust and faith ful to it.
 1 Give your modest and obscure duty a 1 high distinction it never knew. be- fore, that will forever dignify it in the days of peace to come.
 Put the best of yourself into the 1 letters you type, the columns you add the stitches you take or the loaves you bake-make your work as sacred as the cause to which it is given.
 Service after all, is mutal thing. One for all and all for one. I It is taking world war to make us appreciate the character and ser vice of our neighbor next door or across the street.
 There won't be very many strangers 1 after the war. The kaiser's purpose is surely defeating itself.
 Those who once were known as numbered 1aborers will in the new era of peace be greeted as human | beings.
 Service is redecming the orld, unit 1 ing it, breaking down it's prejudice, discovering its dreary isolation, laung opening pleasant doorways to human | fellowship.
 Fill your place, wherever it is. i There should ge no golden should l el straps or stars of military design but for the hopeful uncomDlaining in- l dustry and steadfast loyalty of men l in blue overalls.
 The shellyou find on an arsenal | bench will garry your ambition to Metz l and record your loyalty in Berlin. Service here is partner to the ser 1 vice lover there. You are working with and for the gallant men at the front, as they are ] struggling for you. War Work will win the war as sure ly as the bravery of men in arms. Forget the picturesque distinction of uniforms and spurs and insigna.
 Get busy here you are. The rest VII come to you. And Peace to our world. Before retiring at night, and before l,l,o toh ne prun~