The Hays free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1908-1924, 1918-06-06


he only thing that the government
will accept is a loan, and duties per
formed; but it is a great deal better
to give than to lend or to pay and your
great channel for giving is the Ameri-
can Red Cross.
Give From Your Heart.
Down in your hearts you can't take
very much satisfaction, in the last
analysis, in lending money to the gov
eminent of the United States, because
the interest which you draw will burn
your pockets; it is a commercial trans
action, and some men have even dared
to caYil at the rate Of interest, not
knowing the incidental commentary
that constitutes upon their attitude.
But when you give something Of
your heart, something of your soul,
something of yourself goes with the
gift, particularly when it is given in
such form that it never can come back
by way of direct benefit to yourself.
You know there is the old cynical def
milton of gratitude, as the lively ex-
pectation of favors to come.
Well, there is no expectation of ia
vors to come in this kind Of giving.
These things are bestowed in order
that the world may be a filter place to
live in, that men may be succored,
that homes may be restored; that sui
fering may be relieved; that the face
of the earth may have the blight of
destruction taken away from it, and
that wherever force goes, there shall
go mercy and helpfulness.
And when you give, give absolute
~ all that you can spare, and don't
consider yourself liberal in the giving.
If you give with rehabilitation, you
are not giving at all. You are giving
to your own vanity; but if you give
until it hurts, then your heart blood
goes into it.
Instrument of Mercy.
and think what we have hers; we
call it the American Red Cross but
it is merely a branch of a great inter
national organization, which is not
only recognized by the statutes OF each
of the civilized governments of the
world, but it is recognized by interna-
tional agreement and treaty as the
recognized and accepted instrument
tally of mercy and succor. And one
of the deepest strains that rests upon
the reputation of the German army is
that they have not respected the Red
Cross.
That goes to the root of the mat
ter. They have not respected the in
strumentality they themselves par
ticipated in setting up as the thing
which no man was to touch, because
it was the expression of common hui
mainly. We are mem bers, by being
members of the American Red Cross,
of a great fraternity and comradeship
which extends all over the world, and
this cross which these ladies bore to-
day is an emblem of Christianity It.
self
Pays Tribute to Women.
eft fills my imagination, ladies and
gentlemen, to think of the women all
over this country who are busy to-
night and are busy every night and
every day doing the work of the Red
Cross, busy with a great eagerness to
find out the most serviceable thing to
do, busy with a forgetfulness of all
the old frivoIities of their social rela-
tionships, ready to curtail the duties
of the household in order that they
may contribute to this common work
that all their hearts are engaged in,
and in doing which their hearts be-
come acquainted with each other
When you think of this, you real
lie how the people Of United States
are geing drawn together into a great
intimate family whose heart is being
shed for the service of the soldiers
not only, but for the service of civil
ians, where they suffer and are lost
in maze of distresses and distrac-
lions.
And you have, then, this noble pic
ture of justice and mercy as the two
servants of liberty. For only where
men are free do they think the
thoughts of comradeship; only where
they are free are they mutually help
full; only where they are free do they
realize their dependence upon one an
other and their cOmradship in a COM
mon interest and common necessity.
Tells Indian Story.
81 heard a story told the other day
that was ridiculous, but it is worth re-
peating because it contains the germ
of truth. An Indian was enlisted in
the army. He returned to the reser-
walton on a furlough. He was asked
what he thought Of it. He said: Not
much shoot Then he was asked:
Are you going back?' Yes
Well, do you know what you are
fighting for?'
Yes, me know; fight to make
whole damn world Democratic party
He had evidently misunderstood
some innocent sentence of my own.
But after all, although there is no
party purpose in it, he got it right as
far as the word party to make the
whole world democratic in the sense
Of community of interest and of pur-
pose, and if you ladies and gentlemen
could read some of the touching dis
patches tnat come through official
channels, for even through these chan
nels there come voices of humanity
that are infinitely pathetic, if you
could catch some of those voices that
speak the utter longing of oppressed
and helpless peoples all over the world
to hear something like the Battle
Hymn of the Republic to hear the
feet OF the great hosts of liberty go
ing to set them free, to set their minds
free, set their lives free, set their
children free, you would know what
comes into the heart of those who are
trying to contribute all the brains and
power they have to this great enter
prise of liberty. 1 summon you to the
comradeship, l summon you in this
next week to say how much and how
sincerely and how unanimously you
sustain the heart of the world
Keep Watch Over Thoughts.