The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1918-12-12
PEOPLE WHO ARE LEFT
!. out Of The roll Call !
Is, - ll5-.'.',' u u "a Y.
Population Of the United States
Z Asked to Stand Up and
Be Counted.
~ GERALD STANLEY LEE.

BY GERALD STANLEY LEE.
had friend once named Old Bill
Spear. who was the curator and found
5er Of the John Quincy Adams Memorial
In Quincy, Mass. BE conceived the
idea Of making the house into q me
mortal and, with his genius as q col
lector Of old furniture, filled it with
things to see.
People came from everywhere, and
at twenty-five cents apiece they went
about to see the things Bill had col
lected and hear Bill talk.
Bill felt very superior to most col
lectors. "Just collectors" Bill said,
"collect anything"
Bill usually could size people up when
they came in the door, but when he
wasn't quite sure about people. and sus-
pected he didn't want to bother with
them very long, he used to take them up
tds the attic to size them up quick. He
wctald show them a bushel basketful OF
sorhething they couldn't quite see, and
then he would wave his hand with a
flourish and say in an impressive tone
y
the Largest Collection of Burnt Matches
In the World!'
Hundreds Of collectors didn't break a
smile. Bill said. and just looked awed.
Then Bill knew. of course. that he
needn't bother to show them his best
things
Some Of the people who are proposing
to go out into the streets Red Cross
Christmas Roll Call Week and gather up
everybody to join the Red Cross, seem
to think that the main thing there Is
to tell people about the Red Cross is
that if they pay dollar to belong they
will belong to the Largest COLLECTION o, OF
People Who Have Paid One Dollar In the
World.
l felt a little superior to this at first
and began thinking how l wouldn't do It.
But when I began thinking what the
biggest Collection of People in the World
could do by just being the biggest and
by all wanting the same thing with 8
different one dollar, it became impress
sive.
1t would even be- impressive If forty
million people in America all wanted thu
same thing with the same Dollar!
r. All wanting the same thing would be
j, nation praying-all the grown-up people
IF a nation with their little half con
scious children round them-praying!
The dollar man Joined with, woult
not be mere one dollar The dolla
would be receipt to every man ii
America that 39,999.999 other men o
women belonged to him, and that he be
,nged to them in getting what he want
~ for three million soldier boys and TO
Their children at home.
Forty million people-all the grown-u
people in this country pick out thre
million men and say to the three millio
men they have picked out. You go an
die for us, you go and be saviors Of tn
world and die our crosses for us!''
Then what do the forty million do?
It would be be something if I'VE woul
all line up-the whole forty million {
us to man, with our little pallid insipi
speeches. dollar bills in our hands frol
Maine to California Christmas Week an
use our two dollar bills year as ballot
stand up in line and be counted an
cable to the men across the seas thu
we vote one carfare once in two Weel
to stand by them, to stand by the sou
and bodies of the children Of the me
who have made a. standing offer to d
on our crosses for us!
Who wants to be left out of this lii
by Christmas Eve! -.'
What man would want to be stood I
Y in a row of those who are left out viii
=? all of the children of the world file
and look at him, while the little childr<
of nine hundred thousand dead men
England file by and look at him, or Il
!. children Of the soldiers of France givir
their lives to protect the skyscrapers
New York?
For that matter it need not take
many children. What man who let hin
self be left out would feel safe in h
own house with his own children climbil
up Into his lap believing in him-sa
with his own baby pulling on his fac
jabbing his small trustful fists in /
eyes-if he let himself be left out?
OF course, it seems little like
mockery to cable over to France Chris
mas Eve that we give one carfare on
in two weeks to the children Of the m
we picked out to die for us, but it wou
be a start
Nobody needs to think it would be
big thing just to belong to the Red Gro
but it is going to be big thing to
left out.