Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1918-09-20
"GREAT ADVENTURE"
ROOSEVELT TOPIC
Makes Fate of Son Basis OF Stir
ring Tribute to Our Soldiers
Killed in Battle.


parent that the basis of the editorial
was the supreme sacrifice OF Lieutenant
Quentin Roosevelt of the American
Aviation Section. Colonel Rooscvelts
Youngest son who was killed in nm air
battle in the first days OF the great
Marne drive :.
Only those are ht TO live, writes
Colonel Roosevelt, who 30 not 'ear to
d,e. and none are fit to die who have
sbn,nL rom the iov of life and the duty
of life Both life and death arc parts
of the same Great Adventure. Never
yot was worthy adventure worthlly car
ned through hv the man who put
personal safety first.
MUST DIE IF NEEDS IIE FOR COUNTRY
Never vet was n country worth living
in unless its sons and daughters were of tha
stern stuff which badc them die for II mt
need: and never vet was "A country worth
diving for unless it's sons and daughters
thought of life not rs something con-
cerncd only with the selfish cvanesCCnCc
! of the individual but rs n link IN the
great cham of creation and Causatlon,
so that each person is seen IN his true
relations rs an essential part OF the
whole. whose life must be made to serve
the larger and continuing hc OF the
whole.
therefore IT is that the man who
is not willing 10 die. IN war Tor Rrra'
cause. IS not worthy To hvc here
fore il is that man and woman who
IN peace time fear or ignore the pr
mary and vital duties and the high
hannincss ef family life. who dare not
beert and bear and rear the lItC that IS
10 last when thcv are IN heir graves,
have broken the cham Ot creation. ana
have shown that they arc unit Tor com
panlonship with tho souls ready tor the
Great Adventure.
OTHERS tRU 10 m FITTED.
.cThc wife of fighting soldier ut the
front rcccntlv wrote rs follows to the
mothcr of q gallant boV who ~ the
front had fought IN high AIR like an
eagle. and. like an eagle. fighting had
dicd. 4 write these few lines not of
condolcnce. for who would dare 10 pity
you9-hut Of deepest sympathy to YOU
and YOURS as vou stand IN tho shadow
which IS the earthly side ~ those clouds
of glory in which vour son lltC has
Just passed Many will envy YOU that
when the call to sacrifice came YOU
were not found among the paupcrs 70
whom no gift of life worth offering had
hcon entrusted They arc tho ones to
hc plticd. not VIC whose dearest arc
lcopardlng their lives unto the death N
the high places Of tho field | hope my
two sons will live rs worthlly and die
MS greatly rs yours
There spoke ono dauntcss soul to
another America Is safe while her
daughters are Of tins kind for their
lovers and their sons cannot fail rs long
as beside the hcarthstoncs stand such
wives and mothers And VIC have many,
many such women; and their men are
like unto them.
NATION $ GREATNESS MEASURED
'No nation can be great unless its
sons and daughters have IN them the
quality 10 rise level 10 the needs of
heroic DAYS No army was ever great
unless its soldiers possessed the tight
ING edge SO likewise the citizenship Of
anv country is worthless unless IN
crisis If shows the spirit Of tho two mill
hon Americans who IN this mighty war
have eagerly come forward to serve I'M
der tho banner Of the stars. afoat and
ashore, and Of the other millions who
would now he beside them over seas If
the chance had been gwen them. and
vet such spirit will in the long run avail
= nothing unless IN the wears Of peace the
average man and average woman Of the
duty-pcrforming type realize that the
highest OF all duties, the one essential
duty. Is the duty of perpctuatlng the
family life, based on the mutual love
and respect Of the ono man and the one
woman and on their purpose 10 rear
the healthy and fine-soulcd children
whose coming into life means that the
family and therefore the nation shall
continue in life and shall not end IN a
sterile death.
TEST IDEALS Perish
but honor highest honor. TO those
who fearlcssly face death for a good
cause. no life IS SO honorable or so
fruitful as such a death nleSS men
arc willing to fight and die for great
ideals, including love of country ideals
viii vanish, and the world viii become
one huge Sty OF materIalIsm And un-
less the women Of ideals bring forth the
men who are ready thus To 1--we and die,
the world OF the future viii be filed
by the spawn Of the unfit Alone of
human beings the good and wise mother
stands on a plane OF equal honor with
the hravest soldier, for she has gladly
gone down to the brink Of the chasm Of
darkness TO BRING back the children IN
whose hands rests the future Of the
years. But the mother, and far more
the father, who finch from the vital
task earn the scorn VI tied on the sol
CieT WHO iiluCItS III pdtIie AND the
nation should by action mark ITS atti-
tude alike toward the fighter III war
and toward the chiIdbearer IL peace
and war The vital need OF the nation
Is that it's men and women Of the fu
ture shall be the sons and daughters Of
the soldiers OF the present. Excuse no
man from going TO war because he is
married, but put all unmarried men
above a fixed age at the hardest and
most dangerous tasks, and provide am
ply for the children of soldiers, so as
to give their wives the assurance OF
material safety.
ALL SUMMONED TO SERVICE
@In such a matter one can only speak
IN general terms. At this moment there
are hundreds of thousands OF gallant
men eating out their hearts because the
privilege of facing death in battle is de-
MED them. 30 there are innumerable
women and men whose undeservcd mis-
fortune it Is that they have no children
or but one child These soldiers denied
the perilous honor they seek, these men
and women heart-hungry for the chill
dren of their longing dreams, are as
worthy of honor as the men who are
warriors IN fact, as the women whose
children are of flesh and blood If the
only son who is killed at the front has
no brother because his parents coldly
dreaded 10 play their part IN the Great
Adventure Of Life, then our sorrow is