Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1918-05-20

Saturday evening The meeting. in the
Metropolitan Opera House. was remark
able demonstration of patriotism he
great auditorium was packed with
cheering throng,
Cleveland y. Dodge. in introducing
the President referred to HIM rs the
spokesman for all the great spiritual
forces of the world He is the beacon
hcht 10 which the ewes of countless mil
lions of men and women in every land
tonight. who long for freedom and peace,
are looking in these hours of stress and
toll.
THE PRESIDE $ ADDRESS.
"Mr. Chairman and fellow country
men. | should bc very SorrH TO think
that MIR Dawson in any degree cur
tailed his exceedingly interesting speech
for fear that he was postpomng mlnc,
because am sure YOU listened with
the same intent and intimate interest
with which | listened to the eXtraordln-
arily VIVID account he gave OF the things
which he had realized because he had
come in contact with them on the other
side of the waters We compass them with
o,lr imagination: he compasSed them IN hIS
nerSonal experience. and have not come
here tonight 10 REVIEW for YOU the work OF
the Red Cross | am not competent 10 90
So. because | have not had the time nor
the opportunity TO follow i IN detail !
have come here simply 10 say few
words TO YOU as to what It ail seems 10
me to mean, and il means great deal.
.Trherc are two duties with which we
are face to face The first duty IS 70
win the war [Grcat applause And
he second duty. that goes hand IN hand
with il, Is 10 win 1t greatly and worth
liz. IappIausel showing not only the real
suIajjty of our power, but the real
quality of our purpose and OF ourselves
OF course. the first duty, the duty that
we must keep in the foreground Of our
thought until il is accomplished 70 WIN
the war. | have heard gentlemen recently
say that we must get five million men
ready. Why limit II 10 five million
lCireat applause
Il have asked the Congress Of the
United States to name no limit lap
,lausel because the Congress intends,
am sure. as we ali intend that every
~hip that can carry men or supplies
shall go laden upon every voyage with
every man and every supply she can
carry [Applauscl And we are not t.
be diverted from the grim purpose Of
winning the war by any nslncere APP
proaches upon the subject o. peace.
| can saw with a clear conscience that
have tested those intimatIons and have
found them inslncere. lApphQse-I
now recognize them for what they are,
sn opportunity to have free hand.
particularly in the East. 70 carry out
purposes Of conquest and exploitation
STAND py RUSSIA A. NELL A. FRANCE.
Every proposal with regard to Ac-
c0mmodation in the west involves
reservation with regard to the east
Now. so far aS I an concerned. intend 70
stand bv Russia Is we'll = france ne
helpless and the fTlendless are the very
ones that need friends and succor and Il
anv man in Germany thinks we are gong
10 sacrifice anvbody for our own sake,
tell them now they are mist or the
glory of this war, my fellow cltlzcnS, 50
lar as we are concerned, IS that It IS. pei
haps for the first time IN history. an IN
selfish wslr Applause l'could not ne
t,roud to fight for "A selfish purpose but /
cAn be proud To fight Tor mankind AP-
4lausel II they wish peace let them
,,ne forward through accredited repre-
.,ptsti yes and lav their terms on tn"
table TApplause We have laid ours.
and they know what they are. Applause ]
OPPORTUNITY TO DEMONSTRATE CHARACTER
But behind all this grim purpose. my
friends. lies the opportunity to demon
r+rate not only force which will be dem
onstrated 10 the utmost, .applauSc
but the opportunity 10 demonstrate
character. and II Is that opportunity
that we have most conspIcuously in the
work Of the Red Cross. Applause Not
that our men in arms do not represent
our character. for they do and il Is
character which those who See and real
ize appreciate and admire: but their
duty is the duty Of force The duty of
the Red Cross Is the duty OF mercy and
succor and friendship.
.fHave YOU formed picture in y0llr
imagination Of what this war Is doltg
for us and for the world? In nv own
mind | am convinced that not a hun
cIred wears of peace could have knitted
this nation together as this single vf:.r
81 war has knitted il together. applause
and better even than that II possible il IS
knitting the world together I4ppIausr
Look al the picture. Tn the centre of tin.
scene, four nations engaged against the
world, and at every point OF vautuce
showing that they are seeking selfish
aguandizcment; and, against them.
tWenty-three governments representing
the greater part of the population Of the
world, drawn together into new sense of
community of interest, a new sense of
community of purpose. q new sense Of
unity of life.
FRIENDSHIP THE WORLD CEMENT
Friendship is the only cement that
vi ever hold the world together ap
plausel And this intimate contact Of
the great Red Cross with the peoples
who are suffering the terrors and dep
rlvations of this war is gong to b.
one of the greatest instrumentalities Of
friendship that the world ever knew
and the centre Of the heart of il all if
We sustain it properly, viii be this land
that we 50 dearly love. IAppIause.I
My friends, great day Of duty has
come, and duty finds a man soul as
no kind Of work can ever find it Nav
| say this? The duty that faces us all
now Is TO serve one another, and no man
can afford to make fortune out Of
this war Applause There are men
among us who have forgotten that, if
they ever saw it. Some Of you are old
enough am old enough to remember
men who made fortunes out Of the Civil
War, and you know how they were re-
garded by their fellow-citizens. That
was Wal to save one country Is
q war to save the world lApDlause.I
And your relation to the Red Cross is
one OF the relations which viii relieve
you Of the stigma. Laughter and ap-
plause lou cant give anything to the
government Of the United States: it