Free trader-journal. (Ottawa, Ill.) 1916-1920, 1918-08-13


My osn N-ed States
love every inch OF her prairie land,
Each stone tu her mountains side;
| love every drop Of her wafer clear
That flows her rivers wide;
| love every Tree every blade OF grass.
Within Coum1ia's gates;
The queen ID, The earth is the land OF
my birth,
My own United States.
Wha. American San listen to that
sentiment and don't feel like standing
on ZIP toe ANA throwing his nat into
The air with Joy
In a big UNCONVENTIONAL gathering
few months ago | heard a French
preacher deliver wonderfully elo,
quent address on the subject, The
Soul OF France Went away from
that meeting with bigger love for
heroic France went away also say
ing to myself. America TOO has a
soul" hnd !, back in l77J when our
foretathers with The love OF freedom
in their breasts struggled With aristo-
cratic tyranny I'D win their freedom
| find il in .>1 when the blood OF our
fathers was She'd Tor the preservation
of the nation and the giving OF free
dom to the slaves. find il in 1898
when the United States Championed
the cause ct oppressed cuba, won
freedom from Spain TOR her and then
stayed by her until she was nurtured
into the ability 70 carve out her own
destiny and then magnanimously
withdrew i ig1 ii in John Hays
invitation 70 the viyisecting powers
to join with the United States in OBJ
serving the status quo in China when
the war between China and Japan
showed Chinas impotency aud the
powers began 10 grab her territory
Recently China erected in the city
OF Pekin. a memorial statue TO John
Hay as a tribute to the United States
for its exhibition of justice, When
the boxer indemnity was turned back
to educate the youth OF China our
country demonstrated once again that
it has soul.
Had We lost our soul IN '914? Was
the German estimate Of MS right when
they said We were dollar chasersP''
That we knew nothing OF culture and
the finer things OF civilization? They
counted on the idea that we were SO
glued to the flesh pots that we woull
not get into this war As the months
stretched into years and We remainel
neutral there is no doubt the suspic /
ion grew in Britain and France also
that we thought only of business
and growing enormously wealthy GU
of the war
But II was not lack of soul tina I
kept us out 1t was the process nee
e ssary that We might intellectually
and morally comprehend that it was
our war, humanity's war. Then again.
it was a unique situation. There was
the Monroe doctrine standing in the
way Of entangling alliances in Euro.
pean affairs. To enter the war would
be setting up a precedent 1t is no
wonder it took time for us to ge.
into It. All the time We had a big
soul Henri Bergson found it out dur
ng his sojourn among us and he went
back TO France TO publicly declare
that America was misunderstood IN
reality we were a nation OF flaming
Ideaists.,
Today We are demonstrating we
have soul. General Pershing at the
.omb Of Lafayette spok. for AlnerNa
when he said. in words that found the
leart of France. Lafayette, We are
lere'" The enunciation Of our war
aims by President Woodrow Wilson
s indisputable evidence that we have
soul We are fighting for great idea
md Ideals, not for anneXatiOns or in
for ourselves America
,hows she vas a soul in the way we
ave gone after the proliteers, cap.
talzers of calamity We have shown
hat we have a soul in the big men of
ne nation giving their services gratis
o the nation to make our participa
ion yitally effective. There Is Char
es Schwab who out Of the pure 10y
" patriotic assistance gives his great
abilities to the production of the
italy essential ships We demon
trate that we have a soul in the way
We are preparing our soldier to fight
or right We are telling our lads
hat no woman need ever tremble
when an American uniform is near
hem. We teach that it Is a stain on
he American flag for American sol.
Tiers to resort TO vice and intemper.
nee. A high French officer. looking
N as an American regiment marched
" in france, declared to a bystander
That is the cleanest army ever mob :
lizei"
Americas soul is being re.awaken-
ID A new day has arrived We are g.,
,oing 10 pu. more soul into the task
# purging our fault Alled democracy
eie at home after the war. We must
lot wait even for that. We must lead
he world in unseliish nationality. +,
We must stand as a beacon hight in ,