Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1918-05-24
FROM PRESIDENTS
RED CROSS ADRRESS.

"Iave you formed picture in
your imagination of what this war
is doing for us and for the world ? |
In my own mind, am convinced That
not one hundred years of peace |
have knitted this nation together as
this single year of war has knitted it |
together, and better even than that,
if possible, it is knitting the world
together. Look at the picture. In
the center of Il scene, four nations
engaged against the world, and at ev-
cry point of vantage showing that
they are seeking selfish aggrandizc-
ment and against the twenty-three
governments representing the great
er part of the population of the world
drawn togtther inc new sense
of community of purpose, sense of
unity of love. The secretary of war
told me an interesting incident the
other day. He said when he was in
Italy member of the Italian gov
eminent was explaining to him the
many reasons why Italy felt near
to the United States He said, "If
you want to try an interesting exper-
lment, go up to anyone of these
troop trains and ask in English how
many of them have been in America
and see what happens" He tried
the experiment. He went up to a.
troop train and said: GLOW many of
you boys have been in America ?"
and he said it seemed to him as if
half of them sprang up. "Me from
San Francisco; me from New York;
from all over"
There was part of the heart of
America in the Italian army. Peo-
pie that had been knitted to us by
association, who knew us who had
;; lived amongst us, who had worked
shoulder to shoulder with us and
now, friends of America, were fight
ing for their native Italy.
Friendship is the only cement that
will ever hold the world together
And this intimate contact of the great
Red Cross with the peoples who are
suffering the terrors and deprivations
OF this war is going to be one of the
greatest instrumentalities of friend
ship that the world ever knew, and
the center of the heart of il all, if
we sustain it properly, will be this
land that we SO dearly love.
My friends, n great day of duty
has come and duty finds a mans soul
as no kind of work can ever find it.
!, MAY | say this. The duty that
faces us all now is to serve one an
other, and no man can afford to make
:, "A fortune out of this war. There
are men amongst us who have for
, gotten 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 regarded
by their fellowmen. That was war
to save one country-this is n war to
save the world. And, your relation to
the Red Cross is one of the relations
which will relieve you of the stigma
! You can't give anything to the gov
eminent of the United States-it wont
accept it. There is n law of congress
against accepting, even services with
out pay. The only thing that the gov
eminent will accept is loan and
duties performed but it is a great
deal better to give than to lend OF
to pay, and your great channel for
giving is the American Red Cross.
Down in your hearts you can't take
very much satisfaction in the last
analysis i'll lending money to the gov
eminent of the United States, because
the interest which you draw will burn
your pockets. 1t is n commercial
transaction and some men have been
dared to cavil at the rate of interest.
not Knowing the incidental commenta-
ry that that constitutes upon their
attitude. But when you give some
thing 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 konw there is the
old cynical definition of gratitude as
the lively expectation of favors to
come" Well there is no expectation
of favors to come in this kind of Civ
ing. These things are bestowed in
Knittin', knittin' knittin',
order that the world may be fitte:.
place to live in, that men may be sue
cored, that suffering may be reliev-
ed; 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.
Give All You Can Spare.
And when you give, give abso-