The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-08-29
MEN, WOMEN
 AND THINGS


 Jt is no longer a mooted question as to 1 a democracy's ability to wage war on a helmstras sse that if the United States got into the fight. it would be in half .hearsec and ineffective spirit, has gone glimmer ing.
 And well it might, for month by mopth our leaders or industry have broken rec ord after record and overcome all kinds of handica ps and kept the fires in tne factories burning, the railroad systems running, and the ships moving overseas laden wita the foodstuffs taken as toli from Mother Earth in larger quantities than ever beiore in spite of the fact thai the drift or labor has been away from the farm,
 Many men in big business have distin- guished themselves i'll a manner to place the country in their debt just as much as to the generals who have and are win ming battles on the front. Our grea, commercial enterprises have been our sa! vation in meeting the combinations in Germany. Cur men of business vision and daring have saved the day in a large measure
 l am not unmindful of the tremendous part which the American laborer has played in the gigantic task which facet land uaprepared to wage war alons modern lines. If the captains of indus. try have won great battles in the indus. trial field it is because back of them has been the brain and the brawn and 'ha patriotism of the working men of this country.
 In taking stock of the forces which have enabled us tc place the Stars and the Stripes to waving so proudly, We must not forget tine men on the farms who have l bowed tlteir backs and borne the burden of not only feeding America and her army. hht nave been the Salvation of our i noble allies by largely furnishing them the rations upon which they live and i fight.
 l W c nave ny no HltdIS COluS lo lile tip of the ,'oad, but somehow l believe tnai we have reached the crest, and that men
 who are able to take the long view are able to sec the time when we can rest on our arms after complete victory, ara 1 be ina better position to know the dangai of tho pitfafs dug by autocracy in, whlch
 to foreve. bury democracy
 Some of cur noble allies were wa
 weary when we entered to hearten them No wonder, for they had stood up a2ainst
 overw hel mfrs odds as to men and munis lions for three years, France was hard
 hit, but unahaken; England had it's back l 10 the W til and fighting gamely Italy
 was holding back the flower of the Aus
 trian army from the iair Venetian fields; { selguim, bleeding and torn was enduring
 heroically, while Serbia was almost ii crushed
 x Then entered America, poorly equippec
 but with mighty fighting potentiality
 which held u, the morale of her weakened
 European all,es. until tho time came l Nshocll troops of the Emperor that thes
 could not withstand the dasn and bravery
 of the "Rainbow division" which foreye.
 settled it that our Alabama boys had no
 superiors ; fighting men on the top side of the earth
 Here m America as the casualty lists
 are comins i'll, we are just beginning |.
 realize that we are at war, and our peo
 pie are enielng into their first great en- lhusiasm Lcrc in Birmingham since tht death Of insraham, Winston Anderson, Mort" Jordan and other noble yolna soldiers wl.c went out from our midst tt
 show .he kaiser and his military staa
 that they could meet him on ground o
 his own choosing and make his pickc.
 regiments slow their heels as they bsa a retreat which hope will not be stays, e until some os our own lads shall have tf' . pleasure cf marching through the, street.
 of Berlin, with the Stars and Stripe. | streaming al the band plays the "star ' Spanglsd Banner
 1
 burst of optimism,for l know that " :, have yet dark days to live under, an' 6 dangerous paths to tread before the VIC s tory comes for which we fight; but wit 7. the story Gt the heroism being show i under the terrific barrages the awft t liquid fire the deadly poisonous gases ), thel bombing from the air, and the expip . sionS beneath the earth, it seems to II s it's time to be glad, for it means that a
 over America our people are more deter
 mined than ever to see it through t The time for any fears or doubts hay r passed lt's now only guess at the tim it will take to do the lop Now, anothe < thing our people are agreed upon, a i, that is there will be no letrup until "
 have made . clean sweep. The Kaiser a not going tu be able to put over "a pca' Y onensive~ that will give him a breathln i. spell in wliet to get ready to again di'
 turb the teace of the world.l Nothn l. less than il knock out blow will sat,st + any right thinking American.
 We will Tot stop until the case fe 'a autocracy .a hopeless, and the Hohenzo <. lerns themselves will be ready-not only
 acknowlcdye the supremacy of demc 10 racy, but wiling that Germany shall u II it out without their help. And what | more. we are not going to give the Ge
 mans a chance to experiment. in demo- v ,,ot;i t.av have shown d great desi