The Robesonian., 1918-05-23

friends of America were fighting. for
their native Italy.
- rlendship is the only cement chat
| VIII ever hold the world together.
End this intimate contact of tie Red
| Cross with the peoples who are the
suIIerlngs the terrors and depri. a.
| LIONS OF this war is going to be one
| OF the greatest instrumentalities Of
| friendship that the world ever knew
ana the center of the heart of it all.
II we sustain it properly, will be this
land that we so dearly love.
My friends, great day of dutv
mas come and duty finds a mans soul
as no kind of work can ever find it.
May l say this? The duty that
races US all now is to serve ore an
other and no man can afford to make
fortune out of this war. There are
men amongst US who have forgotten
tnat, II they saw it. Some of you are
old enough am old enough-to re-
member men who made fortunes out
OF the Civil War and you know how
tney were regarded by their fellow
country-this is Al war to save the
world.
"And your relation to the Red Cross
IS one of the relations which will re-
lleve you Of the stigma. You can't
give anything to the government Of
the United States; it would not ac-
cept it. There is law Of congress
against accepting even service, with
out pay. The only thing tat the
government will accept is loan, and
duties performed; but it is great
deal better to give than to lend or to
pay and your great channel for Civ
ing is the American Red Cross.
Down in your hearts You can't take
very much satisfaction, in the last
analysis, in lending money to the
government of the United States be
cause the interest which you draw
Will burn your pockets; it is a COM
mercial transaction, and some men
have even dared to cavil at the rate
OF interest, not knowing the inciden-
tai commentary that constitutes upon
their attitude.
But when you give, something 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 your
sell. You know there is the old cyni-
cal definition of gratitude, as the
Well, there is no expectation of IA
yors to come in this kind of giving.
These things are bestowed in order
that the world may be restored; that
suffering may be relieved; 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.
And when you give, give absolutely
all that you can spare, and don't con-
| slider yourself liberal in the giving.
| If you give with self-adulation, YOU
are not giving at all, you are giving
| to your own vanity; but if you give
until it hurts, then your heart blood
goes into it.
.And think what we have here! We
call it the American Red Cross, but
it is merely branch of a great in
/ ternational organization which is not
| only recognizing by the statutes of
each of the civilized governments of
the world, but it is recognized by in
ternational agreement and treaty as
the recognized and accepted instru-
mentality Of mercy and succor. And
ore cf the deepest stains that rests
| upon the reputation Of the German
army is that they have net respected
tlle I.eU CIOSS.
THAT goes to the root Of the mat
ter. They have not respected the in
:,trumentality they themselves parti-
cipated in setting up as the thing
| which no man was to touch, because it
was the expression of common human
ity. We are members by being mem
bers Of the American Red Cross, of
a great fraternity and comradeship
which extends all over the world an
| this cross which these ladies bore to-
day is an emblem: of Christianity it.
self
1T fills my imagination, ladies and
gentlemen, to think Of the women all
| over this country who are busy TO-
| night and are busy every night and
every day doing the work Of tn. Red
| Cross, busy with great eagerness to
find out the most serviceable thing to
| do, busy with forgetfulness of all
the old friv volities of their social rela-
tionships, ready to curtail the duties
| Of the household in order that they
may contribute to this common work
that all their hearts are engaged in,
and in doing which their hearts be-
| come acquainted with each other.
"When you think of this, you real
ize how the people Of the United
| States are being drawn together into
great intimate family whose heart
! is being used for the service of the
soldiers not only, hut for the service
of civilians, where they suffer and
are lost in a maze Of distress and dis
fractions.
"And you have, then, this noble pic
ture Of justice and mercy as the two
servants of liberty. For only where
men are free do they think the
thoughts of comradeship; only where
they are free do they think the
thoughts Of sympathy, only where
they are free are they mutually help
full; only where they are free do they
realize their dependence upon one an
other and their comradeship in COM
mon interest and common necessity.
81 heard a story told the other day
that was ridiculous but it is worth
repeating because it contains the
germ of truth. An Indian was en-
i E,+od IN tho army He returned to