The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1918-06-27


Two great battles against Germany
are heing fought-one in France and
one in America. We shall win on both
fronts.
Mr.. Hoover says that food will win
the war.
Mr.. Hurley says that ships will win
the war;
Other men say that guns. shells. air.
planes. thrift stamps or Liberty Bonds
will win the war. \ large number hope
that the other fellow will win the war.
They are all mistaken.
You WW rM the rar.
just how soon You will win depends
solely on how long it will take YOU to
get down to first principles. to cut out
your nonsellsical ideas, to discard your
peit-shooter and pop-gun notions of war
and to concentrate yourself and every
thing you possess on a one-hundred-
mile line in France.
Some one has pointed out with pride
to the fact that Great Britain is fight
ing OH thirty-seven fronts. But this is
at best necessary evil. defensive
measure to safeguard the British En-
pire itself. The statement was made
to lend force to an argument that the
United States should divert men and
money to Russia. We hope that this
will not be done. Until Germany il
whipped on the western front she is
victorious everywhere. Once forced
hack over the Rhine she is beaten ev-
erywhere.
We must not chip away our resour-
ces on deuces and busted straights.
BEFORE You can win in France Con-
gress must get on war basis. If this
one will not You can elect one in the
autumn that will. 1t is absolutely in
your hands. There is no need to go
into detail about this Congress. 1t
contains many brilliant and devoted
men. and then there are others. These
members are self-muckraked in the
Congressional Record. Look up your
senator and representative in it. Read
bot! the lines and between the lines.
Congress has passed some admirable
legislation; and then there is the Rev
enue Bill-a war-profits measure that
taxes everything except war profits; a
put-t.le-burden-On-wealth bill that in
the clause taxing professional earnings
and salaries a final per cent exempts
unearned incomes, including the sala-
ries Of a good many congressman.
AS a means to help you win the war
the Importance Of the fall elections
cannot he Overemphasized. Look the
candidates over with the same close
scrutiny that you would give to a
horse you were buying Forget their
politics and their speeches, but look to
their characters and their records.
There are just three things to ask
about every candidate this year: Has
he brains. honesty and patriotism
Every boy orator, every dunderhead,
every well-meaning ass. every corner
grocery statesman, every cheap politi-
clan, every faint-heart returned to Con
gress next fall is going to slaughter
the boys in your house, your street and
your town. Pork and tariff are not
the issues this year. There is only one
isSue-the war and the life of your
hoy.
Before you can win in France the
administration must take large dose
the whole bottle, in fact-of the med
icine that it recommended to the Allies
when Gen. Foch was made the big boss
of the armies. 1t has already gone a
long way, but it must 90 the whole dis
lance to centralized and coordinate
autocratic and responsible control OF
our war activities under gO-getter and
yet-it-dOne executives. We want fewer
press agents and more pressure ii
Washington.
Before you can win in France you
must bury the hyphen in America. and
along with it ii few of the hyphenates
who have been spreading sedition and
plotting destruction. And in addition
to these there is another breed of by
plenates that need your attention
the ear-Americ;lns, born and brei
here. often finished abroad. whose
skulls are full of mllSh or lead-cheeSe
These are the gentry who. when VIZ
propose to deal promptly and properly
with Doctor Muck. oppose sentence
| with gas bombs of lachrymal stuff
about there being no nationality IL
| art" The truth is that there is no ar
| that is not primarily and fundamen
tally national: and even if that were
| not true. America would better endoN
Doctor Mucks art with nationality fol
| the period of the war.
Again. when we try to suppress thOs'
| centers of anti-Americanism and Ger
| man propaganda, the German-languag'
papers ana the teaching of German il
| tire schools the near-American protest.
| to our business men that we must con
tinue to teach this favored language 1
| we would do amy business after til,
war; and to parents that the cultura
value Of German is SO great that with
| out it we should be shOckingly raw
and uncouth people. But every Ameri
can who thinks at all knows that Span
isll. French and Italian are the bust
ness languages we shall need after TIL
war Again. of all European tongues
| fs.r,,.n r,r.,l,., 1.lv haS fl,a, lp.,St cvJI