The public ledger. [volume] (Maysville, Ky.) 1913-1968, 1919-04-17

Nth a
+. COUNTRY.
criticism; they became scoffers, NAL.
contents, voicing malignant skepti.
cism. And when-ln the anxious days
= Of the summer of 1918-they saw the
French structure Of defense begin to
crumble under the terrible offensive
Of the Hun armies, they began to feel
their convictions had been INDICATED
that the continued defeat of the
Allied armies was due to the nation.
wide incompetency Of the war machine
built up by the government. They be-
gan to predict disaster for Allied
Arms; they told their friends how 1t
might have been different, how disas.
TER might have been ayerted and how
victory might have been won.
= However, they gave little thought
Ito the gigantic task faced by the khaki
clad boys who. 10 the number Of two
soe three million, we're at grips with
the Hun hordes on the battlefelds of
= France and Belgium, The boys were
not in their mental vision; they were
remote and far, and for all they knew
2 might have been dream-army. Not
experiencing the emotions of sympathy
that Ill the heart Of the jealous patri.
Of their innaginations could not leap
the mighty gulf that separated them
from the horrors Of war; they lacked
the power to bring the war-picture
into their mental vision; they could
not see beyond themselves and the
universe Of cynicism which encom-
passed them.
; For the third time Fslltown failed to
subscribe Its quota; and in the fall
when the Fourth Loan campaign be.
gan, the patriot element Of Falltown
began to betray some curiosity as to
the identity Of the citizens who were
playing the role Of bond-slackers.
Corwin had not failed to note the
change that was coming over Fall
towns citizens During the days Of the
first loan there had been much enthu.
siasm, and the drive" had been
launched amid music, Hag-waving. the
ringing Of bells and the blowing Of
horns. Corwin was convinced that
many persons had subscribed to the
loan while under the spell Of the en-.
thusiasm aroused by the noise and the
clatter. Some Of those buyers had
not been so enthusiastic during the
second campaign; and when the third
came there was still less visible en-
thusiasm. And the fourth campaign
began with remarkable quietness.
Corwin. going and coming. watch.
Ing faces in the street, noting the alb
sence Of enthusiasm, smiled derisive.
iy. He told himself that the people
were beginning to see what he himself
had OWNED from the frst-that the
war was a monstrous blunder, that
certain capitalists had forced the coun-
try into II, that II was a partisan az
fair and that every man was consider
ing only his own interests in support.
ing It.
That was It! Corwin had found 1t
the dominant influence of the whole
thing - indfvidualism. Individualism
symbolized greed. selfshness and the
lust for power. All men lived their
lives with selfish aims, looking toward
personal gain. To the business man
the prosecution of that aim meant
wealth, to the idler 1t meant luxury;
to the ruler Of a nation It meant power.
and to the soldier It meant personal
glory.
And that was an. everything. Men
grated Of country as though the land
they lived in POSSESSED some kind Of
{ spirit-a soul which in its entirety
was composed Of many units, each
unit a dweller in the land. That theo-
y was farcical, ridiculous, absurd!
For there was a greater power than
soul II was human nature. And the
nature Of man made him individual.
tstic. He ran in cliques. to be sure
he liked company; he was eager to be
surrounded by his fellows. But never.
theless, he was individualistic-he
was looking out for himself. That was
what made him choose as his mate q
woman Id whom he saw those merits
and virtues that he could not see In
other women. II was what caused
him to build house-a better house