Trench and camp., 1919-04-03

our aIheS; and you sometimes
even find soldiers returned from
overseas who, because of little
personal difficulties they have
had with a few individuals, lend
themselves to the stupid and
sorry business of running down
the great peoples whose sons
have fought and died side by side
with our own men, and who were
fighting for US, as well as for
themselves, long before we went
over to fight for ourselves and
Tor them. Sometimes it is the
French who are attacked in this
way, sometimes it is the British.
Whichever people it is, such talk
reflects no credit upon either the
good sense or the good feeling of
any American-soldier or civil
ian-who repeats it.
4 big bully had promised us a
licking. What else do you sup
pose the Kaiser meant when he
told MIR. Gerard that he would
stand no nonsense from US after
the war? The Germans were
quite ready to do to us the sort
of thing that they did to France
and Belgium, if they got a good
chance. They had already begun
to do similar things to those of
CTR people that they could reach
think of the Americans on the
Lusitania and on other ships
sunk without warning. But for
two years, and until we got ready
to defend ourselves, somebody
stood in between and kept the
Germans so busy that they
couldn't do us much damage.
Who was that somebody?
First of all, the British Fleet.
The few German submarines
that got away and reached our
Atlantic coast did millions of dol
lars worth of damage to our ship
ping here; think what might
have happened if the full force
of their battleships and cruisers
could have broken loose! But
the British Fleet, first Of all, and
then the French, interposed a
steel barrier between us and the
firm intentions of a nation that
was both robber and bully. We
have no right to forget this just
because we do not like the Eng
hshnan's or the Frenchman's
little personal ways.
And who held back the Ger
man armies for many months be-
fore we got in? What are our
losses in human life, or in wealth,
compared with the predigal out
pouring of hearts blood and
treasure made by our Allies? We
know that England's and
Frances best young blood lies
beneath the soil of Flanders and
of France. These nations have
been bled of their best youth and
manhood, and of their wealth IN
land. money, ships and all else
except honor in the struggle, but
we have been spared by their
loss: for because Of it fewer
American homes are desolate and
fewer American mother-hearts
have been broken. Such service
should cause us to overlook any
POSSIBLE irritation because the
comrade has ways that differ
from our ways. What if he has :?
He saved us in the hour OF dam
ger just the same.
II is. perhaps. most often between
ma and our British allies that some
neople. for motives Of their own. try
~ 3tir M unfriAndly feeling; and for
this reason It is worth while to re-
rn3nd ourselves especially OF some
faeta about the British Empire-wAat
thev stand for and what they have
done in this war.
what the British Stand For
Thay stand for democracy. The
Rnalish House Of Commons and Cab1-
net constitute the oldest national sys-
tenn Of democratic government IT
vas to England that our OWE fore
fafhera turned for a model when they