The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1919-04-06
SUNDAY. APRIYL 6. 1918.
FOR LIBERTY.

FOR LIBERTY.
Today, April sixth, is Liberty Day. From
hundreds of pulpits throughout the United
States thanksgiving will go up to the God Of
Hosts, who made victory possible and crowned
the standards of the armies of the allies.
Voices viii ring out in songs of praise, prayers
will rise like incense from the hearts of those
who have suffered and tears will fall for the
men who gave their lives for freedom
This is Liberty Day. So call, because it is the
day on which the United States government de-
clared war against the Hun. 1t is. the day on
which American independence was reiterated,
When American valor unsheathed it's sword,
vnen the. Stars and Stripes flueg out from the
carlta. of the United States suddenly took on q
deeper meaning.
Before the striking of thai hour the flag had
stood for the United States Of American alone !:
but since April the sixth, 1917, that flag has
meant freedom for America; freedom for
France; freedom for Great Britain; freedom for
all the peoples of all the earth. Liberty
When the United States entered the war there
was not one person in all the world who believed
but what the nations would continue to struggle
Tor years to come; there was not a leader but
who believed that Germany had just begun to
fight; there not an officer in the American
army, or the French or the British army, who
had any conception of what would h3 the out
come of that entrance; there was not leader
Of any nation who dreamed Of the strength Of
the army that was to strike its blow for free
dom, under the protection Of the Stars and
Stripes. ss s'ssss 81
That blow has been delissssd md freedom
has been won
Today America leads the world.
And every loyal American takes pride in that
art E,vor Au7o f7or
his country Every American worthy of the
names takes deep pride in his citizenship
But, alas, some there be, under the protection
Of the Stars and Stripes, who do not deserve that
protection. Who were not worth fighting for.
This is plain talk, but it is true.
There are hundreds of splendid men, young
men, who have fought the good fight and have
kept the faith. Some of these have come back
to use. Some of them still across the sea.
Some of them never will come home again. These
are immortal.
These mo- who have come back to us have
saved the world. Do not forget that. These
men who have returned, sane of mind and sound
of limb, have faced death for you and for me.
for yours and for mine. Thank God that they
have come back to us.
Some there are who have returned manned
in spirit and in body. These have made the
BASot S<sCAAAASc. Lei Us IOt 4OTScG tIdt OQcu
who went out splendid miracles of health have
come back broken.
What can we do for these men? How we,
thrill at the thought Of their courage. how we
wonder at the spirit that was theirs, how we
weep and pray for them.
But it is easy to weep and to pray. To say,
God Bless and Keep Them" But do we realize
what those boys have done? Do we realize what
their returning means--to them
When we look out today and see the Stars
and Stripes flung to the breeze, let US remember
who put it there to stay, as the emblem of free
dom for all time. It was American manhood
which placed it there and it is American man.
hood which win keep it there, dyed with the
blood of the sacrifice of young manhood and
dewed with the tears Of heartbroken nnothersl
and wives and sisters.