The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1919-05-08
What Effect Will the European War
Have Upon the Citizenship
of America?
written by Mrs. w. P. Jones for
the L. D. c.

America now stands upon the
threshold cf new era. Peace ha:
come upon the land after the whole
world has been shaken to its yer!
foundations by the bloodiest, mos1
horrible and most stupendous wal
ever waged in the history of man
kind. Most of the European countries
are now passing through a period OF
anarchy and lawlessness, the lands
are devastated and the people unhap'
py and dissatisfied. How has Ameri
ca Jared? Will her future be also
darkened and her progress retarded
on account of it? With our whole
hearts, souls and minds we entered
it, we gave our best, our dearest, oul
hearts blood, expecting and hoping
for nothing in return, gave all in the
cause of humanity with the sole OBJ
ject, as President Wilson says, tc
vindicate the principles of peace and
justice as against selfish and auto
cratic power, and to insure the fu-
ture observance of these principles.
Without greed or selfish motive our
boys have gone across, fighting for
their ideals and they are coming back
to US victorious, not only in arms,
but victorious over the enemies of
the higher life, and we who have
stayed at home have also had our
hearts and lives touched and things
can never again be as they once were.
A new day is dawning for America,
a day of glorious possibilities for
God is on our side. First Of all, from
West to East, from North to South,
there. is going to be great spiritual
awakening. These boys who have
looked into the face of death and
have tasted it's mysteries can never
again feel the same careless indiffer-
ence to life and its possibilities.
While the other victorious nations
are claiming indemnities, return of
stolen lands and various gains, what
does America get for her fallen and
manned sons and expended millions?
She stands out as the one nation
which has asked for and will receive
nothing in material gain. She has
received something better, the inspi-
ration of her citizens to live up to a
great ideal, to show the world that
the sons of America will die for a
worthy cause and they are going to
live for something more than mere
personal gain. So the first good ef-
feet of the war has been to teach our
people a lesson of unselfshness,
America has been called by the world
a selfish nation and to great ex-
tent this accusation has been true.
1t only needed to be awakened and
touched to redeem itself. Sending
our boys to foreign country to help
iberate oppressed people was our
greatest gift. Many sums, amounting
to millions of dollars, were freely and
ungrudgingly given. Never in the
annals of history have people given
so much for any cause. Thousands
of men, who were not subject to
draft age, gave up lucrative positions
and Joined the ranks at $50 per
month, many working for their coun-
try at an allowance of S1.00 per year.
Other men turned over their factories
and buildings to the government.
Women who had always lived in lux
ury began wearing the most common
clothes, many campaigned the coun-
try for funds for the Red Cross and
numbers even went into training for
nurses. People all over the country
gave up their automobile rides on
Sundays and observed wheatless and
meatless days.
Next to unselfishness in importance
has been the lesson of obedience
learned in the army. Unframed and
often unruly boys have found that
they must obey unquestioningly su-
perior command and that man must
do his duty no matter what the cost
may be. He learns that he must do
at all hazards the things assigned
him; the result of great battle often
depending upon the execution of an
order or upon few men holding
their post. Surely this one lesson
will make better citizens of thou
sands of boys who otherwise would
have spent unrestrained, reckless
lives. The educated man makes the
very best citizen and the army has
been the means of bringing educa.
tional advantages to hosts of boys
from the mountains, the mills and
the country who would never have
learned to even read and write had