The Lake County times. [volume] (Hammond, Ind.) 1906-1933, 1921-06-16

nerves Of the social orxzaisrn az CIV
iiization itself And rr was that blow
which awakened the peoples of the
world to the consciousness that their
common interests were In jeopardy. and
made the fields OF Flanders and OF
France the rendezvous for tho triumph
ant armies of human freedom.
If I have In any measure truly In
terpreted this circled emblem, 1t must
be clear that such a spirit could mover
become imprisoned with limits of any
neighborhood. that It could never be-
come imprisoned within any provincial
lines. nor 1t be halted by any poll
teal prejudices. No one club can be
complete circle. Each is but a seq
nent OF a larger circle which must
inevitably include all that Is highest
and hottest in the ideals Of its nation
al life.
For thIs reason We have dared to
cross the ocean to deliver to you a
message from America And we dare
affirm that. better than any political
party or any purely commercial or
ganization. are We fitted to express our
national spirit. Prior to 1917 thought
full people were still asking the ques-
ton whether there was any such thing
in our American life as a national oon-
sciousness. Hitherto nationality had
been the creation or one blood one
language. and one land. But with us
In America with our cities babel of
tongues, and our homes q medley Of
memories running back to allen pasts
and strange lands, this definition was
without meaning. And men anxious.
ly asked. When the supreme hour OF
our country's need shall come shall we
find a national spirit which shall make
US one. and q binding national passion
which shall furnish q common impulse
for a great common purpose?" That
question received a startling and over
whelming answer. when from the dense
populations Of our cities and the limit
less horizons Of our plains. from the
rock ribbed hills Of New England and
the piliared porticoes beneath the blend
ing blue Of southern skies. boys OF
every tongue anc tribe. of every creed
and custom, heard the call Of America
and poured q ceaseless current Of khaki
across the Atlantic. to make St. Mihiel
and the Argonne forever sacred in the
story of the fight for the freedom OF
the world
I repeat they heard the voice OF
America. But what was its compelling
challen ge? II WAS not the call Of a com
mon past nor the sympathetic utter
ance OF a common language America
is not lineage. nor a language. nor a
land. America is a lofty ideal OF hu-
man freedom which challenges the
nobility Of mems spirits in every land
and in every language TO a great hu-
man service. And am convinced that
the day we lose the vision Of that ideal
we shall lose our nationality. We shall
destroy the subtle, spiritual tie which
binds. and become a chaos Of eonhlc-
ting interests and an easy prey to pro-
vincial passions and alien ambitions.
Brothers of Britain. there are pending
no better place for American Rotarians
to pledge anew their loyalty to their
national Ideal than here on British soil.
For It was here in the infancy of demo
cracy our fathers first learned to lisp
the language Of liberty. and took their
first steps in constitutional freedom.
Brothers of Britain, there are pending
between our governments now. and al
ways Will be. issues of conflicting In
terests. But they are Of the same ma
ture as those differences between sec
tons and parties in each country. which
make for wholesome conflict OF opinion
in every true democracy. It IS easy TO
trace the sinister suggestions that these
differences might lead to a tragedy of
war. Such a thought could only be
fathered by diabolical desire. Our
differences are commercial. our agree
ments run back through the centuries to
a common origin IN the well-spring of
Anglo-Saxon devotion to justice and
constitutional freedom. Our sons have