Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1922-05-18
CHAT EH NrfI.


the farms; and in the towns the
young machinists snowballed one an.
other as they came from the shops:
while on this Sunday of the frat
snow fight probably several hundreds
Of thousands of youthful bachelors be-
tween the two oceans, went walking.
like Ramsey, each with a girl who
could forget the weather. Yet boys
of nineteen and in the twenties were
not ight-hearted all the time that win
ter and that spring and that summer
Most of them knew long, thoughtful
moments, as Ramsey did, when they
seemed to be thinking not of girls Oh
work or play-nor Of anything around
them, but Of some more vital matter
or prospect. And at such times they
were grave, but not ungentle.
For the long strain was ON the cOun.
try; underneath all it's outward seem
ing Of things going on as usual there
shook a deep vibration, like the all
trembling to vast organ pipes in dia.
pasons too profound to reach the ear
as sound one felt, not heard, thunder
in the ground under ones feet. The
succession of diplomatic notes came
to an end after the torpedoing Of the
Sussex; and at last the tricky ruling
Germans in Berlin gave their word tt
murder no more, and people said, 'This
means peace for America, and all is
we'll for u.s. but everybody knew in
his heart that nothing was we'll fol-
us, that there was no peace.
They said, "All is WE'LL" while that
thunder in the ground never ceased
it grew deeper and heavier till all
America shook with it and it became
slowly audible as the voice Of the ole
American soil, soil wherein lay those
who had defended it afOretime, a sol
that bred those who would defend il
again, for it was theirs and the mean
ing Of it-Life, Liberty, and the Pur
suit Of Happiness theirs, anC
theirs to defend. And they knew they
would defend it, and that more thar
the glory of a Nation was at stake
The Freedom of Man was at stake SO
gradually, the sacred thunder reached
the ears of the young men and gave
them those deep moments that came tc
them whether they sat in the class
room or the counting-room, or walked
with the pillow, or stood to the machine
or behind the ribbon counter. Thus
the thunder shook them and tried then
and slowly came into their lives and
changed everything for them.
Hate Of the Germans was not bred j,
but contempt for what Germany had
shown ~in lieu of national heart; q
contempt as mighty and as profound
as the resolve that the German way
and the German will should not pre-.
vail in America, nor in any country OF
@ the world that would be free And
when the German kaiser laid his com.
mand upon America, that no American
should take his ship upon the free
seas, death being the penalty for any
who disobeyed then the German kaiser
got his answer not only to this new
law he had made for us, but to many
other thoughts Of his Yet the an.
swer was for some time delayed.
There was a bitter Sunday, and its
bitterness went everywhere, to every
place in the whole world that hello
high and generous hearts Its bitter.
ness came to the special meeting in
the 'frat hail." where there were
hearts, indeed, of that right sort, and
one Of them became vocal in it's bitter
ness. This was the heart of FREQ
Mitchell, who was now an authority
being president of the Junior class
chairman of the Prom committee, an6
other things pleasant to be and to live
for at his age.
"For me, brothers," be said, II think
I'd a great deal rather have been shot
through the head than heard the news
from Washington today! l tell you
I've spent the meanest afternoon il
ever did in my life. and guess it's
been pretty much the same with all OF
us. The worst of it is, it looks as
though there isn't thing in the world
we can do. The country's been be-
trayed by a few blatherskites and
boneheads that had the power to do it,
ana all we can d0-We've just got to
stand it. But there's some Americans
that aren't just standing it, and l
want to tell you lot of 'em are men
from the universities, just like us.
: They're over there right now; they
haven't said much-they just packed
up and went. They're flying for France
and for England and for Canada
they're fighting under every flag on
the right side of the western front
and they're driving ambulances at
Verdun and ammunition trucks at the
Somme. Well, there's going to be lot
more American boys on all these jobs
mighty soon, on account of what those
men did in congress today. If they
won't give MS chance to do some
thing under our own flag, then Wen