Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1922-08-18
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
CHAPTER XVI.

That thunder in the soil, at first too
deep within it to be audible, had come
to the surface now and gradually be-
came heard as the thunder of million
feet upon the training grounds. The
bugles rang sharper; the drums and
flies OF town and village and country
side we're the drums and flies Of
war that came closer and closer to
every hearth between the two oceans.
All the old symbols became symbols
bright and new, as if no one had ever
seen them before. America" was like a
new word, and the song America"
was like new song. Ali the dusty
blatancies Of Grating candidates, seek
ing to rouse bored auditors with 1.-THE
old flag; all the mechanical patriotics
of school and church and club; all
these time-worn, 1accid things leaped
suddenly into living color. The flag
became brilliant and strange to see
strange with a meaning that seemed
new, a meaning long known, yet never
known till now.
And so hearts that thought they
knew themselves came upon ambushes
OG emotion and hidden indwellings of
spirit not guessed before. Dora Yo-
cum, listening to the "Star-Spangled
Banner" sung by children of immi-
grants to an out-of-tune old piano in
Il mission clubroom, in Chicago, found
herself crying with a soul-shaking
heartiness in a way different from 9TH
er ways that she had cried. Among
the many things she thought of then
was this: That the banner the chill
dren were singing about was in dan
ser. The great country, almost con-
einent, had always seemed so untOuch-
able, so safe and sure; she had never
been able to conceive of a hostile
power mighty enough to shake or even
sar It, And since SO gyeat and funda-
mental thing could not be injured, a
war for its defense had appeared to
De, in her eyes, not only wicked but
xsdiculous. At last, less and less
vaguely, she had come to comprehend
something Of the colossal German
threat, and the shadow that touched
this bright banner Of which the irnmi-
grants children piped so briskly in the
mission clubroom.
She began to understand, though
ghe could not have told just why, or
how, or at what moment understand
lng reached her. She began to under
Stand that her country, threatened to
the life, had flung its lire those thou
sands of miles across the sea to stand
and hold Gindenburg and Ludendorf
and all their kaisers, kings, dukes and
cRown princes, their Krupp and Skoda
1sonstrous engines, and their mons
exous other engines of men made into
armies. Through the long haze of
lsnd-miles she perceived that brown
liae of ours, and knew 1t stood there
that Freedom, and the Nation itself,
might not perish from the earth.
And so, a week later, she went home
and came nervously to Ramseys moth
or and found how to direct the letter
SIZE wanted to write. He was In France.
AS the old phrase went, she poured
ont her heart. 1t seems to apply to her
letter.
She wrote:
~Don't misunderstood me. fell that
nv bitter speech to you had driven you
tc take the step you did. felt that
had sent you to be killed, and that
ought to be killed for doing it, but
knew that you had other motives, too
1 knew, of course, that you thought OF
the country more than you did of me-
or Of any mad thing I could say-but
I thought that what I said might have
been the prompting thing, the word
that threw you into it so hastily an6
before you were ready, perhaps.
dreaded to bear that terrible RESPONSE
buity. I hope you understand.
"AIy great mistake has been
thought l was so TogicaP-it's beer
in my starting everything with &
thought I'd never proven: that war Il
the worst thing, and all other evils
were lesser. l was wrong. / was
wrong. because war isn't the worst
evil. Slavery is a worse evil, and now
I want to tell you have come to see
that you are making war on those thai
make slavery. Yes, you are fighting
those that make both war and slavery
and you are right, and 1 humbly rev
erence and honor all of you who are
in this right war. have come home
IN work in the Red Cross here; l work
there all day, and all day keep say
ing to myself-but really mean to you
its what / pray, and oh, how 1 pray
it: God be with you and grant yor
the victoryp For you must win anG
you will win.
Forgive me, oh, piease-and If yor
win, could you write to me? 1 know
YOU have things to do more important
than girls'-but oh, couldn't you
pleaseT"
This letter, which she had taker
care not to dampen, as she wrote, went
in slow course to the American Elk
peditionary Forces in France" anG
finally found him whom It patiently
sought. He delayed not long to answer
and In time she held in shaking han6
the penciled missive he had sent her
"You forget all that comic talk about
me enlisting because Of your telling
me to. I'd written my father / was
going at the first chance a month anG
q half before that day when you sale
n NV mind was made up the first
time there was any talk of war ant