The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1940-03-15
BY KATHLEEN NORRIS
tBel syndicate-wNU service.)


ten me passionate appeals to
\ ''do something" about the pres
ent war situation, and if 500 have
taken such trouble it means that
about 5000 feel that way so here
are some suggestions that may help
you satisfy the mad craving that we
all feel to help if we can.
This feeling is partly fear, partly
shame, and partly despair. It is
naturally fear, for war Is a forest
fire that spreads in all directions
and may blow across the Atlantic
any day. It is shame because a
sensible world, and world more
over that processes to believe in the
doctrines of Jesus Christ, in forgive
ness and meekness and goodness,
has somehow let things get to such
a pass. It is despair because we
who remember 1914 truly believed
that matters would never reach this
point again.
'What is left for us to do now?"
we ask in bitter encouragement, we
who have given our time and our
energies during these 20 years in a
vain effort to show war up in its
true colors to those who must fight
and die in the ranks, to establish
better national understanding every
where, to clear the way for lasting
peace. For a few days last August
1t seemed to us as though black
darkness had enveloped the whole
world, and Christianity and all the
other lesser codes that preach love
and forgiveness had failed, and
there was no hope for civilization
or mankind.
But now the smoke of battle has
cleared away little, and it is for
us to treat this calamity as we do
all the less important calamities of
life. To fix our eyes even more
steadily upon our ideal, pick up the
shattered pieces of wrecked hopes,
and 60 forward again.
For those of us who feel that we
know God at all, know absolutely
that His first law is love and that
love is peace. We may be slow and
stupid and blind about making for
our goal, but as long as it is His, it
is there beyond us, and we draw
nearer to it every time we wipe out
one single little speck of hate and re-
venge in this world, and put in its
place forgiveness.
Hatred Is Dangerous.
Forgiveness is a hard word. It
is not natural thing to forgive.
We need supernatural powers to
love our enemies. We can get them
from only one source, and too often
we forget to turn toward it.
The other day I tried to settle a
violent quarrel between two small
children. One was four and the 9TH
err two years old, and neither had
ever known or seen or experienced
hate; theirs had been as serene and
sunny a background as any two lit
tie humans could have.
The small one had ripped up a
well-made dolls bed and flung its
occupant and all the covers to the
far winds, and he was unashamed-
indeed, exultant over the deed. The
older child's simple desire was to
MAIN her brother for life, tear his
eyes out, wipe that smile away for
ever. She was trembling and pale
with rage; she could neither breathe
nor speak normally. Painting as
she listened to the Gospel story she
said, ''rd cruelty them all-and five
times, tool"
But after a few moments she
Gained, and when persuaded Of her
own will to make her brother a pres
ent of lollipop in token Of forgive
ness, she first re-made the disrupt
ed bed, and then went and flung
herself on her own bed, to burst
into tears.
Now, if the difficult business of
forgiving can so agitate a scrap
of babyhood, we must expect that
If ever we are really to forgive our
enemies, really rebuild blood
thirsty world along the lines Of what
we truly profess and believe, we
must expect violent spiritual storms.
We must expect to be reviled and
scoffed at as a bunch of sentiment
TALKING women. We must realize
that men are going to tell us that