The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1942-04-11
0 After Many
Years
Lie. ihe Kaiser
And End the War
that's What We
thought in 1917
Nov We Know We Were
Kidding Ourselves
eY 6. 7. Snort

eY e. 7. SNORT
As THE newspaper files tell
y the story Of April. 1917,
there was great deal more
hilarity over preparations for
participation in World War No.
! than there is IN this April
twenty-five years later when we
are engaged in the greatest con-
flict the world has known.
In 1917 we seem to have en-
tered World War No. l, at least
as far as Tacoma was concerned.
as sort Of a lark The GAR
fife and drum corps went about
the streets playing Yankee Doo-
die and other civil war airs dur
ing the day and at night played
in the theaters and other places
where opportunities were offered
10 JOIN inc army
There was a iot of band
playing and flag waving "a
We went into the effort tn
put the kaiser out Of bust
ness. 1t looked easy, and
wasn't the war % end all
wasn't II the war 10 end all
have been hilarious
We couldn't be blamed for
thinking that way. One of the
most serious of the news COM
mentators insisted that the
surest way TO peace was TO kill
or even depose the kaiser. About
as silly as saying that the death
OF Hitler would end World War
No. 2.
BY comparison twenty five
years later we are making sober
business of war. That may be
due partly to the fact that we
lost some illusions in World War
No. /. Another reason for taxi
ing it seriously may be the more
OMNIBUS portent in the nations
allied against us, and the under
currents OF disaster that have
come from between the lines of
the news and in official an
nouncements obviously made to
appear as favorable as possible.
And there certainly is moth
ing in the latest news from the
Philippines 10 induce hilarity.
Though 70 those who read the
news thoughtfully the fall of the
defenders in the Philippines has
for two months been only
question Of time. the actual hap
pening came as q shock.
In this instance II isn't =
pretty story that the types
actually tell. It's not nee
essary to read between the
lines TO get an idea OF the
awful struggle that has been
going on between the de-
Tense army and an attack
Ing force by which II was
outnumbered five TO one.
With no reinforcements for
more than three months, the
defenders fought until they
were compelled from sheer
exhaustion 10 retire. Moth
ing In the picture 10 inspire
hilarity: neither will there
he In some other pictures
soon to he revealed. We're
getting into grim business.
Getting hack 10 April 1917.
We were sobered for only a min
ute by the news from Washing
ton that the first year Of the
war would cost about five bill
lion dollars besides three billions
We were going To loan 10 the
allies. That seemed like a tre-
mendous sun but II stumped vs.
only momentarily After all.
that wasn't q big price TO pay
for the last war the world was
to experience. And as for the
billion we were going TO loan
France-why loan il? Just give
II TO France,
A bit OF news We all re-
member after twenty five
years related to the appoint
ment Of Herbert Hoover as
food administrator. That
~as before Mr.. Hoover had
served a term a. president
and he was a big man. We
thought President Wilson
MAS pretty smart 10 pick
him. and Mr.. Hoover did
good job.
Another story the top head
lines announced concerned the
unsnimity II non professional
sports leaders IN urging athletes
n Join the army or navy. Foot.
bal and track stars from Yale
n Pslo Alto jumped into the
service. Tire only sports who
showed any rsluetsnos were
among the boxers.
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