New Britain Herald Newspaper, April 20, 1917, Page 7

VIGILANTES WIELD PENS TO WAKE UP THE NATION' Well Known Authors Point Qut Moral in Preparedness and Exhort Country to Adopt Universal Military “Ride Vigilantes!” (By Edith M. Thomas). Ride through the land Vigilantes, k ride! From this bound of the East where the inrolling tide ‘With more than the red of the sun- rise is dved, "As crimson the foam is borne to our - strand! Ride! Draw not the rein, and make not your stand, Till ye come /to the slumbering heart of ‘the land: / Tell them who ,lleep—ao awake, All unprsplrefl for the storm N must break— Tell them, Humanity’s all is at stake! Tell them, *'Tis Freedom that falls in the breach!” loth to that If they murmur, adream, “Our peace, we beseech— The peoples at war—they speak not our speech!” Ye wil] say, “If ye sleep, then sleep— to your shame! Freedom’s no alien,"but one and.the same; ‘Wake ye, and arm ye, in her great name!” » Ride' Vigilantes, lifting your 1ight, Ride through the day, . through the night, Secarching out Men of Valor i Might}{— and ride and Ride! N Nothing so arouses the American ublic like war. The alarm hastens the footsteps of thousands of young imen to the recruiting stations and industry prepares to ward off the blow nd, if posible, administer a few blows of its own. All men canot take to the sword. Many do take to tho cony, carrying a Winchester. He leaned over the railing and spoke softly, in a clear, level tone. “Did anybody in particular wish to see me tonight?” The muzzle of the Winchester seemed to grin sardonically at the mob, as he spoke and the mob melted away. Two days later the real crim- inal confessed, clearing this man. Ask him about preparedness. I saw a bully on & car mistake quiet good-breeding for cowardice. He answered a well-chosen rebuke with contumely and swung for an eve. The gentleman sidestepped and countered on the jaw. Then the bully left the car, ably assisted all the way. Did the lady whom the bully had annoyed decry preparedness? Hardly. I recall that Little Crow, the War Lord of the Sioux nation, shied away from our settlement in Minnesota when the settlers under my father's leadership had built a stockade and established a patrol. While men, women and children were killed bru- tally all about us, our stockade re- ceived no attack. Scouts were seen more than once inspecting the stock- ade from a distance and two were shot, but a bit of preparedness dis- couraged the niurdering ban A friend undertook to bronco school in our forest. Four big ‘boys of from seventeen to nineteen yeéars had led the school in whipping and driving away four teachers. The first day of the new term, my friend invited the four boys to test skill and strength on the playsround at noon, he to meet the four in rough and tumble wrestle, catch as catch can. When the four quit, exhausted, with the teacher still on his feet and smiling, he made a casual remark to the effect that he felt sure there would never be any trouble of a physical na- ture-in that school. . He walked to the schoolhouse door with his arms | over the shoulders of the two who Pen and in moulding public the pen | had given him the most to do and that ¢an make the sword appear like a Tusty can opener. § - For ‘the purpose of arousing the Public (o its duties and obligations, a number of well known writers have Decome associated in an organizatism known 23 the Vigilants, Paul Revercs " done in pen and ink. The: plaiform includes four planks, as follows: To ei0use the country to a realiza- tion ¢f 1he importance of the prob- lelnu confronting the Amerieun peo- e. ?‘l‘o awaken and cultivate In the South cf'the country a sense of pubh- lic service and an invelligen: Interest xp citizsenship and national problems. To work vigorpusly for prepared- "fews; ‘mental, moral and physical. To work with especlal vigor for T dniversal military training and serv- "4ce under exclusive federal control, & basic principle of American democ- racy. . Some of the writings are’ serjous, lothers humorous, but ‘all are inter- @sting. Included in the sparks struck ’gem the heels of their ‘Reverean eed are the following: 2 Brain. (By Irving Bacheller). » ‘The pneumatic rubber brain which ‘has to ‘be blown up with Kot air every day, expands into madness when the &ir is a little too hot and imagines itself a cousin -of the Lord. Then if jt has an army to back it, the swelled brain kindly offers to take the Lord into partnership in the butcher busi- fess. It is a type of imsanity’ with which the world has been familiar for ages. Most of the Roman emperors < had it. Willlam, the Godful has it. ! So has all that pneumatic throng of ' Prussian princes.. It has always been hard on the plain people. - Whole races have been disemboweled by it. The pneumatic brain is and always has been the deadliest foe of demcc- racy. To a man who con /imagine Jhimself the cousin of God the life of an ordinary human being is not more important than that of a Plymouth Rock rooster. Nothing is of any im- portance except his plans. The pneumatic brain is well known to us here, Certain American princes, reared in idleness and hot air, have had it. Harry Thaw had it and seems . 8till to have it. Engiand has deprived the brains of her princes of their pneumatic and military attachments snd made them safe and harmless. Germany is ruled by a group of Harry | Thaws—backed by prodigious armies. They have the world by the throat. - 1s America not to do her share in shaking off those ancient enemies of democracy—these deadly vermin that fnfest the heavenly throne and im- peril the health and comfort of the forld. Is America to be a slacker and ::‘lact its duty to its God, its own ople and the whole human race? I | Bope not. What we need is universal training' which will. develop the manhood of rich and poog and fraternize it on a basis of plain living and hard work. I¢ will do more for America than al! ° the colleges have done. common alm that is above money, which is, indeed, the defence of the sacred, God-given alms of democracy, decency and sanity. There can be no peace for honest men while a maniac criminal has a throne and an army. - Therefore, get us ready to take our . proper place in tne army of the Lord, you chiefs and captains who are still lingering in the paths of ease and dalliance. The Fellows That Were Prepared. (By E. E. Harriman). 1 saw a mob, one day long ago, in- tent on lynching a man. They had gathered in front of his house and * ripped the air to shreds with threats and blasphemy. The man they were looking for came out on a Httle bal- We need & ! school led all others in the county in deportment that winter. He was prepared. Would it have been better for him not to take that course of instruction in wrestling and get his whipping like his predecessors? ‘Are we afrald to be strong? Or what is the matter with us? A Fable for Pacifists. (By Samuel Hopkins Adams.) In time of general war among the insect ttibes, the bees remained at peace. That they might conduct their pursuits unhampered, the honey-bees chose as. their leaders certain sting-'| bees of courage and prowess to guard their interests, their lives and their honor. To these guardians came slayers from ' among the tribe of ruthless spiders, saying: “Henceforth the air is forbidden to Yyour wings. For there are spread our ‘webs for our ememfes.” . “‘But the air {s our proper province,” protested. the chosen leaders of the bees. “Bhut out from it how shall we continue' to exist in prosperity and honor?” °© “That \ nothing to us” replied the ‘ruthless spiders. ‘“Whoso disobeys destroy. Be our orders: we will -warned.” Now, though' the ruthless spiders were terrible in war and had destroyed many victims, yet the bees were un- afraid, being & great and a free peo- ple. “This thing we will not endure,” said their chosen leaders, and they set about spreading their wings and sharpening their stings for combat. But as they prepared to fight, there arose from among the mass of honey- | bees a clamor of pacifist buszers, cry- ing out in many voices (some of which i echoed the spider accent.) ' “It is not the will of the tribe that ‘we go to war. Make no movement un- til opportunity is given for all to vote upon the question.” So the chosen leaders were bound to inaction, awaiting the vote of the honey-bees, whose interest and lives and honor they guarded. ‘When, in the course of tribal events, the vote had been registered, the pacifist bugzers were overthrown by the resentment of an angered tribe and the word went out to the chosen leaders: “Ou honor has been assailed. Our will is fo war. Go forth and fight.” But the chosen leaders did not fight. They could not. They wero dead. The ruthless spiders had killed them. And when the bee tribe, late and leaderless, took the air they were en- tagled in the webs of the ruthless spiders and utterly destroyed. Moral-—When honor is assailed, the initiative is mightier than the refer- endum. Something For Nothing. (By Robert Grant) It is easy to show what the pacifist is after—to get something for nothing. He is content to be protected by the other fellow and to let him bear the suffering. Unconsciously if you will; but many injurious states of mind are sub-conscious. When the other day I asked a patifist, who was inveighing against our preparations for war, what would befall us if the mad dos ravaging EuMfope was not knocked on the head, he answered complacently, “He is sure to b Is democracy so precious and sacro- sanct that it can not afford to bear its share of humanity’s burden when civ- ilisation ' is imperilled? We were “safe” (ignoble word) because we ‘were isolated; but this is true no long: er. The new agencies of carnage have metamorphosed all that. We aresafe | today because of the British fleet. ‘What 1f its protection were withdrawn or Germany prevailed? “Oh, but neither is possible,” says the pacifist “and militarism is abhorrent to. the \ IT’S NOT SAFE To Be Without a Spring Overcoat at this changeable season of the year! You'll feel better and look if you wear an overcoat . these cool mornings and eve- Here’s a display of Spring Overcoats well your time to come and see. Modeled P2 ntle” & | and tailored to suit men of all ages! $10 to $20 Suits and Topcoats New York Sample Shop 357 MAIN STREET democratic social program.” case of something for nothing. Are you fatuous enough to believe that the end of this war with its hates will bring general disarmament. Or that Germany will be dispossessed of the Kiel canal and cease to use sub- marines? We Americans are so pros- perous and hopeful of seeing the mil- lenfum realined within our borders that we refuse to look facts in the face. The time will come, if it is not at hand, when somebody will try to despoil us. Nobody pretends that we are prepared to hit back; but the pa- cifist says, “Wait until we are at- tacked, and then return evil with g00d.” He is unwilling that we should do our share in safeguarding soclety and, what is worse, he refuses to sanction the steps which would ren- der us invulnerable. Unless we would be likened to part- ridges, waiting to be knocked over by a club, we should adopt universal military training. Not in order to fight, but to be able to defend our lberties and redress wrong when righteousness demands it. Yet for an- other reason—in order that the young may give automatically of themselves to their. country, not require all and return nothing. It is of the essence of patriotism that every man should be obliged for a time to lay aside his own concerns and be made fit to act in & national emergency. The hope of ending wer lies not in supine or limp- ing avoidance of responsibility, but in the completes power to say it shall not he. The war to end 2ll wars will be waged by one forearmed. If the United States—the lone-star of dem- ocracy—neglects through faulty vision or false sentimentality to help police the world, its yearning for peace will be that of one who demands some- thing for nothing. Unless we adopt universal military training, we shall prove a recreant nation. A clear The Pacifist and the Soldier. (By Charles Hanson Towne.) A certain pacifist, who was willing | to lle supine (s0 he said) beneath the aggressions of any foreign power, once met a soldier who had never fired a shot. But the pacifist did not know this. : “Oh-ho!” the latter shouted, at sight of the uniform. ‘“So you are one of those soldier men! One those militarists who create love and invite war!” “Not at all,” replied the soldier, quietly. “I am opposed to war— every moldier is. Just as every po- liceman prefers a quiet neighbor- hood to Hell's Kitchen, so I prefer peace to shot-and-shell.” “I don’t believe you!" cried the pacifist, . forgetting, in his rage, that it 1s the part of every good pacifist to remain calm and courteous under all conditions; never to quarrel; never to shout; never to lose his temper; never to indulge in a war of words. ‘“Why, then, do you carry a gun: and sword? Why, why? You {nvite trouble by merely owning :;x‘:h weapons. You encourage war - ply by thinking about it.” “Oh, no; 1 beg your pardon,’ an- swered the soldier, softly. ‘I never think of war, except to detest it. That policeman, yonder, does not wish to arrest you—though perhaps he ought to. Nine times out of ten he will ask you, politely, to move on, rather than take you to the station house. He carries a revolver, it is true. But have you ever seen it? Me; and you never will, unless yom get into trouble.” «“But I will never get into trouble!” yelled the little pacifist, furious at the very word. “Never, never!” “How do you know?” inquired the solgier. “The fact that you do not wish trouble will not. unfortunately, of : present its coming, any more than the desire not to be ill staves off ap- pendicitis. The world would be a beautiful place if, by merely wishing, we could evade and avold trouble. You have never seen the policeman’s revolver, and you have never seen your appendix; yet either is apt to break out at any moment.” “But I * began the little pacifist. At that moment a mad dog unex- pected and unannounced, came blind- ly down the street. People scattered to right and left. There were shouts of terror. The soldier drew his sword as the animal came nearer; and the poor liggle pacifist, terrified, leaped behind the military man’s back. The policeman on the corner drew his re- volver, and fired. The dog fell dead. “I suppose you wonder why we killed him " said the soldier to the still trembling pacifits. “We killed him so that he would not kill us. It is a law of life, you know. And if you fail to go prepared for such emer- sencles, others do not. We save you, not only from mad dogs and flends, but from yourselves. Do you under- stand, little man? But you had bet ter move on. You are attracting at. tention by your shivering and shak- ing: . . By the way, I wonder why you are shivering? The policeman and I should be nervous. For the, risk was ours. You didn’t do any- thing!” And the little pacifist crept away. There was nothing else to do. Democracy and Military Service. (By Hermann Hagedorn) Democracy is based on service, Democratic .institutions depend for thelr very existence on the willingness and ability of each and every man, woman and child in the land in some fashion to serve the common good. Democracy is based on Universal Service. ‘What kind of service is demanded of men and women who live under demo- cratic institutions? In time of peace, democracy demands on the part of each individual an intelligent interest in civic and national affairs and a con- scientious attention to the conduct of the people’s representatives who con- stitute the government; it demands knowledge. of conditions, understand- ing of the nation’s institutions, and patriotic devotion in the conservation of those institutions It demands these qualities not merely of our highs minded and high-spirited men and women who volunteer to protect.de- mocracy from foes within, but of all! Inasmuch as only a few respond to this demand, inasmuch as the majority re- main selfish and uninformed slackers, democracy again and again goes down to defeat before special privilege and corrupt politicians. In peace democ- racy, to. be even remotely successful, demands universal service in citizen- ship. A wise nation demands more. It demands universal training and service in citizenship. A democracy that is a true demoe- racy self-respecting, vigorous and pledged to high principles, will, at times, inevitably find itself in a posi- tfon in regard to a foreign nation when it must either fight or lose its self- respect. Now and again, as at the present hour, the nation’s very exist- ence as a democracy may be threat- ened. Democracy has its foes within and its foes without. Democracy meets and defeats its foes from within by means of an alert and conscienti- ous army of citizens whose weapons are the tongue, the pen and the ballot. Democracy meets and defeats its foes from without by means of an army made up of those same citizens, armed with guns. We know what happens fn democracy’s battle against corrup- tion within, when a minority - only IS as essential to a man’s clothes as food ig to his stomach. Both can make a man, and | both_can,ruin him as well. We advise you | to be mighty particular when you buy your clothes, whether here or elsewhere, as to their . QUALITY. The particular |nnd of | men are the ones we are catering to BY QUAL]TY We mean everything from tlleiQUAl.m of flle materials to the QUALITY of the workman- | ship, not forgetting-QUALITY—in service,— | in the strict attention we give to all the little details in order to fit you RIGHT, not only in | body, but in mind too. All-these combine tof' glveyoutheBESTandthelmtu none too | good for you. for CRITICAL MEN ALWAYS This is a PARTICULAR MAN'S STORE who want the best-_ SEE our beautiful showing of the newest breenutmfol' men at prices from $12.00 to $25. 00 ALSO a full range of good staple suits for the conlemtlve in regulars, stouts, and slims, same pncu. 250 ASYLUM STREET, HARTFORD PATRIOT (Red, White and Blue) NECKWEAR ......... TR takes an interest in good government and the rest remain indifferent, Cor- ruption wins. In the case of war against a foreign power, is the result likely to be different if we depend only on, the high-spirited but wun- trained few who volunteers? In the cénturies preceding the American Revolution, kings and nobles controlled the governments of most of the nations of the world. The people themselves had very little to say The nation, was more or less, the king’s preserve, and the army was his private property, bought and paid for. We have gone beyond that no- tion of an army. We have very few pleasant things to say about the Hes- sians, for instance, and George the Tihrd’s Britishers do not shine any the brighter for having brought some shiploads of unhapy German boys to do their fighting for them. In outr hearts, we know, though in our minds we may not admit, that if government shall-be by all the people, then the de« fense of that governmert must be by all the. people likewise, i In a democracy, logic and consist- ency demand universal military ser- vic. Intelligence, prudence and a study of the experience not only of our own nation, but of all other na- tions which have been forced to plunge into war unprepared, demand furthermore that that service be pre- ceded by thorough training in time of peace. An untrained soldier under modern conditions of war, is nothing more useful than a carnivorous target and he is less expensive dead than alive. The logic is clear: If we believe in democracy, it we believe in govern- ment by the people and believe suffi- cientlyin" government by the people to be willing to fight for it against the impositioni of a foreign will, then we must believe likewise in a “a citi- zenry trained and accustomed to arms.” But “citizenry” does not mean only Jack and Dave and Isidor. “Citizenry” means everybody. And since there are slackers even in the U. 8. A. that means a friendly, but resolute “You must.” It means uni- versal military service, compulsory on {all who are physically fit to be theh' country’s delonder-. ’l‘he Answer, (By Marion Couthouy Smith). There is one answer to all dreams of ease— Belgium! One answer to the Teuton’s cunnlng pleas— Belgivm! One test and touchstone for all hearts that feel; One word that is a stroke of steel on steel, A stroke whose clangor sets & long note ringing That falls upon our ears like distant singing. One word for you who say the strife must ceaje— ‘Belgium! Justice to her must hold the key of peace— Belgium! And you who clamor that our cry should be Not love of country, but Humanity, Have you not heard it, as you pass unheeding? Humenity! In her the world les bleeding! Not she alone the dark decree must know— Belgium! The' rst in that great sisterhood of woe, Belgium. 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