Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 158, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 21 July 1917 — Address Reviewed By One Of Our Young Ladies. [ARTICLE]

Address Reviewed By One Of Our Young Ladies.

Dr. George R. Grose, of DePauw University/ very ably discoursed on the present war situation and our duty to ourselves and humanity in this, the greatest struggle that the world has ever known. He told us that this was no time for the band to play, Old Glory to float, while we sit placidly by with folded hands expecting that victory will be ours without sacrifice. He said we were not able to feel the conditions of affairs until they will be sending back our fathers, brothers, husbands and sweethearts, arid daily we scan the list of names in the papers to see if our loved ones are among the numbered dead.

While commending Indiana’s spirit of giving, in that she has already given of her means to a liberal extent, he said that victory and democracy could not be ours unless we gave until our sacrifice is great and we groan beneath the load. He spoke of the question that is daily, yes hourly, asked: “Why this awful war ” He gave us varied answers, some say it is the end of time, some that moneyed powers have inflamed us and led us on into a grab the dollar game. His personal theory was that today we are engaged in a holy war for the preservation of our ideals. He emphasized that now was the time to have a conscience in our pocketbooks. That the very foundations of bur nation are rocking and that we are now called upon to preserve across the seas and at home that democracy for which our fathers bled and died. He recalled to our minds the much discussed subject of conservation of food supplies. Dwelling briefly on that, he passed to what he considered the most important, the conservation of the moral and intellectual forces of our communities. He dwelt on the fact that this is not the time for a stampede in trying to save for as the popular remark is today, “We will not do this or that, for we do not know what the next year may bring in our financial affairs.” He said this is a mistake, for we must not stop commercialism. He spoke of the needs of the day and one of the most important was the return to faith, faith in our ideals, justice and faith in a democracy. We must have this faith if we would make the world safe for democracy.

He said today we must not think of keeping our children away from high school or college to conserve our finances. He said now, if ever, it is necessary that the youth of our land be well fitted for the battle of life, for in the next few years they will need strong men and women: Never as before will the field of opportunity in all lines of work be open to women, but it will need trained women. Today and tomorrow will witness a call for the educated man. He related his conference with the secretary of war and Gen. Scott in Washington, telling us that their plea was for trained men for service in army and navy, urging boys to continue their college work until their country needs them more than she needs them now, for then they will be more efficient. If the war continues as we expect, it will take two generations to repair the ravages of way; if it stops unexpectedly, as we hope, a call will be sent out for men strong mentally, morally and physically to help in the rebuilding of democracy. Russia will be a wide field of opportunity to the young man who is qualified. In Russia he will be of active benefit in establishing a democracy. Formerly the armies of France have not been open to Y. M. C. A. workers, but now France is asking for trained workers in that line. He spoke of the strenuous work to do in the next coming years and with much fervor he said that he would rathpr be privileged to live the next five years than any other previous 20 or 25 years that civilization has ever known. He told us that if we are to live up to our numerous slogans such as “The Open Door,” “A Square Deal,” “A Man’s Chance,” we must fight. It is our only hope. We have made this decision and only by that decision can the wheels of progress roll on.