Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 123, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 1 June 1918 — THE HOPE OF THE WORLD [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

THE HOPE OF THE WORLD

By HAROLD BELL WRIGHT.

1 n HE hope of the world is not alone that the armies of humanity will 'be victorious, but that the spirit and purpose of our warfare will prevail in our victory. The hope of the world is in the Red Cross, because the Red Cross iii voicing this spirit and purpose that must, through the force of our arms, triumph. Just to the degree that we can, evidence this Red Cross spirit of mercy and brotherhood we will hold true in the dangerous hour of victory to the ideals that, have forced us into the trenches in the defense of human rights and human liberty. The one sane and saving thought Id this delirium of death that now possesses the world is the Red Cross. Wherever the storms of battle hell rage, amid the fires of ruthless destruction, in trench and camp and hospital, these soldiers of mercy with heroism unsurpassed are carrying the flag of the highest conceivable ideals of humanity. The ideals for which our armies have taken the field are, by these unarmed hosts, proclaimed to friend and foe, in that unmistakable language of universal mercy and brotherhood. In the terms of wasted . towns rebuilt, of broken humanity salvaged, of dying children rescued, of desolate families succored, the Red Cross declares the cause for which we war and proclaims the principles and ideals that must and will in the end prevail Above the thunder of the guns, the roar of exploding mines,

the crash of fallen cities and the cries of tortured humanity, the voice of the Red Cross carries clear and strong the one message of hope to our warburdened world. The black horror of this world’s crisis would be unbearable were it not for the spirit and work of this mighty force. The normal mind refuses to contemplate the situation without this saving power: ' It is the knowledge that in every city, town and hamlet, men, women and children are united in this work of declaring to the world, through the Red Cross, our message of mercy and brotherhood, that keeps our hearts from sinking under the burden of woe and sustains our faith in human kind. It is the constant daily, almost, hourly touch with the Red Cross work that is felt by every citisen in the land, that inspires us with courage and hope. ’ Out of this hell of slaughter the Red Cross will guide the warring nations to a heaven of world-wide peace and brotherhood. Because it is the living expression "of those ideals and principles in defense of which we are giving our all in lives and material wealth —because on every field of death it is proclaiming its message of life—because it keeps ever before us and the world the cause for which we war—because it will preserve us in the hour of our victory from defeating ourselves —the Red Cross is the hope of the world.