Jasper County Democrat, Volume 21, Number 54, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 5 October 1918 — “THIS IS MY WAR YOUR WAR, OUR WAR” [ARTICLE]

“THIS IS MY WAR YOUR WAR, OUR WAR”

W< Must All Dig Up Our Dollars to Invest in This Liberty Loan to Win It.

By MEREDITH NICHOLSON.

This is my war. The outcome, whether defeat or victory, vitally concerns me. No one urged that America declare war upon the Teutonic empires more stridently than I. I re-‘ joiced in my soul when my country joined with the other great civilized powers in driving back the barbarian. In the strictest sense, in all the connotations of the phrase, this is my war, as completely as though I stood on my own doorstep, gun in hand to protect my household from sword and brand. That I am only one of a hundred million American citizens who share my sense of responsibility in the conflict does not greatly matter. This is my war; it pleases me to think of It as something personal and intimate, undertaken at my behest and imposing upon me responsibilities which I should be the basest coward to shirk. Within a short distance of my home sleep my two great-grandfathers who were soldiers under Washington and my father who fought under Lincoln. They made this my war. The American citizens who perished on the Lusitania made this my war. Every shot fired at an American ship, every man wounded or killed under the Stars and Stripes intensifies my realization that this is indeed my war. The right of my children to freedom, happiness and peace make this my war. And it is my business, my politics and my religion to do my utmost, at any sacrifice, that this war, my war, may be carried to a triumphant conclusion. No. dollar I can earn, no privileges I enjoy, no faith I hold in man or God will avail me aught unless I win this war. This war is my job. 1 stand alone and take counsel of my conscience as to whether I am doing all that I can to win it. The demands are constant. The war that my blood cried for is not cheap. But ylewing the mighty conflict as a vast undertaking, carried on by the United States of America for my benefit, it is not becoming in me to fret or quibble over the cost. The fourth Liberty loan Is about to be offered. It is in my heart to subscribe the whole issue, but this being impossible, it is with elation that I reflect upon the millions who will say to themselves: This is my war and dig up their dollars and buy bonds. This is my war, your war, our war. Every investor in the Liberty loan qualifiers as an active member of the great fellowship of American democracy. Every oversubscription of a Liberty loan is an American triumph, a stunning defeat for autocracy and barbarism. Win the war and win it quickly. Whip the devil; and beat the kaiser., This is my cause and yours; this is our war!