THANK HEAVEN!
April 2, 1918
At last, thank Heaven, comes the news that our little American army at the front has been put absolutely at the disposal of the French and English military leaders for use of any kind in the gigantic and terrible battle now being waged. All Americans who are proud of the great name of America will humbly and reverently thank Heaven that at any rate the army we have at the front is not to remain in the position of an onlooker, but is to be put into the battle.
The wanton and cruel bombardment of Paris, undertaken for no military reason and with its characteristic slaughter of women and children in a church, proves that the German barbarity is as deliberate and as infamous now as at the beginning of the war. The Allies in this battle are fighting for humanity and civilization. They are fighting the battle of the United States. Any man in the United States who at this time directly or indirectly expresses approval of or sympathy with Germany in this battle or in this war, should be arrested and either shot, hung, or imprisoned for life, according to the gravity of his offense.
Thank Heaven that our sons and brothers are now to stand at Armageddon. Thank Heaven that American soldiers are now to fight in the great battle against the bestial foe of America and of mankind.Words count for little at this time and for nothing whatever except in so far as they are of help to the men of deeds who are at the front.
It is these men at the front who are now making all Americans, born and unborn, forever their debtors. They are the men who have paid with their bodies for their soul’s desire. Let no one pity them, whatever their fate, for they have seen the mighty days and have risen level to the need of the mighty days. And let no one pity the wives and mothers and fathers whose husbands and lovers and sons now face death in battle for the mightiest of all high causes. Our hearts are wrung with sorrow and anxiety, but our heads are held aloft with pride. It is a terrible thing that our loved ones should face the great danger, but it would be a far more terrible thing if, whatever the danger, they were not treading the hard path of duty and honor.