THE CONTAGIOUS SPIRIT OF SACRIFICE
Out there on the Western front a marvelous spirit seems to have
possession of the people. I doubt if the world ever saw such a close and
intimate communion of millions upon millions of men banded together for
one mighty purpose, namely, the preservation of Liberty on the earth.
Men endure suffering and women undergo hardships such as they never
dreamed to be possible. In every age Liberty has had its champions and
morality its martyrs, but there never was a time when such hosts of
crusaders from every corner of the world with one accord marched forth
to sacrifice for a common cause. Men seem to vie with one another as to
who can do the most. Hardship is accepted with a jest. Women with
sleepless eyes watch over sufferers on beds of pain, never thinking of
self but rather losing themselves in the great purpose for which it is
all endured. They seem to have a vision which is almost superhuman. Most
of us can see only today and its security and happiness; but these
messengers are looking to the welfare of their children's children to
the third and fourth generation. To them the general good of Humanity
looms up and eclipses all considerations of personal comfort or
convenience. And so they keep on toiling and enduring through the
months.
At one time when I was in a hospital I made my way down to a room where
the ladies were serving four o'clock tea. I arrived just a few moments
too late, and much to my chagrin the ladies were clearing away the
dishes. I saw a woman carrying a plate full of cakes--all that were
left--out of the room and up to the wounded soldiers above. I stopped
her, jokingly, saying, "I'm going to steal one of those cakes. I came
late." She graciously held the plate out to me while I helped myself,
saying as she did so, "You boys deserve them if anybody does. We can't
do enough for you."
A moment later she stepped out, and I said to the lady who handed me a
cup of tea, "I almost lost my cake today as I was late. What is the
woman's name who took the plate upstairs?" Her answer stunned me.
"That's Mrs. Vanderbilt," she said modestly.
And then I began to think. What was Mrs. Vanderbilt doing over there
working in a hospital? What are all the influential and wealthy people
doing now, to lighten the burden and help the cause? There is certainly
a sympathy between the high and low which was never known before
anywhere in the world.
This day as I sat there, I suppose with a rather serious expression on
my face, a nurse put in her appearance. "Why, my friend," she said,
"what makes you look so sober?" "Oh, nothing," I said, and tried to
smile. "Yes, but there is and you must tell me," she persisted. "I was
thinking about America's pacifists," I answered. "I used to be one
myself, but I now see that they are injuring the cause that these brave
fellows are dying for, and they ought to be severely punished. My own
effectiveness is hampered and has become insignificant because of my
former attitude, but from now on I am going to stand up for the fighting
soldier every time."
"Your idea is right," answered the nurse. "The pacifists back in the
States who have been objecting to the government's policy and who have
dodged and evaded their duty, ought to be put in jail. But," and she
emphasized her statement with her index finger, "you are a bit hard on
yourself, I think, and your work is not insignificant. You have tried
to do your little bit here to atone for having been a pacifist and now
it is possible that you may do much in the States by your voice and pen
to rouse the people of America to their patriotic duty. You may teach
them many lessons."
"I myself have learned one great lesson over here," I said. "I have
learned that in order to find happiness one must lose himself. He must
give up himself in a worthy cause."
"I understand," replied the nurse. "I can see that you have become
imbued with the spirit of sacrifice which seems contagious here in this
land. Everybody has it."
"Well, I don't know about that," I said, "but whatever you may say, I do
know this: I know that those poor fellows out there in the mud have
given all they've got to make the world safe from Germany, and we ought
to do the same. The one who is a pacifist now, is a slacker, a traitor,
and in reality, a murderer. He is prolonging the war and thus
sacrificing additional lives. I know that the Man who gave His life on
the cruel cross, two thousand years ago, gave it for liberty, the same
as these soldiers are doing today, and when I read in the American
papers now and then of some of the obstructionists in our own country,
who are railing at the President and scoffing at what is being done to
prepare our army, I can't express myself."
"You must be patient though," she said, "for such men will come to their
deserts, and I am so glad that I have had the pleasure of knowing you,
and as you take your departure, I want you to know that I shall always
remember you in the first capacity in which I knew you, as an ambulance
worker, and because of your activity in saving lives--for that above all
is the one thing I am interested in."