Chapter 2

Indian Prayer. To the Mountain Spirit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192 Interpreted by Mary Austin Maurice Hewlett. To America, 4 July, 1776 . . . . . . . . . . . . 194 English Man of Letters Charles W. Eliot. The Need of Force to Win and Maintain Peace . . 195 President Emeritus of Harvard University James Cardinal Gibbons. Woman and Mercy . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197 Cardinal, Baltimore, Maryland John Lewis Griffiths. Joan of Arc--Her Heritage . . . . . . . . . 199 From an address delivered in London, 1911 Dr. J.H. Jowett. Things Which Cannot Be Shaken . . . . . . . . . 201 English Clergyman, 5th Ave. Presbyterian Church, N.Y. Owen Johnson. Somewhere in France . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206 American Author Melville E. Stone. The Associated Press . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209 Journalist, General Manager of the Associated Press, N.Y. Mary Austin. Pan and the Pot-Hunter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214 American Writer, New York Robert W. Chambers. Men of the Sea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222 American Author, New York Arthur Guy Empey. Jim--A Soldier of the King . . . . . . . . . . 226 American. Volunteer Soldier in the British Army and Author, "Over the Top" Edna Ferber. Heel and Toe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235 American Novelist, Chicago Theodosia Garrison. Those Who Went First . . . . . . . . . . . . 243 American Poet, New Jersey Louise Closser Hale. A Summer's Day . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244 American Actress and Author, New York Louis Untermeyer. Children of the War . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257 American Poet, New York Fannie Hurst. Khaki-Boy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258 American Novelist and Dramatist, New York Robert Underwood Johnson. Hymn to America . . . . . . . . . . . . 269 American Editor and Author, New York Amy Lowell. The Breaking Out of the Flags . . . . . . . . . . . . 270 American Poet, Cambridge, Mass. Mrs. John Lane. Our Day . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273 American by Birth, Author, London, England George Barr McCutcheon. Pour La Patrie . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275 American Novelist, Indiana and New York Edna St. Vincent Millay. Sonnet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286 American Poet, Camden, Maine Gouverneur Morris. The Idiot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287 American Author, New York James Oppenheim. Memories of Whitman and Lincoln . . . . . . . . 299 American Poet, New York James F. Pryor. Bred to the Sea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304 American Lawyer and Writer Evaleen Stein. Our Defenders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 306 American Poet and Story Teller, La Fayette, Indiana Alice Woods. The Bomb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308 American Story Writer Myron T. Herrick. To Those Who Go . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322 American Statesman, Diplomatist, Publicist, Cleveland, Ohio Amelie Rives. The Hero's Peace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324 Princess Troubetzkoy, American Novelist and Poet, Virginia

We gratefully acknowledge the privilege of reproducing the following articles:--

"The Need of Force to Win and Maintain Peace," by Dr. C. W. Elliot--"New York Times." "The Breaking Out of the Flags," by Amy Lowell--"Independent." "The Bomb," by Alice Woods--"Century Magazine." "Children of the War," by Louis Untermeyer--"Collier's Weekly."

All other contributions have been especially written for "The Defenders of Democracy."

Illustrations

Childe Hassam. Allies' Day. From the Original Painting. (Color) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Frontispiece American Artist, New York Portrait. Woodrow Wilson, President of the United States . . . . vi Portrait Photograph. His Eminence Cardinal Mercier . Facing page 4 Albert Sterner. Sympathy. From the Original Drawing . . . . . . 6 American Artist, New York Photograph. "The Happy Warriors." (Marshal Joffre and General Pershing.) Courtesy of L'Illustration, Paris . . . . . . . 14 Jules Guerin. Ballet by Moonlight. (Color) From the Original Painting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 American Artist, New York Jacquier. Marshal Joffre. Drawn from life . . . . . . . . . . . 44 J. J. Van Ingen. Memory. From the Original Drawing . . . . . . . 52 American Artist, New York Portrait Photograph. The Right Honourable Arthur James Balfour . 66 Charles Dana Gibson. Her Answer. From the Original Sketch . . . 126 American Artist, New York Portrait Photograph. General Cadorna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132 William De Leftwich Dodge. From the Original Paintings in Oils (1) The Consecration of the Swords . . . . . . . . . . Cover Design (2) Atlantic and Pacific. (Color) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140 (3) Gateway of All Nations. (Color) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160 American Artist, New York O. E. Cesare. Russia's Struggle. From the Original Cartoon . . . 168 American Artist, New York John S. Sargent. "Big Moon" (Black Foot Chief.) From the Original Drawing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192 American Painter, Boston, Mass. John S. Sargent. A Profile. From the Original Drawing Sketch . . 194 George Barnard. Abraham Lincoln . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196 American Sculptor, New York Portrait in Oil. Theodore Roosevelt. By George Burroughs Torrey 204 In the Brooklyn Museum Portrait Photograph. Melville E. Stone . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212 Penrhyn Stanlaws. Souvenir de Jeunesse. (Color) From the Original Pastel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220 Scotch Artist, New York Portrait Photograph. Vice Admiral William Sowden Sims . . . . . . 224 Portrait Photograph. General John J. Pershing . . . . . . . . . . 234 Walter Hale. "Once the Giant Toy of a People who Frolicked." From the Original Water Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244 American Artist, New York John T. McCutcheon. The Married Slacker. From the Original Drawing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268 American Artist, Indiana W. Orlando Rouland. Portrait of W. D. Howells. From the Original Painting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274 American Artist, New York George Bellows. They Shipyard. (Color) From the Original Oil Painting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304 American Artist, New York Joseph Pennell. Dawn. From the Original Drawing . . . . . . . . 324 American Artist, New York

We are grateful to

The Beck Engraving Co., of New York and Philadelphia, for furnishing the black-and-white reproductions without charge, and the four-color plates at cost.

The Plimpton Press, of Norwood, Mass., for its cooperative assistance.

The Walker Engraving Co., of New York, for supplying the color plates for the cover at cost.

M. Knoedler & Co., of New York, for the privilege of reproducing Jacquier's drawing from life of Marechal Joffre.

Frederick Keppel & Co., of New York, for Mr. Pennell's drawing.

Belgium and America

It would be a banality to speak about the gratitude of the Belgian people toward America. Every one knows from the beginning of the war that when the Belgians were faced with starvation, it was the American Commission for Relief which saved the situation, forming all over the country, in America and elsewhere, those Committees who collected the funds raised to help the Belgians, and saw that they reached the proper channel and were utilized to the best advantage of the Belgian people.

But helping to feed the people was not enough. The Americans did more. They gave their heart. Every one of them who came into my country to act as a volunteer for the Commission for Relief, brought with him the sympathy of all the people that were behind him. Every one of these young Americans, who, under the leadership of Mr. Hoover, came into my country to watch the distribution of the foodstuffs imported by the Commission for Relief, became a sincere friend of my countrymen. He stood between us and the Germans as a vigilant sentry of the civilized world, and was able to tell when he returned to America all the sufferings and all the courage of the Belgian population.

I remember traveling in America some ten years ago, and being asked, while I was reading a Belgian paper, where this paper came from and when I answered "It came from Belgium, the next question was: "Belgium? It is a province of France, isn't it?" Now I do not think that any person in America, nor in any other part of the world, will not know where Belgium is.

The American Commission for Relief has to be credited with putting in closer contact the suffering population of my country with all persons the world over who were eager to assist it. It especially brought the sufferings of our people nearer to the heart of the American population. Every one knows that. But what every one does not know is the silent and effective work performed in Belgium by Mr. Brand Whitlock, the American Minister. He was the real man at the right place and at the right hour. No one could have better than he, with his deep humanitarian feeling, been able to understand the moral side of the sufferings of the Belgians under the German occupation. No one could better than he find, at the very moment when they were needed, the words appropriate to meet the circumstances, and to convey to the people of this stricken country the feelings which Mr. Whitlock knew were beating in the hearts of all Americans.

When the German authorities forbade the display of the Belgian Flag, and the Tri-Color so dear to our hearts had to be hauled down, the American Flag everywhere took its place. Washington's birthday and Independence Day were almost as solemn festivities to the Brussels people as the fete nationale, and thousands of persons called at the legation on those days; deputations were sent by the town and official authorities to show how deep was the Belgian feeling for the United States. America was for the Belgians "une second Patrie," because they felt that, although America was at the time remaining neutral, her sympathy was entirely on our side, and when the time would come she would even prove it on the battlefields.

It may therefore be said that although the war has had for my country the most cruel consequences, there is one consolation to it. It has shown that humility is better than the pessimist had said it was, and that money is not the only god before which the nations bow. It has revealed that all over the world, and especially in America, there is a respect for right and for duty; it has proved that the moral beauty of an action is fully appreciated. The war has revealed Belgium to America, and America to Belgium. The tie between our two countries is stronger than any tie has ever been between two far distant people, and nothing will be able to break it, as it rests not on some political interest or some selfish reason, but because it has been interwoven with the very fibers of the hearts of the people.

[signed]G. de Leval Avocat la cour d'Appel de Bruxelles, Legal advisor to the American and British Legations in Belgium.

Good Old Bernstorff!

Then entrance of America in the war has been nothing short of a miracle--perhaps, with the Marne, the most wonderful miracle, among many others, which we have witnessed since August, 1914.

I do not wish to be misunderstood. I am not necessarily referring to supernatural influences. This will remain a matter of opinion--or rather of belief. I am merely speaking from the ordinary point of view of the main in the street concerning what is likely or not likely to happen in the world.

People have very generously admired Belgium's attitude, but anybody knowing the Belgians and their King might have prophesied Liege, and the Yser battle. Others have praised the timely interference of England and the self-sacrifice of the many thousand British volunteers who rushed to arms, during the early days of the war, to avenge the wrong done to a small people whose only crime was to stand in the way of a blind and ruthless military machine. But such an attitude was too much in the tradition of British fair play to come as a surprise to those who knew intimately the country and the people. Besides, from the Government's point of view, non-intervention would have been a political mistake for which the whole nation would have had to pay dearly in the near future, as subsequent events have conclusively shown.

But America? What had America to do in the conflict? She had not signed the treaties guaranteeing Belgium's neutrality. She was not directly threatened by German Imperialism. She had never taken any part in European politics. Her moral responsibility was not engaged and her immediate interest was to preserve to the end all the advantages of neutrality and to benefit, after the war, by the exhaustion of Europe...

I had the opportunity of seeing, a few days ago, the second contingent of American troops marching through London on their way to France. The Belgian flag flew from our window and, as we cheered the men, some of them, recognizing the colors, waved their hand towards us. And as I watched their bright smile and remembered the eager interest shown by so many citizens of the States to Belgian's fate, and the deep indignation provoked beyond the Atlantic by the German atrocities and by the more recent deportations, I was inclined to think, for one moment, that I had solved the problem, and that their sympathy for Belgium had brought these soldiers to the rescue. We are so easily inclined to exaggerate the part which one country is playing!

But as I looked at the men again, I was struck by the grim expression on their faces, the almost threatening determination of their light swinging step. And I soon realized that neither their sympathy for England, France or Belgium had brought them here. They had not come merely to fight for other peoples, they had their own personal grievance. they were not there only to help their friends, but also to punish their enemies.

As I turned in to resume my work, I heard a friend of mine who whispered, rubbing his hands: "Good old Bernstorff! Kind old von Paepen! Blessed old Ludendorf!"

And I understood that Germany had been our best champion, and that her plots, her intrigues, and her U boats had done more to convert America than our most eloquent denunciations. There is no neutrality possible in the face of lawlessness and Germanism. Sooner or later we feel that "he how is not with Him is against Him." And there is no compromise, no conciliation which might prevail against such feeling.

[signed] Em. Cammaerts

The War in Europe

Translation of a part of an address by Mr. Tsa Yuan-Pei, Chancellor of the Government University of Peking and formerly Minister of Education in the first Republican Cabinet, delivered on March 3rd, 1917, at Peking before the "Wai Chiao Hou Yuan Hui," or a "Society for the Support of Diplomacy."

I am a scholar and not a practical politician. Therefore I can only give you my views as a man of letters. As I see it, the War in Europe is really one between Right and Might, or in other words, between Morality and Savagery. Our proverbs run to this effect: "Every one should sweep the snow in front of his door and leave alone the frost on the roof of his neighbor," and that "when the neighbors are fighting, close your door." These proverbs have been used by the anti-war party in China as arguments against China's entrance into the War. The War in Europe, however, is not the "frost on the roof of our neighbor," but rather the "snow right in front of our door." It is not a "fight between neighbors," but rather a quarrel within the family--the family of Nations. China therefore cannot remain indifferent. For, if Germany should eventually win the War, it would mean the triumph of Might over Right, and the world would be without moral principles. Should this occur, it would endanger the future of China. It is therefore necessary for China to cast her lot with the Right.

Courtesy of CHINESE MINISTER.

Invocation

Because of the decision of a few,-- Because in half a score of haughty minds The night lay black and terrible, thy winds, O Europe! are a stench on heaven's blue. Thy scars abide, and here is nothing new: Still from the throne goes forth the dark that blinds, And still the satiated morning finds The unending thunder and the bloody dew.

Shall night be lord forever, and not light? Look forth, tormented nations! Let your eyes Behold this horror that the few have done! Then turn, strike hands, and in your burning might Impel the fog of murder from the skies, And sow the hearts of Europe with the sun!

[signed]George Sterling.

Bohemian Club, San Francisco 1915

The Test

It has been my fortune to see something of the war with the army in France, and something also of what war means for those at home who, having sent out sons and brothers, are themselves compelled to wait and watch. I have seen suffering beyond imagination, pain, hardship and misery. I have seen anxiety and sorrow which I should have guessed beforehand men could not have borne without going mad. But I have also seen the human spirit rise to wonderful heights. Men and women have shown themselves greater, nobler, stronger than in the old days of peace I thought they could be.

It would not be very astonishing if the strain of war had called forth a fresh greatness in those whose lives were already seen to be in some way great; in our leaders, our teachers, our thinkers. Or if an added nobility had appeared in our aristocracies of birth, intellect, education, wealth, or whatever other accidents set men above the mass of their fellows. Of such we expect a great response to a great demand. And we have not been disappointed. The old rule of life, NOBLESSE OBLIGE, has proved that it still possesses driving force with the most of those to whom it applies. The thing which has amazed me is the greatness of the common man.

This I in no way expected or looked for. I confess that, before the war, I was no believer in the great qualities of those who are called "the people." They seemed to me to be living lives either selfish, sometimes brutal, always sordid; or else mean, narrow, and circumscribed by senseless conventions. I believed that society, if it progressed at all, would be forced forward by the few, that the many had not in them the qualities necessary for advance, were incapable of the far visions which make advance desirable. I know now that I was wrong, and I have come to the faith that the hoe of the future is in the common people who have shown themselves great.

So, I suppose, I may contribute to a book with such a title as "The Defenders of Democracy." For now I am sure that democracy has promise and hope in it. Only I am not sure that democracy has even begun to understand itself. The common people have displayed virtues so great that those who have seen them unite in a chorus of praise. Their leaders, elected persons, guides chosen by votes and popular acclamation, have shown in a hundred ways that they will not, dare not, trust the people. Our silly censorships, our concealments of unpleasant truths, our suppression of criticism, our galling infringements of personal liberty, witness to the fact that authority distrusts the source from which it sprang; that the leaders of our democracy reckon the common people unfit to know, to think or to act. If we are defending democracy we are sacrificing liberty. Will you, in America, do better in this respect than we have done? you believed in the common people before England did. You believe in them, if we may trust your words, more completely than England does. Do you believe in them sufficiently to trust them? Or do you think that democracy can be defended only after it has been blindfolded, hand-cuffed and gagged? This is what you have got to show the world. No one doubts that you can fight. No one doubts that you will fight, with all your strength, as England is fighting. What we wonder is whether your great principle of government, by the people and for the people, will stand the test of a war like this.

[signed]James O. Hannay

The New Comradeship

Democracy is the outward and visible sign that a nation recognizes its own needs and aspirations. Democracy wells up from the very pit of things. Its value is its foundation in actuality, its concordance with the slow unending process of man's evolution from the animal he was. Democracy, for one with any comic and cosmic animal sense, is the only natural form of government, because alone it recognizes States as organisms, with spontaneous growth, and a free will of their own. Democracy is final; other forms of government are but steps on the way to it. It is the big thing, because it can and does embody and make use of Aristocracy. It is the rule of the future, because all human progress gradually tends to recognition of God in man, and not outside of him; to the establishment of the humanistic creed, and the belief that we have the future in our own hands.

In life at large, whom does one respect--the man who gropes and stumbles upward to control of his instincts, and full development of his powers, confronting each new darkness and obstacle as it arises; or the man who shelters in a cloister, and lives by rote and rules hung up for him by another in his cell? The first man lives, the second does but exist. So it is with nations.

The American and the Englishman are fundamentally democratic because they are fundamentally self-reliant. Each demands to know why he should do a thing before he does it. This is, I think, the great link between two peoples in many ways very different; and they who ardently desire abiding friendship between our two countries will do well never to lose sight of it. Any sapping of this quality of self-reliance, or judging for oneself, in either country, any undermining of the basis of democracy will imperil our new-found comradeship. You in America have before all things to fear the warping power of great Trusts; we in England to dread the paralyzing influence of Press groups. We have both to beware of the force which the pressure of a great war inevitably puts into the hands of Military Directorates. We are for the time being hardly democracies, even on the surface; the democratic machinery still exists, but is so ungeared by Censorship and Universal Service, that probably it could not work even if it wanted to. We are now in the nature of business concerns, run by Directors safe in office till General Meetings, which cannot be held till after the War. But I am not greatly alarmed. When the War is over, the pendulum will swing back; the individual conscience which is our guarantee for democracy and friendship will come into its own again, and shape our destinies in common towards freedom and humanity. The English-speaking democracies, in firm union, can and ought to be the unshifting ballast of a better world.

[signed] John Galsworthy

Questionings