Victory May Depend on You

By Mrs. A. J. Wilder.

"It is a war in each man's heart. Each man is fighting as the spirit moves him," said Hira Singh, speaking of the war, in the absorbing story of author Talbot Mundy.

Every day is showing more plainly that Hira Singh was right and that his statement is true in more ways than the author meant. It is a fact that not only is it a "war in each man's heart," but that the issues of this war are being fought over in the hearts of all the people—men, women and children.

The keynote of the statement of the nation's war aims, made by President Wilson recently, was unselfishness, an unselfish championing of the rights of nations too small to defend themselves and of people who have been oppressed so long they are helpless.

As a nation we stand for unselfishness, courage and self-sacrifice in defence of the right. Our soldiers are fighting on the battlefields that these principles shall be recognized as governing the nations of the world. And our hearts are the battlefields where these same qualities strive to become rulers of our actions.

It is indeed a "war in each man's heart," and as the battles go in these hearts of ours so will be the victory or defeat of the armies in the field, for a nation can be no greater than the sum of the greatness of its people. There never before has been a war where the action of each individual had such a direct bearing on the whole world.

One of the liveliest skirmishes of which I know takes place when our spirit of patriotism and duty comes in conflict with our instinct of hospitality, for here a seeming generosity to those near at hand blinds us to the fact that in these days when we feed those who are not hungry we are stealing from those who are starving, even tho the food is our own.

We are all in the habit of feeding our friends when we entertain them and we feel we have failed as hosts if we do not offer our guests the usual feast of good things. Now is our opportunity to substitute for this the "feast of reason and the flow of soul" which is the only thing that makes the meeting of friends worth while. Now is our chance to see that the food and the companionship are placed in their proper relation to each other, with the food, of course, secondary.

The refreshments at an evening gathering during the holidays were brown bread sandwiches and coffee. The entertainment is an annual affair and altho elaborate refreshments always were served in previous years, the evening was a bigger success this year than ever before.

Mrs. A. J. Wilder. "Victory May Depend on You." Missouri Ruralist,  (February 20, 1918): page 13.  CLICK HERE to see this article as it originally appeared in the Missouri Ruralist.

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