English life, wound up to the
heroic pitch, is at present most immediately before me, and I can
scarcely tell you what a privilege I feel it to share the inspiration
and see further revealed the character of this decent and dauntless
people.
"However, I am indeed as far as you may suppose from assuming that what
you speak to me of as the 'political' bias is the only ground on which
the work of our corps for the Allies should appeal to the American
public. Political, I confess, has become for me in all this a loose and
question-begging term, but if we must resign ourselves to it as
explaining some people's indifference, let us use a much better one for
inviting their confidence. It will do beautifully well if givers and
workers and helpers are moved by intelligent human pity, and they are
with us abundantly enough if they feel themselves simply roused by, and
respond to, the most awful exhibition of physical and moral anguish the
world has ever faced, and which it is the strange fate of our actual
generations to see unrolled before them. We welcome any lapse of logic
that may connect inward vagueness with outward zeal, if it be the zeal
of subscribers, presenters or drivers of cars, or both at once,
stretcher-bearers, lifters, healers, consolers, handy Anglo-French
interpreters, (these extremely precious,) smoothers of the way; in
short, after whatever fashion.
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