Page:The Source and Aim of Human Progress.djvu/35

Rh pictures of every journal in the land were full of war, magazines teeming with photographs of soldiers and sailors and the valorous deeds of the heroes at the front. Who could resist the pressure of insistent war-suggestion repeated day after day and month after month? There was no let up on Sundays and holidays. The pulpit thundered war, congregations sang battle-hymns.

Then came the great "saving" mania. Everything and everybody had to be saved. Circulars were distributed about saving and the war. One went to sleep with war pictures and illustrated circulars of a militaristic character, and woke up with visions of war illustrations. Everything had to be saved. Save Belgium, save the country, save Democracy, save your food, from potato peelings to the garbage can. The suggestion was irresistible, and the weak human spirit yielded and fell into a deep social trance from which the awakening could not but be one of disillusion. Meanwhile, the war literature, experiences of all kinds of colonels and generals and correspondents grew to enormous proportions. The dust raised by all that waste product which the country could have easily 'saved' blinded the eye and choked the breath. Everybody, young and old, fell to greedily reading the latest book on the war. Everybody was full of war, from the leader in society to the waiter in the club, from the leader in the paper to the wrapper round the grocery man's soap-box. Why wonder that when the air was full of the germs that the war malady spread like wild fire?

The populace became obsessed with a fury of war insanity, with craze of Victory-mania. Security leagues, unions, associations, clubs to promote and advance something or other of a patriotic character to help winning the war were formed all over the country. The enthusiasm of national excitement went far beyond the bounds desired by the government, such as the activities of The National Security League which denounced members of Congress for not being red-blooded Americans, or for not showing one hundred per cent. of Americanism, so that Congress in self-defense had to investigate and possibly suppress the activities of over zealous leagues. Leagues of all kinds of description grew up rapidly and luxuriantly like mushrooms after a rain. Everyone attempted to outshine his neighbor, every one had to outdo his friend in doing his bit to help win the war. Posts, poles, trees, walls, and windows were plastered and placarded with leaflets, bills, and signs for the defense of the nation and the glory of the country. Whoever happened to be skeptical, or not enthusiastic enough,