Page:This side the trenches, with the American Red cross (IA thissidetrenches00desc).pdf/14



Every soldier and sailor would like to leave four things with his family when he enters the service of the country.

The first of these four things is morale, the very same grit and cheerfulness which the man himself needs when he is at the front or on shipboard, the pluck, the courage, the ability to do for oneself, the initiative, the self-reliance that people have in mind when they say that this or that person, this or that family, is made of the right stuff.

Morale is a spiritual quality. It is not a thing to be given in a moment and at will to the folks at home, either by the man himself or by anybody else. It comes down through the generations, is born with the souls of those who have it, and is then nourished and strengthened by a wholesome family life. It exists in nearly everybody, in some in such small degree as scarcely to be recognizable; in others in such abundance that no crisis seems to be great enough to daunt them.

The morale of an individual or a household can be strengthened and protected just as the morale of the army and navy is safeguarded by the Home Service of the Red Cross. Whatever association the Red Cross has with families is influenced by the desire to foster this spirit in them.