Page:This side the trenches, with the American Red cross (IA thissidetrenches00desc).pdf/63

 by the church. Half a century ago this gospel of neighborliness became the beginnings of that art of helping people out of trouble which is known everywhere as social work. Through hundreds of organizations in every part of the country men and women have been putting this art into practice. Thus it is that the United States has been better prepared to help the families of its soldiers and sailors than any other nation in the world, for in the years before the war there were in no country so many citizens engaged voluntarily in activities to improve standards of wages, of work, and of living, and in similar efforts to enable their fellows to take full advantage of the opportunities that democracy offers.

When war was declared the nation suddenly appreciated the fact that social work was essential to victory. It realized that the only real progress is progress made by everybody. No one must be allowed to fall by the wayside for lack of a chance to go forward. Home Service is an expression of the quickened ideals of the nation. The American Red Cross with an organization that reaches into every town and city in the United States tells the American people that democracy fails unless each individual is able to use the opportunities which democracy offers.

True victory in this war will not be achieved until, in the democracy for which we hope to make the world safe, each family can develop to the fullest physical, mental, and spiritual life of which it is capable. The real victory will, indeed, be decided in the next generation, This is the victory that the American Red Cross is