HOW PHILADELPHIA IS HELPING.
[To THE EDITOR OP THB " SPZCTILTOR."]
Sue—These facts may be of interest as indicative of the sentiments held by some citizens of Philadelphia, U.S.A. In response to an appeal made by Lady Paget, a Committee was formed, and this statement mailed to a number of men and women :—
" Lord Kitchener has made an appeal for socks for the Army on active service—men who are facing death in defence of honour and proving for all time the true value of ' a scrap of paper.' Will you be one of a number of men and women to give a small sum—$1 or more—in answer to this appeal? We ask this in the name of those ideals which lead us to hold, higher than might, the right ; which lead us to believe in the succour of the weak by the strong; and which teach us that honour, as a national and individual attribute, alters not with circumstances of gain or loss, but is steadfast in the warp and woof of life."
In answer to this communication we received $1,134.50. We have shipped to Lady Paget three thousand seven hundred
pairs of socks, and a small balance of money, about $10, is to be sent in a draft.
If space permits, I would like to add that in America we
do not confine the eagle in the cage of militarism. He soars from east to west, as the peaks of freedom belong to no single
section of this country. In addition, I would like to state my firm conviction that civilization lies in the development of national life in each individual country. The superimposing of alien ideals on any one country—no matter how great the achievements of the invaders in history, science, or in the fine arts—is destructive to the growth of true freedom.—I am,
Sir, &c., ELEANOR CUTLER PATTERSON.
Chestnut Hall, Philadelphia.
[We welcome Philadelphia's generous gift to the British eoldicre greatly for its utility, but even more because of the quarter from which it comes. The war has shown how well, in the last resort, the two branches of the race understand each other—a fact our enemies can never fathom.—En. Spectator.]
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