The announcement of the postponement of the Victory Ball arranged
for Armistice night has much more meaning than might appear. There comes a time in most move- ments that are guided by popular feeling when they seem to waver, and then it must be decided whether- they are to fail through lack of sincerity or appropriateness, or whether they are to gather new strength and henceforth interpret the mind and heart of the nation. The decision to substitute a special service for the ball means that the general sense is in favour of making Armistice day purely an anniversary of remembrance and rededication. The letter of Lord Northampton asking the public to support the ball on the following night is a model of wise and magnanimous conduct. The Rev. H. R. L. Sheppard, the chief critic of Armistice festivities, will conduct the service. Such an ending to the controversy is more than gentlemanlike ; it is inspiring. We are certain that the hospital for which the ball is to be held will not suffer. Perhaps we hope too much, but we honestly believe that a nation which keeps a sacred anniversary sincerely, solemnly and with due reflection upon its obligations to the dead and its responsibilities to the future, will not go far astray.
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