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THE PUBLIC FORUM
THE HOME OF THE BRAVE.
By James Austin Murray.
G erywhere de flags js flyin',
But to home de folks is sighin';
I know it ain't'no holiday,
Fur dad an' Tom are goin' away.
Yep! Tom has got new 'soldier
clothes,
But where he's goin' no one
knows;
And ev'ry anight when supper's done
Pa goes away an'1 takes his gun".
Sis seems so awful busy, too;
Gee! Dat's sayin a lot fur Sue;
She jus' sits an' sews an' sews
Nuthin' else butnurses' clothes.
Mummy knows they're goin away,
But never asks a one to stay;
I know when she's alone she cries,
'Cause there Is red around her
eyes.
An' momin's 'fore de last bell rings
We marches 'round de yard an'
sings,
While teacher or some eight-grade
guy
Pulls up our dandy flag way high.
I know there's war! I want to go!
But I don't want to let ma know;
Some mornin' when he soldiers come
I'll sneak away and take my drum.
o o
WOULD SERVE COUNTRY. To
day I went to one of the army re
cruiting offices to enlist in the army.
The examining doctor found me in
good condition, but, noticing some
narks on my arm, he asked what
they were. I told him I had the mor
phine habit, so he turned me down.
I had thought if I enlisted that I
would be cured in their hospitals be
fore going to a camp, as the same
happened to a man I know in Canada
w:ho is now fighting for the British
in France.
I suppose there are a lot of men
the same as I, who would enlist but
for the habit they have. 1 know that
most peopie who nave 'never known
or seen a friend who used morphine
imagine that any one who uses mor
phine is bound to be an almost total
wreck. I would like to know how to
get cured (without going to jail), so
I could serve my country. J. B.
CLEAN-UP WEE K. This is $
"Clean-Up Week," which is intend
ed to be a week of strenuous effort
toward getting rid of the dirt and
rubbish that have been piling up dur
ing all the winter months.
"Clean-Up Week" also means an
enthusiastic beginning of a whole
summer of clean up effort. It means
that w will not quit the job when
the seven days have gone by. It
means that we are going to clean up .'
and keep clean all the time.
Yes, "Clean up and paint up" is to
be the slogan in Chicago from Evans
ton on the north to the Indiana state
lipe on the south. Mayor Thompson
has issued his proclamation to that
effect, and from April 23 to April 30
Chicago will have such a going over
as it has never had before. In his
message to the people of the city the
mayor urges them to keep in a clean
and sanitary condition their homes,
places of business and all premises
owned and occupied by them. Clean
up, scrub, paint and whitewash. Also
remove and destroy all rubbish on
your own and vacant lots nearby. Let
air and sunshine into your homes
and places of business. Plant win
dow boxes and gardens. All depart
ments of the city will co-operate with
the people in this work.
As to the paint-up side of the cam
paign, while it may have no direct
bearing on the health of a commu
nity, yet it has a distinct value in any f
scheme of community betterment. It
is hard to make a dingy neighbor
hood look clean. Painting homes
removes dinginess, makes them
bright, clean and attractive. And at
tractiveness stimulates cleanliness.
It is along these lines that the
"Paint-Up" plan is ah important part