Читать книгу By Trench and Trail in Song and Story - Angus Mackay - Страница 9

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The seeming hostile spirit towards the United States pervading some of the sketches in this volume is more apparent than real, as they were introduced in the spirit of fun to accentuate the oddities of certain characters, and not to disparage our neighbor; for notwithstanding petty quarrels and misunderstandings we always loved our great big, bluff brother to the South.

We always maintained that closer relationship with our kindred people was our manifest destiny and that nothing could happen that would keep us permanently apart. According to this song, written many years ago, we have been "interwooing" and "intermarrying" for a long time. We have been flocking to their cities and they have been flocking to our farms, and naturally the ties between us have been growing stronger with the years.

Consequently when the present great war engulfed the world in a holocaust of blood, kindred cried to kindred and the resulting alliance was both natural and logical.

Time alone can prove the value of the services rendered the Allied cause in this great war by British Americans and Americanadians residing in the United States.

The Germans and pro-Germans of this country thot in their overweening pride with overbearing Kultur to obtain a greater "pull" with Uncle Sam than we possessed. By the most cunning propaganda ever known they endeavored to widen the breach between brother Jonathan and John Bull, but failed miserably. While they "hoched" for the "fatherland" till the cows came home, we "coached" for the "motherland" till the children came home!

Kultur may be a powerful persuader but the call of the blood is more powerful still, and when the old lion roared his appeal the sound went round the world, and the whelps, true to their breed, gathered from all corners of the earth, not into alien jungles, but home! The fur is now flying and blood is flowing, and when the combatants shall have emerged from the great conflict the two powerful branches of the English-speaking peoples will be bound together in ties of friendship stronger than ever before, and by thunder they will not be under!