Over the Top

It was in an office in Jersey City. I was sitting at my desk talking to a Lieutenant of the Jersey National Guard. On the wall was a big war map decorated with variously colored little flags showing the position of the opposing armies on the Western Front in France. In front of me on the desk lay a New York paper with big flaring headlines: LUSITANIA SUNK! AMERICAN LIVES LOST! The windows were open and a feeling of spring pervaded the air. Through the open windows came the strains of a hurdy-gurdy playing in the street-I DIDN'T RAISE MY BOY TO BE A SOLDIER. "Lusitania Sunk! American Lives Lost!"-I DIDN'T RAISE MY BOY TO BE A SOLDIER. To us these did not seem to jibe.