3
JULf,19l5
The Commoner
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of another man who wades "through slaughter
to a throne, and shuts the door of mercy on
mankind." , -
As in the case of the individual, tire violation
of the commandments Thou shalt not covet,
Thou shalt not steal, and Thou shalt not kill,
are usually traceable to the violation of the first
great commandment, ,jThou shalt have no other
Gods beforo mo" that is, to the putting of
self before service, of the Creator; so the viola
tion of these cpmmandmonts by nations is not
always but usually duo to selfishness the put
ting of supposed material advantages beforo
obedience to,tlio D,ivine law.
War is occasionally altruistic in purpose and
the soldier always exhibits unselfishness of a
high order, but, .as a rule, conflicts are waged
for .selfish ends.
The individual finds that Jehovah's justice can
not be evaded; for wrong-doing works its own
punishment on the, wrongdoer in the form of
perverted .character' even when he escapes the
penalties of human law. The nation is as pow
erless to repeal or to ignore with impunity the
laws Qf God-n "though .hand join in hand they
shall not be unpunished."
If I have made.it clean that, the doctrine that
might makes right is the most common cause of
war, we may pass-srto .the consideration of the
maxim quite .sure to be applied in war, namely,
that "Like. cures like" the theory upon which
retaliation, rests.
The two are so closely allied that it is almost
inevitable . that those -who endorse the former
will resort to. the latter one represents the
spirit of evil,, the other its most familiar man
ifestation. Retaliation is rivalry in wrong
doing a neck and. neck race toward the bottom
less pit. And yet there are many believers in
the gospel of force who have brought themselves
to think that cruelty can be cured by greater
cruelty that the only way to,winanantagonist
away from inhunlan acts is to surpass him in inhumanities-
.Absurdity of absurdities!
But might must 'find a pretext for arming it
self; and what is the pretext? There was a time
when- men openly -advocated war as a thing to
be desired; icotnmended it to each generation as
a sort-of 'tonic to tone up the moral system and
prevent degeneracy, but we have passed that
day.
Now, all join in the chorus for peace. And
how, according to'the 'jingoes, shall peace be in
sured? "By preparedness," say these sons of
Mars. Prepare, all prepare; equip yourselves
with the- most modern implements of destruc
tion; ,arm, drill; get ready; and then stand with
finger on a hair trigger musket and preserve
peace yes, - preser.ve it until some one, by ac
cident or design, gives the signal then all fall
upon each other with cries for blood. Prepared
ness is the. kindling; opportunity is thematch..
We dare not trust the peace of the world to
those who spend their timo in getting ready for
wars that should never come. Half the energy
employed in, preparing for war would effectually
prevent war if used in propagating the principles
which malce for peace. i
Instead of preventing war, preparedness pro
vokes war, .because it is impossible to coerce the
people into bearing the burdens incident to con
tinuous and 'increasing preparation. withput cul
tivating hatred as if it were a national virtue.
There must' be some one to fear; some other
preparing nation that must be. represented as
plotting for war. t ,
Hate sets -up sham standards of honor ana
converts every wound into a festering sore; hate
misunderstands; hate misinterprets; hate ma
ligns its supposed adversary, while every con
tractor, battleship builder and .manufacturer
of munitions of war applauds..
How can preparedness prevent war if all pre
pare? Bach step taken by one nation to warn
more complete preparedness excites the otlier
nations to additional purchases and new levies,
until all have exhausted their productive indus
tries and menaced their moral progress.
The doctrine that preparedness will Pent
war will not stand the test of logic and the con
flagration in Europe shows that it fails wnen
te-ed by experience. . , -iVi
If any nation is without excuse r entBrme
into a mad rivalry with the belligerent nations
in preparation for war it is the United States.
e are protected on either side by thousands
of miles' pf ocean and this protection a wortn
more to us than any number of Weswps. vv
have an additional protection in the fact, known
t.o everyone, that we have the men ! wn
. to form an" army of defense if we ?&e
taeked; and it is known also that we Jmve .the
' money, "ttfo more" money than we wouTd nave
had if all the surplus earnings of the people had
been invested in armament. We not only do not
need additional preparation, but wo are for
tunate in not having it, since it seems impossible
for a nation to have what is called preparedness
without having along with it a disposition to use
its preparedness on the slightest provocation.
The leading participants in the present war
are the nations that were best prepared, and I
fear it would have been difficult for ub to keep
out of this war if wo had been as well prepared
as they.
Happy for our nation that wo have in the
Whito House at this time a president whp be
lieves in. setting the old world a good example,
instead of following the bad example which it
sets in this matter! What an unspeakable mis
fortune it would have been if, in such an hour
as this, the nation has been under the leader
ship of a president inflamed by the false phil
osophy which has plunged Europe into the abyss
of war!
THE WAY OUT
A Road to Permanent Peace
Issued June 18, 1915.
Having considered the war as it is and the
injury which it does neutrals, and then the or
igin of the war and tho causes which led up to
it, we are now ready to make inquiry as to the
way out, that is, the means by which hostilities
can be brought to an end and permanent peace
restored. To state in a sentence the propositions
which I shall proceed to elaborate: Mediation
is tho means, provided by international agree
ment, through which the belligerent nations can
be brought into conference; time for the inves
tigation of all disputes is the means by which
future wars can bo averted and the cultivation
of international friendship is the means by
which the desire for war can be rooted out.
What are the nations fighting about? No one
seems to know, or if anyone does know he has
not taken the public into his confidence. We
have been told, 'in a general way, that the Allies
are fighting against "militarism" and. in defense
of "popular government," and that Germany la
fighting in defense of "German culture" and for
the nation's right to "a place in the sun." But
these generalities are so differently interpreted
as not to convey a definite idea. When the pres
ident offered mediation at the very beginning of
the struggle the answers which he received from
the various rulers were so much alike that one
teleeram might have served for all. The sub
stance each answer was "I DID NOT want war
and I am not to blame for the war that now ex
ists " But that was ten months ago; the ques
tion now is not whether those in authority in
the belligerent nations did or did not want war
THE f we may accept their answers as given in
eood faTth but the important question is still
unanswered. "I DID NOT want war" may have
'Seen deemed sufficient at the time the
nnnworswere given, but the real question
f So YOlf WANT WAR NOW? If not, Why
not say bo? The months have dragged their
n, 5 ioni alone each more terrible than
Kdy nnffore-Ld yet the crimson line .of
wYniv declared his willingness to state tfic
LpSScn Wb nation is ready to nego
S8peUaPcen ffl d ttg
nrv Then how much territory and where Is It
tory7 r t- Vf the avenging of a wrong done?
located? J " th blood muat be spilled to
Then how mucefh'ebi6od already shed?
make atonement for .the Wood ai r
Some day uutated ffwWch thls war
some day the g61 uJoI"f uThen, if not before,
is causing 71" vJe will pause to listen
the rulers in the war zone wm j dIo?the
t0 fnnich slakes SeVronls and marks
question whicn Baa bttrwy power..
thlf fc S tte oSEde world entitled td know
And is nl " , Must the neutrals bear the
tbG Vulfa which waV necessarily vlsfU .upon them
penalties wmen wr t the Igsueg at
Til? S tradeirSrupted, their citizens
stake? ir "- are victims of stray bullets
are drowned, they are vie
Sone, will drlw down the curtain oh this dark
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trn.fG(ivf lias any nation a uurnosu iur uuiuiir
ulng this war which it docs not daro to state t
,tho world, or cvon to its own pcoplo? .
, Surely neither side thinks it can annihilate
.tho other. Great nations can not no exterminate
population can not bo wiped out by tho sword.
Tho combatants, even though tho war may hare
made them heartless, will shrink from tho task,
of carrying this slaughter boyond the point
noccssary to win a victory. Ami it must uo re-
membcred that war plans often miscarry. Pre
dictions mado at the beginning of tho war have
not been fulfilled. Tho British did not destroy
the Gorman fleet In a month, and Germany did ,
not take Paris In two months, and tho Russian
nrmy did not eat Christmas dinner In Berlin.
But oven if extermination were possible, It
would bo a crime against civilization which no
nation or group of nations could nfford to com
mit. If It Is vandalism to destroy the finest
spoclmous of man's workmanship, Is It not sac
rllego to engage In the wholesale destruction of
human beings tho supremo example of God's
handiwork? We may find cases of seeming to
tal depravity among Individuals, but not In a na
tion or In a race. The future has use for tho .
peoples now at war; they have a necossary part
In that destiny which mankind must work out
together, regardless of theso ebullitions of an
.gor. The Lord might have made alL flowers of
one kind, of ope color and alike In fragrance
but He did not. And because He did nQt,
the world Is more attractive. Variety, not uni
formity, Is the law among men as well as among
tho flowers. The nations which are actively par
ticipating in this war are what they arc becauso
of struggles that have lasted for centuries. They
differ in language, In Institutions, in raco char
acteristics and In national history, but together
they constitute a groat living bouquet of surpass
ing beauty. .,
Wo may put aside, therefore, -y wholly Im
practicable, If not Inconceivable,' tho thought
that this war can continue until one side has
annihilated tho other. What then can, he the
purpose? The complete domination of Europe
' by one nation or group of nations? The absurd
Mv nt ftwo n. nlan 1h only second to the absurd
ity of the thought that either side can annihilate
the other. The warld is not looking for a mas
ter; the day of the despot Is gone. The futuro
will bo gloomy Indeed If tho smaller nations
must pass under! tho yoke of any power or com
bination of powers. The question Is, not, Who
shall dictate on land? or, Who shall dominate
upon the sea? These questions arc not practical
ones. The real question is, not how a few can
lay burdens upon the rest, but how all can .work
together as comrades and brothers,
Even If It were possible for pne side to force
tho other sldo to Its knees in suppllcatlon-r-even
if It were possible for one side to write the terms
of tho treaty In blood and compel the other side
to sign it, face downward and prostrate on the
ground it could not atfprd to do ho; and tfnlee
the belligerents have read history to no pur
pose, they will not desire to do so. Time and
again some nation, boastful of Its strength, has
thought itself invincible, but the ruins of thee
mistaken and misguided nations line tho path
way along which the masses have marched to
higher ground. Despotism has In it tho seeds
of death ; the spirit that leads a nation to aspire
' to a supremacy leased on force Is the spirit that
' destroys ittf hope of Immortality. Only those
' who are unacquainted with the larger influence
can place their sole reliance on tho weapons used
iri physical warfare. They see only the things
that are transient and ephemeral; they do not
comprehend the higher truth that "the things
that are seen are temporal; the things that are
unseen are eternal."
Christian nations need to read again Christ's
prayer upon tho cross, "Father, fdrglve thew,
for they know not what they do." All the par
ticipants in this war have slnnecTenouglr tc make
them anxious to exhibit that forgiving spirit
which is the measure of the forgiveness which
'can be claimed. .
When can peace he restored? -Any time now.
if the 'participants are really weary of this- war
and ready f6r it to dnd. If any nation fs not
rpady, let its ruler state In clear, distinct and
definite terms the conditions upon which' it 1
willing to agree to peace; then if an agredraent
ts not, reached, the' blame for the continuance of
the war will be upon those who make unreal-
'"enable demands.
What can be dQne j the advocates of peace?
T'Ifst. They cati1 crystallize' tho sdntlirient Im
favnr of neice Into' a. coercive force.'- f oi Dtohlie'
' opinion at. last Controls the world. There i
work 'which the Central 'nations can do; thejr-
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