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PEACE
DAY
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Abstract of , Mr. . Bryan's address, Sunday,
October-4th, 1914, at New York prayer day
exercises.
Responding to petitions from the representa
tives of all religious faitliB the president has, by
solemn proclamation, set apart this day .as a day
of prayer for peace, and we, by assembling on
this occasion, indicate approval of his official act
while we, in the spirit of worship, plead with the
Almighty to so make known His sovereign will as
to restore peace, complete and enduring, to the
nations now at war.
It is not necessary -that we should consider
causes that led up to the conflict, or attempt to
locate responsibility for the conditions that now
exls.t. It is not only not necessary, but contrary
to -the natural order. If a friend meets with an
accident, we address ourselves first to his im
mediate needs, and after we have relieved his
sufferings, we seek the cause of his misfortune
with a view to saving others from a similar fate.
'So today, when a number of nations, all our
friends, have been drawn into the vortex of war,
"our first duty is to use such influence as we may
have to hasten the return of peaceT there will be
ample time afterward to devisj ways and means
for preventing future appeals to arms.
Prayer Is a recognition of a power higher
than ourselves and a confession that we believe
in the existence of a force above and beyond
man's control;' prayer expresses humility it is
an acknowledgement of man's finiteness in the
presence of the Infinite. It proclaims reliance
upon a wisdom to which out minds cannot aspire
and a willingness to abide by. the will of God,
made manifest among men.
As each individual life is influenced; even
often controlled, by events which man does not
foresee and which care can not avoid, so the tide
of battle is sometimes turned by unexpected in
cidents which no precaution can prevent, and
which no preparedness can withstand. The be
liever, however fixed his opinion and however
positive his sympathies, should desire the tri
umph of that whidh is right above that Which
may accord--either with his seeming interest or
his judgment. If tliis is our attitude tdWard
those overruling events which indicate the
pleasure or displeasure of the Heavenly Father,
we can with more profit to ourselves consider
the elements which enter into the establishment
of peace remembering that we ourselves need
enlightenment as to the course that will enable
us to be helpful both to our own and to other
nations.
In this age our interests' are so e'ntwined with
the interests of those who reside in other, lands
that no nation can live or die unto itself alone.
If we' had no higher' reason for encouraging con
ditions conducive to" peace, we should find ample
justification in the fact that the burdens of war
are no longer borne entirely by those who are
direct participants in it. . Today every neutral
nation finds' itself greatly embarrassed by the
disturbance which the European war has
"wrought in every department of human activity;
and we, therefore, appreciate more fully than
ever before how numerous are the ties that bind
us together and how far-reaching are the conse
quences of war.
We must not be discouraged if this, the great
est of all wars breaks out just when we were
most hopeful of the substitution of reason for
force in the settlement of international disputes.
It may be that the "world needed one more awful
object-lesson to prove conclusively the fallacy of
the doctrine that preparedness for war can give
assurance of peace. This assumption is built
upon the theory that peace rests upon fear,
whereas all history proves the contrary. Love
is the only foundation upon which permanent
peace can rest; peace Is promoted, therefore by
anything which promotes good will. Continuous
preparation for war presupposes the existence of
an enemy who must be hated until he can be
overcome; but hatred begets hatred, and te
venge is the heaviest load that man or nation
Can carry, It is only occasionally that one has
an opportunity to do hurt to an enemyf.but the
desire to haTm another is a continuing source of
injury to ones-self.
And even if one could be completely avenged
by the exercise of physical force, he could not
escape the influence which the use of this force
and the winning of a triumph by means of it
are likely to exert upon himself. When the.
Creator placed man upon the earth He so ar
ranged the restraints Intended for the control
of his life that lie is Impotent to escape from
th.e. results of his own wrongdoing. No human
court can suspend the decree pronounced in tho
sentence "The wages of sin is death." As
man's .happiness was placed in his own keeping
when it was made dependent, not upon what tho
world does for him, but upon what he does for
tho world, bo his punishments wore committed
In part to his own hands when the Makor with
held from him the power to protect himself from
the punishment which evil-doing inflicts upon tho
evil-doer.
The commandments that relate to man's con
duct toward his fellows were given, not merely
for the benefit of those who might without these
commandments suffer injury at tho hands of
others, but for tho benefit also of those who
without the commandments might, while inflict
ing injury upon others, bring still greater suf
fering upon themselves. Likewise the doctrine
of forgiveness was not promulgated for the ben
efit of the forgiveness alone but that man, leav
ing vengeance to the Lord, might occupy his
time to better advantage.
Most of the errors which man commits in in
ternational affairs arise from a failure to under
stand the fundamental truth that moral prin
ciples are aB binding upon nations as upon in
dividuals. The commandment: "Thou shalt not
steal," covers grand hvrceny as well as petit lar-'
ceny; "Thou shalt not kill," 'applies to nations
as well as to individuals. A nation is but a group
of individuals, and no group, however numerous,
can expunge one syllable of the moral law
though hand join In hand, the wicked shall not
bo unpunished.
We shall be alded in our efforts to promote
peace if we fix in our minds certain propositions
which embody pertinent and Important truths.
Some of these propositions are directed against
delusions; others express the conclusions drawn
from the world's experience.
JTirst: War is not to be judged by the appoar
ance of soldier on parade. Tho regiment march
ing through the stree J, with banners flying,
keeping time to tho strains of inspiring music,
is attractive to the eye; but this is not war. War
is understood only when one visits the hospital,
when disease 'is ravaging the camp of the battle
field where men meet face to face, grimly deter
mined to sell their lives at the highest possible
price, paid in human blood; or when one enters
the fatherless home from which the bread-winner
has been taken, and measures the value of
the protection withdrawn from the children and
the added cares Imposed upon the mother.
Weight must also be given to the aftermath of
prejudice and ill-will, for each war sows the
seeds of future wars.
Second: The good that man's ingenuity may
be able to extract from war, must not be used
to justify recourse to arms. Such advances in
civilization as have been credited to war could
have been secured in larger measure and at less
cost by peaceful means. Man has been rowing
upstream and it is necessary to subtract the
speed of the war-current before we can estimate
tho progress which he would have made had he
not been compelled to pull against the swift cur
rents of human passion.
Third: Man need not stain his hands with his
brother's blood in order to qualify himself for
worthy deeds. We could not worship God as we
do "if we believed that He had so constituted
man as to make war necessary to man's eleva
tion. If war were a moral necessity it would be
planned for, not deploretL If it were a recog
nized human need, men would claim credit for
it, not deny responsibilities as they do today.
One of the encouragements to be drawn from
the present European conflict is to be found In
the fact that the governments involved vie with
each other In refusing to admit, that they began
it. We have taken a long step In advance when
no civilized nation will either admit a' desire for
war or confess an intention to inaugurate it.
Fourth: Man is normal when he is calm, not
when he is angry; and his plans must therefore
be perfected and carried out when his conscience
and his judgment are free to act. When a man
is angry he boasts of what he CAN do; when ho
is calm he considers what he OUGHT to do.
Our nation not only largely profits by the
peace policy which it has pursued, but it has put
itself in a position to render a larger service to
the World than it otherwise could and with na
tions, as with individuals, service is the meas
ure of greatness. By promptly accepting the me
diation generously offered by the representa
tives of three" great Republics of South America,
Brazil. Argentina and Chita. Prfr1fnt Wfli
not only secured a peaceful solution of a Uta&'
tion that throatenod war, but ho gavo a stroll'
impetus to tho cause of conciliation, ft will be
easier than beforo to proaorvo peace In the
westorn hemisphere, and more 'dffflcult to (kfclfe"
war. '"
In Its dealings with other countries our'go
ornmont has found It wise to discourage the;' em
ployment of tho ultimatum and to substitute a
continuation df negotiations, on tho theory that
nothing is final botwoon friends.
Our government, stoadlly advancing toward
tho goal of univorsal peace, has also found it,
possible to make rnoro remoto the possibility
of war by tho negotiation of treaties which pro
vldo for the investigation of all disputes before
tho employment of force. Twonty-sovon of those
treaties have already been signed, and tho gov- -ornments
which they ropresent embrace consid
erably more than two-thirds of tho population
of tho world. In fact, almost every nation of
importance has endorsed the principle, and near
ly all have concluded ebnventions. Thcso trek
ties loavo nothing which can become a causo of
war until after an International tribunal has in
vestigated the matter In dispute. Tho commlg
slon provided for is a permanent one, ready to
bo Invdkod at a moment's notice, and the period
allowed for examination Into tho difference? is
a year long enough to pormlt passions to sub
sldo and questions of honor to bo soparatod from
questions of fact. In ordor to secure tho inves
tigation of all questions, without any exception
whatever, it is necessary to reserve to tho con
tracting partios tho right to act independently
upon the subject-matter after tho investigation
has been made; but this right, while important,
Is not likely to bo exercised since the Investiga
tion Is quite certain to result in agreement.
Fifth: Tho plane of existence will not be low
ered, neither will the field of endeavor bo nar
rowed when, as foretold in prophesy, tho sword ,
shall bo beaten Into plough-shares and tho spearg
into prunlng-hooks whon nation shall not lift
up sword against nation and whon people shall
learn war no moro. Man has spent a consider
able portion of his time in the work of -destruction;
in tho day that is dawning, ho can devote
all his efforts to production.
Already we have learned that it is more ad
vantageous to expand tho land wo have' by
doubling its productiveness than it would be to
add an equal area by conquest; tho sacrifice
mado In altruistic work prove how limitless is
the field of noblo effort when men rival each
other In doing good. There Is as much inspira
tion In a noble life as In a heroic death.
Sixth: "No question Is ever sott'ed until it Is
settled right." Force is important to fasten
upon mankind a single falsehood. There is
in every righteous cause an inherent power by
which it Is able to overcome opposition. As the
Invisible germ of life in the grain of wheat
takes from earth and air that which it needs
for its growth and perfection, so tho Invisible
germ'JB) in truth gathers nourishment from
tho deaafcings about it, and grows until it be
comes an irresistible force, bringing victory to
those who dare to stand for it One with God
shall chase a thousand, and two, put ten thou
sand to flight.
Seventh: Tho goal of humanity is universal
' brotherhood and each' individual is destined to
find that the commandment "Thou shalt love thy
neighbor as thyself," Instead of diminishing his
share of the proceeds of the general toll of the
world, will give the largest assurance of perma
nent prosperity and advancement. He who im
pressed upon man His imago and who holds in
His hand tho destinies of nations, has ordained
that man's welfare shall be dependent upon
obedience to tho Divine law, and mankind Is
drawn together In the indissoluble bonds of
common brotherhood as man sees this Jaw with
increasing clearness.
At tho close of the civil war one of the sad
experiences of that great conflict was described
In verse. Tho story runs like this:
"Two brothers, reared at the same fireside,
had enlisted, one In the Union army and one ia
the Confederate ranks. During a battle, one of
these thrust his bayonet Into the breast of a
soldier in the opposing line. When he stooped
to withdraw the weapon, he found that he had
killed his brother," and then the poet In touch
ing words described the sorrow that overwhelm
ed him.
It is not too much to hope that in the days
which are before us we shall feel more and more
the binding influence of that tie that links eack
human being to every other until we shall fully
recognize th claim of each, upon all. God
speed the day!
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