Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1874-08-06
WAR.

The fighting propensity is highly developed
in large number of the human family. Not
that they are specially fond of fighting them
selves, but they like to see others in fight
The multitude will go farther and spend more
to see fight or hanging, than for almost
anything else. A street row between two
drunken rowdies collects all the boys AND
idlers in town. A duel or a scandal case,
calls forth sensation articles that are read and
pondered with more avidity, and more care,
than the most finished compositions on any
other subject. All this is indicative of
morbid state of public morals. There are
some things that ought never to see the light
A scandal case, or difficulty between hus.
band and wife, should be kept profound Sc
cret. Giving publicity to such things lowers
the tone of public morals and inaames appe-
tites that would have lain dormant forever.
War, whether between two individuals or
between nations, partakes of the nature of
scandals, murders and public executions DR..
Rush, in one of his lectures, puts down war
under the head of the diseases to which the
North American Indian was subject. To
many, no doubt, this may seem strange elias.
si6cation; but on close examination it will be
found to be correct. War is disease just as
much as fever. 1t is easier to discover its
causes and to tell what will be its final results,
than to tell what produces bilious fever, or
how case of bilious fever will terminate.
The medical profession is not decided in its
opinions respecting either the remote or proxl-
mate cause of fever; but it requires very little
learning to discover the cause of war. 1t is q
diseased state of the moral and social nature.
In the highest stage of civilized society, one
man will not tresspass upon the rights nor
wound the sensibilites of another. When the
moral sense is vigorous and active in the per-
formance of its functions, it forbids injustice
and guards with sacred care the life, charac-
ter and property of others. The history Of
the human family is made up Of war details.
The most interesting pages to the multitude
are those which record the overthrow of en-
pires, the annihilation of governments and the
wholesale destruction of human life. In all
this there is glare that dazzles and attracts
the multitude. 1t is, however, followed by a
wall The glitter of military trappings and
the shouts of the victor, are followed by the
disconsolate groan of the widow and the tears
of the fatherless. The glory Of one is ipro-
cured by making thousands miserable. The
decisions ofthe sword are rarely just and al
ways oppressive. Thousands bleed and die to
make a hero of one and thousands mourn
that one may rejoice. The world has spent,
in the last fifty years, i'll wars, the results OF
which were, in many instances, worse than
ruinous, money enough to build and equip a
railroad between every town and hamlet in
the world. The late war between the States
cost the country more than all the educational
institutions have cost since the continent was
discovered. Neither party have gained any
thing. Both have lost enormously. More
than a million of men died upon the battle
field untold millions fproperty was Destroy
ed. Thisis not all. The morals of the coun-
try were terribly vitiated, and the arts of CIV
ilization for a time driven from the land.
There may be something fascinating to a
morbid nature in war; but in reality it is
terrible evil. All good men will advocate
peace, and if all men were good citizens there
would not be much danger of the country be-
coming involvedin war. To remove one evil
by bringing about and protecting another, is
dangerous experiment. 1t is like the man
who tells one lie, and then to conceal it tells
dozen more. War generally corrects one
evil, by bringing about many others, so much
greater, that it is entirely forgotten.