The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1883-05-17
ON WAR DEBTS.
The Quaker Statesman, John Bright
ON War aud War Debts.

on War aud War Debts.
Psrofation on His Recent Address at The
University Of Glasgow.
Would you believe that if you were to
add up all the expenditure in the coun-
try since the beginning Of the century,
and during the lifetime of some thou
sands of people now living, the expen-
diture upon war and war debts. the ex-
penditure ofa military and naval war
kind-what do you suppose it comes tor
You could not guess, and if l told you,
you would be no wiser. It comes to the
sum of "a, 4l4, O0O, 900 sterling of taxes. 1
say you would be no wiser. I do not
know that We are any wiser from hear
ing that Z man il worth q million, ex.
cept that he is rich man. We do not
know very we'll what q million is. But
What ale one hundred mil
lions, or. what are O. thousand
millions, or four thousand millions7 It
is like speaking of those great astronomi-
cal distanoedof which, ct lectures wo
hear % much and kn3w 20 little. But If
these military expenses have come to
A,l4, 600 600, how much has the real
government, the civil government of the
country cost during the same time? 1t
has cost FL ,Ol2, 900, 900. Less than one
fifth Of all our expenditure; more than
four 6fshs have been expended in wars
past, or wars prepared for in the future.
ask you, then, what of the people, and
what of the millions? We find poverty
and misery. What does it mean when
all these families are living in homes of
one room, to us who have several rooms
and all the comforts of life? 1t means
more than / can describe, and more than
I will attempt to enter into; and, Is
need begets need, 80 poverty and misery
beget poverty and misery. So,
in all our great towns, and
not little in some of our
small towns, there are misery and help
lessness 50 much as hsve described.
In fact, looking dt the past, to me it is .
melancholy thing to look at. There is
much of it which excites in me not aston
ishment only, but horror. The fact is,
there passes before my eyes vision OF
millions of families-not individuals, but
families-fathers, mothers and children,
ghastly and sorrow stricken, passing in
q never ending procession, from their
L
put to you question. A friend of ours
in the corner there was little stirred
because some of the subjects on which
treated seemed to take a political as
pect. Some one has said that the two
things of all others in the world that are
worth considering, worth talking about,
are the subjects OF religion and politics.
want to ask you whether the future is
to be no better than the past? Do we
brighter time? For myself.
it will not be possible for me to see it;
but you have before yon, many of you,
the prospect of witnessing the transac-
tions Of the public policy of your coun-
try for forty or fifty, or even 1t may be
for years to come. On you and such as
you depends greatly our future. What
[ want to ask you, is, whether you will
look back upon the past and examine it
carefully; look round then in the pres
| ent, and see what exists; and endeavor,
if it be possible, to get a better and q
higher tone to our national policy for
the future. To me it appears that dur
ing the last two centuries Il keep myself
to that. because since that time the pub
lie opinion of the country that had great
~ increased influence! I'VE trod in the
| AOOAoSVp0 "a OcCohA AAlU dCCCptCu Vic Odls
barous policy of Pagan Rome;
while ut the same time, with
vast ard unconscious Hypocrisy, we
have built thousands of temples, and
have dedicated them to the Prince OF
Peace I say with grief and shame that
they who have ministered at His affairs
have, for the most part, on these mat
tiers been absolutely dumb. Now l ask
you this question. Shall we reverse the
! policy? Shall we contrive " build up the
justice, morality, and peace? plead
not for the great and for the rich;
plead for the millions who live in homes
Of only one room. Can you answer me
in the words which l quoted years age
on a somewhat like occasion; word.
which fell from the crowned minstre
who left US the psalms: 1.-The needy
shall not always be forgotten; the ex
Pectation of the poor shall not perish
forever"