Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-11-08

friend in some new guise Now and then
the earth is convulsed by the dire struggle
between coutending Kingdoms; but though
1t may cause few to fall of from this inno-
cent and childlike faith, the religion-for
such it is-does not die out. No amount Of
wars can eradicate it, though all nature 10
ever at war, and the greater part Of animal
life is fed by slaughter.
The Preparation for War;.
The practical influence Of this faith upon
the world generally can best be gauged BY
q scrutiny of the vast sums-steadily in.
creasing in amount-which are devoted an.
nually to the maintenance of great armies.
It is because the soldier knows best what
war means, especially to the defeated, that
he urges his countrymen to be always strong
and thoroughly prepared for whatever may
be the species of war to which his country
can be exposed. For the country exposed
to invasion, condition of complete readi-
ness to resist il is the most likely way to
escape that fearful contingency. Even il
strength does not entirely protect you from
the risk OF war being declared against you
by some neighburing swashbuckler poten-
tate, it At least enables you to push back
the war from your own frontiers, and TO
transfer from your own to your enemy's ter
ritory the chastity miseries, the dire woe
and desolation of that unspeakable scourge.
If Prussia and its allied provinces had
been less prepared for war in 1870, the mis-
cries which overlook the French villages
and farmers and peasants, wherever the hos
tile forces were engaged, would have fallen
upon Germans. not upon Frenchmen. Al
though the strength of the German army
did not save Germany from wal, it at least
saved her lands and her people from its de-
yaststing horrors. Upon this question Won
Moltke writes:
We Are Not Done With War.
Gas long as nations continue to lead sep
arate and independent e1istences there will
be disputes, which an appeal to arms can
alone settle; but in the interest of mankind
1t is to be hoped that wars will be less fire.
quent now they have become terrible. 1t
is no longer the ambition of princes, but the
sentiments and the dissatisfaction OF the peo-
pie with their surroundings, :he strife of
parties, and especially of party leaders,
which endanger peace. Peace will be more
commonly urged by one leader than by q
council of wise men. 1t is easier for large
assembly to declare war (for then no nerson
is responsibility than for one person to do SO,
no matter how high may be his position"
So writes the wise and experienced Won
Moltke in these memoirs, and / can conf
deuIly recommend these two first pages Il
his work to the serious study of those who
believe in the possibility of universal peace
under the present dispensation. In doing
so, 1 would beg all who seek for peace, and
wish to secure it, to believe that no man
wishes to avoid war more than the patriot
soldier, and that he does it most heartily
and logically, for he knows better than
Others how truly horrible it is would
ask of them to believe in the peace-loving
fr of ha SOL ha
his countrymen the urgency of being strong,
If they would be safe from war and its at
tendant misery.
1t Was Disinterested ADVICE.
Moltke knew this better than most men.
He had no political end to serve in the ad-
vice he gave his countrymen. In what he
votes or extend his popularity. His mind
was entirely free from the palsving, putre-
fying contaglon of party. He thought only
of the Germany he had so materially helped
to create, of her greatness, and of her safety.
Her readiness for war, which he had
planned and perfected, has secured her the
most honorable immunity from war for the
last 20 wears. Peace, complete peace for so
long! what blessing to the nation wise
enough to buy it at price. which, though
in some respects high, procures for every
young German the most manly and effective
sort of physical and mental training.
Moltke knew that no form Of constitution
or system of government could protect his
or any other country from war, if it was to
hold its own amongst the great nations of
the world. A people can only hope to
avoid the disease of war by constant readi-
ness for it, as we defend ourselves against
smallpox by vaccination. The longest and
most deadly and costly of modern wars was
that which ragged some q years ago, in the
greatest and most fourishing Republic the
world has ever known. WoLsELEY.