St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-04-25
Won NTOLTKE.


over, undertook to formulate code of
military ethics in the interest of greater
humanity in warfare. This association,
ever since its small beginning, has done
great work for the cause of mankind,
and its banner, flying on the field of
battle, has brought help to the wounded
and comfort to the dying. The progress
of modern invention has put into the
hands of belligerents machinery and
explosives of the deadliest character,
and the march of any army of to-day,
fully provided with the resources
which are available. is a carnival of
death and destruction, appalling in its
horror. The theory of the Red Cross
society, which numbered among its
members many eminent publicists, was
that such carnage was unnecessary and
lllegitimate that the purpose of
war was to cripple, and not to de-
stroy, and that the victory over ones
enemies could be achieved with much
less loss of life and human suffering
than this equipment rendered possible.
1t sought to lay down certain principles
Of action to which the civilized nations
of the world would subscribe, and the
observance of which, it was hoped,
would limit and mitigate the horrors of
the conflict.
This plan met with Endorsement in
many quarters, and fifteen European
states subscribed to its requirements.
But when Won MOLTKE, the sternest
and the greatest Of modern military
chiefs, was asked to approve of this
purpose, he abruptly refused, and de-
nounced the idea as futile and impos-
Sible. 'He declared that war was an
element in the order of the world Or
dained by God, in which the noblest
virtues were developed, and without
which the world would stagnate and
lose itself III materialism." He strongly
took the position that the end of war
was not to cripple, but to destroy, and
the deadlier the engines and the more
rapid and overwhelming their work,
the more likely they were to achieve the
object for which they were advanced.
He allowed no room in his theory of
battle for codes Of laws, but held that
no limit could be placed on the use of
arms, except such as the mercy of lead
erS and the discipline of the soldiers
might prescribe. according to the de-
mands of each shifting scene in which
they might be brought in play.
These views, thus advanced, portray
the character of the great man just
dead better than many strokes of pen
ciled outline could present it. He re-
garded warfare as holy calling, more
exalted in It's aims and opportunities
than any other profession which enlist
ed the energies and the thoughts OF
men, and he counted the waste and the
sorrows which attended it as fully paid
for by the virtues of courage, submis
sion, Self-denial and bravery which il
bred in the breasts of the combatants
He thought the soul glowing with the
highest emotions, even for moment
and that, too, in the face of inevitable
baltimore glorious and more desirable
than life, however long, spent in pro
| Sale SelfiShneSS and amid low and Sordid
motives. He stamped on the character
of an empire his masterful opinions
and he made a race of soldiers in this
which we call an age of peace. disci
pinned and strong to a pitch beyond the
imagination Of any king who ever lived
before.
1t is impossible to resist the power OF
man of this sort, or to be insensible to
the allurements of military glory. But
such theories are hopelessly wrong, and
have no excuse for existence except in
as far as they are needed to nerve PEG
pie for enduring state of things which
had to be bowed before. Armaments are
necessary n.Enrope, where jealous ma
tions jOstle against each other; and il
the enthusiasm of devotion to calling OF
God can be made to illumine prepare.
tons for battle and scenes of carnage, il
is better for those who have to engage
in them than If they went to their work
as does the butcher or the hangman
But God knows that the fairest flowers
OF humanity do not spring from soil
clotted with mems blood, and that nc
such fertilizer is needed for the cultiva
ton of the highest virtues. War means
destruction and distress, and brave mer
can wage it with the fire of lofty feel
ingS burning within them; but the con
flicts and the victories of peace are moi
less ennobling to those who fight them
honOrably, and they are unattended by
the darkness of violence and sin.