Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-05-31
THE LESSONS OF WAR.


Columbus-A Small Army and Weak
Navy Not Such Great Drawbacks-Priv-
ileges and National Strength of tho
United States.
COLUMBUS, O., May 30-A large assemblage
OF veterans and citizens gathered at Column
bus to-day to listen to the memorial address
of ex-Presldent Rutherford Z. Hayes. Cen
eral Hayes in excellent health, and
easily held the attention of the large audi
ence. The opening portion of the Generals
address was devoted to an analysis OF war
and It's resulting effects. The concluding
portion was especially notable. He said:
The astounding progress of America dur
ing the war and by reason Of it during the
laSt27 years has carried us onward ana up
ward until We have reached rank among
the nations SO commanding that we our
selves can hardly realize either the priv
ilegcs that are ours or the responsibilities ana
duties which those privileges impose upon u.s.
1t is our privilege to be without extensive
and costly 1ortifications, because we do not
need them. We have only small navy be-
cause with our resources we are able, II the
need comes, to subsidize the ships of almost
all other nations except those of the power
with which we are at war. We have to-day
the largest, the cheap pest, the safest and the
most efficient and formida BILE army the world
has ever seen. 1t consists OF more than To-
600, 900 educate men who are not merely
sell-sUSC1lnln5, OuC WHO. enpapcu JIG
peaceful industries OF civil life, are con-
stantly adding to our wealth and power. 10
keep this army up to its maximum or num-
bers and strength we have more than a
quarter of a million of school houses under
the old flag, every ono of which is at once
fortress and recruiting station for the
army of the Republic.
Actions Much Louder Than Words.
WITH our privileges and national
strength the conditions appointed by Provi-
dence for human existence for nations as
well as individuals require US to bear the
burden of corresponding duties. The occa-
sion permits me to call your attention very
briefly to two OF the obligations devolved
upon us. One relates to our dealings with
foreign nations; the other concerns our own
citizens and our own immediate welfare
America ought to use the precious oppor-
tunity which her weight in the world has
given her to keep the peace of the world. 1t
is altog ether fitting that this fortunate Re-
public should be the peacemaker OF the
world. Actions speak louder than words.
Example avails. We can better afford to
suffer wrong than to do wrong. and espe-
cally in dealing with weaker nations.
No other nation is so great that it Will
ever again seek to knock the chip off our
shoulders. We should of course always be
just. but we can afford also to be moderate,
considerate, charitable and magnanimous.
Let our example, voice and influence be
consistently, sincerely and firmly on the
side of peace-in favor of arbitration and
against war. Let it be understood that
America will engage in no war that IS not
absolutely forced upon her. We should
adopt the familiar maxim of the great dra-
mat1st: Beware of entrance to a quarrel;
may beware of thee" We ought indeed to
advance both parts of Shakespeare's advice
Large armies Fatal to Liberty.
LARGE standing armies are fatal to lib
erty. War is the enemy of civilization and
we ought to keep out of war until driven to
the wall. But when compelled to act, let
the example OF the old Romans be followed:
"Carthago delenda est'-Let Carthage be de-
stroved. When America is driven into war
let that war end only with annihilation of
the power that caused 1t. Let it be under
stood that whoever makes war with America
will never make war again Our gospel is
peace. If war must come, its aim and end
should be a peace that cannot again be
broken by the same offender.
Another lesson lnculcated by war is for
America still more important. All wars
educate. OF our war it has been said: '1deas
were behind the cannon and pointed the
musket." Abraham Lincoln was the very
incarnation of these ideas. and they are at
once the secret and the sure foundation OF
the enduring place which he holds in the
affections of ali good men and women. The
sentiments which filled his soul and were
the guide Of his life were humanity: anxious
solicitude for the welfare of his fellow men;
sympathy with the suffering and tile op-
pressed; hatred of wrong to the humblest
human Delnp, anu our common DrOtnernOOQ.
The lesson of his wonderful life contains
almost the whole future of our country. 1t
Is short and simple.
At the Parting of Two Roads.
OUR America to-day is drawing near to
the parting of the roads. Dazzled almost to
blindness by the contemplation of unrivaled
swiftness and splendor of her march to pres
tige, to power, and to richness, our country
may be tempted to reject or may neglect the
message of Lincoln. That message was often
by him in words, and always ex-
hibited in his life, from his latest day on
earth. 1t can easily be given in r single sen.
tence. His whole life, his very being, seemed |
to say to his country: "Sce to it that every |
person and daughter of our Republic so far |
as human laws and conduct avail, shall have |
an equal chance and a fair start i'll the race |
of life"
knowledge is power and property is |
power. The republic means opportunity |
the equal opportunity to get knowledge, |
which, in the long run, commands property. |
The practical meaning of Lincoln's maxim |
is, therefore, let all the children of the Re-
public have an equal opportunity for the
fit them to receive. Reject or neglect this,
and our Government ceases to be repub-
lican, except in name, and that doom which
the Almighty has appointed for all shams is
not far off. On the other hand, let the
American people remain steadfastly true to
the ideas for which they fought in the sa- |
cred war, and we shall thus do all that lies
in US to link the destiny of our country to
the stars and to entitle her institutions to
share in that immortality which, under the
allotment of Providence in the affairs of
na ations, belongs always and only to eternal |