The Lebanon express. (Lebanon, Linn County, Or.) 1887-1898, 1894-08-17
Lebanon Express.
n. Y. KIRKPATRICK.
Editor and Proprietor

THE war between China and
Japan will, if continued long
enough, be Of untold benefit to the
world, And If the great powers Of
Europe become involved in the
contest even greater good will ac-
crue. The tiercer, and the more
destructive Of human life, the more
helpful will it be. There are many
sanetimonious cranks, sentimental
fanatics, disciples Of conservatism
that hate war because they hate
strife. However, the killing Of a
few hundred thousand Chinese and
the mutual extermination of the
standing armies of Russia, France,
England and Germany is not suffi-
ciently horrible to balance the
relief that would follow. The
Chinese empire is overrun with an
ignorant, deceitful, besotted people
who fear tyrany and therefore per-
init it. Europe is overrun with
inhabitants nearly as degraded
who therefore permit forms of
tyranny almost as oppressive. We
do not mean that there are too
many people in the world, that
were there fewer there would be
more work and consequently more
happiness and less poverty No
idea is SO ridiculous as that the
world cannot support more than it
row contains, for not one-fourth of
it is yet settled. There not too
many people, but too many fools.
This war will be fought by armies
composed Of fools who are better
dead than alive. China with a
population Of nearly four hundred
millions which submits to the most
hateful governmenton earth, is the
great breeder Of fools. As the Jap
anese have superior firearms and
leaders they will slay the Celestial
hordes like rats; the more they kill
the fewer fools will be left in the
world. Then if the European
powers will annihilate each others
standing armies composed Of hun
dreds Of thousands Of fools. The
armies ofEurope contain thequint-
essence of the tomfoolery that sub
mIts TO incompetent governors and
continued .misrule, for the greatest
asses are those that worship the
heel that grinds their necks. These
soldiers call it patriotism to glorify
imbecile kings and insane war
lords, whose chief duties are to
strut in gold laces and levy taxes.
They are the class always ready to
fight for the ruler against their
country, the bulwarks of time hon
ored abuses, the conservators of
the past and the enemies of liberty. \
Now that weapons have been brough
to higE state Of perfection, it is
probable that a continued war
would be Obstructive Of the armies.
And inasmuch as the pot Of dis
content and ambition has been
sizzling for years, tits likely that
a conflict would last for sometime.
Thus were several millions Of these
European and more millions Of the
Chinesefools slaughtered, ,thequanti-
ty q tomfoolery would be econsidera-
blyreduced which would be eaualto
an increase in the average intelli-
gence. 1t would mean a more in
tellectual and therefore bolder
public opinion, which partly free
from the clogs Of conservatism
would be less fearful in it's demand
for better government. The people
'ot any country at any time have
thepowerto change their governors
and correct abuses, but low order
Of brains and. the consequent
animal timidity, hold it in sub
lection, a mighty slave to Ignorance
and cowardice. Let there be war
and let it spread till it becomes
wOfld-wide, devouring the fools
who would fight it. When they
are dead, and if others grow not to