The herald., 1895-09-01

human lnstincts nave nOt cnaDgod par
ticle in the FIVE thousand and more years
OF which we have written history.
Princes have ambitions. and rulers have
the same lust for power that they have
always had. There is the same com bative-
ness in the highly civilized man OF today
that there was In prehistoric man, to
whom every beast of the field and almo st
every member of his own race was an
avowed enemy. Ths same motives actu-
ate the individual OF today that prompted
preadsmite man-the desire to surround
himself with possessions and to ac-
quire dominion over his fellows. And in
what respect, with rsgard to such attri-
butes. do governments differ from indi-
vduals?
In times of peace, during those inter-
walls when the nations are resting from
sheer exhaustion or to collect their
strength and resources for a greater strug-
gle, there is always an attempt made to
engender more pacific spirit both as be.
tween man and man and besm cen nations.
Looking at the matter from what is er-
roneously called the humanitarian stand
point it would seem MS though all dis
putes might he settled without resort to
arms. In our day and under our relI :ious
professions any mode of settlement of
disputes other than by arbitratio is man
ifestly illogical; but the human heart is
just so constituted that it would rather
fight to the death than admit there are two
sides of a question involving patriotism I.
human race war will be looked upon as
ho f,,ro 81 &C fo1
What. then, is the secret of the present
armed peace of Europe? We have seen
that the predictions of the best authorities
on the subject have not been verified. 1t
is true their fears were based upon slen-
der hypothesis. but any difficulty will ap
pear greater prospectively than retros pect.
lively. The dissemination OF the DOC
trines of peace has fallen far short of
reaching the stage of universally. The
human being OF today is just as warlike
and aggressive as he ever was. Physical
fear does not enter into the matter, and
all the destructive machinery the brain
can invent will have little deterrent effect.
War has its own object, and 1t carries Its
certain penalties.
There 10 undoubtedly a reason, and
perfectly simple and straightforward one.
why the European powers have not
clashed within the last twenty years.
We do not claim to have discove. ed that
reason. but simply offer a suggestion for
what 1t is worth, in solution of the pr OBJ
lem. Modern warfare is a misnomer.
Since there was a war OF any con onsequence
between what we call civilized nations,
science has Drought pacific agencies to a
state of perfection undreampt of by the old
authorities ON tactics. With the rail-
roads and the telegraph we were already
familiar. but the telephone and the other
means of rapid and accurate communi-
cation bring up new problems. The new
rapid firing guns and heavy ordnance.
the armored ships and feet cruisers and
commerce destroyers are still untried in
actual and prolonged contest. Hence there
is not a military commander today who
can truthfully be said to know just what
his resources are. He IS not afraid of
his opponent. He knows exactly the
strength of his enemy, as compared with
his own. But what he does not know,
ani that lack of knowledge Is fatal to
action, is whether his armor is going to
be protection to HIM or an added ele-
ment of weakness. He does not know
whether he will rely upon the armamens
of his commerce destroyers to damage
his opponent or upon their swiftness in
seeking places of safety. And it is doubt
ful if he really knows what will be the
effect of his infantry tactics as opposed to
an apparently equal force. In short, is
there an authority on warfare with mod
ern appliances whose Judgment is based
on anything better than speculation?
There is no question in the mind of
any person who views the European situ-
alton impartially about the existence of
the warlike spirit. The men are enrolled
and armed with machinery of the very
latest device. But there is NJ one to lead
them; and until casus belli shall arise
that will be of such magnitude as to over
top all questions of prudence the
insult or oppression is so outrageous as
to leave open no other course than to
fight first and tnen arbitrate, we may
safely look for continuance of the pres
ent state of profound peace surrounded
by the trappings of war.