The morning times., 1895-08-11
The Great
military Strike

Iu6 king or sSluuDOOVeuE udu ueCldIcO
war against his powerful rival, the mon
arch of seldomphoundlaDd. The localities
are slightly mythical, will freely admit;
the period is -'fin-de-siecleish,"
Indeed, but still, alas, the ancient and bar
barous practice of war was not yet obso-
lete in these happy countries, and my
Lords Bertram aud Cottopdyke and othGv
warlike chiefs were holding solemn
conclave as to ways and means for the
forthcoming expedition.
BY a single stroke of the pen thousands
of men were tC~-1e thrown here, there and
everywhere. Human beings to be torn
from children, wives and mothers-to be
murdered, manned, or imprisoned, with
no more concern than IL they had been
chessmen in a gigantic game played by
their chiefs at home. And all for what?
An, great heavens! What cause, since
the world began, has been worth drop
of the precious blood spilled in It's defense?
Certainly EiduDncEehr was a free coun-
try, wherein no man was forced to become
soldier against mis- will, but even that did
not justify or atone for the iniquity OF
war.
Suddenly the generals conference was
interrupted by the unannounced entrance
OF a stranger With military uDanimity
these gentlemen rose and inquired:
what is the meaning OF this intrusion?"
"Pardon me, but my business is SO urgent
and my time so short that could not stand
on ceremony Permit me TO introduce my
self Ny name is Philadelphia, and l am
pacific patriot"
"A pacific who?" asked Gen. Cottandyke,
with more incredulity than grammatical ac-
curacy.
Patriot, my lord. Patriots are usually
remarkable for shedding blood. In justice
to these excellent men, 1T must be admitted
that they are Indifferent as to whether the
blood be their own or other peoples. My
mission, on the other hand, is to prevent
bloodshed, and IN the name OF humanity L
| beg of you now, on the eve of this war, to
strike!''
"Ahl strike while the iron is hot. Just
| what we are going TO dc" said Gen. Ber-
| tram.
Not so, but strike yourselves"
IAN unnecessary and painful proceed
| ing remarked Gen. Cottondyke, which,
| If attended with fatal consequences,
would certainly lead 10 verdicts OF sui
| eide while of unsound mind"
You misunderstood me. l mean that
| you must strike as toilers do when they
| wish the conditions of their labor to be
bettered You must politely but peremp-
torily decline TO go out to battle"
! 1T cauuot be. 1t is our duty to fight and
our honor is involved.
"Dutyl Honor! Bah, gentlemen! These
are the most vilely prostituted OF terms.
| Can it be any Christians duty to slay his
fellow men-for 1 suppose you are Chris
! tiaus?"
All these officers looked Indignant at the
suggestion that they might not be, although
of truth no soldier can be a true Christian.
Now, l ask you, gentlemen" Philadel'
phocontiuued, ARE you fond OF danger"
Aud they all replied in chorus:
"We freely admit that we entertain no
personal affection for danger, and our
lives being precious, we usually prefer to
see others bear the bruut of peril"
Then must it not be all the easier for
| you TO decline the performance Of duty
which is unpleasant TO ycu?"
| Permit me to remark" said Cottondyke,
.sthat this is all nonsense. The country S
reputation is at stake. If we are not pre-
pared the enemy will"
Never mind the enemy. Leave him to
me Leave him to me, thank you. There
is 40 dispute under the sun that cannot be
arranged by arbitration. Oh, my lord, Put
up thy sword. BE that taketh the sword
shall perish by the sword With all rev
ereuce 1 quote these words. Two thou
sand years have passed since they were
spoken aud how miserably have the pre-
tended follower forgotten their Divine
Masters precepts. Ouce more, gentlemen
beseech you to joint universal military
strike"
''You would, then, put an end to the army
altogether"
ut is certainly more ornament than use,
besides being so very expensive to tht
! poor taxpayer. 1t may yet be possible
for the working classes to find more remun
eratiye employment than as common sol
diers And as for you, you do not do thi
sort OF thing exactly for a living, pre-
! sume?'
Gentlemen" said Cottondyke, de-
cisiyely, Mr. Philadelphia has spoker
truly. l desire to cast no aspersion upoI
the royal knowledge OF arithmetic"
II have no doubt you mean well, sir,
said Bertram; but you waste your time
You have not considered the stigma which
would rest upon officers who drew bacl
on the eve of battle
"a purely military stigma, not mora
one; so, if you all strike, who is there lef
to stigmatize?
Then they began to think. and all L
chorus echoed: WHO, indeed?"
II have seen others and they consent
those beneath you and those above. Th'
duke of Granta agrees to strike
IF our noble chief agrees to strike,
said Cottondyke, "it is our duty to do SO
too"
And they all echoed: "It is our dutyl'
''But the prince, the heir APPARENT" in
terposed Bertram.
The prince, said the patriot. "doe
not 20 personally into action, although h
is a general He fights vicariously. He
therefore, does not count
1 say the prince does not-nay, cannot
count. We will sIike!'
And the chorus OF officers repeated
"We wiI!''
philadelphia had set himself higi
ideal, but he knew he must reckon with hu
| manity on It's own level not too lofty
"real" When he told the generals b
!, had obtained the acquiescence both o
their interiors and superiors, he told