The daily morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1883-1899, 1895-12-28
A Woman Petitions President
Grover Cleveland.
ELlz'BeTh STUART PHELPS WARD
By the Memory Of the Anguish of
the Late War Her Prayer
is Made.

famous writer and student of public af-
fairs, moved, as she asserts, by the pos
sibility of war with England, has writ
ten a personal letter to President C eve
land, pointing out the disaster that would
follow such a conflict, and urging him to
restrain those who would bring such a
calamity upon the country. Mrs. Wards
letter follows:
Newton Center Mass, Dec. 10, 1895.
To the President of the United States OF
America
Mr.. President: / venture to appeal to
you. 1 am sure that l am expressing the
voice of every woman and of most OF the
humane and thoughtful men in In coun-
try, but there is no time to collect names
and sign petitions. The po 81 ily of war
with England seems at the dale of this
writing to be made by your message, a
danger
We have trusted this administration to
preserve the amity of our foreign re'a-
tions. We have not expected it to bring
us as near national bloodshed as that OF
your predecessor did, in the case of
little South American state. We have
rested upon the belief that, whatever else
befell, you would wear to the end the
honors-the greatest that any chief exec
utive can wear-of confirming the peace
of the land he serves.
l cannot bring myself yet to believe tfat
you personally wish or mean an thing
else, but 1 am moved so deeply hat
cannot refrain from begging you, by the
memory of the anguish of our late war,
not yet forgotten nor outlived by this
country; and by all the possibility of suf-
fering which war to come involves, to
calm, rather than to stir the restless, SUI
perficial elements in congress and hold
III l,or, frnt tolF In
step in the direction of so terrible an
iniquity and shame.
War at best is but legallzed murder,
Civilization now Is far beyond it. We
have outgrown the time when 1t should
even be considered as a solution of even
serious difficulties. The morality of war
is superseded. The craftsmanship of the
future must rest absolutely upon this
principle, as that of the past has rested
upon the principle of brute forces. If Bis
marck found the whole of Bulgaria not
worth the life of one of his Pomeranian
grenadiers it, even in a case of human
ity, Emperor William ii holds aloof from
interference in the Armenian questi H. be-
cause he believes that happy security at
home is worth more TO his country than
bloody philanthropy abroad, then surely
the life of one American citiz Is at least
worth 100000 or even 100000 acres of dis
puted wilderness more than 1000 niles
from our borders; and the peace of this
republic is worth more than the question
able application of a doctrine which may
have not been originated for such pur-
poses as that to which it is now put.
The whole of South America is not
worth one day of war in the Un ted
States An aggressive and entangling pol
icy is not worth one week CT the ru'n, the
death, the torture, the lifelong heartbreak
involved-in the slaughter of battle.
Dogs cannot arbtrate; nor tigers. Men
cen. because they can they oug' t."
Civilized nations should sett e d's1gree-
ment by mutual concession o. erbltration
as individual gentlemen do. Why sh ND
a nation commit murder--a crime for
which 1t executes a citizen? Such a war
as this t wards which men of lrascihle
temper, a.d deficient imag nation are hur-
rahing Us, would be the greatest crime in
modern history.
am but one of seventy mi'lio"s Of poe-
sihle sufferers but 7 have the r'gNt cow
mon to all who endured the havoc of our
last war, to entreat you-as thousand oi
"the Volcelese'' would If they cnu'd-to d
your utterrost to spare us the cha~ce OF
another. The men who voted you INTO
the office YOU hold hel'evod yor strong
enouph IN preserve the peace Of ttis CO. n
try. Power and the prevention OF suf-
fering are equivalent and ought to he
identical Anvone can cha 'lengH. bny~ ne
can fight National se'f-poss ssi"n re-
ouires a r,aster. Invitation m w"r is an
obsolete order of stateoraft But to srs-
tain neaoe is the modern art. That calls
for the highest and finest type OF admin
istration You have an oppo- tun'ty for
that Cvecrtve originality which is all
that lives in history.
You have. cir, a greater ch7noe than
President Monroe had He rr' ated the
doctrine. " is for you TO sdsnt g. 20 an
advarced christian ace, which has outrin
the helioerent conditions end IDEAS der
which he formulated IT, IT Is left for you
to rise TO the heiehts of your tl-nos, and
10 eav boldly. "Notbino feho~t NJ the rlti-
mate emergency OF national l'fe or deaf thu
in our dav and in our land iu-tiHes
war" Reg YOU to he great erouoh to do
this grand thing The men whom war
would slaughter as sportsmen slaughter
game. the women whom war would be-
reave and whose anguish II rnay be still
in your power TO prevent are watching
you with oppressive arxiefv
Pardon me II I say-for the crisis does
not admit Of soft words-that your name
will he held I'm reproach or hon~r accord
ing as you srnite OF save the land.
Mr.. President, have not delayed for
the formalities, which are pettv things.
{ Because you are my chief executive, ! ad-
dress you-not without trust-sure that
I you will find yourself above misunder-
standing my motive. or miSreading my
text, or thinking that I am in any sense
deficient In the respect due to your high
position and TO your strong personality.
With that respect, am, cir, your petl-
timer
ELIZABETH STUART PHELPS WARD.
ONE OF THE COMMISSION