The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-05-19

have been the strongest against war
because they know its horrors. Grant
said: Though l have been trained as
a soldier. and have participated in
many battles, there never was 4 time
when. in my opinion, some way could
not have been found of preventing the
drawing of the sword. 1 look forward
to an epoch when Il court recognized
by all nations will settle International
differences instead of keeping large
standing armies. as they do in Europe
General Sherman said that war was
harbarism that could not be refined.
Have we any less heroes in Webster
who, I'm his conflict with Hayne, saved
this Union from dissolution. or in Lin
coin. or Sherman, the statesman, who
stands today par excellence a hero Tor
patriotic service in restoring specie
payments in AN honest currency?
The speaker then detailed briefly the
history of the arbitration movement.
showing that the United States had
always stood for that principle in pref
erence to war. lie presented list oi
50 successful arbitratioHs within the
past century. OF these the United
States was Il party in IL cases. ana hau
been arbitrator In cases. From none
of these arbitratloEs had war ensued.
| Resolutions favorable to arbitration
have passed both the American congress
and the British commons. The present
| movement simply seeks to establish
| this principle on a permanent basis.
PRESENTS DIFFICULTIES
The speaker next read extracts from
| the speeches of some of the more prom
| inent delegates at the Washington con-
>entiOn. Secretary of State Foster,
| for example, admittedstha compulsory
| phi ira
| thought that among peoples who pro-
| fess to be governed by Christian prin-
ciples u better method of settling dif-
| ferenceS ought to prevail than the
bloody arbltrament of war. Edward
| Atkinson showed by statistics how
| frghtful tax upon Europe's resources
Is imposed by the unnecessary main
| tenance in European countries OF vast
standing armies. Judge Hand next
read the cordial messages of approval
| which came to the convention from
eminent divines and publicists who
could not be present. Among these was
Cardinal Gibbons. In conclusion the
| judge said:
What would be the result if univer-
sal International law and a permanent
tribunal should settle all controversies
and the appeal to arms be rendered
unnecessary? In the first place the
evils Of war would cease and the tri-
umphs of peace reign supreme. Peace
hath its victories no less than war
All the evils of war would be done away
with. We are apt to think that the
only cost of war Is in its pecuniary ex-
penditures, its destruction of property
| and the loss Of human life. But these
are the least in the sum total of the
costs. the miseries and the ruin entailed
by any way however just. We think the
late Civil war was to us a holy war
1t was. II preserved this glorious
union; it abolished slavery. and wiped
out a curse and stain on our boasted lib
erty and a running sore i'm universal
conscience. For this it was worth al
it cost. But that is not the question
The question is, suppose this country
North and South. had accepted Abra
ham lincoln's thought and suggestion
to purchase the slaves by u natiOna
issue of bonds and national debt
What would we have saved? In none!
we would have saved more than tw,
billions of the national debt. We wOulc
have saved u million of the best. mos
active, disinterested workers to tn
country: the desolation of hundreds o
thousands of homes and broken hearts
We would have saved more than this
we would have saved all the losses. tn,
hard experiences. the bitter fruits. boil
of the war and the reconstruction peri
Oh. We would have saved an immens
value of high-toned and needed states
manship. We would have saved man.
ofthe fatal errors which the loss of th
craftsmanship has entailed upon u
and from which we are still suffering.
WE SUFFER- FROM WAR.
This country had gained something
in state craft and political economy ii
its history before the war. The onl.
drawback and skeleton i'm the close
was human slavery. The war cam
and we suffer from it today. Two sep
arate banking firms. one in New Yorl
and another in Philadelphia have esti
mated that in the last three years of Oh
government the losses to the peopl
have been more than three times tn
cost of the Civil war in dollars an,
cents. What has caused this? Som
attribute II to a change of administra
tion, some to the impossibility of real
izing the benefits Of that change of ad
ministratiOn. 1t will be found that il
the last analysis it is the cost we ar
still paying of the Civil war War en-
tails evils after its close ten fold create
than its bioodshed and it's pecuniar,
cost. 1t always leaves black damnin,
trail of distrust. infdelty, materialisn
crazy cranks in political economy an,
derilish hate and controversy. out o
the war has grown every craze one ca
think of. greenbackism and paper cur
rency as foundation for tnancia
credit; Populism and the silver mani
of the South and the loss of all he
homes and property and statesmen. II
the fast-growing West a crop of un
tried. unstudied, untledged politician
has grown up full of theories and hat
| an lima ,y,,l
has been oh for statesmen. We hay
heard 1t for years. We had them one
by the dozen where now we have then
sinSly. Where have they gone? TIL
most of them are lying under grant
monuments. North and South. II |
true we nave Kept some statesmen, a
!. the North. who have tried to stem tn
tide. how successfully we all know
ientlemeh. when we get over the Civi
war ana statesmen arise and scholars
ana when reason si:s enthroned agai
and We have back our Henry Clay
: and Alexander Stevenses from III
: South and multiply our Northern Web
sters and l-incolns; and when the arm
: or true patriots on both sides is aga 1
restlrrected. by that time we will real
: lie the cost Of even righteous war.
What will be the effects of universu
: peace? Absence of iron clajs? Jnvis
. lble gun boats? No. We must hay
them; all nations must have them: be
cause to have them Is not to need Then
Ihe effects of universal peace will b
the arts and victories of peace. I can
NOT ennumerate them. They are uni
, versal knowledge. universal relig,o
: ana brctherhood universal increase q
: human wants and desires and conse
, quent Increase of the white wings n
. commerce to supply those desires: en-
) largcd settlements and cities: enlarg
commerce and manufactures; enlarge
; statesmanship--all the2e results an
victories of peace.
HIGHER SPHERES
VIII the heroic in human lives h
, | lost: by no means. The heroic /
g, men and women will be found I'm tn