Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1897-01-23
The Mountain of War.


There is also tho mountain Of war,
the most volcanic Of all mountains-the
Vesuvius which, not content, like the
Vesuvius of Italy, with whelming two
cities, Herculaneum and Pompeii, has
covered with its fiery scoria thousands
of cities and would like to whelm all
tho cities of both hemispheres Give
this mountain full utterance, and it
would cover up Washington and New
York and London as easily rs house
holder, with his shovel at 10 O'Clock at
night, banks n CRATE fro with ashes.
This mountain is pile of fortresses,
barricades and armories, the worlds
artillery heaped, wheels above wheels,
columbiads above columbiads, "a pound
ers above "a Founders, wrecked nations
above wrecked nations.
This mountain of war is not only
loaded to cannonade tho earth, but it is
also cemetery, holding the corpscs OF
80, 900, 900 slain in the wars Of Alexan-
der and Cyrus, GO, 900, 900 slain in Ro-
man wars $50, 900, 600 slain i'll war
with Turks and Saracens, and holding
about IS, 900, 600, 600 corpses, not mil
lion, but billion, which was tho estimate
made by Edmund Burke ms.e than
1870 years ago of those who had been
destroyed by war, so that you would
have to add many moro millions now.
Twenty years ago careful author
estimated that about IA times tho then
population of the world had gone down
in battle or in hospital after battle. All,
this mountain of war is not like an or
binary mountain. 1t is like Kilauoa,
one of the Sandwich Islands, which
holds the greatest volcano in all tho
earth and concerning which I wrote
from tho Sandwich Islands fow years
ago:
"What a Kissing, believing. tum-
bling, soaring force is Kilaueal Lake of
unquenchablc fire, convolutions and
paroxysms of flame, elements of nature
in torture, torridity and luridity, con-
gregation of breads, motion horrors,
sulphurous abysms, swirling mystery OF
all time, infinite turbulence, chimney
of perdition, wallowing torrors, Il acres
of threats, glooms insuifcrablc and Dan
tesque, caldron stirred by the cham
pion witch of pane emonium campfire
of the armies Of Diabolus, wrath Of tho
mountains in full bloom, shimmering
inoaudcscence, pyrotechnics of the plan
ct, furnace blast of the ages, kilaueaP'
But, my friends, mightier, higher, vast
or, hotter, moro raging is the volcanic
mountain Of war 1t has been blazing
for hundreds of years, and will keep on
blazing until, until-but | dare not
hazard prophecy. Can it be that its
fires will ever be put out? Can 1t be
that its roar will ever be silenced? Can
it be that before our Zerubbabel that
blazing mountain will ever become a
plain?
Argus Eyed Abominatlon.
There is also tho long range of noun
tains, longer than Appalachian range,
longer than Caucasian range, longer
than Sierra Nevada range-the piled up
opposition of bad literature, bad homes,
bad institutions, bad amusements, bad
centuries, bad religions-Paganism,
Rindooism, Buddhism, Mohammedan-
ism and buttressed and enthroned god
lessness, devoted to ambition and lust
.nd hydra headed, Argus eyed abomina-
ton, as it stands with lifted fist and
mocking lips, challenging Jehovah upon
the throne of the universe to strike If
no dare. Oh, it is great mountain, as
my text declares. There is no use i'll de-
nying it. The most authentic statistics
declare it. The signs Of the times prove
it. All Christian workers realize it. 1t
is mountain. ''The mountain can
never be brought down." says worldly
speculation. 1.-The mountain can never
BIO made plain" says small faith i'll the
churches. Well, let US see. Let US look
,bout for the implements we can lay
our hands on. Let US count the number
Oh our sido who are willing to dig with
q shovel or bore tunnel or blast rock.
Let us see if there is any foreign help
that will come In TO REINFORCE US. DO
not want to make myself absurd by at
tempting an impossibility. If it is only
one spade at the foot Of Mont Blanc,
if it is only one nrm, capable of lifting
but d fow pounds, against mountain
that weighs 100, 900, 600 tons. let us
quit before we make ourselves the trav-
esty and caricature of the universe. If
we are to undertake this job, first of all
we must have competent engineer,
one who knows all about excavations,
about embankments, about tunnels,
about mountains. know engineers who
have carved up mountains, cut down
mountains, removed mountains. will
do nothing unless know who is to be
our engineer Zerubbabel led at the re-
building OF the ancient temple, and
Matthew Henry, tho greatest of COM
mentators, declares that our zcrubbabel
is the Lord Jesus Christ. The Zerubba-