Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1897-09-23
TIE AesuRplTY oF WAR.
A Belief stnl Lingers That God Is ON the
Side OF the One That Does Most Injury.

THE ABSURDiTY OF WAR.
A Belief stin Lingers That God Is on the
Side OF the One That Does Most Injury.
War is the last remnant of mans
mode of deciding disputes in the animal
or savage state. As soon as he started
on the road to civilization he set up
Judges or courts to settle controversies.
Before that, when two men differed
about anything, they tore or mutilated
each others bodies, and il was tacitly
agreed that the man who was most mu-
tilated, if not killed, should give way.
Eut he abode by the decisions of the
courts very reluctantly. The hardest
battle of the reformers of the race
was to get him to submit to the judges.
He always preferred in his heart some
kind of mutilation of his adversary's
body, and in order to give a certain
dignity to this mode of settling quarrels
he got up the theory that God presided
over it, and always gave the victory 20
the man who was in the right. In Rnig.
land this notion lasted in the trial by
battle" or wager of battle" almost
down TO our own time. 1t was held that
the Deity was on the side of the man
who gave most cuts and slabs.
When the wager of battle as a settle
ment of disputes of any kind became
too absurd, the turbulent classes were
driven into starting the duel. They
felt that there must be some mode re-
served of getting at an adversary $
body with some weapon. So they es-
tablished the rule that all offenses
against what they called their "honor'
that is, their sense of personal dig
nity-must be avenged by cutting, stab
ling or shooting, and that each man
must decide when his "honor" was in
iured, and when cutting, stabbing, or
shooting was necessary. This was o
very cunning arrangement, for II il
were left 10 the people TO say when
YOUR "honor'' was injured, you might
never, or very rarely, get chance u
cut or stab or shoot at all, because they
might say your honor was not injured.
Tut there was even better device than
this; for il was arranged that the man
who you said had injured your honor
could not deny it or apologize without
DISGRACE. He was held bound, no mat
ter how trifling the injury, to give you
a chance to cut him or stab him, and -
do his best to cut or stab you. In what
manner this mended your honor was
never explained. To all outward up
pearance, after the theory of the in
terest of the Deity in the matter had
died out, your honor remained after
the fight exactly what il was before the
fight. The cutting and stabbing had
neither proved nor disproved anything;
il had simply gratified an animal IN
stinct of the primeyal time. Duellng
however, has disappeared here and II
England. 1t flourishes still, in the old
barbarous, absurd form, on the CONT
nent.
DISPUTES between nations, for obvious
reasons, have not come as rapidly under
human methods of decision as disputes
between individuals. Nations have
never agreed to have judges and argu'
ments as individuals have. The result
Is that their mode of deciding differ
ences of opinion has always remained
the old animal one of doing as much
material injury as possible TO the othei
side; and there still fingers the belle
that God is on the side of the one ~hlcf
does most injury; that He counts VI
the number of killed and wounded ano
decides that the one which has mos
killed and wounded is in the wrong
During the war He is prayed to see tha'
the number of killed and wounded on
the other side may be the larger, and
efter what is called a victory
Is the killing and wounding of a larger
number of your enemies than they nav
managed 10 kill and wound on YOU
side-people hurry to church and sine
hymns of thanks. This belief IS very
strong stiI in our day. and the enemy
dead are counted joyfully. The human
nlan of deciding differences of opinion
by Judges, proofs. and argumentau.V'
persuasion. as distinguished from tn
animal or feline plan Of deciding oN
the tearing and rending of bodies, ha'
I'm fact not made much progress, thougf
IL has begun to receive attention.
Godlin. in Century.
Sick-poison is a poison which ms ne
Won sick. II comes from the stomaeh; In'
stomach makes it out of undigested 1000,
The blood gets it and taints the whoi'
bodv with it. That's the way OF It,.
The way to be rid OF it is to look aitel
your digestion. ,.-,..
II yonr food is all properly digesteo
there will be none left in the stomach e
I make sfek-poison out Of il.
IL your stomach Is too weak 70 - y y,
| 4 few doses OF Shaker Digestive Cordial.
That's the cure OF it. .,.-.
SHAKER Digestive Cordial is delicious
beaIthful. tonic cordial, made OF Fuu
/ medic nal plants, herbs and vine
/ III positively cures Indigestion ana pre-
,---+s IN, forrnstion az sick poison.
1 Al druggists. Trial bottles 10 cents.