The record-union., 1898-07-24
PRESENT-DAY THOUGHTS.
BY G. Grosvenor Dave.

There is common sense in internal
tional arbitration. 1t brings into ex-
istence between nations the same sweet
reasonableness that characterizes civ
ihzed individuals. Disputes between
men in progressive countries are no
longer legally settled either by crude
attack with bOwie-knife or shotgun, or
by orderly duel with sword or pistol.
Why? Because late -dawning common
sense in this benighted Old world real
ICES that in such conflicts the wrong
man is likely to be victor; on the prin
ciIal that the sneaking housebreaker
is always better prepared for a success
ful struggle than the half-awake and
honest but thoroughly nervous house
holder In theory, Of course, The right
ecus is as bold as a lion; in practice,
however, the rending and devouring
strength of the king of beasts has oeen
too often on the opposing side.
Thus, with advancing enlightenment,
We canvass numberless disputes before
properly constituted tribunal and
though the laws delays are tedious,
and though Judges prove that they are
men by making errors, yet We all cor
cedG that things are better managed
thar when knights were bold and bar
onS held their sway The glamor Of
fiction still fingers over that period
when the point of a lance was a proof
hey ond all questioning; but the clear,
real light of modernity shows us that,
| II our day, there are rights to the weak
| and victories to the righteous. This is
advance, and he is benighted who de-
| nies it.
Broaden the thought now, if you will,
and answer to yourself the question,
IF my neighbor and l do we'll to avold
| blows in dispute, then why not let my
numberleSs neighbors do the same " hel
a dispute arises with those of another
natlon? very reasonable objection
will be that perfection has not yet been
| reached in the conduct of individuals
or nations. True. So we sometimes by
| force compel obedience to the rulings Of
court; and we often by law use force
| to stay the hand of the quarrelSOm1
| anG murdelous. This is all granted
/ and the same will be nationally true
| even when the common sense of arbi-
| t1ation permeates the conscience of the
| five great nations of the world. Dur
! ing the past three weeks We have seen
prCOt of this in the fact that after Pres
| ident Cleveland had arbitrated a dis
| pnte between Italy and the United
| States of Columbia Italy was compelled
| To make a show of force in order tO Sc
| cure settlement. We, too, since April
list, after all reasonable means had
failed, have been compelled, at great
| expense in money and in men, to DO
| police duty in staying the slaughtering
hand of Spain, that unprOgressive en-
! ploy er of COrteZ and of PiZarro. of Tor
quemada and of Weyler. But as bloody
| disputes among men are reaching a
! minimum because of the sanity of mod
| ern thought, by the same sanity shall
the same end be.reached among nat ons
| For though murders still occur, and
| though wars still rage, yet they are,
/ We believe, storms whose force is eX-
| PENDED, as at sea, on the surface, while
/ the great currents go on their stately
way to moderate fierce climates and
make them the happy homes Of men.
Starting once more with the initial
statement about common sense. let us
| look abroad for awhile in order to
| prove the point. In Europe are four
| of the five great nations that lead the
world Russia, Germany, France, Eng
! land. Notwithstanding their progress
! siVenesS in other directions they seem
to be afflicted with national dementia
| by reason of the rivalry of force For
nearly twenty years, not one of them
has been involved in a serious European
war: yet throughout all those years,
and long before, each of these great
! Powers has been piling up armaments,
| increasing army and navy budgets,
| multiplying destructive forces and eX-
| hausting to the point Of protest the
| pockets of the great common people
/ upon whom the burden of all this falls.
| What result has accrued? Nothing.
| They are all relatively where they were
| We're at the outset and as disinclined
/ as ever TO come TO a real test of
strength. The vauntings and boastings
1 Of idiots have a grim humor and one
1 can afford to smile at them; but smil-
/ ing is forbidden when we realize that
/ all this increase of apparent strength
| among European nations is really an
/ increase of weakness. Taking as an
| example the case Of Germany, with its
/ lordly chanceling who prates of divine
/ rights" and we shall realize how like
a wasting consumption, is this reliance
/ on force.
| The function of the army abroad is
! to starve out all originality in the rank
| and file, so as to transform the men
into so many unfeeling, unthnking ma
! chimes. The perfection of discipline is
| TO make them do, needless of conse-
! quences, just exactly as they are COM
manded This destruction of initiative
! takes place, too, just when the young
men are best fitted to throw into pro-
| ductive lines their super abundant en-
| ergy. Yet this is only part of the
! injustice for the army relentlessly
| takes from home the young and capable
and turns them into receivers of aims,
! like the paupers and the denlented. The
| army produces nothing but demands
| everything. 1t places upon those who
are least vigorous the burden of sup
| porting those who are most vigorous.
| Then, having ground away the individ-
uality Of the soldier by years Of Draco-
| nian severity he is thrown back into
| the world with wrong ideas of labor
and he needs must go through a second
attempt to adjust himself TO life as it
really is, and not life as the few mill
| tary years have led him to think ii
to be. The whole tendency of the sys-
| tenn is to put brakes on the. wheels of
prOgre SIS. and to create discomfort Com
mon sense among the common people
is making them feel that they are in
the position of the tabled cat whose
paw was used to drag out hot chestnuts