Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1899-06-13
THE PRETeNsE OF MERCY IN WAR.
wsr a its hest Ia an hoyrihle an losth.


War at its best ID 30 horrible, 90 loath-
some, 90 lamentable, that every merciful
and generous mind must eagerly wei
come anything that Il calculated 70 miti-
gate Ito seventies and to alleviate its
horrors. Whether, however, such de-
vice % the Geneva convention, which
purports to relieve sn army OF the care OF
lie own wounded, and thus to set II by
30 much the more free TO continue its
woanding and slaughtering work; or
such q device ~ the Sc. Petersburg con-
vention, which prohibits the use of an
explosive bullet weighing less than nine
tenths Of pound 600 grammes) but al.
lows its use OF any greater weight
whether these are real allevistions OF
war, or are not rather sstute contrivan-
ces for other ends, has been doubted and
may be doubtful.
On the other hand, the military ussges
which allow some methods OF injury Ia
var and forbid others, and which, 90 far
a. they forbid, are held to be merciful
alleviations OF warfare-these hsve al
wsys been shifting and variable, differing
with the different spirit Of different ages,
but tending always to condemn the new
devices OF mechanical ingenuity, and so
TO deprive OF its advantages the nation
most excelling In that ingenuity. Thus
10 the 18th century the new crossbow
vas condemned by the church - an arm
odious to God, while In the 18th century
the musket WAS equally condemned for
an unlawful weapon, 30 that even Bay
ard, the cheyaller sans peur ct sans
reproche, ordered all musketeers who
fell into bis hands to be slain without
mercy.
In their modern form these usages for
bid the use Of poison or Of poisoned
weapons, the mutilation Of the dead, the
manning or killing Of unarmed prisoners,
and the slaughter Of the wounded on the
field Of battle. But It must always be
remembered that they forbid these acts
only when they are unnecessary, and
when they are, consequently, merely
wanton barbarities; that the acts them
selves are not prohibited when they are
requisite for self-preservation and that
the only judge whether they are requi-
site or not is the soldier who commits
them. Thus the slaughter OF the wound
ed-probsbly the most cruel Of all-is
permitted, and, indeed, dictated, when
the security Of the victor Is held by that
victor to require 1t, and II was carried
out probably to greater extent than
was ever before known In modern times
no longer ago than ct the battle Of
Omdurman, In September, 1898. IL ap-
pears, indeed, to be held that In war all
acts are lawful, though all are not ex.
dedient; that the expediency OF them
depends mainly on the probability Of
retaliation In kind, and that of this ex-
pediency there can be no other Judge
than the perpetrator Of the act himself.
These attempts, therefore, TO alleviate
the horrors Of war are ~ casual and I'M
certain rs they s.e incomplete and un-
satisfying. Contemporary Review.
A STORY OF A FRENCH SERVANT.
Marie Anne De Boret, In talking about
the absolute hopelessness Of trying to
reason with servants, tells good little
tale that am sure every woman with
any sort Of servant will appreciate.
A friend Of Nile. de Boret's, who
wrote very clever novels, was trying to
explain TO new femme de chambre that
she must not come and interrupt her At
every other moment, ss she was fond
Of doing.
"Now when you are sewing" she said,
"and you are called away from your
work, you can 90 back and take II up
just at the stitch where you left It. But
II am disturbed In my writing, I can't
pick up again the thread Of my thought
In that way. You understand, don't
your The girl said she understood, and
went OF. Pretty soon she was back
again. "What q It, Marier' asked her
mistress. sWell, madame" said the
maid, fumbling awkwardly at her apron,
III don't know how to do anything but
sew, It's because I Was never taught to
do anything bat sew. II I'd been
taught to write books, could write
books
The writer6f novels said no more
Harper's Bazaar.