The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1901-09-29

M
ever and ever increasing their war strength
and heapins up war material.
s'Fhere should be NO further urox.
ress, SO called, In the art OF killing
men and animals, destroying ships,
interfering with commerce and lay.
Ing waste provinces. All that has to
stop.
1.-The nations want a rest. They have been
clamoring for the cessation of war scares,
produced by the announcement that A has
better guns than u. or that x is building
more and better ships than 7 can afford to
build. They have demanded a let-up in war
preparedness for twenty years. On thatpoint
the civilized nations are fully agreed, and
international policy. my dear Admiral. will
eventually compel permanent peace. Policy,
I said; not armies and naviesL"
The Nations Far From
Permanently of Peace.
THE ADMIRAL, IT beg to assure your
Majesty that my Government, like that of
st. Petersburg. strives for peace most
earnestly. To preserve peace Is its s~incerest
wish, believe me, your Majesty. But to
pASSNAN peace Jul iii dlIu navy IHuSI O6
in the best possible shape; we must In
, crease and augment them steadily to keep
pace with the growth of population and the
armament Of other peoples. Your Majesty
knows tho old saying-tSi Wis pacem para
beilum.' God forbid that we increase the
army and navy with the idea Of carrying
war into our ~neighbors' land. It's all done
In the interest Of peace. For peace's sake
We are willing to make any sacrifice"
II CAR: Eyes. I heard this story be-
fore You compel your people to bleed
themselves to death to furnish ways and
means for keeping up a tremendous force
on land and sea. and for adding to It con-
stantly in a name heretofore happily UNI
known. Neither Napoleon I nor Frederick
the Great; neither Alexander nor Peter;
neither Louis XIV nor our own Catherine,
ever dreamt Of such armies and navies in
war time as are now established, while Eu-
rope enjoys the blessings Of peace. But all
your armies and the whole immense appa-
ratus afoot and afioat. eating millions day
by day. don't amount to Q row of pin a.
an actual guarantee of peace
"The nations Of Europe are to-day
as far rs ever from declaring tho
permanency Of peace. Despite your
armies and n~avies. tho blessings of .
worlds peace are not yet within
xeach.~
THE ADMIRALs True enough. your
Majesty. Armed peace demands great sac
riice; We have to pay heavily for the main
tenance OF peace by a grand army and
navy. But. your Majesty, the people are
glad to contribute to the welfare Of Europe,
even at considerable expense"
THE CZARs Maybe. Admiral. but the
thing can go on. The sacrifices demanded
OF the taxpayer are constantly growing;
financial troubles, owing to the expense of
tie army and navy, are increasing day by
day.
81 tell you, this thing spells disa.-
ter. Tho public welfare II threat
ened at its roots"
THE ADMIRALs "Your Majesty u
pleased to leave many things, stamping
armed preparedness as q blessing to the
people. out Of your calculations. Big armies
and grand uavies compel tho nations to
work and strive: they Danish idleness and
call for honest competition. Nowadays ev-
cry people in Europe Is trying to produces
the best weapon, the finest ships"
THE CzAR: "But irs not humanity's
business to produce means Of destruction.
We were put upon this earth to build mp.
not to do the other thing. All the money
spent for the army and navy above a Ger
tain necessary amount Is money diverted
from its real purpose. money invested In un-
productive Labor"
War Munitions
a Poor Investment.
THE ADMIRALs "Your Majesty was
pleased to admire our fine quick-frtns guns;
you nave seen those mysteries Of the sea,
boats that trayel under water: the IRON
clads yonder, our Incompatible iotilla of
torpedo-boats-all these wonders Of Twen-
tieth Century technique. Are they not EVIL
dence of marvellous progressf Doesn't your
Majesty recognize that our people gives It's
best thought. its brightest endeayors to the
Fatherland? I repeat it. in my humble opin-
ion our army and navy are the best guar
antee of peace. while the money invested
therein pays abundant interest by the MAIN