The morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930, 1904-10-27
STAGGERING HUMANITY" !"

''STAGGERING HUMANITY"
Paul Kruger's phrase comes irresistibly to mind
again, says the New York Tribune He threatened
to 'stagger humanity" with the costliness of the
Transyaal war. We can not say that he succeeded
The world shocked, but scarcely staggered. But
in the present war there is cause for staggering,
There are battles contrasted with which those in
South Africa little more than skirmiShes, and
losses on single field comparable in magnitude with
all in the whole of that former war. No wonder the
Japanese themselves are awed in solemn silence by
the price of their own victories SO that they think
more of making peace than of celebrating the tri-
umph of their arms 1t is great thing to win a
victory. 1t is an appalling thing to bury ten thou
sand of the enemy's dead upon single field of
battle
Nor is that all of it. or the worst of it. The
world does not begrudge price, however great, so
long as it receives adequate value in return. 1t
does begrudge even small price that is paid for
naught Franklin Pierce once spoke of our fearful
fruitess, fateful civil war;" and its harvest of
woe" which brought with it mo recompense
That, by the irony of fate, was on the day that
Vicksburg fell and the day after Gettysburg was
fought But his then untimely phrases today recuri
with painful force as applicable to these titanic
battles on the Manchurian plains The world has
great battles before at Lepsc, at Waterloo at
Gettysburg, at Sedan. They accomplished some
thing They marked the ending of wars, or at least
the definite turning points of campaigns But at
Liao Yang few weeks ago We had battle which
was declared to have exceeded any of them in mag
nitude and in destructiveness, and yet which was
eonfeSsedly indeterminate mere drawn game,
leaving the belligerents substantially where they
were before. Now at Yentai we have had for the
last ten days battle probably greater still in de-
structvenesS and oss and we are told that it, too
IS ndecisive, and will probably leave the combatants
about as they were before.
1t is that apparent fruitlessness Of it that most
'tstaggers humanity" We do not say the whole war
bitter disappointment to humanity that each of these
tremendous battles should be indecisive and that
these scores of thousands of soldiers should be sacr
fced to no immediate end. 1t compels us to revise
all our precOnceptions of modern war between two
great powers We had thought such would,
because of the terrible efficiency of the engines en-
ployed necessarily be Short perhaps decided by a
single great battle Yet here is such war running
on indefinitely. Port Arthur is holding out month
after MONTH just as Sebastopol and Pleyna did, and
enc general engagement follows another without re-
suit The japanese seem, on the whole, to have been
victorious but their victories are barren of fruit
The Russians are defeated but they are not routed
m destroyed
This we may say, staggers humanity. We must
say it. lest humanity be discredited The world
can not afford to look unmoved upon slaughter at
snce SO great and so void of consequence 1t could
regard with some equanimity the striking of the
AeavieSt blows provided they were "knockdown
blows and they brought the fight to end But for
two antagonists to maui and MAIN each other afro
sioIEsly and yet "get no forrarder," is unspeak-
ably rpuIsiye. Such process, if long continued,
must certainly arouse public sentiment throughout
the world that even the beligerents themselves can
not withstand, sentiment for peace and for the
settlement of international differences by some other
means that will indeed settle them and not by an in
deteEminate pouring out of lives without profit to
either side and without bringing the quarrel any
nearer to an end.
EXPORTS OF COTTON