The Black Hills union and western stock review. [volume] (Rapid City, S.D.) 1904-19??, 1904-02-26
WARS AND CENTURIES.
selief That Nations Fight at Beoin

~ ''a 1s'S' 'S''s
Ming of Each 100 Years.
New York Tribune: The superstitioua
notion is extant that there must soon be
a great war because the opening years of
every century have always been thus
marked. OF course, II the latter wers
true 1t would form no sufficient reason
for a war at this time. A century Is not a
natural division of time, as is a day q
season or a year, but is entirely artificial!
and there Is no more reason why war
should occur at the beginning than at the
middle or the end Of IT. However, as q
matter of fact, the statement Is not true!
as every one at all acquainted with MS.
tory should know.
The nineteenth century began with tho
establishment Of more general peace than
the world had known for many years, ana
II a couple Of years later war broke oue
1t was only the renewal Of the wars that
had marked the closing years OF the pre-
ceding century. The eighteenth century
began with wars, but they were merely
the continuation Of conflicts begun IN the
seventeenth. The early years of the sew
enteenth were marked with more peace
making han war making. The wars az
the opening of the sixteenth century were
p~rolongations OF those In the ffteenth
and were, at most, petty affairs. Ihose
at the opening of the fifteenth were lefs
over from the fourteenth. There were no
important wars iii the first years or thd
fourteenth century, save those at Con-
stantinople and between England and
Scotland, both legacies from the thir-
teenth. Nc great war occurred In the hrsf
decade of the thirteenth century or or
the twelfth. At the opening of the eleV-
enth Mahmud Of Ghazni a India.
The tenth was marked with no new war,
nor was the ninth. The eighth was ten
wears old when the Saracens invaded
Spain. The beginning Of the seventh was
peaceful. The first years Of the sixth and
| fifth saw Rome involved IN war. but wan
| was then the habitual state of Rome. Tbs
fourth and third began In comparative
peace. The second saw no new war, bug
rather the ending OF the old struggle ny
Dacia, and the fierce conflicts of the early
years of the first century of our era were
merely the continuation Of those begun q
dozen years before. In all these last ninei
teen centuries, indeed. not more than two
are to be charged with having opened
with new and important wars. or ing
centuries before our era, the hrst began
in peace; the second with nothing but thd
| second Macedonian war; the third WIN
| the third Mamnite war;; the fourth Win
no great struggle; the fifth with the burn
ing of Sardies and the battle of Lake
| Regiuus. combinations Of wars begun
long long before; the sixth with Nebu1
chadnezzar's %onquest of Jerusalem, and
in the earlier centuries, so far as chronoll
ogy informs us, there were no initial wars
of magnitude.
The current superstition, then, is In a
noteworthy degree contrary to the facts
instead of being invariably or even gen
orally marked with the outbreakinSs OF
great wars, the beginnings of centuries
have in the vast majority of cases been
remarkably free from such catastrophes
If we were to form any rule. from his
torical precedent, it would be, therefore
that this year and the next few years
should be peaceful. But we shall make
no such prophecy. nor shall we expect
this exposition of the facts entirely tc
demolish the foolishly false superstition
which now so widely prevails.