Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1904-11-05
Comment on War.

E Ed. JOufndl' Inc uTtdulul lObS VI
. life in the Orient is attracting univer
sal attention and much comment. Tn,
character of the news from the fielC
of action would indicate the success Of
the japanese arms. Success bought al
top price and paid for in cash, but
good buy nevertheless; if the Japa
nese freside is involved. According
to comment it is either good buy OF
else a goodbye to the doughty Japs
The Russian army appears to be an
aggressor, and is playing the part of a
Shylock 1t is demanding its blood
In the meanwhile thousands of men
are being killed in the operations.
To advocates of peace it seems a
strange process in settling dispute,
to line up two opposing bodies of men,
who proceed to fill each other up with
lead and iron for the express purpose
of deciding the question involved. OF
course we wouldn't u dare to presume or
assume that the soldiers didn't know
what they were doing, or what they
were there for. If you would ask two
thirds of the Russian forces what they
were fighting for, how many would be
able to give you an intelligent answers
Some of them would have one reason
and some another. Doubtless, among
the whole army there would be many
who knew nothing about the real issue
I involved. For such as these it was
enough for the emperor to give them
pass to heaven, which every Russian
soldier carries in his knapsack.
The Japanese army is, on the other
hand, very likely imbued with the gov
erning idea and impulse of fighting for
home, an impetus calculated to stir the
gods of war a century after they are
dead. Whatever may be the encour-
agement to fight on either side, the
rest of the world wonders at its prog
ress and and prepared for its termina-
tion. A dog with his belly full can
easily wonder what two other dogs
want to fight so over bone that has
had all the meat picked off it long
ago. In other words, the bone has no
meat for us; therefore, we are amazed |
at the proportions to which this war
has reached.
But, let some beligerent insult the
stars and stripes or step on the eagel IS
tail, and then see how easy it is to for
get the proper and right means of set
Element, and to forget that Hague was
ever on the map, and go to using mil
itary force to help us quiet our anger.
1t an old story. In cases of war and
its possibilities we are not altogether
dealing with reason. We are under the
influence of impulse. We
simply do not think Of the conse-
quences. In our right senses we would
shudder at the thought of the desolate
freside and the empty place at the ta-
BILE, but we are not in our right senses
at that time. Killing a lot of men who
are, for the most part indirectly re-
'pOnsible and many entirely innocent
of any motive or participation in the
overt act, is the one thing to be done.
Still, in daily experience it is some
what different.
If you were passing group Of boys
md you saw two of them throw some
tones at you, would you go back and
lean out the whole "bunch2' Or,
wouldn't you rather thump the two /
,uilty ones and compliment the others
Who witnessed the assault without par
icipating thereinl In war, we get in
nd kill off the peasants and payers
or outrages committed by the "chosen
ew.' The guilty, as soon as they are
ound out, get under the cloak of their
ational garb, and there direct the
lovements of the soldiers and fighters
o that the soldiers will be sure and be
front of them, and in case one of
hem accidentally gets a belated bul-
ct, he yells for his arehers TO spring
is bow, and bury him where the ar
ow lights, and to never let up trying
find out, Who killed Cock Robin9
Our officers and sailors in foreign
'aters and on strange lands know full
'ell that anything they do or say will
e backed up at home by one hundred
''llion people. So, what more can
ome people ask for' The only way
ngland kept her subjects from openly
msting into war on the Russian
eets during the fishermen episode,
as to open up all her coal bins and
Il them to work piling it into tubs
nd promising that this was the begin l.
ing OF the fight. This satisfied the =
ltr"ged mobs and so long as they
fought every shovelful Of coal was TO
mi "A cannon hall i,+o Al II