The morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930, 1904-06-08
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. IN WARFARE.


wasteful and irrational means of determining dis
putes Let us admit, further, that universal pact
of peace, binding all nations to disarm and cease
from warning asd providing for the submission OF
disputes to a court Of arbitration, would be the
highest evidence and expression of real civilization
(if such pact would be kept by the parties there
to) but when these admissions are made, it must be
admitted also however sadly, that war is still the
last argument of kings, and an argument which
kings and other potentates always have IN mind,
says the San Francisco Bulletin.
Now, war is nothing more than an attempt by
hostile nations to defeat and coerce one another by
fraud and physical force. The one object of nation
at war is to cripple and destroy the enemy to sink
the enemys ships to disable or capture the enemy s
soldiers to cut off the enemy supplies of the neces
carries of life and of munitions of war; in short
to exhaust the enemy as thoroughly and as speedily
as possible
Humane people, not being able to abolish war
nave endeaVored persistently to mitigate the hor-
rors OF warfare Through the exertions of such
people divers congresses have been held at which
the great powers have bound themselves to observe
certain rules of warfare designated to diminish the
suffering caused by warfare For example the
powers have agreed not to employ poisoned bullets
because such bullets cause unnecessary main and
produce death when the purposes of the firing nartv
"oud De amply accomplished by inficting clean
and comparatively painless wound which would
nevertheless place the wounded out of the combat
In fact, it is preferable merely to wound hostile
combatant rather than to kill him outright for tho
enemy is rid of his dead and may leave them on
tne held, but must take care Of his wounded. and
long train of hospital wagons loaded with dis
abled soldiers, IS often source of serious embarr
aassment to an army. The agreement to interdict |
tne poisoned bullet and other missiles and weapons
that merely bruse and tear and render death more
certain, without doing to the combatant using them
any real good that could not be effaced bv less
mortal and painful missiles and weapons is. there
fore, reasonable and right. But the humanitarians.
II their demands for further reforms of this kind
propose stpulations that would seriously impair the
fighting power of particular nations, It.has been
suggested for example, that submarine boats, tor
pedoes and mines be prohibited by international
agreement This proposition was very Justly op-
posed by Great Britain and the United States for
the reason that it would restrict invention and L
abolish very effective of reducing the strength
OF an enemy Since war is purely trial of physical
force, why should the nations agree to lessen their
powers of debilitating foe? If torpedoes should
be abolished, why not rifles, gatling guns and
swords?
War is essentially lawless game As General
Sherman said, war is HE'LL that is, state of an
archy. Nations do not 60 to war until diplomacy
has failed and agreement has been found impossible
1t is well enough for nation in combat not to be
wantonly cruel but if cruelty will help nation
to win, it is very foolish to scruple at inhcting the
direst tortures on the foe. The first duty Of a
nation at war is to defeat the enemy, and nothing
should be permitted to stand in the way of that
duty. In war, the end justfes the means
1t is terrible, Of course, to think of japanese
warship striking a mine and suddenly going down
with all on board but that is It is impossible
to make war parlor game; to render it merely
polite amusement. If it is possible to emasculate |
war; why is it not possible to abolish it completely
The outcry against the japanese and the Rus
slams for employing torpedoes and submarine mines
against each other is unreasonable. Those two ma
tions are straining themselves in fierce conflict of
physical force. To expect them to refrain from
using any seryiceable weapon is about the same as
to expect man, fighting for his life, to keep one
hand behind his back Pugilists, matched for al
purse, fight according to certain rules. They dol