The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1904-12-17
IRELAND MAKES
STRONG SPEECH
Continues from First Psss)

(Contlnue~s from First Pa1e)
sacred they are, the victims OF It's fury,
by the thousands and the tens OF thou
sands rent into shreds by shot and shell.
damned, before they expire, to awfui
tortures, which fain we would spare TO
the mute prey of the slaughter-house
And the horrors OF the battlefield, It's
agonies, its shrieks Of pain, its murders
are multiplied into a hundred fold, until
at last one of the combatants, with no
further courage to spill his life blood,
cries out for mercy. Used as Wellington
was TO the battlefield, he has said Take
nv word for It, IL you had but seen one
day of war, you would pray to Almighty
God that you might never see such
thing again And another hero OF many
bloody contests, Napoleon, has ex-
claimed: The sight of the battlefield
after the fight is enough to inspire
princes with a love Of peace and hor-
ror OF war. And the battlefield itself Is
a faint representation of all the suffer
ines and miseries to which 1t opens the
eood-gates. For far beyond its borders,
1t spreads its terrors-into numberless
homes. bereft of loved ones, ruined In
earthly prospects, through entire coun-
tries shorn of the virile strength OF
their population, put for long years I'M
der the yoke of unbearable burthens.
Who should covet war when justice Is at
all obtainable otherwise?
Let Us Be Practical.
Meanwhile let us be practical. We
are vet far from the ideal America may
strive for the best; but until the best
is secured beyond peril, she must be
reay for the worst; and SO long as war
Is still possible, SO long as 1t remains
T. 1,FAN of trff 70
interests so long must America put
faith in her army and navy.
THE army and the navy! We honor
them, we praise them. Their prowess
was ever heroic, when in the past
America needed their service; 1t will
ever be heroic, should America need it
in the future. But, because we honor
them, we wish that seldom In the future
need shall be that America bid them
to the fray. The army and the navy!
glorious they are when justice and
righteousness invoke their sword. Glo-
rious they are when their aim Is peace
and honor Peace and honor is the sole
justification of war, and only until peace
and honor cannot otherwise be secured,
should the soldier unsheathe his sword.
The home ever of the brave, may Amer
lea be no less the home ever of justice
and of peace--a blessing to her people,
a blessing to all other people-the real
ization upon earth of the reign of Him
at whose coming angels sang. Glory to
God on high, and on earth peace to men
of good will
Cleveland Sends Letter.
The following letter from Grover Cleve-
land was read:
Princeton, N. j., December 16.
John Crosby Brown. Esq, Chairman:
Dear Sir--I very much regret that /
cannot be present at the meeting to be
held on the 18th inst, in furtherance of
an attempt to secure the ratification by
the senate Of such treaties for interna-
tiona arbitration as MAJ be submitted 10
that body in the near future. Any action
in the direction of securing the adoption
of decent and civilized methods OF set
Ting International differences ought to
enlist the cooperation of good men
everywhere. 1t seems odd that an age Is
called altogether enlightened and vet
sanctions human slaughter as legiti-
mate and proper incident in the adjust
ment of such differences; and there APP
pears to ne a bad confusion of ideas when
nations boast of the most advanced civil
ization, and at the same time concede
that the barbarous expedition of killing
PEOPLE Is an approved means of vindicat-
ing and making more secure their bene-
ficient kindly rule and attaining their
life pursuits. Very truly,
GROVER CLEVELAND"
A letter from John Mitchell expressing
sympathy with the object of the meeting
was also read. The following resolution
was adopted:
whereas the method of settling inter-
national disputes and difficulties by arhi-
tration rather than by force, is In accord