Lincoln County leader. [volume] (Toledo, Lincoln County, Or.) 1893-1987, 1905-07-28
PEACE ON EARTH.


BY Rev. Robert r. Horton.
Text-"Natlon shall not lift up
sword against nation, neither shall
they learn war any more Isaiah "a.
In the second chapter Of st. Luke we
are told the angels sang at the birth
of Jesus, Peace on earth, and good
will to men," There are things at
the present moment which give us a
glimpse of hope that these exquisite
promises of Scripture may be ap-
preaching their fulfllment only a
glimpse Of hope, l grieve to say.
The real lessons of Port Arthur and
Mukden are, that eventually it will
be possible to make defensive weapons
so commanding that a deadlock will
inevitably be reached; a deadlock in
which the armies and navies may ex-
haust themselves without reaching any
decisive issue at all. And as that
begins to dawn upon my mind there
Is not only the possibility, but the
probability, that the common-sense of
the world will begin to recognize that
some other method must be found Of
settling international differences, some
other method than war: the nations
will learn war no more.
We want our artist, whilst he Is
painting war as it will be and must
be in the future before the nations
eyes, to also paint us our picture of
peace. And how shall he paint that
picture? He must look into the eyes
of Christ, and he must paint on the
broad strong lines Of humanity. He
must be no s~entimentalist, he must not
paint Christ as the Virgin and the
child, or as the Man of Sorrows mere
ly. If he paints what the Prince of
Peace wants painting he must show
learned to love. Our artist must show
us the dignity and novelty of nations
and men that have found a better way
than fighting. Our artist must show
us how the nation will employ the
wealth and resource which at present
are wasted in war. He may show us
our army still kept, but used for diff
ferent purposes. Our armies may be
life %brigades. And our artist is to
show us a great nation using the mil
lions a year that it now spends upon
Its army and its navy, using it how?
Using it in rearing noble hospitals for
the suffering, in building in every city
great civic buildings decorated with
the noblest art, where the music
soothes the nerves of the restless pop
u~lation, and the quiet converse be-
comes possible for the most crowded.
With your millions to spend you can
bring gardens into the cities that al
ready exist. You need have no ugly
buildings; every man, woman and
child can be properly fed, and can
live in decency and with every pros
pect Of a noble manhood and woman
hood. And if you want your army and
your navy, our artist will show us
a great nation despatching a naval
force. What for? 10 fight and to
destroy some other people? No, but
to carry to some backward island, or
some distressed nation, the resources
of our civilization, the gifts and the
blessings of our increased knowledge.
And our navy sails into those dis
tressed ports as the bringer of a Ia
TONS good will, as the giver of the
thoughts and the truths which have
made our nation great. You can carry
the Gospel with your navy, and you
can touch the nations Of the world,
not with guns and rum, but with love
and truth Of the God Of justice and the
Gospel Of Jesus Christ.