The Washington herald., 1906-11-07
About War and Its CT


The International Journa! of Ethics
as becomes Its nature and its mission.
Is horrited by the discoveries il has
made as to the cost Of war. The glori-
Gus victories OF Julius Caesar cost the
Romans more than million men and in
drachmas there is no telling what was
the cost Napoleon in the short space
OF nine years, was authorized to devote
to the glory of France" over two
million men. And Napoleon was not
sQueamish about sacrificing his own men
at the expense Of the enemy-s men IN
the ten years following the attack on
Fort Sumter when all the civilized world
seemed war-mad, a million and a half Of
men were killed and six billions worth
of property was destroyed.
Even to-day two-thirds Of the conbi1-
ed budgets Of the various States Of Eu-
rope are devoted TO the maintenance Of
armed forces in preparation for war and
to the service Of a stupendous debt. prac-
tically the whole of which was incurred
by war. War expenses in Europe absorb
one-half of all the wealth created by
productive labor. In the comparatively
insignificant war of England with the
Beers, England lost over 22.0O0 men and
spent billion and a half dollars. Since
we went TO war with Spain oyer Cuba.
the government Of the United States has
spent billion and half dollars on war
expenses-''m more than enough 10 pay the
national debt and dig the Panama CanaIr'
eXcl2ims our hOuifed contemporary.
Of -.
and are startling because Of their i'm
mensity. Since Christianity suppIantad
polytheism among the white races. the
Christian nations have been the warIika
nations Of the world. With possibly one
or two minor exceptions, civilization has
not been advanced except by war. For
hundreds Of years the yellow races have
been Unwarlike, and they have not
progressed. But even when the yellow
men were fighters-and they were the
cTuelest the earth has ever known-thav
did not advance the outposts of their
civilization with their victories. Except for
a small and inconsequentaI area in mid
Europe. the blOodthirsty and unconduer-
able Attilla, the Hun left no permanent
impress upon the manners Of his time.
Zinghas Khan, though he left huge piles
of dead IN his bloody path across Eastern
Europe, achieved nothing of enduring
value. Japan. aroused from her torpor
Of centuries by the touch of Western
civilization, and springing TO war with
the fury Of Bellona, has not yet demon
strated the capacity to profit by the fruits
OF her marvellous victories over China and
Russia.
Europe IS now an armed camp. The
United States IS constantly increasing the
size and efficiency of its military estab-
Hshment. Latin American IS almost con
stantly involved in internecine strife. But
for the burdens Of military expenses. that
are getting bigger all the time. the taxes
OF government among the Christian na-
uons would be scarcely felt These na-
uons, with the exception Of Russia. are
self-governing in the broad sense. At any
rate, their budgets are controlled by the
people, and not the princes. Hence. the
Christian masses, and not their rulers.
are responsible for the great load of taxes
placed upon them by war, its preparations
and consequences. MetaphoricaIly. every
carries a soldier upon his back And he
seems TO be proud of his burden He
knows that the soldier he is carrying
will open a new market for him some
where, for since the people threw off the
yoke of princes their wars have been for
the extension Of their commerce. There
is no telling what would happen TO US
If we should cease TO fight People who
are not willing to fight usually are not
willing to work China is an exempli-
cation of this. The Chinese have not
developed the great natural resources of
their domain beyond the point that had
been reached when white civilization real
" was threatened with "the yellow
peril"
SO we bid our esteemed contemporary.
the International Journal of Ethics. te be
Of good cheer. There are more trained
warriors in the world to-day than ever
before, but war is more humane and Is