Los Angeles herald., 1907-12-23
ASKS AID IN EFFORTS TO BRING
ABOUT UNIVERSAL PEACE

Rev. C. C. Pierce, pastor of the Me-
mortal Baptist church, preached a Christ
mas sermon from the text, "On Earth,
Peace" During the course of his SER
mon he said: I'VE may look today If
We will upon two pictures. One is the
picture Of peace, the other that of war.
Certainly the picture of normal human
life is most delightful. Look upon this
great country today at peace, and what
| spectacle it is. TIE busy marts of
trade, the whirring wheels of industry.
the happy home coming of laughing
boys and girls, the happy gatherings
about the family board, the gifts. the
songs, the proud fathers and mothers.
the kindly greetings from friends and
neighbors. Is 1t not a scene upon which
the great God of all may well look with
delight? This is the picture of peace.
Now turn yodr eyes upon the picture
of war, and what do we behold? Happy
homes, ruthlessly invaded and oft DESC
late. Once happy hearts broken and
desolate. Misery and famine and death
stalking everywhere. who can tell the
story of warfare; who can picture 1t?
The wastefulness, the misery, the hunger.
the awfu. pain. the disease. the shattered
hopes. the ruined lives, the widows, the
orphans, the corpses of sons. fathers
and brothers and sweethearts and hus-
bands; the precious blood of human be-
ings scattered about; homes torn down
and left blazing amid the dying forms
of those once sheltered; beautiful cities
raZed to the ground. cursed with pesti-
lence and utterly destroyed: the fruits
OF human genius and industry and wis
dom which 1t took centuries TO gather,
destroyed ia an hour.
Was there ever anything too precious
or too sweet or too innocent for war to
la ftC oaf1 nd nd H.
Leaving his blazing trail Of ruin and
death stretching across the centuries,
this mighty monster OF passion and ruin
rushes on. Which picture, think you. is
the most beautiful? Which is the one
sung of by the chanting angels at the
time of the birth of Christ, which is evil
dent.y in accordance with the desires
of g. loving God?
Pleads for Peace
''Oh, friends. this word has grown
weary with the strife, the cruelty the
waste and nameless horrors of warfare.
Let us put an end TO 1t forever. We
have sung of peace and glorified war;
we have talked peace when We have been
getting ready to butcher our fellow men.
The nations of the world have been
drunken with the blood of their fellow
men. We have looked upon the glare and
glamour of warfare and forgotten the
hearts that were breaking back of all
this outward show.
''Statisticians tel. US the Crimean war
sacrificed $4,000 precious lives, and that
three wars in Europe since cost $50, 900
more lives. The wars of Napolt n cost
Europe 100000 lives. 1t has been esti-
mated that from 100000 to 10000, 900 of
human beings have been butchered on the
battlefields of Europe during every So
called Christian century, and that
throughout the entire world 100000 hui
man beings have been swept out of life
by the frightful curse of warfare every
hundred years. All this insanity OF war
fare entails a terrible burden upon the
people. More than $2,0OOs0OO,000 we are
told are wasted every year by the Europ-
can nations in maintaining their over
grown military establishments. It has
been said that the war of the rebellion
will. before the last bill shall have been
paid. cost this nation more than twelve
thousand millions Of dollars.
If these things are to stop. all disciples
of Christ. all lovers of their fellow men,
all who possess the common instincts of
humanity of whatever race. religion or
creed. must stand together to demand its
overthrow. Especially at this Christmas
season, when all the Christian world is
singing again the great heavenly an
them OF peace, should we unite our voices.
our influences and use every means we
possess to cultivate that glad time
dreamed OF so long. when war shall be
no longer the means by which intelli-
gent beings shall seek to adjust their
differences"