The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1909-05-19


dreadful evils which do in fact share |
in his denunciation of and attack mp i
on both good and evil are usually mol
evils which are OF much moment
among us. On the other hand. " are
not liable to certain kinds Of wicked
ness which there is real danger OF MS
writings inculcating; for It is Ia
inevitable fact that, as is so often the
case with certain type OF mysuca
zealot, there is in him dark streak
which tells OF moral perversion. That
side Of his teachings which is partially
manifested in the revolving Kreutzer
sonata. can do exceedingly little
damage in America for it would ap-
peal only to decadents; exactly as It
.ould have come only from a man
who, however high he may stand IN
certain respects has in him certain
dreadful qualities Of the moral per-
vert.
The usual effect of prolonged and
excessive indulgence in Toistoyism on
American disciples is comic rather
than serious. One of these disciples
for instance, not long ago wrote book
on American municipal problems,
which ascribed our ethical and social
shortcomings in municipal matters In
part to the sin of rmilitarism.s Now
the mind of this particular writer In
making such statement was infuenc-
ed not in the least by what had actuaA-
lily occurred or was occurring in our
cities, but by one of Tolstoys theories
which has no possible bearing upon
American life. Militarism IS real
factor for good or for evil in most
European countries In America It has
not the smallest effect one way or the
other; it is negligible quantity.
There are undoubtedly states of soci-
ETY. where militarism is grave evil,
and there are plenty of circL instances
| in which the prime duty Of man may
| be to strive against it. But 1t is not
righteous war, not even war itself
which is the absolute evil, the evil
which is evil always and under all
| circumstances. Militarism which
takes the form of police force, munic
| ipal or national may be the prime
factor for upholding peace and right
eousness. Militarism is to be con
demned or not, purely according K
the conditions. So eating horse mea'
is in itself mere matter of taste; bu
the early Christian missionaries II
Scandinavia found that serious evi
| sprang from the custom OF eating
horse meat in honor of Odin. 1t i
literally true that our grave municipa
problems in New York or Chicag
have no more to do with militarisr
than with eating the meat of horse
that have been sacrificed to pagal
Z deities; and a crusade against on
i habit, as an element in municipal re
form, is just about as rational a
: would be crusade against the othel
! Oliver Wendell Holmes said that
| had taken a century to remove tn
J | lark from American literature; b
cause the poets insisted upon writin,
: not about the birds they saw. BIT
t about the birds they had read of in th
t writings of other poets. Militarism q
( an evil in orr social life is as purely
i / Pigment of the imagination as the SIX
| lark in our literature. Moreover, th
e fact that in spite OF this total absene
: Of militarism there is SO much that
], evil in our life, SO much need for r
e form, ought to show persons who thin
!. that the destruction OF militarisI
/ would bring about the millennium no
e completely they lack the sense Of pc
$ spective.
h To minimize the chance of anythir
l. but wilIful misunderstanding let n
d repeat that Tolstoy is a great move
+ list, that the unconscious influence
: his novels is probably. on the Who'll
Il good, even diregarding their standiI
!. as works of art; that even as a pr
h fessional moralist and philosophic
v adviser of mankind in religious matte
e he has some excellent theories and {
L some points develops a noble and el
IS waiting teaching: but that taken as
k whole, and If generally diffused, h
S. moral and philosophical teachings,
it far as they had any influence at a
g. would have an influence for bad; pa
e " because on certain points tn
y teach downright immortality, but mu
le more because they tend to be BIO
re foolish and fantastic. and If logical
le applied would mean the extinction
" humanity in generation.
W THEODORE ROOSEVELT.