Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1911-01-10
CHRIST THE UMPIRE OF THE Ma
TONS AND THE PRINCE OF PEACE
BIZ Bishop w. A. Candzler

| Inc cream OF an age OF uiliNeISdi pVoSV,
when the nations shall learn war no
more. has haunted the minds Of the no.
blest men for centuries. Prophets and
seers have greeted 1t from afar, philos-
oph ers have brooded over it. and poets
have pictured it's golden glories.
To many it has seemed no more than
dream, unsubstantial and visionary.
But 1T bgins to appear more profitable
/ than some have thought, and its perfect
fulfillment does not seem now so far
away.
The thought appeals to business men
like Mr.. Andrew Carnegie, who recently
gave S10,000.0O0 to promote the cause.
1t commends itself to the commercialism
of the times, and we'll It may; for war
is the most costly and wasteful thing
imaginable One battleship of the size
of the North Dakota" costs $10,0O0,000,
and single shot from big gun costs
S1,7O0. careful statisticians have esti-
mated that the aggregate loss OF lire
in all the wars which have occurred IN
| historic times mas not been less than
| If. 600. 900 600 Souls. Modern nations
have expended witlIia a century forty
thousand millions of dollars to indulge
| the sin and folly of war. Nor does this
/ incalculable sum incluue the property
destroyed by armies on their marches
and in the field. Gen. Sherman estimat-
ed that in his march to the sea his army
destroyed at least ssO0,000,000 Of prop
erty, and those who remember the des-
olation which he left behind him are
quite prepared to accept his figures as an
under estimate. The pensions paid by
| the federal government on account or
the war between the states consume
about one fourth of the annual income
of the United States treasury, and, la
ken in connection with the approprla-
tions for the department of war and the
department of the navy, they reach x
ty per cent of the federal income When
the last pension. has been paid on ac-
count of the civil war the enormous
sum Of $4,000, 900, 900 will have been ex-
pended-nore than enough to have paid
for every slave in the country when
the war began If, in addition to all
/ this, we take account of the earning
power of the million men, North and
south, who persisted in that awful con-
flict, estimating II AZ $500 year for
forty years as the probable average
i length of their lives, we shall have 70
charge to the account of that war the
further sum of $16,000,0 100000. What
have we to show for such sickening
waste of life and such prodigal ex-
! penditure of treasure? These amazing
figures incline one to agree with THAI
calculating statesman, Benjamin Frank
linz when he said there never was
good war nor a bad peace.
Not only Is war expensive beyond
all measure but the bare possibility OF
war is costly to the ma -.vns. The peace
ornaments OF christendom involve an
outlay VIII oh staggers imagination to
conceive Edmund Therry. the French
economist figures that the maintenance
OF Europes armed peace footing in the
last twenty-five years cost one hundred
/ and forty-five million francs, approx
nately $40 900, 900 900, which involved an
increase in the public debt OF the Euro
pean states of from one hundred and
five to one hundred and fifty-one bill
lions Of francs and constantly excluded
/ from productive industry $4,000 Off
GERS and $s,7O0.0o men.
In view Of the wastefulness of war
there IS little wondeH therefore, that
our commercial age insists that 1t shall
be Abandoned. And while much yet re-
mains to be done. thednternatiunal peace
movement has inadenirnmense progress
during the last decadesy Two wprld par,
/ lame hts have, been h9.d at the Fla gue
during that period 70 plan for settling
the disputes Of nations Without a resort
| to arms In the first meeting twenty
six nations were represented and In the.
second representatives of forty-four
were present A worlds tribunal has
been established for the adjud cation Of
/ fnterna tional differences, ard it has
| handed down several most satisfactory
decisions, which have been accented with
perfect good will by the parties to the
contentious which were adjudicated.
More than eigaty treaties have been
contracted agreeing to submit d sputes
/ to the Hague Court Of Arbitration for
settlement. IN the last International
conference at the Hague the represent
tatives of thirty-five nations voted for
obligatory arbitration, while the repre-
sentatives of only nine voted against It,
or refrained from voting at ALL The
nations whose representatives favoured
OBLIGATORY arbitration have a combined
populat on of 1900, 100000 souls, while
| the other nine have only a little more
than 2O0.00O,O 900. So TO speak, the
world has already voted through it's rep
/ resentatives for universal peace. and
the majority against war was very large.
/ Nevertheless. it is to be feared that
great rs has been the recent progress
of the movement for peace, 1t does n -
rontaiti ~ il 1t the mlrai elements
necessary to carry IT tn complete SUI
cess. Comraert 'alism has entered too
much into it. and commerce Is too seI-
fisn 10 become the guardian and de
'nd.r of universal peace 1t Is quite
/ t,re tat ,i'e great bankers can force
peace by declining tos furnish 'the
] tie. Did not financial interests figure
in the Boer war which England wased
a few years. ago in South Africa W.n
any of US dare affirm that certain.
Interests had no part in bringing
ION the S.anish-Americnn. war? iild
the Sugar Trust no concern for the
cane fields Of Cuba and the Ph up
pines? May not the steel Trust have
something to do with the agitation for
a strong navy and the building OF
more battle ships? is
/ Whatever may or may not be the
answer given to these questions we
may be sure that commerce car not
be depended on to maintain peace fur
Their than peace is profitable t. men
of commerce. Covetousness~ Is eruei,
and Mammon is heartless god. Me-
Their life nor property is regarded when
greed advances to it's ends. 1t VIII
make war or peace with equal real,
and with reference TO its gains only.
II disarmament is ever brought TO
pass. and the era of universal neace
ever dawns, a moral basis mast be laid
fer such a pacific state to rest on, 81
1t will be neither enduring nor endur-'
able. Armies and navies are the IN
ternational policemen Of the World.
and they can not be dispensed with
until all parties are good enough to oe-
1,