Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-07-28
SUNDAY MAGAZINE FOR JULY 49, 1912

the majority of wars have been instigated |
by lust of conquest.
Once upon time there lived near Wheeling |
a farmer of grasping habit Of mind. To him
came good deacon of the church in protest. |
why do you hamper your soul by this |
continual getting?" asked the good man.
. want only a little more land quoth |
the farmer; lust little more land and |
shall be satisfied"
About how much more?" asked his adj |
monitor.
lust the little piece between me and
Lake Erie
Alexander, Napoleon, Governments long |
since dead or still remaining in power, were
all willing to quit conquest when they got
that little bit of land between their frontier
and the nearest ocean. OF spoils indirect or
sentimental that go to the conqueror, ii
would be possible in any specific recountal to
make an almost intermlnable list, including |
the faith of statesmen, and women's honor, |
the right of suffrage, and fishing privilege. |
The Bible tells of spoils that would make
the mouth Of Middle Age free companion
water There are no definite data, how
ever, by which one can put into modern
money value the spoil of the Egyptians or OF
other Philistines. About the first tangible
statement worth while IS found in the history
of the war of Alexander against Darius. We
are told that at the Battle OF lssus the Mace |
DOMAIN General found in the Persian camp
more than four thousand talents OF gold. |
This would amount to between seven million |
and eight million dollars in our money.
1t is of record that in one of the victories
of Cyrus the Great his spoil in gold and silver
amounted to two thousand talents NEARLY |
four million dollars and in slaves that were
salable and of real value SIX thousand men and
six thousand women. 1t is interesting tonote |
that, according to the historian, the women
were worth considerably more than the men,
although outnumbered ten to one.
NAPOLEON was first of modern Gen
~ erals to make spoliation, raised to the
brutal point, characteristic OF victory. His
seizure of the Lion Of Saint Mark in Venice,
while it did not hold good for long, was an
index of his plan of action. France today |
reaps the benefit of Bonaparte's graspings, |
as anv visitor to the Louvre can testify, and |
that Italy still resents the Napoleonc spolia-
ton Of her art treasures can be found by que
ries in any capital of the sunny Kingdom.
In the war between the British and the
Beers the most valuable spoils of war would |
appear to have gone to the vanqulshed, leav-
ing out natural questions of sentiment and |
territory. A British officer of general rank
is authority for the statement that, outside |
j
army did not capture spoils to the value of
fifty thousand pounds. In the two cities |
mentioned there were found arms, mu-
ntions, provisions, and clothing worth prob |
ably one million sterling.
Much has been said about the footing of |
the imperial city of Picking by the allied |
troops, on the occasion of the rescue of the |
legations at the time of the Boxer troubles
The best information is to the effect that,
outside of the silver money taken by the
Japanese and afterward returned, the total |
value of the booty would not equal one
million dollars. Doubtless the values Of
many of the curios that drifted into bric-a
brac shops in America were exaggerated be
yond all reason. 1t is from a Chinese man.
DARN of high rank that the million-dollar |
estimate comes.
TN the war between Russia and Japan the
latter was good deal more the gamer
than the Government at Toxic has admitted
There is strong authority for the belief that
the value of Russian ships now in the Japan
csc navy aggregated forty-eight million four
hundred and fifty thousand dollars. They
are worth at least half as much now. The |
capture of these ships not only sent Japan
from ninth to sixth place in the list Of navies
of the world, but sank Russia from fourth to
eighth or ninth.