Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1913-05-09
SAVING THE PRICE OF WAR;.

st. Louis GlObe-Domocrat: One
strong note, stronger than all others
sounded in the peace congress. is
that money spent on ornaments could
be put to better uses. There is no
other answer $50 effective as saying
that appropriating money out Of cur
cnt funds Tor the maintenance Of mil.
itary and naval establishments is the
equivalent of citing aside, out of the
receipts of a business, sums of money
for the maintenance Of contingent
funds. The maintenance of such
funds Is Indispensable to good bust
hor war and yet divert from their an
nual evenu the cash needed to
maintain q state of preparedness for
wal as a possible contingency. A firm
individual or corporation, carrying
fire insurance, does not tax itself in
such ways because 1t loves fire, but
because it breads it as a destructive
agency, and seeks to safeguard it
self against total loss. Just now
Missouri is exceptional among the
states in being threatened with al.
most total deprivation of the guar.
anteeG protection of fire insurance.
We feel the resulting and existing
insecurity, because We know that the
end of dangers.
Destructive fires are, in the great
majority of cases, results either OF
human negligence or human deprav.
ity. Eradicate these, and fire insur-
ance premiums, to use a paradox,
would be at a discount. Purge hu.
man nature of original sin, and OF
many inherent weaknesses, and we
would ut once have world disarma-
ment. The mass Of mankind loves
not war more than fire. At bottom, it
breads both. But because dread i
not fear, but rather the intelligence
which prepares against danger. men
tax themselves to deal effectively with
these evils, both of which may be
called necessary evils in the sense
that they must remain inevitable
evils until eliminated by the higher
intelligence, and higher morality, of
the race. Peace congresses should
meet Oftener. AS a, means OF educat-
ing the world away from lower stand
ards Of thought, such attritions of &C
tive minds in discussions OF how nan.
kind may be evolved, or evolve it.
self, above the brutes, cannot be
equaled in other ways. It's continuing
keynote, for the present time. should
be on the element Of war cost.
Sordid as this may seem, it is not
so. Carried to its ultimate, the logic
OF the price argument is that vast
expenditures in preparing for wars
which may never come greatly re.
duce resources which could be used
in doing many good and useful and
great things. The figures of war cost
cited in the peace congress are stun. .
ming. They represent what the civ
iliZed world is paying in insurance
premiums against war losses. Such
a flood Of money turned into channels
or education, Of amelioration, OF gen.
nine humanitarianism oil every sort. |
could bring an uplift movement to
gladden. the hearts o. all lovers OF
their kind. But in vain will the peace
advocates Of any land plead with the
people and the rulers OF that land 10
take the initiative in disarma .nent.
AS we'll argue with the Missouri Dol.
icy holder that he shall alone take
an initiative in the cancellation of
his policy in testifying to a faith that
there is no danger Of fire and the
companies may go packing. While
the jungle law that "the strength Of
the wolf is the pack. and the strength
OF the pack is the wolf" still reigns
in the hearts and minds of many
men, the lone peace ira. will in.
vite no people. But the hope remains
that peace advocates, and peace con.
crosses can bring all OF the great
modern world to see in time that a
general disarmament, or a great re.
duction in ornaments, an, through
cooperative effort, serve Mr.. Carne.