The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1914-09-05

ANOTHER WAR TO WAGE.

There Is war for those 81 us VIII
believe in reason-onr eternal and hol.
war. saws ]. Loves Dickinson. And !
is laid upon us TO wage II increasingly
in the future Especially in tn
dark hour or our defeat lei us not for
get itT A war FOR good instead d
evil, for truth instead Of lies for love
instead OF hate This is his contribn
tion in The Nation tI>ondonl to the
question OF the morale Of warfare, and
he begins BY drawing picture Of the
present conflict;
rFor the next few months. or it may
be years; some fifteen millions Of men
in Euvope the physically best those
who should be the fathers Of the next
generations. win be engaged in killing
one another. in starving the rest Of the
population. in stopping the instru-
ments of production, 10 pulling down
all that has been Iaboriously built up
during a quarter OF century OF EufD
pean peace Not one OF the men EN-
ployed in this work Of destruction
wants 10 perform it: not one OF them
knows how il has come about that no
is performing it: not one OF them
knows what object Is to be served by
performing IT, The non-combatnts are
In the same case. They did not fore
zee this, they did not want it. they did
not choose it, They we're never con
suited. No one in Europe desires to
De engaged In such work. We are
sane people.
Mr. Loves Dickinson, who is a lee
tnrer at Cambridge university. Eng
land. and the author OF several notable
works on phases Of our present day
civilization. gives from fae layman's
point Of view this notable reasoning
against the reason Of wars He con
tinues
For what. then. are these gamblers
playing7 Each says he Is playing for
safety Each says the other is play
Ing for power We English believe we
are resisting aggression. We may be
sure the Germans do not believe it oi
Us We believe they are aggressors.
we may be sure they do not believe il
OF themselves. Behind the action Of
an ,fr s.,.,ar,,t,, t,,o,,te IL a tI.aorx.- ths
theory OF the balance OF power. Be
hind the theory are passions -the pas
sions Of fear and cupidity Behind the
passions Is the whole long and tragic
history OF mankind. or all this, com
mon men are tools. The rulers play on
them like pipes And not only the
rulers Every journalist who has been
sowing mistrust and hatred between
nations, every historian who has used
history 10 glorify or apologize for war,
every man who has exalted passion at
The cost Of reason, is an accompiice ia
This crime. 1t is thus that war has
come about. What can war achieve
II is no remedy for the disease it is
Intended to cure; It merely creates
new conditions for another war. The
catastrophe in which we are plunged
must produce lncalculable evils. II |
can not produce any good unless II
should produce enlightenment BY en-
lightenment mean the apprehension
by peoples and governments Of dii-
ferent conception Of policy to that
which now prevails. The new concep-
lion is there, in the minds and hearts
Of all right thinking and right feeling
people II has not been able to control
events PARTLY because people do not
control governments. partly because
people have not learned 10 co operate
with one another. But all men not
blinded by theories know that the pow
sr 70 which governments sacrifice ma
lions Is an idol In no real thing do
The interests OF nations diverge. What
drives them into war is distractions:
and what gives the distractions life
win be engaged in killing one another,
IN starving the rest OF the population.
In stopping the production Of useful
aud necessary things. in destroying
the instruments Of production, in pull
Ing down all that has been laboriously
bnili up during a quarter OF a century
3f men But into these realities the
life passion is only beginning to Flow
along the old channels. once they are
opened. Il flows with fatal force. Let
war be declared, and every Individual
10 a nation Is seaas 70 lay dawn his
goods and his life That is why 10
soma noble men war appears as a no
ble thing But what makes il 50 IS the
passion that is misled into its service