The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-10-22
THE MILLENNIUM.
No Immediate Occasion for Ordering
Ascension Robes.

|
TO THE EDITOR OF THE suN-sr: The
peace at any price people are ever prov
ing to US that there will be no more
wars and when terrible war springs up
over night, as II were, they smugiy as
sert that this will be the last war" II
Is odd that even such men rs DR.. Abbott
appear TO share In some part this extraor-
binary delusion, men who have presum-
ably studied history and who know that
Darwln's old friend and rival. who died
lately, was absolutely right when he as
serted that human nature had not
changed lntrinsically since the building
OF the pyramids only in knowledge Of
| natures laws have we progressed.
Dr. Abbott rightly says that envy.
Jealousy, selnshnoss and suspicion In the
so-called Christian nations" are to blame
| for this war. Quite so. These qualities
| of tho human soul are as alive to-day as
In the age of prehistoric Egypt. and their
| results are exactly the same. though
framed a trife differently. For n million
| years they will continue to exist and to
| exert the Inevitable consequences. quar-
| rels. crimes, wars. In ever decreasing
| violence, II may be, but for a hundred
generations to come lmperceptibly so and
| IL IL the next few generations, / venture
| to think, that we are to look out for 1t
| will be as well for the present not to dis
< band our police, nor TO throw open our
| safety vaults. nor. since the world Is
| growing smaller and yet more over
! crowded and we are not likely to have a
decently large army. to allow our navy 10
! lose every bit OF its offensive capablity
! and sink TO that travesty OF hayseed STRAIT
egy "a force for coast defence" In a
sense might Is right (England and the
BoersO. only IN these days of good
craftsmanship that peculiar notion called
honor is bound up In playing the game
| fairly
The great trouble with the Germans Is
not that they have made themselves very
strong, but that they are not playing the
game like gentlemen. They cry "Hypoc-
risy'' when England calls their blum they
drop bombs upon innocent women and
children. and do other things that simply
ARE not done" by decent people. What
Is the great lesson to be learned? Simply
that tho folk that calls itself the most
cultured on earth, and the very repre-
sentatves OF this people that mankind
has looked up to with reverence, Har-
mack. lIauptmann and all tho rest OF the
illustrious band, without exception, ac-
cept and defend the present policy OF Ger
many. including the violation of treaties
and the bombarding through airshps Of
cities before giving time TO remove nom
combatants. These men actually believe
tUtl THESE llllkSt seeming lRnoDle anu
low lived to Us. are right Not only that,
but they appear to believe that the Amer
lean nation can be also persuaded that
they are right. And the lesson? II is
that, even among the most cultivated
human nature. and the best part of II, the
brain, has not changed and is still very
weak and easily influenced. Therefore we
cannot depend upon individuals or nations
doing the correct thing. and consequently
We find ono duty before US TO keep our
powder dry and the old musket In this
case principally now one called the
| United States navy. In good working con-
dtion.
Mlitnrlsm is not with us. The war of
1872 was, as President Wilson once wrote.
"a war OF arms brought on by a pro-
Rfammc of peace" Public sentiment did
away with our army and our navy Re
suit. the disastrous war OF 1912. Mill
tarlsm In tho United States? The an
swer: We have had TO make laws protect
ing our soldiers and our tackles from
insult when they are In uniform. In Eu-
rope YOU practically never see an officer
out of his uniform I'm the United States
you hardly ever see him In II unless he is
on duty. Nl!tarsm? In the name of
the Prophet Pinle'
Human nature being what It Is and will
continue tn be. nothing can stop the occa-
a'pnal recurrence of war or Of crime
Certainly no formal religion. II one
looks into the books he will find that
among the members OF thai church that
has far and away the hrmest hold on its
devotces the percentage OF criminals is
I by no means smaller than that OF any
other sect. @ T.. u. As matter OF
fact the whole thing is not a case OF rel!g-
/ ION or Of morals u IS n matter OF biology.
You stub your toe over rock. The rock
was there and you didn't see IT, or you
were a bit careless. 1t Is exactly the
same with crime and war. Human nature
"a. M .i.r .p4u tn, al
Il viii act IN a certain manner. 1t is not
right or wrong IL simply is. Why not
. accept the inevitable consequences OF ma
lures laws, or, If you prefer the Chris
tian way OF speaking, OF Gods laws?
Don't worry about His manner of doing
things. The Almlghtys sacred name Is
taken a good deal In vain OF late. AS Mr..
/ Moorile!d Storey most wittily said the
other day IN Boston: THE Kaiser has
conferred medals on his sons and given
God honorable mention" The situation
almost scduces one into impious and i'm
pertinent sympathy with the Almighty,
Who has been made responsible for every
( nc; done by the warning nations one
can almost imagine the Impotence with
which He notes the volume OF prayer for
help sent mp from Great Britain at the
Instance OF tho Archbishop of Canterbury
and at the same time observes that the
[ bulk OF the English nation is content to
let Him do the work while peacefully
continuing 10 play golf and watch the
cricket scores in the stop press para
graphs. Meanwhile 100000 Germans
have volunteered and the German women
are melting mp their wedding rings TO
helm the cause, thus proving that the Ger
wnus are al all events doing what they
can to tighten the burden OF the Lord
Wei may Doyle cry out Wake up, Eng
land :"
There viii be many more wars 10 come
This one Is more than likely to lead to
others, not 10 speak OF the great reckon
Ing to come with the mighty Russ. As
fact, we are on the brink OF great things
IN the future, and not all OF them will
please DIR. Jordan. EDWARD BRrcK.
ANNAPOLIS ROYAL, n. s.. October Ia