The Taney County republican. (Forsyth, Mo.) 1895-1992, 1914-09-17
The War of the Kaisers

and truthful for the world'battle, pre-
cipitated on the people by the rulers,
the Courier Journal has called it The
War OF the Kaisers-not the Kaiser's
War as Herman Ridder mistakenly as
sumes--for, though the German Kaiser
is chiefly in evidence and most re-
sponsible, there are two other KaiserS,
making three in all, the War Lord Of
Berlin, the doddering Old Man OF
Vienna and the measly little wretch Of
Petrograd.
Nobody other than these wanted
war. Assuredly the English and the
French did not. How many Germans
Austrians and Russians might have
objected had they been given the
chance to express an opinion we
know not. 1t is quite certain that,
when tocsins were sounded by the
Kaisers the life OF no man who ventured
TO say them nay would have been any
where safe. War is madness. Amid
the Changing Of alarum bells, the roll
Of drums and the call Of bugles, the
voice of Reason is dumb and cannot
be heard.
II Before he strikes the fatal blow
the murderer could only stop a moment
and think; could see the bleeding
body OF his victim; could realize the
awful consequences Of his act!
Instead Of whooping up the hordes
Of death in Europe and hurling ana
themas at their neighbors in the
United States, the Germans Of America
should be down upon their knees ask
ing God to have mercy upon the
wives, the mothers and the children ol
the Fatherland.
The dread story has but just begun.
Only little while when they will
clearly see where their Kaiser has led
them. Only few more bloody days
when the braves will be scurrying
back from France to defend Prussia
from the Cossack, Who taking lesson:
and license from the Uhlan will be
swooping with spear and torch upor
Berlin. All that happened to Napo
leon the Great and Napoleon the
little-and maybe worse-is about t(
happen to Wilhelm the Destroyer
Then perhaps the Social Democrats o
Prussia, rising from the ashes OF tht
ruin he has made--lrom blightec
homes and trampled fields ard desc
Grated shrines-may be able as Their
and Gambetta were, TO sue not with
out avail Tor peace, TO pay, nor ye
with their all, the forfeit, and L
establish order and ordain Free Govern
ment, the Militariat and all its work
and ways gone to He'll where they be
long! Yea and with the Hohenzollcrns
the Hapsburgs and the Romancfs; ic
absolutism and arbitrary power ex
tinguished in Germany and Austria
cannot long survive in Russia. Cod
will be done on earth as it is done
Heaven!
Perhaps the war Of the KaiSers wa
sent by the Great Jehovah to tear u
Europe by the roots, TO snatch tn
world from Satan and TO recreate it o
lairer, sounder, surer lines.
Already it has told us that war
not only hell-n9t only insanity y-bl
murder by wholesale and in the fir
degree. The heart Of man as he su
veys the slaughter from aiar groV
sick and stops its beating, the word
iain would speak passes silent from b
lips and dies upon the emp
air. That is why poets seem
insuficient-the very Kiplings lin
and stark-the singing drowned
wailing. Christ! That any nj
should gloat-that any woman shou
glow-belore such appalling sayager
Wolf Of the void and yellow'foot
kite alone are gleeiul, nor out Ire
the tower Of Bruges, across the Il
country to the dome Of Cologne,
Ghent where the Peace Treaty v
made and AK, where Chsrlemag
sleeps the dremless sleep, and Lie
the immortal-and up and down I
vales Of the beautiful river nowhe
any ringing Of bells, nor shouts
glory; only mOans over the dying a
mourning for the dead: from Wh
Hoods OF Flanders and Rhen
maiden; from palace aud cottage,
smoke Of Louvain ascending still fr
earth to heaven even to the ThrC
Of God-in awful, awe inspiring
dictment. To your prayers, We Il
II -.-x;,. b;,tb and hlood IN o