Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1914-08-15
HISTORY REPEATS
Peace is the dream of the theoris
but war ia the history Of man.


but war is the history of man.
The worlds history is a story OF
wars. Great conflicts in which
armed men destroyed each other are
the cornerstones-the dates--in the
worlds records of human endeavor.
II the present condition of the ma
tions OF the highest civilization is a
basis for judgment, wars will con
tinue to make the prominent dates in
the history of the future. Education,
art, science, culture, reason and logic
have been at times trampled under
foot by vast armies, and it seems as
If it must always be so.
The great civilization of Athens,
Rome, Egypt and the far east was
destroyed by wars. There have been
only very short periods in the last
$500 years when all Europe has
been at peace at one time.
At the beginning OF the ninteenth
century, a little more than one hun
dred years ago, all Europe was en-
gagged in war. Four million men
we're fighting on European soil and
in European waters They were
withdrawn from the occupations of
peace and maintained at an enormous
cost for the express purpose of kill
ing one another and destroying
properly.
That was the condition one hun
dred and ten years ago = exactly the
same condition In the same territory
governs today. Right now from the
most northerly point of land to the
Mediterranean sea on the south,
from the wilds of eastern Asia to the
extreme western coast of Europe.
millions of men are arming and
marching to destroy each others
lives, to burn each others cities and
to lay waste each others crops. Fear
Il now in every home and grief will
soon be In many. 4:eS
Human life and property rights
mean no more today in most OF
Europe than they do in the middle OF
Africa. :, s
The same nations are at war today
that were one hundred and ten years
ago, and on the very same battle
ground. A. century Of education and
religious teaching has not erased the
savage in the men that the century
has produced. The, desire to impov-
erish and destroy seems to be as
strong as ever Men are stood up
against wall and shot just as they
were beheaded in times gone by.
There is no more logical reason
for this war than there was for some
OF the campaigns waged by Napoleon.
It Is not waged for liberation of any
people - It was not started for the
purpose Of avenging national
wrong. Germany was not imposed
upon. II the German emperor had
desired to do 50, he could have
averted this awful war. Austria would
have kept out Of 1t If he had told her
to. Emperor William had the choos-
ing and he decided for war. He had
no particular quarrel with Russia.
Nevertheless he declared war on
Russia and Immediately attacked
France. He has an immense army
and will make q desperate effort to
win. II this war continues long,
countries not now expecting it will
be drawn into the vortex and it may
be worlds war instead of an
European conflict.
With the so-called civilized nations
impoverished Of men and money, the
great hordes OF India and China can
run wild over territory that today
they do not know exists.
What Is 1t all for? What good is 1t
doing! Who will be benefited? In
what way ID 1t going to help human
progress?
But it has been the way of the
world always. The way of the world
seems to be - War.