Evening journal., 1914-08-11
Tobacco Pipe, Shave and Glass
of Wafer Caused Great Wars

Opinions may differ as TO whether
the dispute which led to the present
eonhSgration in Europe was sum
eient to justify the loss of blood
and treasure which, 1t is feared. will
be expended, but it Is certain that
many great wars In history have re-
suited from much more trivial
causes, The dogs of war have beon
let loose and continents deluged with
blood frequently as the result Of
amazingly insignificant Incidents
A man may start an incipent riot
in his own home by appearing unan-
nounced with a clean shave after
having worn a luxuriant hirsute
hdornment for years, but ordinarily
the trouble does not 60 beyond his
ewh door, Louis VII of France
was less fortunate, A visit to the
royal barber plunged two nations
France and England-into intermit-
tent warfare which lasted 500 years.
According to the story, the Arch
bishop of Rouen persuaded the King
to removs his beard, in common with
his subjects, The act led to so much
friction with the queen that at last
Louis divorced her, to become a few
months later the wife Of Henry II. OF
England, From this marriage cen
turies Of bloodshed may be said to
have followed.
In an iron case In the tower OF the
Cathedral In Modena, Italy. bucket
which 900 years ago was the cause Of
a terrible war, may be seen today.
Soldiers of Modena, In a mischievous
mood, stole the bucket from a public
we'll in Bologna and refused to return
1t. The states we're rivals and were
Jealous Of each other, and fights be-
tween soldiers of the two followed.
This spark kindled fire Of war
which devastated a large part OF Eu-
rope and led to the Imprisonment for
life of the King Of Sardinia, son OF
the German Emperor.
A broken teapot started a war in |
China $50 years ago, which cost half |
q million lives. The teapot was the
cherished possession of a dignitary |
high in favor with the Emperor |
When travelling through a lawless
province in the northwest Of China, |
some of his retinue who had fallen |
behind the main body, were intor-
cepted by a band of robbers, and |
among the spoils the teapot was
found and contemptuously thrown on
the ground and broken. The man
DARN reported his loss to the EN-
peror, a force Of soldiers was sent
out and a long and terrible war en-
sued.
Lord Palmerston once said that only
three men had ever known the exact
nature Of the troubles in Schieswig-
Holstein which led to two great wars.
Two of them had died before the wars
broke out, and he, the third of the trim
ity, had completely forgotten what it
was all about.
The manipulation by Count Bismarck,
then Prussia's Foreign Minister, of a
telegram, set Prussia and France flying
at each others throat in 1870 The
French Ambassador went to Ems, where
Emperor William l. then was, to ask
him not to approve the ambition of
Prince Leopold to become the King of
Spain. The King refused to give def
mite answer, but Prince Anthony of Ho-
henzollern withdrew his sons candidacy.
report Of the conference was submit
ted by telegram to Count Bismarck with
auJhorlzation to publish ii. Bismarck
altered the text, and in the changed form
gave 1t to the newspapers and through ,
Them to France. AS Bismarck wrote it ,
The report was unfavorable to France,
Ind the international war with all its
horrors followed. Years later Bismarck
confessed the forgery.
The war of the Spanish succession. !
In which the Great Duke of Marl- / !
borough played a brilliant part. was
said to be the outcome of a glass OF
water at ball at the Tuileries in :
Paris. One of the court ladies had !
a wish for drink of water :
n the hearing of the British and !
Spanish Ambassadors, who fastened
o get il for her. Returning. each
Tith a tumbler, they found the fair
)ird had flown and was dancing with +
/ French statesman. The English dip !
omat accidentally, it is presumed
against the Spaniard and IN 4
et the glass he was carrying. This :
idiculous incident inflamed the ieal- Z
'usies of the nations and turned the \
he balance in favor of war. r
The Seven Years War was largely i
ue, according TO his own confession. i
o the vanity of Frederick the Great q
wanting to see his name figure G