The Washington herald., 1914-07-10
AN Appeal for Peace.
By UBALDO }. MARIA.


grand and triumphant invasion of another country
is TO begin. Six hundred thousand Of frances best
and most vrile men are going out to conquer the
hated Muskovte. As they slowly file past the short
immobile figure of their leader on his champing
charger the soldiers salute. He is their emperor,
their idol, their god-their great Napoleon.
For him they are leaving their homes; for him
they despoiing France OF her BEST for him they
to suffer tortures and hardships and finally DEATH
Yet the splendid, irresistible legions go marching
by to ringing cheers how few foresee the scat
tered, broken remnants of tiat host few months
later.
They are ignorant of the slaughter to come, and
so they march gayly along in cleaning armor, in gal
liant array, 10000 OF them the flower of the men of
France. And at their head march abreast two figures
the one, the great Napoleon the cynosure of all
glances; the other invisible the outer eye figure
draped in black, and they see it not
-Four months have passed. Where, now, those
irresistible wellfed men? Broken in health and weak
in spirit; starving in body and shverng in the cold
ia grande armee" of Napoleon is now but a dream.
Where but yesterday 10000 homes had father, a
husband, son, today 10000 homes weep for a
son, husband, father.
The retreat from Moscow was one long trail of
blood. Men died by hundreds, by thousands. yea by
tens of thousands from lack Of clothing, from lack
of food, from lack of shelter Men fell all along the
line, slaughtered like many cattle, killed to satate
the desires of but man-their emperor, their idol
their god-ther great Napoleon.
For him France has become widow. 1t is
country of women and children. How, now are the
mills TO turn their oaken wheels that the people may
have bread? How, now the plows to turn the
sod for the life of France? How, now, the ships
to sail the to bring to their homeland the spices
of Araby? Sacrificed - slaughtered - dead - gone
forever, irrevocably gone-that invncble army-that
splendid array of men that an army Was, mind
you, for France is country of and children.
The men of France are no more.
horrible picture haunting nightmare this you
will admit; and you sigh with wholesome relief that
it is but picture OF days long past of conditions
far remote that they need cast baneful shadow
the threshold of vaunted twentieth century.
Is it only that; entirely remote entirely beyond the
realm of possible reduplication?
A public press and partial public clamor have
urged intervention in sister republics affairs. Has
humanity yet risen to those heights of that
such costly bloodshed human misery, and social de-
mocratization today impossible?
Is it necessary to redupcate past horrors? All
of Europe is like potential explosive which, at the
slightest spark, will burst into millions of deathdeal
ing bullets destroying kindred and friends, and lay
ing waste vast areas wherein social disorder and
human decentralization will be rampant.
For whose benefit is war? Is it for the benefit Of
homes made empty the result of war; for the ad
vantage of wives bereft of husbands of children
made orphans? Scarcely! .ia
For the poor man, the midde-class man, war,
with its frightfu visitations, is benefit is
curse! 1t is not advantage-it is HE'LL Must we
still further pursue this policy Is it not time call
a halt?
Let us pause before continuing upon an extended
career of militarism. With wide-open eyes, remem-
bering all the past and counting all the cost let us
make decisions wisely and sanely. 1t has been
estimated that the aggregate loss OF life in has
reached the enormous total of fifteen billion men, equal
tc ten times the population OF the entire world taday
In addition to such slaughter of human life under the
present weight of budgets, the nations OF the
earth are staggering toward bankruptcy.
Italy, in her recent war, spent 100000 daily to
maintain operations against the Turk and Arab. Our
own national government for the present fiscal year
has appropriated S5ooooooo for peaceful means while
for war preparations it has disbursed S535oooooo
These are facts, theories
As paying proposition, war long ago was listed
security which has ever defaulted in the payment
OF its dividends A necessity which is cruel and pro-
duces nothing but HARM is not necessity. The best
for all has ever been the motto of this country and
yet is undoubtedly an advantage only to the
scheming few Figured then, on an economic basis !
war does not pay.
Let u.s. therefore, abolish it We have other and
adequate remedies for settling our disputes. The chief
remedy is The Hague Tribunal for Arbitration. 1t !
has already made great progress! From 1915 until
1910 $50 disputes settled by mediation.
The Russo-Japanesc war showed that when gold, !
the most necessary ammunition of war. is withdrawn, !
war will cease Is that merely visionary, or is it |
fact?
'Tis true that in some war is waged for the !
ultimate benefit of mankind Our civil war is good
example. But broadly speaking arbitration will settle
The maj ority of such conflicts
We must try, then, to influence humanity, not by
nassed artillery, but by good example and peaceful
counsel. We must highest glory not in bat
lies won, but in wars prevented We must turn our
engines of destruction into engines of construction
After England's victory in the Boer war, Rudyard
<iplng wrote the "Recessional" poem of jubilee.
out also warning not to seek further fields of con-
quest Who knows what effect that poem has had
upon the English people? Who knows but that the
Recessiona has been the alert pilot which has guided