The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1914-05-25
NO. l2l

1
ing and devastating a large part OF
Asia, he met an ignoble and pre-
mature death The vast territory
that he had conquered with ruthless
loss OF lie ana unwarranted blood
shed in a few years was dissolved
and torn by war
The path of war is clearly mark
ed by the sacrifice of human life.
disease, crime. mangled bodies,
death, desolation. The trail that
peace has left is blazed by epochs
lof prosperity and happiness. The
golden age of peace is conducive to
a glorious literature. During the
Augustan age, noble men produced
works of literature which will hold
a place of honor after the victories
of Pompey and Scipio have lost
their luster. In this era of peace,
civilization and education have adj
vanced by leaps and bounds. Man
has now come to the realization that
| war is barbaric. Paint it in glowing
colors; surround 1t with romance
and poetry; dazzle by its pomp and
false glitter, yet you cannot remove
4 the barbaric stain from It. for the
slaughter of human beings is the
trade Of barbarism.
War shows neither mercy nor
justice; it strips the country of its
youth; it drains the country of its
wealth; it leaves the poisonous
seeds of disease and immortality.
which continue to germinate and
difluse their baneful influence long
after the war itself has ceased.
1t is the common people, the mass
es of every nation, that are crying
out against the barbarism and tyran--
ny of war, for they bear the burden.
the poverty, the sorrows. The prep
arations for war are costly: the
country must be taxed and taxed
heavily to support an efficient army
and navy Seventy-three per cent of
the revenue of the United States is
used in connection with war. Ger
many and the other European coun-
tries vie with one another in the in
ivention and production OF new in
istruments of war, more deadly and
costly than the last. A few years.
ago it was the dreadnaught, now #
is the aeroplane with its possible
ties in times of war that engages the
lattention of the world. Already
there is bitter rivalry between Ger
many and France for the control Of
the air. This ceaseless building OF
the monster engines is slowly under
mining the strength of the nations:
1.-THE realization is borne to them that
some immediate action must be TAX
ZEN to crush the growth of arma-
ments.
i The commercial growth of a
country is retarded by the ravages
of war; its progress and wealth re-
!ceive a fatal blow which only the
lapse of time can retrieve. The pos
sibility of investing in or trading
waging war is not to be considered
Business men and the great banking
houses realize the fact that it is not
a safe policy. Investments in coun-
tries, such as Holland and Sweden,
that are not wasting their energies
in warlike preparations are pro-
inounced twenty per cent. safer than
those in any other country. When
George Ill, of England, announced
the independence of the United
States. he expressed the prayer that
the ties of language, commerce and
common interest might bind the two
countries together in a union Of
peace The same prayer might be
uttered for all nations. Countries
bound together by bands OF financial
development, through fear of loss
will control their passions and re-
frain from war.
] When will the people OF all ma
tons acknowledge that there should
be peace, not war; that the settle
ment of their dispute by arbitration
is less costly; that war means COM
mercial as well as national suicide?
As long as war continues ana we
bow before the warrior god, hard
ships, poverty and suffering must be
endured.
In olden times, war was the train
ing field for men; it furnished a
pastime for the mobiles and the mall
clad knights. Today men are train
ed in the nobler arts of life. and are
taught to live at peace with their
fellow men, The desire for war ana
Its excitement is gradually passing
AWAY. Men. who are soldiers, whose