The Butler weekly times. (Butler, Mo.) 1881-1918, 1914-08-20
The Causes of Many Wars.

the dispute which led to the present
conflagation in Europe was sufficient
to Justify the loss of blood and treas
ure which, it is feared, will be en-
pended, but it is certain that many
great wars in history have resulted
from much more trivial causes. The
dogs of war have been let loose and
continents deluged with blood fire.
quently as the result of amazingly in
significant incidents.
A man may start an incipient riot in
his own home by appearing uRan-
nounced with clean shave after
having worn luxuriant hirsute a.
dornment for years, but ordinarily the
trouble does not 90 beyond his own
door. Louis VII, Of France was less
fortunate. A visit to the royal barber
plunged two nations-France and
England intermittent warfare
which lasted 800 years.
According to the story, the. Arch
bishop Of Rouen persuaded the King
to remove 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 few
months later the wife of Henry II.
of England. From this marriage
centuries of bloodshed may be said to
have followed.
In an iron case in the tower of the
Cathedral in Modena, Italy, bucket
which 800 years ago was the cause OF
terrible war may be seen today.
Soldiers of Modena in mischievous
mood stole the bucket from a public
well in Bologna and refused to return
it. The States were rivals and were
jealous of each other and fights be-
tween soldiers of the two followed.
The spark kindled the fire of war
which devastated 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 $50 years ago
started a war in China, which cost
half million lives. The teapot was
the cherished possession of digni-
tary 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 intercept
ed by a band of aobbers, and among
the spoils the teapot was found and
contemptuously thrown on the ground
and broken. The mandarin reported
his loss to the Emperor, force OF
soldiers was sent out, and a long and
terrible war ensued.
Lord Palmerson once said that only
three men had ever known the exact
nature of the troubles in Schleswig-
Holster which led to two great wars.
Two of them had died before the
wars broke out, and he, the third OF
the trinity, had completely forgotten
whats was all about.
The manipulation by Count Bis
marck, then Prussia's Foreign Minis
ter, of a telegram set Prussia. and
France flying at each others throat
in 1870. The French Ambassador
went to Ems, where Emperor William
/. then was, to ask him not to approve
the ambition of Prince Leopold to be-
come the King of Spain. Z
The King refused to give definite
answer, but Prince Anthony of Ho-
henzollern withdrew his sons candi-
dacy.- report of the conference
was submitted by telegram to Count
Bismarck with authorization to pub
lish it. Bismarck altered the text,
and in the changed form gave it to
the newspapers and through them to
France. As Bismarck wrote it the
report was unfavorable to France,
and the international war with all its
horrors followed. Years later Bis
marck confessed the forgery.
The war Of the Spanish succession,
in which the great Duke of MARI
borough played brilliant part, was
said to be the out come of a glass of
water at a ball at the Tulleries in
Paris. One of the court ladies had
expressed wish for a drink OF water
in the hearing OF the British and
Spanish Ambassadors, who fastened
to get it for her.
Returning each with a tumbler
they found the fair bird had flown