The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1914-08-03
.TOLSTOY'S VISION
OF COMING WAR
Prophetic Message Delivered Three
Years AGO by the Great Rus
Sian Philosopher is Now
Recalled.
SAW A NEW NAPOLEON
Who Gets Most Of Europe In His
Grip and Forms a Federation
Of United States Of
Nations.

A sudden notion induced the kaiser
to write to the car in the early au'
tumn of 1911 asking to obtain for him
a message from Tolstoy. Something
that the philosopher had never writ
ten before was the request made by
the emperor. writes Hector Elliot In
the Los Angeles Times.
The car, DESTROYS of obliging his
"cousin"-all sovereigns claim blood
and divine acknowledgements
Countess Nastasia Tolstoy, grand
niece of the sage, to interview Leo
Nicolaevitch, as he was Familiarity
called, and to secure from him the de-
sired document.
This prophetic message, singularly
timely at this hour, is known as "Tol-
stoy's Vision" by his admirers.
Printed in Russian in 1912 it was
translated and first circulated among
the friends of the great Moscovite
philosopher as privately-printed and
little-known pamphlet.
Following the royal command,
Countess Tclstoy visited her grand
uncle at his country estate and ex-
planned briefly her mission. He lis
tened curiously and replied:
Every strange. would be glad to
send message to royalty, but the
trouble with me that have written
all my life messages for the mob.
am not accustomed to the conven-
tions of court diction. However,
will think the matter over"
A few moments afterwards her
aged host asked the countess to write
as his hands were then paralyzed.
Tolstoy slowly leaned back in his
chair, covered his eyes with his hand
and remained absolutely silent. Then
Strengthening up like one in trance,
he began in low and hollow voice:
"This is a revelation of events OF
universal character, which must
shortly come to pass. Their spiritual
outlines are now before my eyes.
see floating upon the surface of the
sea of human fate, the huge silhouette
Of a nude woman. She is-with her
beauty, her poise, her smile, her
jewels-a super-Venus. Nations rush
madly after her, each of them eager
to attract her especially. But she,
like an eternal courtesan, flirts with
ALL In her hair ornament OF dia-
monds and rubies is engraved her
name: 'Conmercialism.' AS alluring
and bewitching as she seems, much
destruct. ! and agony follows in her
wake. her breath, reeking of sordid
transactions, her voice Of metallic
character of gold, and her look OF
greed are SO much poison to the ma
tions who fall victims to her charms.
"And behold, she has three gigantic
arms with three torches OF universal
corruption in her hand. The first
torch represents the flame Of war,
that the beautiful courtesan carries
from city to city, and country to
country. Patriotism answers with
flashes of honest flame, but the end
is the roar Of guns and musketry.
1.-THE second torch bears the flame
Of bigotry and hypocrisy. 1t lights
the lamps only in temples and on the
affairs of false institutions. 1t car
ries the seed Of falsity and fanati-
cism. 1t kindles the minds that are
still in cradles and follows them to
their graves.
"The third torch Is that of the law,
that dangerous foundation OF all I'M
authentic traditions, which first does
its work in the family, then sweeps
through the larger worlds of litera-
ture, art and craftsmanship.
1.-The great conflagration viii start