The Washington herald., 1914-08-04
Com,pensations Of war.

war is hell said Cen Sherman, and it has been
the curse of the ages; and yet great war has one
compensation. II is the biggest and most cyclonic
event in civilization and it compels the mind of man
to dwell on big things; big plans to carry the
but bigger efforts from bigger minds and bigger con-
gregations of men to prevent or minimize or conhne
the rayages of war. 1t is like great scourge of FIRE
or food or coutagion. 1t compels to forget the
little things of life and realize that civilization means
the centerng of the greatest human intelligence on
plans to help humanity out of great trials.
The people of the United States are not in danger
of being drawn into this conflict of great empires,
but they are concerned because they are humane and
Christian and all the teaching of humanity and Chris
tianity here eliminated in nation made up from the
best blood of all nationalities and all races, compel
them sympathize and attempt to their fell
low-man wherever he may be. The situation eompeis
American manhood and womanhood to give their
best intelligence their broadest sympathy and their
most patriotic efforts to demonstration of the truth
that man does not live unto himself alone and that
this nation has higher ideals than the mere selfish
one of proting by the msfortunes of those who live
within the great war the other side of the
Atlantic.
In the face of such disaster as general Euro
pean war; we how triAing have been some
of the agitations here home well as there, in
which men. and women have engaged as though the
salvation of the world depended upon the of
their efforts In the general peace and prosperity
of the past decade there has possibly been tendency
to drift away from the important things of life the
summer idler does when he throws off the yoke Of
daily effort dreams by the seashore in the woods,
and becomes irritable over the buzzing of mosquitoes,
the crawling of ants or the swish of flies about his
nose. We take up the little things of life in the alb
sence of big things and the little things become all
absorbing.
The muckrakers, the uplifters the reformers of
high and low degree find rich field in the ease Of
the multitude, and they go in to reap the harvest.
The little men of little minds project themselves on
the daily and monopoize public attention. They
have been doing that now for more than decade,
and they in with general peace and prosperity
If the war in Europe again brings to the front the
big of America to project big plans to conserve
the credit the business and the sanity of the people
here and help to minimize the ravages of general
European war, it will help to demonstrate that great
good follows great evil and that greater and more
lasting peace follows the footsteps of great cata-
clysms either in human affairs or those of nature.
America will again be compelled to realize that we
have great men and patriotic in business and in
politics. and that the stings OF mosquito-ke muck
rakers and agitators have been only the tring irr
ations of idle vacation days We may return to honor
the captains of industry recognize that have hon
est business well gamblers, statesmen as
well politicians, great preachers of truth well
wild exhorters of petty reform, and that after all
the great majority is honest conservative, humane,
lberty-loving and sane. The muckrakers and re-
formers have only been vacation rritations. We are
back at work dealing with serious things with ser-
thoughts and serious purposes. If the kills
off the great army of muckrakers of the world that
will be one compensation