The Washington herald., 1915-10-10

~h1ch are typthed by the soldier OF
fortune. the hired Hessisn. the Minute
Man of Concord and the drafted SOL
hier OF the huge modern army. and
discusses the causes of German su-
periority in this war.
Copyright. l9lS by Mcclw. Newspaper syrdi.tel
This war has thrust before the world
the question whether the whole hu-
man race must be organized for war
fare and all men be bred to arms
again as in the tribal age of man.
kind. 1t is a question which presses
upon the British nation. first of ALL
and which the United States even be-
yond the may not escape.
1t really seems as if humanity had
almost completed vicious circle
around this hard problem and today
finds itself perilously near the start
ing point where. with a sharpened
stone in his hand, man emerged from
the primeval chaos many thousands
of years ago.
For the first time in the history Of
civilization. entire nations are on the
warpath now as in the savage days
of old. This is not a fight merely be-
tween armies, but war between peo-
Piles, with every able bodied man a
soldier in France. in Germany. in Aus
tria, in Italy.
True, the women are not on the
march as in nomadic times, when the
world yet lived in tents. But all who
stay at home in shops and fields and
kitchens are enrolled beneath bay
onet rule regardless of sex and age,
and as much a part of the war ma
chine as those who stand in the
trenches.
In Germany. at least, even the chill
dren are military rations. And ,
everywhere. every hand that can lift
carry is serving the guns.
One step mc-e to the full circle
and then the abyss Must undrlled and |
unarmed nations. white and yellow.
take their place in that fateful march? |
Or dare they kore that this war may |
halt civilization at the brink of uni
versal militarism?
Civilization began when men began
to make other things than axes and |
spears and arrows. and began to do |
something else than hack and shoot |
one another. AS the arts of peace |
sprang up. warfare ceased to be the J
only employment, and instead of the |
whole tribe going to war, only an
army was sent.
The Soldier of Fortune.
As civilization developed. and men
adopted special trades. warfare, too,
became trade, and everywhere 1t
was left TO the men who followed it
for livelihood The warrior gave way
to the soldier-one who was paid. That
was what the word meant. And the [
soldier fought for pay. not for his
country.
In the middle ages, when the mod
ern nations still We're in the egg and
unmatched, national armies did not eX
ist. There really was no such thing
as nationality, no such thing as pat
riotism. Every castle and every city
had its band of hired bowmen or hal
berdiers Soldiers Of fortune from Ger
many. Switzerland, Italy. France.
Spain and the British Isles. full of
strange oaths and bearded like the
pard,' roamed over Europe, offer
ing their swords to the highest bid
der AS they went they drew after
them kindred spirits They were the
armed Pinkertons of their time, and
freely passed from one employer to
another Tod<y they fought for this
state: tomorrow they fought for its
foe. Even religious scruples did not
trouble them. Christians hired to Sar-
acens, and Shakespere's Othello was
Moslem aged by the Christian re-
public Of Venice to battle against the
Turk.
Prudent employers, indeed preferred
foreign soldiers because they more
easily got rid of them when no longer
needed. Englshmen were in high ia
vor in the Venetian market. where
Italians were looked upon with sus-
picion.
A Baseball Warfare.
HOSe Tles Oh 0UU
years ago were like our professional c
baseball teams. Often the home team I
did not have a home man on it but a
simply had signed up for a cam /
paign on the best terms it could get I
the players broke their {
contracts and. for higher pay. changed v
sides in the middle of a war. a
And they were capable of thing
unknown to professional baseball. /
They were not above Throwing a r
game" and taking money from the t
other side. e
At best. they were in no haste to t
win, for peace would put them out of o
business. In order that the Job might q
be prolonged. both armies in a war .