The Fayette falcon. (Somerville, Tenn.) 190?-current, 1915-04-09
OF War
Absurd Assumption That II Is
Necessary for Development
of Human Character.

10 tnose or us who regard the estab.
lishment of permanent and universal
peace as a contamination devoutly
to be wished" and who pray that this
may be the compensating outcome OF
the present war, 1t is disconcertlng to
discover that there are serious and
high-minded persons who believe that
such a peace would be most unfortu-
nate. War has certain factors which
are highly essential to the best devel.
opment Of human character, and must
be preserved therefore even at the
cost of blood and tears. War is hor-
rible; but 1t is mans only sure protec-
tion against his weaker, more slothful,
more cowardly self, and therefore in
the long run is worth its stupendous
cost. II is this that Professor Cramb
argues in his Germany and England"
"The ideal of peace" he says, has
never yet been realized, not because
man is unable, but because he is UNI
willing, to achieve it. In war
man has possession he values above
religion, above industry, above social
comforts; in war he values the power
which 1t affords to life of rising above
life, the power which the spirit of man
possesses to pursue the ideal"
Argument Against War.
1t Is evident that what men value In
war is the martial and heroic virtues
which 1t fosters. With this we can
sympathize. But wherein is 1t possible
to accept the conclusion, based upon
this premise, that war should be en-
couraged and peace discouraged? To
argue thus is to initiate the famous
Chinese In Charles Lambs "Disserta-
ton on Roast Pig" 1t will be re-
membered that this Mongol was so I'M
fortunate as to have his home de-
stroyed by fire, but found partial COM
pensation in the discovery that his pig.
which had been burned to death, pro-
vided delicious roast for dinner. He
soon shared his discovery with his
neighbors, who straightway put their
pigs In their kitchens and burned their
houses to the ground, that they them
selves might partake of this new and
wonderful delicacy Of roast pork.
What would have happened to Chinese
civilization had there not appeared q
wise man who showed that roast pig
could be obtained without the expen-
sive process of burning houses is not
difficult to surmise.
The application of this story to the
argument Of our war champions today
is evident. War, like the oriental's loss
Of his house by fire, has Its advan-
tages no doubt; nothing in this divine
world is wholly bad. But wherein is 1t
necessary to continue the horrors Of
war in order to secure these advan- !,
tagesf Why destroy the whole ediflce
Of civilization In order to foster heroic
virtues In the human heart? Are there
not safer ways Of achieving this same
end? Are there not other conflicts as
hazardous as armed battle with our
fellows and fully as conducive to the
development Of dauntless courage and
chivalrous sacrifice? What about war
against nature, the forest, the sea, the
vicissitudes of season and climate" Of
which Professor Cramb himself
speaks? What about war against po-
litical corruption, industrial oppres-
sion, social denominations of every
kind? What about men like Savona-
rola, Wesley, David Livingstone, Cap
tain Scott, Jacob Riis, the Pilgrims,
the Quakers, the early Christians
we're these weaklings and towards be-
cause they fought on battlehelds Of
peacei
War Not Necessary.
We only have to think for moment
in order to see that 1t is ridiculous to
talk about international war as the
necessary foster-mother of martial
vigor and virtue. So far, 1t is true,
such war has been the only force that
has ever disciplined a whole commu-
nifty to idealism; but there is no rea-
son in the nature Of things why peace
cannot be made to provide an equal
discipline and produce an equal ideal
ism. Our task Is not to preserve war.
but to redeem peace. And 1t may be
well to make It plain that the first con-
dition Of the redemption Of peace is
the abolition Of war.-John Haynes
Holmes.