The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1915-10-21
And then for over thirty pages the poet

And then for over thirty pages the poet
dissects modern civilization in a way to
confirm mis- conviction. The liberty for
which Europe is fighting on bloody fields
would not have been won by peace. Toe
imperceptible degree forward which this
war is accomplishing justifies the pay
| ment which men have elected to make.
If men had known truth this particular
kind of toll would not have been extract
ed. Will men grow wise and seek for
truth? The average man has no volun-
tary desire to do so. Then war must
drive in him the desire. and from desire
he will pass to realization of it. He
addresses himself to the ''proud work
ers of the world" in whom he has faith
that they will see the light of truth if
they will but liberate themselves from
the bonds of convention, and the bonds
of convention are locked around their
lives with the key of money-makmg.
And this means that
the farmer must go on turning his crops into
money, striving to beat his neighbor-
though his true reward were his labor
though God working beside him were
left unseen, unheard;
II means that the preacher must go on adul-
terating truth with financial considera-
tions-a POISONOUS mixture;
IL HlSdHS tIdI Tue average man must go on
wanting material possessions envying
wealth, never content;
1t means that evil must go on being bribed and
bought off by gifts of gold;
1t means that the gold for the brides must go
on being given by those who have profit
ed through the evil--convention's WIDEN
ing circle;
1t means that the spirit must go on being cru
CITED, and love go on being slain.
From the Individual blindness to truth
Mr.. Cocord takes up the national blind
ness, and illustrates it in the political
and moral iniquities of the principal war;
ring nations of Europe.
The section on America is the veritable
voice of Walt Whitman. 1t is national
ode unequalled in its chastisement, its
| love, its hope, its marvellous opportunity
| for fulfilling the Vision of Man. Then
the poem rolls along in rhapsody to the
| close in vision of universal brotherhood.
His spiritual vision of war has brought
the world to realization of peace. After
| the battle of nations man must arm for
the fight of Self earn for the secret,
never ending strife! Arm for the hardest
war of alp
And o, the day of days, see-the vision ris-
| ing-standing clear 60 vision full. i'm
peccablel o dream secure! o long march
| justified! o perfect day! O certain day!
Democracy of the World. see! Republic of
| Humanity! The Brotherhood of Mani
Here is poet who has found civiliza-
ton i'll unto death. The quacks have
been In and relieved the symptoms with
their drugs Of idealism. But this gen.
eral surgeon allows the pains to intensity
to locate the disorders. The patient can
be saved, he declares, but we must use
the knife. She will suffer, but she will
also recover. This knife is war. 1t goes
into the very organisms of human So
ciety and cuts the malignant parts out.
Its curative, this instrument of pain,
the wound heals and the patient grows
well and healthy. This is Mr.. Colcord' s
VISION" and through it he leads US to
the goal of peace.
Vision of War. By Lincoln Colcord. New
York: The Macmillan Company.