The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1915-06-17

\
rely for vindication wholly upon the
strength of the position taken.
| Among the influences which gov
ernments employ in dealing with
each other there are two which arc
/, force and persuasion. Force speaks
with firmness, and acts through the
i ultimatum; persuasion employs ar
: gument, courts investigation and do
ponds upon negotiation. Force rep
! resents the old systematic system
that must pass away; the persuasion
represents the new systematic sys-
/ tenn that has been growing, all too
slowly, it is true, but growing for
nineteen hundred years. In the old
system war is the chief cornerstone
war which at its best is little bet
ter than war at it's worst; the new
system contemplates an universal
brotherhood esta blished through the
uplifting power Of example.
Bitter Against Strife.
eff l correctly interpret the note
to Germany it conforms to the stand
ards of the old system rather than
to the rules of the new and l cheer
ported by neutrality-suspicious.
written in characters of blood upon
almost every page of human history.
Austria furnished the most recent
precedent; it was Austria's firmness
that dictated the ultimatum against
Serbia which set the world at war.
Every ruler now participating in this
unparalleled conflict has proclaimed
his desire for peace and denied re-
sponsbility for the war and 1T is only
charitable that we should credit all
of them with good faith. They de-
sire peace, but they sought it accord
! ing to the rules of the old system.
They believed that firmness would
give the best assurance of the main
tenance of peace, and, faithfully fol-
lowing precedent, they went SO near
the fire that they were, one after an
other, sucked into the contest. New
err before have the frightful follies OF
this fatal system been SO clearly re-
vealed as now. The most civilized
aye, the most christian, of the ma
tions of Europe, are graphing with
each other as if in death struggle.
TThey are sacrificing the best and
brayest of their sons on the battle
field. they are converting their gar
! dens into cemeteries and their homes
| into houses of mourning; they are
taxing the wealth OF today and lay
| ing a burden of debt on the toll OF
the future; they have filled the air
with thunder bolts more deadly than
those of Jove and they have multi
Piled the perils of the deep.
New Horrors Of War.
adding fresh fuel to the flames OF
hate. they have daily devised new
horrors, until one side is endeavor-
ling to drown non-combatant men,
women and children at sea, while the
Iother side seeks to starve non-com-
Blatant men, women and children on
land. And they are so absorbed in
alternate relations and in competi-
tive cruelties that they seem for the
| time being, blind to the rights OF
neutrals and deaf to the appeals OF
humanity. A tree is known by its
fruit. The war in Europe has ripen-
ed fruit of the old system.
This is what firmness, supported
by force, has done in the old world;
we invite it to cross the Atlantic?
Already the jingoes of our own coun-
try have caught the rabies from the
dogs of war; shall the opponents OF
organized slaughter be silent While
the disease spreads?
Seeks Lasting Peace.
"As an humble follower of the
Prince of Peace; as a devoted believ-
err in the prophecy that "they that
take the sword shall perish with the
sword" l beg to be counted among
those who earnestly urge the adop-
ton of a course in this matter which
will leave no doubt of our govern
ment's willingness to continue nego-
tiations with Germany until an annie
able understanding is reached, or at
least until the stress of war is over,
we can appeal from Philip drunk
with carnage to Philip sobered by
the memories Of an historic friend
ship and by recollection of the in
Vulnerable ties Of kinship that bind
the fatherland to the United States.
'Some nation must lead the world
out of the black night of war into
the world of the, day when swords
shall be beaten into plowshares.'
Why not make that honor ours?
Some day-why not now?-the ma
tons will learn that enduring peace
cannot be built upon fear-that- good
will does not grow upon the stalk OF
violence. Some day the nations will
place their trust in love, the weapon
for which there is no shield; in love
that suffereth long and is kind; in
love that is not easily provoked, that
beareth all things, believeth all
things, hopeth all things; endureth
all things; in love though despised
as weakness by the worshippers OF
Mars, abideth when all else fails.
w. j. BRYAN