The Washington herald., 1915-12-19
By JAMES MORGAN.

BY JAMES MOk0AN.
On the western front and on the cast
crn and by the shore of the Black Sea,
The warring powers striking at one
another over fallen nations, but the new
southern front in the Balkans is moving
down toward n crowded graveyard OF
ALLEN natioDs in Macedonia
This latest battle-ground, to which the
fortune of war is leading the six contend
ing empires in the running tight for the
mastery OF the earth. is SO filled with
ghastly suggestions and grim warnings
as to strike terror to their hearts were
the conbatants man instead of war ma
chimes. For the fate of empire is writ
large in blood and ruin across that Mace
DOMAIN plain, an awful desolation wrought
by $50 years of military strife. AS the
armies of France and England hurry over
it 10 grappIe with Germany and Austria
on the road 10 Constantinople. their line
OF advance is strewn with the wrecks of
those who have gone before them in the
path OF imperial conquest. OF those
Whose game was empire and whose
stakes were thrones.
Whose tabI,. earth, whose dice human
bJnc..
The Great DclusiOn.
/, is enough TO make the gods OF
uciehborinS Olympus weep 10 see the
English and French landing in the shade
Of the seven lowered citadel OF Salonlca
to take up their parts in the same old
tragedy which SO often has been enacted
om that stage, where empire after empire
has strutted and fretted its hour and
then been heard no more. Only little
way from that port on the Aegean
litter Of stones marks the now dcsolatc
sitc of PelIa Their. is the veritable
birthplace of empire. that mad dclusion
which after sevcnty-five generations still
holds mankind in its snare. There, IN
thai capital of Philip of Macedon, inn
IrrialiSm born
Before then kingdoms warred, II Is
true. but generally in anger and to kill
their cneme.; carry them of in slav-
crv But the Maccdonians had a new
idea, They would take up warfare in
,nd blood and make a business of 1t. |
They would not wage wars of extermina- |
ton They would enslave whole king :
doms rather than individuals. In short. !
they would form great empire OF fallen
nations, and live and prosper by govern /
ing the world with the sword.
Two Ideals side by side.
While that ideal of military despotism
was springing up i'll Balkan tribe in
Macedonia. the ideal of liberty and indie
pcndence was Towering only few miles
away on the little peninsula below them. |
where Greece was norrishing in her gold
On age. With every town of hers a /
kingdom in itself. she was dreaming Of l
an empire Of the mind while the bar
barans at her fronter-"l rude and
clownish people that call a spade a
.spade"-werc dreaming OF empire of
force.
As the Nacedonians crowded in upon
their cultured and disunited neighbors.
Demosthenes thundcrcd at their COM
maa6cr in great orations that have given
us the word 'philippic'' But Philip was
not to he deferred by debating society
like the Greek democracies and repub-
lies. In vain they appealed from Philip
drunk with victory to Philip sober; there
is no SOLDERING off from military conquest
Greece was living Greece no more, and
for twenty centuries she remained the
spoil of alien conquerors. Philip made SO
young son and heir, Alexander, took '
alarm and complained to his playmates.
My father will leave me nothing TO do"
But people who start out to rule this
world always have plenty to do. as Alex
ander's ghost could bear witness today
IL It should visit the ruins of Pella and
review the passing armies of the twen-
tieth-century empires. Indeed the inn
patient youth was only 20 when he sud-
denly found his hands full. For as his !
father was about to set out for the sub
jugation Of Persia. the only form of re-
call provided in q military empire was in
voked, and Philip was assassinated.
Alexander Spreading Culture.
King had taken care that his son
should not have any of the disadvan-
tages that had made his father man.
and Alexander had been sent to school |
in Greece, where he had Aristotle for
his teacher. The pupil from the Mace
donian wilds received also in Greece
Diogenes. when he asked him if there
was not some favor he could do him.
and the old cynic answered. Yes; 1
would snd have We. you stand Th.1 from between
to the world exclaimed in envy of the
man whose empire was barrel
Were I not Alexander. / would be
With his Greek veneering. Alexander
determined TO spread Creek culture
over the earth with his sword. He did
indeed spread il wide, but necessarily
thin.
All succeeding empires have emu
lated their archetype and each has
culture. Roman culture meant law;
Spanish. faith, and British, order, as
German kultur means efficiency But |
unhappily there is never enough cul-
ture to go around, and when the sup
ply is exhausted chaos quickly fol-
lows.
On his arrival in Asia Alexander was
greeted by Persian ambassador,
Parmenio by name, who came to tell
him that Darius was ready to go
halves with him and divide the world
said Parmenio, ''were 1 Alexander" 1t
was not a bad offer to be received
by a youg man only just turned %.
But the Macedonian youth scorned 1t
with the reply. And SO would !, were
I Parmenio."
Alas. the imperialist never can brook
an equal or q rival And since there
were not two suns in Heaven, Alex
ander argued that there would not be
room In Asia for another than him
men filled the east with fallen ma
tione. and. in the brief gpaca Of ten