The Idaho Springs siftings-news., 1915-08-14
The War God
Communicated

"PPalillR uetalIS OF the awful ca
tastrophe of war that daily con-
fronts US in the press, l am re-
minded of the reply made by
father to his boy who asked, "Pa,
what is the difference between
civilized man and a barbarian"
The father answered, "A barbar-
ian is man who knocks your
brains out with a club at arms
length, while civilized man
blows them out a mile awav.''
The present situation in Europe
demonstrates, if any demonstra-
ton is needed, that there is no
such thing as civilized warfare.
War is butchery. 1t is wholesale
murder. 1t stands for sorrow,
suffering and death AS well talk
OF a constructive tornado as civil
lied warfare.
Like some mighty Sampson,
the war god seems to be at work
to pull down the temple of civil
lzation, and turn the clock of pro-
sress back into the Dark Ages.
half OF the world is convulsed bv
the earthquake of war, The de-
Vastlons of the fire and sword 90
on daIly.e A continent is torn and
ruined by this awful Moloch.
Through the inventive genius
OF man, new and tremendous dangers
lace the dismayed inhabitants in the
cataclysm of war. In terror they
must flee from their homes in the dead
OF the night, leaving all they have be-
hind. lest some bomb, spreading ruin
death, is dropped upon their defense
less heads from the sky.
The nerve-racking terror and the
awful catastrophe of ruin caused by
all that attends war such vast pro-
portions as the present one can only
be realized by those who are compelled
to face the situation. Human suffer
ing is the inevitable symbol of War.
1t is sufficient to stagger the imagina-
tion and cause the heart to grow faint
lens of thousands of men are but the
pawn in the game of the nations, to be
slaughtered-fed to the cannon to main
tam what is called national honor and
commercial supremacy, Many of the
sufferers are the widow and orphans
who are lei to mourn in poverty and
unspeakable loneliness, as victims of
the great military struggle. Poverty,
ruin, hunger, and famine are the real
members of the alliance
Then comes the burden of grinding
taxation, to foot the bills caused by
the expenditure of funds necessary to
defray the expenses of the bloody con-
test. What the tremendous total will
be, no one can ever guess. If the war
is much longer continued, it Is sure to
bring financial disaster, resulting in
the opllteration of credit. War means
paraIyzed industries and staggering
and.debt after the glory of victory and
dispair of defeat will come busines de.
preston
And when will war cease? Never
while sin is in the earth. The present
de ath struggle will doubtless end soon
er or later. when some nation has won
a conclusive victory or have all worn
themselves out. But peace will not be
permanent or long continued Not
till the Prince of peace comes and all
nations are carried away like the chaff
from the threshing floor and the ever
lasting kingdom of God is ushered in
will there be real pecce.
Men may talk of peace, and peace
compacts may be negotiated with the
nations, and all this is laudaole, to
be sure. But in the end the work will
come to naught. War will come again
Armageddon is ahead of US, .strug-
gle before which the present contest
pales in comparison
Joel A. MaxamI
Elder of the Seventh Day Adventist
church