The Liberal democrat. [volume] (Liberal, Kan.) 1911-1924, 1916-12-08
WAR AND THE MIND


| There are considerable number
Pof Canadians up here atBattle Creek,
at least one of them being member
of the Canadian parliament. 1 have
4 talked with few Ind have talked
with others who have talked with
still other Canadians, so that 1 am
able to form some Judgment of the
present Canadian state of mind. The
first thing that impresses me is the
devoted loyalty of these Canadians to
the mother country. Just why this is
so is trife difficult to understand.
So far as l know Canada is under no
great debt of gratitude to England.
The provinces of Canada have been
permitted to take care of themselves,
which by the way they are fully COM
petent to do. They have paid their
own way and they have governed
themselves.
| About all England does for Can
ada is to send over some member of
the royal family who has no other
respectable job to occupy his time to
whom the high sounding but empty
title of governor general is given. His
job Is entirely ornamental. He does
not pretend to govern, which is wise
on his part for he certainly would get
into trouble If he should undertake to
live up to his title, and try to run
things in the provinces.
! For anything can see Canada
has been fully as well off as an in
dependent government, which wish
it were. The second thing that i'm
presses me is the view these Canadi-
ans seem to hold toward the United
States in regard to the war. They
seem to believe that 1t Is our duty to
take a hand in the fight over the
water. They really seem to believe
that we should have declared war on
Germany right at the start on gener-
al principles. They do not. think we
should have waited for any specific
act of insult or injury on the part of
Germany, but just jumped in and
taken hand in the fight.
It is useless to argue with them.
One of the evils of war is that it rem
ders those concerned in it, at any rate
those directly concerned, incapable of
reasoning calmly and logically on
anything pertaining to war. 1t breeds
a spirit of hatred and intolerance
which prevents clear and fair reason
ing. Neither. is this state of mind to
be wondered at. If your near and
dear relatives were on the firing line,
If some of them had already been
killed and others in deadly and daily
peril. in all probability you would
not be capable of taking sane and
fair view of the situation. You
would no doubt feel that everybody
ought to be sympathetic with you
and willing to take a hand in the
fight to help you and yours. F
! Canada has suffered a great deal
in this war. The various provinces
have raised or will raise an army
of half a million men. Perhaps hall
that number have already been sent
across the water to take an active
lpart in the fighting in France. These
Canadian troops have been among
the very best among the allied forces,
and they have suffered terrible losses.
Some of the Canadian regiments have
been wiped almost out of existence.
The number of Canadian families
mourning for lost relatives is very
large. and getting larger all the time.
1t Is not to be wondered at that they
cannot take calm and reasonable
view Of the situation.
To have plunged our nation into
fwar would seem to the vast majority
of the people of the United States to
be an act of not only the sheerest fol-
ly but crime; but our viewpoint and
that of the Canadians is vastly differ
EMIT. A. McNeal in Mail and
Breeze.