Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1916-12-31

must confess that il is wonderful--in its
way. We must now exhibit the future,
"FIe showed us slaugh,crs more terrible
In their destruction OF life. more der-
astatins in their engines Of Var. than
any we had seen
lyon perceive, he said that You have
made continual progress. Cain did his
murder with club: the hebrews dih
their murders with iavclins and swords:
tho Greeks and Romans added protective
armor and the fine arts oi military or
SaniXation and .cneralshir tho Christian
has added guns and Sunrowdcr: fcw
centuries from now he will have so great
~ improved the deadly effectiveness OF
his weapons OF slaughter that all men
will confess that without Christian civiii-
2ation war must have renamed poor
and t.ilins thing to the end OF time
Then lie began to lauGh.
Satan laughed his unkind laugh TO a
finish: then he said
ut is a remarkable progress. In five
or six thousand years tive or six high civil
lizatons have risen. hourished. command
ed the wonder OF The world, then faded
CIT and disappeared: and not ono OF them
except the latest ever invented any sweep
ing and adequate way 70 Kill people.
They all did their hest-to Kill being the
choicest ambition of the human race and
the earliest incident in its hstory-hut
triumph 10 be proud Of. Two or 'hrce
centuries from now IL will bc recognized
that all the competent killers are Chris
iians: then tho PAGAN world will 90 To
school TO tho Christian-no 10 acpuirc
his religion but his guns. The Turk an
the Chnaman Will bay those 10 kill mis-
SionaricS and converts With,
The clever boy Thcodor tries 10 argue
with Satan that man shows his Supe
riority by his sense Of humor. but Mark
Twain. the humoris;. speaking through
Satan. ridiculcs mans humor
".rrhcre spoke the race, said Satan:
always ready 10 claim villa, il hasn't got.
and mistake its ounce of brass filings for
ton Of cold-lusi You have q mongrei
perception Of humor, nothing more:
multitude Of YOU possess that. This null
titude see the comic side Of a thousand
lowgrade and trivial things broad in
coneruties. mainly; crotcsnuercs. alb
surdities. evokers of the horse.laugh. The
ten thousand high.srade comicaities
which exist in the world are scaled from
their dull vision. ~
"'Will q day come when tho race will
detect the funniness Of these juvenilities
and laugh at thcm-and by laughing Mt
them destroy them? For your race in
It's poverty. has unauestionably one really
effective weapon laughter. Power.
money. persuasion. supplication. persecu-
tion--these can lift al a colossal humbug
push il littie-wcaken II a little. CEN
tury by century; but only laughter can
blow il 10 rags and atoms al a blast.
Against the assault Of laushter nothing
can stand. You are always fussing and
Hshting with your other weapons. Do
you ever use that one? No: you leave IT
lying rusting. As race. do YOU ever
use IL at all? No: YOU lack sense AMI
the courage"
Perhaps the hirtcrest and airangest
,.;a To NV
Mark Twain in he closing pages. Satan
says that he is going away and will
never see tho boys again.
In this life satan, hlfi in another
question, question Theodor we shall meet in
made the strange answer. There is no
other