The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1916-11-24

There is much talk on prepared
ness; of bigger army; of training all
young people for military service; Of
turning our schools and colleges into
great training camps; of building a
bigger and more powerful navy; of
preparing this or that system Of de-
fense-forts and mines. and munitions
factories; of transportation; all for
war-getting ready for fighting, to kill
men.
1t seems sometimes that a kind of
insanity has seized upon the people
superinducel by the Great War, the
contagion Of the awful blood mania of
Europe and the high ideals of peace
and the brotherhood of men and Of
Christ have been totally eclipsed.
From this we have others who talk
of preparedness as applied to the COM
mercial and the industrial realms
We are urged to take this or that
program of trade expansion, looking
for fercer war Of money when the
bloody struggle shall close Let us
be prepared for this mighty titanic
struggle that is inevitable. We can
expect the keenest and bitterest war
fare of competition the world has
even seen.
Again others with broader vision
are advocating preparedness of civic
and national institutions. an economic
and political preparedness for the
strain that is due TO come to our or
CARNATIONS in the aftermath of the
war and as accompaniment of the re-
adjustments that must be made in the
worlds relationship. A prepared cit
enship-prepared institutions and or.
CARNATIONS thru industrial and eco
nomic adjustments to face and safely
TO pass the years OF stress.
And who shall determine, nay. who
can determine just the wisest course:
how shall We as a nation, as people,
face these critical years? To what
extent ought we to adopt the mill
tary preparedness program? The
proposed schemes for industrial and
economic preparedness, ard the pleas
for prepared citizenship and polit-
ical institutions. These ideas of pre-
paredness have been inevitable con.
sequence of war. Has our great
army Of Sunday Schoo, workers any
program of preparedness any contri.
button to make? Or ace we out of our
province and shall we be disinterested
onlookers Upon the affairs of human
history and development?
No; but for such time as this we
are come to the place of influence
and power Not as isolated firm the
tremendous issues involved. but by
the grace of God, participants in max
ing of the history, and not in the con.
spicuous and spectacular ways sug-
gested in other preparedness pro.
grams, but in the quiet and powerful
realm OF forming character-prepar.
ing manhood and womanhood.
The preparedness the world needs
is the preparation of the Gospel of
Peace in every relationship of men
of sound manhood and womanhood; OF
righteous laws: of Justice and mercy
in affairs of the nations as among
men. Peace can come only when
Righteousness reigns, when justc and
mercy control the relations of men
Jesus came preaching a kingdom OF
state Of society and that preaching
has a direct bearing upon our duties
as members of society and of the
state.
II Waterloo was won on the play
grounds Of English schools; much
more may Americas great victory as
the leader of world peace grow out
of the quiet, steady, and faithful teach.