American Falls press. [volume] (American Falls, Idaho) 1907-1937, 1917-06-22

centuries. what determines rho hhe-
up.
The people Of d nation arc always
told that another nation has insulted
fhe.l honor, plotted against their sa-
cred rights. or broken q treaty. i'm all
the bloody sQuabbles that have taken
place in the nineteenth century, states
men have never neg ected To appeal in
such fashion to- mems ethical in
stuct- Napoleon, the greatest az
gIessor oil modern history. never made
a wan oil aggression. tie WAS always
defending France "cnastising trail
tors. or "iiberating suppressed ma
tiOnalities. in the fifteen years in
which Frenchmen played Napoleon's
personal games. they found themselves
successfully the friends and the
enemies OF every important nation in
Europe except England. Sometimes
their friends became their enemies al
most overnight. The Prussians shot
with them on the way into Russia, and
at them on the way out. The SaXOns
changed sides in the midst OF the
battle of Leipzig. The Austrians be-
came their allies when Napoleon mar
ried Marie Louise, and their enemies
once more after the retreat from Mos
COW. The Spaniards, within the
space of a year, were three times Of
ficially told to change sides.
king-Made Wars.
such sudden changes of the national
position have produced curious re-
suits. In 1862 Russia, which had been
lighting Prussia to a standstill, sud
denly got a new monarch, and as sud
denly switched from being an enemy
to being a devoted friend OF Frederick
the Great. The Russian armies, which
had been lighting side by side with
the Austrians. now campaigned against
them.
But something more fantastic was to
1, follow. Within a few months Russia
got still another monarch in the EN-
press Catherine. Catherine was a
great ruler, but also a woman She
decided to switch back to the Austrian
alliance, for no other reason than that
Frederick had salt catty things about
her to a mutual friend, VI. NOltaire
But, having come upon some letters
from Frederick TO her late husband
J and having discovered that the Prus-
? sian king vas not an enemy but al
admirer of hers, she changed her mine
t So she called it quits.
T. The Russian army, all this time, wa
j. on the battlefield, waiting to be toll,
whom to shoot. But Frederick an,
o the Russian. general Czernichef, wh'
= between them had killed thousands o
$ each others soldiers in the past, wer
e warm personal friends. And. as a per
f sonal favor to Frederick. Czerniche
n rlfrnf.9R eafraaFnpH r An fha hgrffa
field while Frederick went in and de
teated the Austrians, thus PRACTICAL
deciding the war.
d But nations. or at least statesmen
change their minds as readily as VIC
e men. France and England, who ar
now ayowedly fighting to obtain Con
: stantinople for Russia, fought throug
r most of the nineteenth century to kee
- it from her. In the Crimean War the
lined up shoulder to shoulder with th
intidel Turk for this purpose. And
:, 1877, after Russia had defeated Tul
key, they interviewed TO keep the Ba
kans out of her grasp. During a
: this time Russia, according to Bis
81 marck's policy, was the natur,
" friend and ally" of Germany.
About 1900, when Russia was cas-
ing eyes toward India. Kipling wro-
IN OF her as the bear that walks lib
a man. About the same time an En-
et- lish statesman in the house Of con
Is. mons declared that Germany was Il
70 natural blood kin and ally of Englan
and that France was her tradition
:. enemy"
1t was about this time that Fran.
ue and England came close TO blows o
III err African matters-a crisis avoid.
by trading the rights over small u
on tons Morocco for Egypt. In Il
or Balkan war, Serbia. an ally of Bu
do garia in the holy war against Tu
as key. became overnight Bulgaria
his enemy in am un-Christian s|Quabble O
Ter err the spoils, On the other han
rn- Prussia and Austria. natural enemie
for a century. became after Is
ION friends and allies tn a compact IN
Dut brought on the present war. II is I
ommon event i'm history for peopl
70 who are bitter enemies to becol
friends and allies" within a il
months after the treaty of peace.
The Appeal To "SaeIed Instincts
All these moves in The political gar
lo' are. Of course. accompanied 10y {
usual olIlcldl Appeals 70 sacred
OF stincts. II is a part of the busin.
DO of politicians TO know which "sacl
instincts suit their convenience
the the moment. Germany went in sh
the ing armor to China in 1900 TO prot
an the lives of Christian missionari'
IA. but she finds il i-ncouvenient TO int
fere at this time with the atrOcit
of her ally Turkey in Armenia. y
during the decades when England "
backing Turkey against Russia.
she find it necessary 10 intervene
All force of arms to protect Christian
geu Nor yet was France constrained
am interfere in force to prevent the for
the labor practised by her ally Belgi
in the Congo.
den Just how the politicians can ?