The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1917-12-15

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tary service. my scruples against
taking human life? AS strong as
ever; I believed in them; as a fight
ing pacifst / still believe in them.
Then why have become denatured?
Because my house is on FIRE. want
the fire put out ana my home pre-
served And / am not fool enough to
stop to inquire what KIND Of a fire
engine the company brings to aid
me; what is the diameter or the hose
or nozzle; whether it is right to use
the water on burning house when
it might be needed on some garden;
whether or not there are evils at
tending a PAD or volunteer organi-
zation of firemen; whether some OF
the firemen may be hurt In perform
ing their duty No, say, go ahead!
Put out the fire. Save my property"
But the taxes. When we were
children on the playground some
joker was wont to throw a stone or
stick into the air and give a haras-
sing yell: What goes up must come
down" AS a lesson in finance as
true. Congress can not throw the
stick of war expenditures into the
air without it coming down later in
the form of taxes. We shall know
and our children shall know what
heavy taxation really is.
But is IL not better to spend all
this money at once than to dribble 1T
along as the world has been doing in
keeping up a vast naval aand mill
tary system? 1t will be worth all
it costs If we can only free the
world from future wars and make
self -government safe and assured.
Now, you see why find myself on
the other side Of the fence. don't
waste much time in reading argu-
ments as to which side started the
thing, or whether our side or the
other commits more atrocities; also
as to whether we should keep our
forces at home. for our own defense
or send them over seas to aid. The
thing which makes me a denatured
pacifist, which dehorned me Cor
rather made me put on my horns),
is that somebody has kindled a fire
which threatens to burn UP the
worlds best property; that my home
and yours Is endangered. want TO
put out that fire, and want to do
II thoroughly.
Still Opposed to War.
Having become converted to neces-
sity, am less opposed to war? No.
/ am more than ever convinced Of
the folly, the horror. the utter USE
lessness OF war: consequently / want
to Danish 1T from the list OF possible
things. This can be done only by a
thorough eradication. To save a
mans life a surgeon will cut away
an affected part; will thoroughly
scrape and clean the adjacent por-
lions in order to prevent a return Of
the disease. / want to make a good
job Of this cleaning out the cancer
of war from the body polite. Iwant
no halfway measures. My sympathy
is duIled by the awfulness OF the
thing and the possibility that 1t may
come again. The flower Of my COLI
lege boys is gone-and gone to no
purpose whatever IL we leave the
thing unsettled. My sympathies are
touched by letters from anxious
mothers, begging me to find some
way Of saving their sons; but unless
future safety from impossible
theories is assured, later mothers
viii continue to lose their sons.
/ am convinced OF one thing: That
when the women have voice in the
show that they have always fought
the two WIS Of world sin. viz, war
and whisky. But the women viii
never get the opportunity unless
democracy prevails. The present
emperor Of Germany years ago voic-
ed the attitude OF absoIutism when
he said that woman's sphere should
be confined to children, cooking and
the kitchen.
Must Kill the Snake.
Meanwhile, my fellow pacifsts,
we must kill the snake and not sirn-
ply scotch it. Here may be the long,
desired opportunity of forming a.
family Of nations. of creating and
maintaining a league to enforce
peace even by force OF arms precise
ly as our cities are now policed to re-
strain the evil-minded. Such a fed
Grafton Of the world is now made
possible by improved means Of trans
portation and communication. This
very war will bring it ages nearer by
nation contact. Is II not strange that
America, the youngest among the
nations, should be called It'd the
providence OF God to save the world
IN this crisis. and probably 70 lead in
W0rid-recG Instruction, World~federa-
tions and World~peace3
Let us take hope, my fellow OPP
ponents Of unnecessary war; for out
Of evii shall come good. Let us not
stop now TO discuss what we shall
do after peace comess first we must
get peace by victory, and that IS
some distance away. Contradictory
as ID may sound. we shall continue
to fight ln order 70 secure peace.