The Bolivar County Democrat., 1919-04-05

nhtAnCf llltN were Ut uOL. - SODu
many more have been blinded. Grip
pied, nervously shocked beyond the
hope Of recovery. The number Of
women-either wives, sweethearts or
sisters-who had to suffer because Of
1t no statistics can give US. Libra
ries, universities-all the accumulation
that comes down from one generation
to another, which spells civilization in
Seryia. in Syria, in Armenia. in north
ern France, in Belgium-have gone by
the board; all work Of progress, edu-
cation and enlightenment even in the
balance of the world has been halted.
All the peoples Of the world nearly are
to be weighted down for generations
to come by debt until national and in
ternational bankruptcy are threatened
Some Important Questions.
Is it worth while to prevent the re-
currence Of all this? Are we idiOtical-
ly to stand aside, hands folded and
heads empty. saying: 1--WE can do
nothing?" Does not the question an
swer itself? Shall little senator, or
a petty member of congress, or little
member of the house of commons, or
little member of the French legisla-
tive assembly. here and there, speak
ing the language of cynicism. or pes
simism, or hypocrisy, or simply par
tisan hate. prevent II all by saying
that it is "impracticable" or "impos-
| sible" when he has never studied the
! question far enough to know whether
| it is or it is not impracticable or impos-
| sible? Is there anything impossible to
man, provided he has behind him thc
will to freedom and casts Uht of his
heart the will to power? l think not.
| [ think moreover that the little soul,
| self-cente%ed, virOnment-encircled
OF party-encompass ed-which today Is
| attempting to weaken the influence or
| the president of the United States
while he is in Europe. trying as best
he can to make out Of this aspiration
"devoutly to be wished "consumma-
| ton" will live to regret his acts and
| his utterance, and when his memory
| brings up to him few years from now
his present course he will pray to Coo
to be delivered from this body OF
DEATH" or what is worse, the memory
of this body of death. The prophets
and the seers and the poets of the
world have not been fools. The So
called practical men, who are fools as
rule, have only deemed them to be
so, because their own souls were not
broad enough to comprehend.
Tennyson refers to the fact that fire.
quently knowledge comes and wisdom
fingers" knowledge comes to the So
called practical man in bis opinion
and sometimes in reality; wisdom not
only fingers with him, but never comes
at all. 1t is only to seers, (and seers are
merely see-ers with one "e" elld-
ed and poets and prophets and ideal
lists that wisdom comes. I firmly be-
lieve that wisdom has finally come In
its international guise to those OF US
who insist that this treaty of peace
shall not be confined to questions OF
boundaries, indemnities, compensations
and penalties, as important as all these
are and as important as it is that they
should be taken care of; but shall go
further and include, as far as human
wisdom and human ingenuity and hu-
man love can include them, provisions
to keep the peace which we have con-
ouered, and to prevent the recurrence
of struggles such as that through
which we have just passed-struggles
not only savage and barbarously in
sane, but. worse yet, scientific. il the
"science" of the world, which is a
word in its original meaning signify
ing merely knowledge" is to have as
its chief aim among men the destruc-
ton of one another, then indeed II
is true that knowledge comes but wis
dom lingers.'
Americas Task Not Ended.
There are people who think that
|. armistice means peace. There are
. people who think that peace, no mat
, ter how determined, is sufficient. They
are both mistaken. There are three
or four million men in Germany yet
that can be mobilized in forty-eight
hours-not as well armed and munl-
toned as they were, but still danger
GUS There are anarchistic forces
there and elsewhere threatening the
destruction of the civilization of the
world. Americas task is not over; her
world task still cOnfronts her. Her
national task even is not through with ;
; money must be given freely, not only
. to the world task but to the national
task. Not only cash but the credit
of the American people must be ex'
tended; no man who loves the repub-
. lie or who loves humanity can regard
his sacrifices at an end now. Even II
we consider nothing but ourselves. our
bows must be brought home, and peace
conditions must be reconstructed, ana
countless things accompanied by great
expense must be done in order that
we may take up the plow where we
left il in the furrow and go on to the
end of the furrow" Even from the
narrowest standpoint it is perhaps
more important now than it was six
months ago for every man and woman
and child to sacrifice everything that
can be reasonably sacrificed in order
that after the war the crippled may
be taken care of. the fatherless and
widowed may be solaced, war condi'
tions may be turned into peace con-
ditions. the wages of labor may be ap'
nroximately maintained, and the prof
: it's OF capital not too suddenly reduced