The Taney County republican. (Forsyth, Mo.) 1895-1992, 1919-01-09
Some Lessons from History
WILLIAM (. FREELAND
Ala" + Nations

nan luo va - VIZ
means preven al t,o'e '4t.. n It
OF the men 50 ara, L. - sto9 ring thi'
notion seems TO b. aol, 4, ex Tess in
concrete form VIVA, thy propose
They paint us a beautiful word piclu'
but when we insist On approachirg G
closely and studying the conc'stc
details their picture vanishes and the
bare canvas alone remains, Itreminds
me Of mirag, in the desert. Alter
travelling many miles over the hor
sands until it seem that every cell oil
the Iamished body cries for thirst one
sees in the distance beautiful lake 0I
water. The unwarY traveller vii! leave
the beaten path experience has mad F.,
and seek to refresh himself bu! what
a tragic Disappointment is his Ate
toiling over the desert sand uaJil the
last DIT Of strength is gone and kept IT,
by the hope Of soon reaching the cool
ing water the wapderer suddenly be
comes aware that something is wrong
In front OF him is barren waste ever
more desolate than the land he ha.
travelled, more destitute ol lie anC
burning with an intense heat that sucks
water from the very bones. Men
usually lose all their senses and go
raving mad when the realization OF the
mistake comes upon them. Scientists
tell US this phenomena which is not
uncommon on the desert is due to the
super heated layer Of air just above the
sand which by refraction Of the light
rays and the shinmeriny OF heat waves
give the optical illusioa oI water, The
experienced desert traveller avoids all
such visions oil lakes for the years have
taught him that they are dangerous.
So in our political wanderings we
are often met with the beautiful picture
OF Utopia 10 be had merely by the
virtue OF rhetoric. Just now we are
much like a thirsty traveller in the
desert who has by the force Of events
beyond his control been compelled to
travel farther than he intended into the
barren waste Of desolation. AL around
him is tragedy, the bleached bones Of
men aud animals who like himself have
been caught on the waterless wastes
His scant remaining supply oil food
and water will suffi.e to enable him to
return to the beaten track where he
can replenish his supplies and taxi
time to consider carefully the best
course to pursue. But in front Of bin IS
the enticing beauty oi desert mirtg'.
Sometimes it may even sh1w to7ns
along the lake. There is an over
powerin impulse for him to hasten tc
this charming spot rather than face the
long arduous journey back 10 the old
land marks. Men inclined to seek
the easy path rush TO destruction and
even old desert travellers feel the ian
pulse calling thtm 10 death but with ;
contempt for it ih.v ,urn their bach
upon phantasy and Toll " the toilsome
way they know will bring tn m tc
safety.
At this time we are lrea;ed TO
superheated word pi:ture that is just al
dangerous to the nation as a mirage il
10 the storm driven traveller. Abnn
US lie tn. evii.1:si !! uI1:iG, i'e
bones OF millions sli1 byaVr ;ht
passes anything t1I the himlr
imagination can conceive. DesolaiioI
that no desert can show lies around US
Oar hearts are sick, our minds stunned
our emotions tense. We see the hor
rors and like the thirsty man in tht
desert seek only to escape from tn
hideouS place. Suddenly a sub,l
picture Of great beauty fishes bsi)r
us. Ii showes men oil all nations liz
ing together as brothers, it shows then
engaged iD all peaceful arts and i,lloV
ing the Golden Rule. We are show
a leader walking among them droppin
honeyed words which all applaud. w
see men oil many tongues and man
colors rushing to him for counsel az
advice aud none ar: turned away $
long as they MI ekIy kiss his hand AM