The New York herald. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1920-1924, 1920-11-21
Conditions of
War and Peace
COAL. IRON AND WAR. BY Edwin c.

NOAlh lfION AND w AK. by EOWlu V.
Eckel. Henry Holt & Co.
There are some subjects which are
more important than all others; and.
lest we be accused of a generality
wholly without meaning, let us hasten
to add that in our opinion one of the
subjects most important TO any man
is the likelihood of his being sud
denly put into a uniform and shot at.
That book which tells you with the
reasonableness of scientific investiga-
ton and analysis why wars occurred
and which points out the matters
which may lead to future wars, is. we
submit, more important than other
books. 1t is hardly to be expected that
youngsters who would be of draft age
ten years from now will lay aside
whatever thrilling story of heroic
fighters they may be reading in order
to read such a book; and vet their
elders might profltably study it. A
book of this sort is Coal, iron and
War" by Major Eckel, an American
civil engineer who served during the
world war in the Engineers Corps.
The picture of the next war is hor-
He predicts that women and children
will be counted as combatants. He
predicts that attempts to wreck fac
tories-not munition factories merely.
but production of every sort, farm,
storehouse and industrial-will not be
incidental features of the war but its
main detectives. Vision it.
THE old distinction between civilian
population and army no longer has
any validity, for practically all of the
civilian population-men. women and
children-are engaged in raising food
or making supplies for the fighting
forces. It is practically certain that
in any future war one or both con-
testants will act on the assumption
that the surest way to defeat an army
is to wreck the factories which sup
ply it,"
The material difficulties in .he way
Of future peace. all being ultimately
dependent upon the unequal distribu-
ton of important natural resources. IL
they do not serve as immediate causes
of war; says Major Eckel. will act as
the bases for that international COM
petition in trade (which is in the end
more crushing and deadly than war;"
Among the possible remedies sug-
gested for the conditions that invite
war; Major Eckel names greater free
dom to emigrants from lands of less
opportunity to those more favored
Freer conditions of trade are also
named as partial solutions but the
author doubts the likelihood of lowered
tariffs in the near future. The present
tendency Is in the other direction.
A third help toward the mainten-
'ance OF peace. he points out, is the
establishment of adequate protection
TO citizens of any nation for their in
vestments and enterprises in all other
lands than their own. Such protection
will be particularly necessary in the
next two or three decades, during
which petroleum will be an important
marine fuel for great nations which
are unable to obtain supplies of II in
their home territories.
The three things named above are
In the hands OF the business men OF
all nations. even more than in the
hands Of diplomats or legislators:
there can he. as this book demon
strates. no subjects more important to
tho future peace OF the world-may
business men realize it!