The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-12-17
Frederick Haskin'sL Letter
Peace as a State of Mind.
fepeclai Correspondence ,

OF that in civilized countries
Vlduals fight each other in bn.s ~.
and trade and in the arts ~
the games they play. from a.
noes to football, are mock ~ Se1e
! These things satisfy the s S-s..ss
impulse without destroyins 4' 4
race n
AS men have progressed -.
and larger units OF oresnf7'.:ss-
have given up destructive So.
for competition. First fsS5ls
banded together, then trfb.zz -.
small nations, and then large -
1t is emily among the nations - -
selves that destructive OH. 49,
combat still persists. Ana /, - =
comes more destructive am ,s
time. As Grille points Ont -
worst result of internationaf =.
IS that 1t is destroying the "a
The World war, with its ten ~
lions of the best young men sls3.
was the worst blow that evsr -
fell the human race. And VET
are now busily getting ready T..
another World war, which win !.
far more destructive than the Ia.
and which will not spare Ameri.z
as the last one did, because Ams,
lea VIII be the very center OF il
Why does this madness 20 m,
Why have not nations Learned !,
sublimate their fighting power =,
individuals have done?
CRIES answer is that. while Al,
cation has carefully curbed the l.
dIvidual fighting impulse. it has ear.
fully cultivated the national fghfjr,
impulse. The common man has bes5
taught that he must not slit h,
neighbor's throat and take N,
money, but he is taught that HI,
nation may rightfully attack
nelghborlng nation with a gur
sword, poison and starvation.
There is no real difference in
moral value between the two forms
of fighting. but the internato0aI
fghtingl is usually dignifed with a
lot Of fake moral issues.
Educated for War.
The common man responds 90
quickly to a call for war becauss
all of his education has been 6-
rected to prepare him for Response
to that call. He is always taugh,
that war is glorious. From the
first picture he sees in his school
history books. on through his edu.
cation, and his adult reading, be
learns of war as a glorious adven-
ture for brave men He is taught
to abhor individual fighting. bat
to reverence the mass fighting
known as war
When common men all over the
world see war for just what it is.
when, the word awakens aversion
instead of ENTHUSIASM. then and thea
only will it be doomed. says Grille.
He urges that war be painted at
least fairly-that both sides be
shown. As an example of what he
means he prints some pictures ia
his book, two on a page. The low
er picture on one page is a typical
from d school history,
Of a fife and drum corps bFaEeIy
to battle. Above il Grille
prints a picture which he labels
The End Effect, of a man vita
his whole mouth and nose and chin
blown off by a hand grenade
Again he prints a typical patriotic
painting of a cavalry charge, and
above it a picture from the World
war of a field after a charga
strewn with dead and writing
men.
If men were taught from child
hood what war really is, what its
actual effects are On the individual
and on the race. what its benefits
are and who gets them. the whole
reaction to war would be modiG5a.
1t would be twice as hard for poll
Licians to make a war as it is nov.
This task in education Is prc1- q,
ably a task for journalism and Ii
arature rather than for the schools
And there. are signs that it is be-
ing done For example, two Of the
most widely read books of the fall
season are q novel which describes
he actual experience Of some
Americans in the last war, With
every detail of horror and hard
ship put in, and a book which
ellis what the next war viii be
ike. with poison gas and air bombs
n full action. Such books do more
or the cause of international peace
han 16 disarmament conference