Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1921-10-31

t"caus" tn. Very imagination rccoils
from what another you'd Dc like. w,
have advanced to a point where there
could never be ans noncombatants
any more. War noW Is not the af-
fair OF a small fraction OF the popu-
lation. II lays its hand immediately
ON every living being in Il country,
women and children as well as 1cn.
The development Of airplaucs. The
bombing of cities from the air. the
use Of poison ras-hcarl of at first
with !~ncrcdulous horror. as AN UNI
spcakaDl'. b~arbarity which the Ger
mans had been guilty of-and now
adopted az a matter OF course Iy
military S~tra,cSists. Another war
would see also the deliberate an,!
Wholesale use az disease germs to
cN'crm:nato whole populatIous-thcse
things make Us know that, unless
there is force enough OF sanity TO
put an end 10 War. civilization must
inevitably perish.
but. over n above these tangible
considerations. there is another
which more particularly concerns the
churches. People with "a Christian
lied conscience understand that war
is destructive OF all tho values which
Christians are striving for. 1t mis-
the world with hate and bitterness.
II crcatcs AN atmosphere which
STILES the ideals OF the kingdom OF
God.
Therefore. for every reason of re-
sponsibility 10 man and to God. IL
Is the duty OF the Christian people
to make their public opinion count
In the conference at Washington
which. If il succeeds. may lead our
world on I" ampicr hopes. and if il
fails. viii surely doom II TO the
dcadlicst Of pessimism and compcti-
tive hate.
Hiring Considerations to Dcnr.
What. then. are some OF the con
s~iderations which Christian public
opinion ,fiust bring to Lear upon the
conference"
Let us set down three:
First. We must declare that ma
lions. as well as individuals. are sub
jcct TO the unchanging moral law Of
God. No nation, however rich in re-
sources. can commit the sin Of arro-
gancc and selfishncss. exS.pt to it's
own ultimate undoing. There are
moods which cloak them
selves under the name OF patriotism
which are nothing less than dcvilish.
To inculcatc the idea that ii is n
citizens business to advance his own
nations interest. o. to justify it's
claims when these are morally in
dcfcnSiblc, is To turn patriotism into
d~ishcnor. We in America have got
to require Of ourselves the same self
discipline of spirit which we should
expect of other peoples. We must
insist that our own representatives
go into the conference with clean
carts and clean hands. asking moth
Ing which We would not expect an
other nation to demand in the same
circumstances u n s d ring the
rights. the scnSibilitics. the needs Of
other peoples as justly as N own
I'm the second place, we must re-
mcmbc that a Christian nation has
n peculiar responsibility i'm it's inter
national relationships. There arc
of course. who deny that Amer
lea. as n nation, is Christian. but il
rests with the power of Christian
men and women to prove that II can
he such. The ideals Of the Kingdom
of Christ as He preached them are
10 be * leavcn pervndinE every
thing. Christian public opinion Of
today must determine that the gap
shall be bridgcd between the ideals
which people confess I'm their wor-
ship on sundays and the principles