Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1921-12-08

summers down to that In The long run. The
Lite World War was fought for large num-
Der of high ideals, as we il know. And we
all know that none of them were realized
and that when the dust of battle settled the
vlctors were to be seen dividing up, among
their respective investors, oil wells, iron de-
posts, spheres of influence and little things
ike that. The United States went into the
war with no selfish interest, but she came
out OF it with the financial mastery of the
world in her left pants pocket.
What Benefits by Victory? /.
Yet how this financial mastery of the
world has benefited the man who works for
wages or salary in this country, it hard
TO discover. He either fought or paid for
that mastery, but if called upon to produce
his share of the benefit he would have a
hard time doing it.
So it always is. The common man never
shares in the material benefits of war, ex-
cept In temporary and accidental way.
Those go to few financiers. What the COM
mon man gets is the fun of fighting and pay
ing taxes and the emotional exaltation of en-
gag1ng in a great patriotic enterprise
mat these things are worth something to
him is eviden: from the amount he pays for
them. 1t is futile to pretend that war has no
appeal to the common man If it didn't have,
there wouldn't be any war. The common
mans life is apt to be a monotonous restrict
ed affair. War may suddenly make it excit-
ing, intense. War brings to people an
enormous amount of misery, but it also
rings an enormous amount of excitement,
of the joy of primitive impulse unleashed,
and of a great emotional debauch. 1t can
scarcely be disputed that there is some hui
man need which war satisfies. Modern in
ternational war is the spectacle Of certain in
terested parties working to satisfy that need
and in so doing to promote certain profitable
purposes of their own.
The flaw In the system is that ever since
and less satisfactory to the common man as
means of satisfying his, craving for COM
bat adventure, and emotional explosion. In
the Middle Ages war was sort of great
free-for-all fight in whic' men encased in
cast iron banged at each other with long
sticks. Nearly everybody had a good time,
and not so many were killed. war could,
and did, go on for a hundred years without
doing any great harm. And then there were
the Crusades. Who wouldn't like to go on
junkets such as those!
Then came the great age of discovery and
colonization. Here again war became de-
lightful adventure. From Cortez's subjuga+
ton of Mexico down to Clusters last stand,
the conquest of the American wilderness was
an heroic adventure that rivalled the
odyssey.
Those wars had appeal to the imagination,
they gave tie common man real thrill, and
they did not exhaust nations or peoples.
Modern war is an adventure for compare
lively few and hard, miserable affair for
many, and il does exhaus both nations and
peoples. 1t even sometimes destroys the men
who expected to benefit by it. Even men of
finance concede that the las. war cost too
much. Some of them went broke.
And the common man Is diSillusioned.
That is the great point. Compare the feel
ing in this country now with that which ex-
listed after the Spanish-American war, and
you see where the real hope of peace lies.
-%-
The owner of an estate on which there
was a lake was annoyed to see a stranger
fishing on his grounds. He approached the
trespasser and began to abuse him.
''This lake." he said, sis privately owned,
and I stocked it myself. You just go away
at once"
"Just minute, SIR" said the fish man
calmly. What did you stock it WITH"
Trout was the answer. 'And I won't
have
That's all right, SIR" said the trespasser
unconcernedly, I'm fishing for pike"
The wife Of Scotch farmer had a tongue
that cut like knife. One day the minister
passed the farmstead and noticed the farm
er standing calmly in midst of a heavy
downpour Of rain.
''Why on earth don't you get indoors?"
he queried.
ooh, sir, it's all RIGHT" replied the farm
er; "I'm sheltering frae the storm. Man,
tell We it's naething outside tae what it is
inside"