The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-12-17

reason We have war is that there
are certain arrangements Of cells
IN the brains of most men which
cause them to become excited and
to want to fight when bands play
and bugles call and patriotic
speeches are made.
/ Peace will be possible only when,
by education, the mind of the race
mas been changed SO that war, and
all its attendant sights and sounds,
cause a different reaction in men
and women.
This is the opinion of George W.
Grille, a celebrated American sur
geon, who took advantage of his
service in France during the war,
TO make a special study of the eff
feet of war upon human beings,
and who published his conclusions
In a book called "A Mechanistic
View of War and Peace.
CRIES views are of special in
terest just now. because the arma-
ment conference, If it is doing
nothing else, is proving once more
that whether we are to have war
or peace is a question which de-
not upon the governments.
Governments are war-making
bodies in the nature of the case.
The disarmament conference was
called, not because the govern
ments wanted peace or believed it
was possible, but because public
opinion demanded it. Now that it
is gathered, the diplomats are bus
lily jockeying around for advan-
tages in the way of armament.
Meanwhile the common man is fed
his daily dose of platitudes about
universal brotherhood and the like.
Man Must Fight.
AS Grille points out, universal
brotherhood is largely a dream.
Man is fighting animal.
Grille is celebrated for his dis
coVery that emotions in man pro-
duce absolute changes in his
blood, and that the blood does not
return to normal until those emo
tons have been discharged in &C
ton When you become angry you
feel pressing need for action. If
you cannot fight you will stamp
your foot, wave your arms, kick
the cat, or do something else ito
relieve your feelings" as you say.
This action which you crave is
really a physical necessity. If you
were repeatedly made angry and
kept from all action and express
sion of your mood, you would die
OF acid in the blood, for anger pro-
duces definite discharge of acid
substances from your liver, and
other internal organs. All of this
Grille and others have proved be-
yond question.
What remains somewhat myste-
rious is why a given stimulus pro-
duces one emotion in one man and
another emotion in another man. |
Why does danger make one man /
want to fight and another want - {
run away? Why does a band play
ng a patriotic air make most men /
want to fight?
Grille assumes that there are Ger
ain arrangements of brain cells in
each individual which determine
his reaction to a given stimulus,
and that these arrangements are
dependent upon both heredity and .
= - 49, a WI u, SOuA ICd|-
lion to a given stimulus is partly !
determined when you are born but
IAN be changed to some extent in .
he course of your life.
All men tend to react to many |
stimuli with a desire to fight and !
lestroy. This is inevitable because
nan, throughout his history, mas
been fighting for his very life. He
las fought the jungle beasts. the
elements. all the forces of nature. /
Tribes of men have fought with
zach other for survival. and so
lave individual men. Those who
would not or could not fight have
,erished and have left no offspring.
Fhe best fighters have won the
most mates and left the most de-
pendants. Hence man is preem1-
lently a fighting animal, and to
on any other assumption is
utile.
But men can fight in many diff
erent ways. For example, indi-
iduals used to fight with each 9TH
r physically and destructiveIy.
low there Is comparatively little