Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1922-01-31
The Folly of Nations

from the press in 1921. 1t is writ
ten by War Correspondent Palmer,
who has made a business Of follow
ing in the wake of armies for years
and giving his impressions for the
leading newspapers of the United
States. He is a trained journalist,
ands understands his subject. He
calls war the supreme folly Of ma
tions. He might have said war is
the scourge of any nation. He
might have kept within reasonable
limits if he had said, the Almighty
sent wars on the Jews as punish
ment of their transgressions, and
what He might do at one time.
might be permitted to happen at
another time-if similar transgres'
sions were in evidence. Deity is
Also omnipotent. Some
nations are pushed into war, mean
while they do everything possible
to avoid and evade it. There are
obliged to be such defending nations
who tremble at the thought Of war,
but like the people who are pressed
into court, to defend either life or
property, the situation is imperative
cannot be stopped or evaded--
when the militant oppressor makes
attack.
Europe had been contemplating a
world war for a good many years.
Time and again the fatal word was
about to pass, when something
would occur to delay the onset.
Since Bismark's time Germany
has been regularly engaged training
soldiers and collecting weapons in
store. Prussianism meant war prep.
aration. When Germany had be.
come a solid military camp and sup
piled with Krupp guns, something
had to happen, or the reaction would
abolish kaiseriSm.
If there was failure to provoke
war on the outside, there would be
civil strife, which is always deadly.
mean internecine war-strife. How
foolish it was nobody knows better
than former Kaiser William, as he
chops firewood today in exile, and
pays the cost of his monumental
folly in his gloomy old age! He is
too old to Prussianize Germany
again if he is given a chance, and
he would be contemplate to face
the mourning parents whose sons
were in a manner assassinated to
satisfy the tyrant's unholy ambition.
Wilhelm was, without question.
the foremost man in all Europe, in
the immediate years before 1914. He
"felt his keeping" to use a slang
phrase. He was close akin to King
George, of England, and the Czarina
of Russia. He looked down, haughtl-
iy, on both of them. But George, OF
Great Britain, is "a shrewder, if not
a better man. than the German.
The other day, King George threw
open every prison door in Ireland.
and told the imprisoned Irish to
come out and be free. This monarch
has grown sick of war folly, and
no one knew better than Me that
war in his own. dominion would
wind up the monarch business for
such as he. He knew by experience
that war is the folly of nations"
The cars fate and the miserable
cZarina tested out this folly of ma
tons. There was nothing but de-
stTuction to this complete European
monarchy. They We're the richest
most powerful as to life and death
over Russian people. But war wiped
off their state and left them, beyond
measure, the most helpless of NOR
tails. The great bubble collapsed in
BLACKLIST tragedy.
l wish everybody could read this
Folly of Nations" kgThere have
been AleXanders and ksapoleons, but
those that become r able by war
are the surest to dinish by war.
War will scourge the foolish peo-
pie.
The present condition of Europe,
after the folly of nations took con-
troll, should be an object lesson to
America. Whatever is to be viii.
be-" says the fatalist. Whoever
rushes into war heedlessly will pay
the penalty for wilful folly. Nothing
surer, and the southern states
even as the north, east and west,
are suffering fro mcrime waves that
We're never imagined, nor expected
to come over the most blessed Of all
the nations of the earth.
Our people are not starving, dying
with hunger, as they are in Russia.
and once-proud Austria, but Amer
lea is paying the heavy cost for
into the prevailing and de-
moralizing folly of nations.
The Disastrous Extravaganza of the
Shipping Board
AS long as this republic survives,
and we are hoping it may continue
to function always, the story of the
shipping board With it's waste of
public money will head the list of
financial tragedies, no matter where
they are chronicled in ancient or mod
ern history. Today the confiding
people of this country are face to
face with the debt of $4,000, 900 900,
and are taxed to pay the interest
and also suffer the loss of the major
part of it. It's affairs came before
the attention of C ongress, as shown
in the Congressional Record of Jan
uary 10, last week. The chairman
Of the Investigating committee thus
expressed himself: "These people
contracted for ships. They took over
ships. They took over shipyards and
built new ship yards. They became
They were bankers
They were financiers. They furnish
ed money to all sorts and characters
Of combinations. They were general
They were wholesale
dealers in lumber. They were mer-
chants. They were owners of every
character and conceivable kind Of
business. They owned forests meas
ured by thousands Of acres. They
were insurance companies doing all
character of maritime insurance.
They built and operated street rail-
ways, interurban railways, and 9TH
err railroads. Thy built hotels. The
largest hotel ever BUILT by the hand
Of man was built by this shipping
board. They owned entire towns,
fitted up in a permanent way, with
paved streets and all the appurte-
slsi@ - n - "A,