The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1922-01-03
Frederick Haskin's Letter
The Blessed Meek.

7 Of human endeavor, reached tina
| greatness she had before these
wars.
The civil war in its effect on our
| own south is one of the most strik-
i ing examples of the result of pro-
| longed conflict. But all of these
wars were minor affairs compared
TO the one just passed. We know
that 1t killed 100000 good young
men, that it crippled the PRINCIPAL
European nations in every depart
| ment of human endeavor, and that
it left them all in a backwash of
| reaction by destroying the young
blood which is the only possible
source Of progress; but its full eff
fects are yet to be seen. Further
more. these nations are now stead
lily moving toward another war. and
one which will inevitably be far
more destructive than the last.
What will be their strength and
status after the next world war?
Peoples Who Won't Fight.
Meantime. the inferior peoples"
steadily refuse to impair their ra-
cfal vitality by killing each other.
The Chinese, for example, simply
will not fight. They are supposed
to be carrying on a civil war now.
but it is so mild that few men are
killed in it, while communications
and business are not interfered
with. During the World war these
Chinese were used as laborers, buC
it was found impossible to make
combat troops out of them. The
Chinese in some respects show
great courage, but the murder OF
their fellow humans is simply
business for which they have no
stomach.
Among the East Indians there is
more Of Warlike tradition, but the
present homeopathic movement
OF Gandhi has for its basis the
fact that force must not be used.
that the enemy's blood must not be
spilled. The invader must be ex-
PEELED by simply refusing to obey
any Of his commands or to cooper
ate in his undertakings. In addi-
ton to escaping the sc0urge of war,
these oppressed peoples have held
alOof from the industrial system.
In China there is said to be a strong
feeling against its introduction, AMI
in favor of building up the Chinese
civilization on its own ancient
foundation, so to speak. The Gand-
hi movement in India is also to
some extent 4 revolt against the in
duStria1 system. For example, the
people are Urged not to buy fac
tory-made clothing but to return to
the making of their native fabrics
by hand.
There can be little doubt but that
the industrial system, as at pres
ent constituted, is like war. a
source of race weakness to the dom
inant nations 1t has improved
greatly in the past so years. and
it may yet be made 4 sound basis
for civilized development, but at
the present moment, as anyone may
see for himself, it is in a badly dis
organized state. In the first place,
it has produced a class conscious
ness which results in an eyer-groW-
ing social unrest, with immense
waste of life and energy through
strikes and -evolutions. In the
second place, it has become badly
entangled in its own mechanism.
so that all of the industrial nationS
are subject TO periodical spells OF
hard tines" due to the failure OF
the system to work properly. TIE
whole occidental WkIld is now
thrown out OF gea1 by the failure
! of the industrial system to fuuc-
ton.
Thus, the oppressed peoples, be
ing largely free from organized
war and organized industry. have
advantages in the conservation OF
their racial vitality, WHICH are al
ready telling and which will tell
even more in the future II would
seem that the dominant nations had
better learn something from the
oppressed ones while the learning is
still good. A couple more world
wars, and the old Biblical prophecy
may come to have a rev and vivid
meaning: Blessed are the meek,
for they shall inherit the eatrh."