The Hartford republican. (Hartford, Ky.) 18??-1926, 1922-01-13
PEACE ON EARTH

NIt WI ius tlAAAft Aiit aNNtAAN VI AAhW
prince Of Peace" over 10 centuries
ago his divine message, Peace on
earth goodwill toward men," was
never before so earnestly priced, so
clearly understood, so hungrily hoped
for, so near realization.
At no period Of any age were the
horrors of war more repellent or the
blessings of peace more appreciated.
There has grown up a worldwide
will for peace and the abolition of
war, and the ablest leaders of those
nations whose decisions count most
in this gravest matter touching hui
mainly are devoting not only their
will but their intellect, their time and
all their industry to do away with
war and make peace permanent. And
they are backed as no group of states
men ever were by the ardent wishes
of suffering world as they sit
around the conference table at Wash
ington. They are also swayed by the
mute appeal from millions of new
made graves, silent but not voiceless
under the winters SHOWS.
In the British Isles another great
conference has just closed, and Ire
land, which has groaned and writh-
ed for 700 years under the blighting,
paralyzing curse of almost continual
war, now hears the rustic of an an
gels wing, the angel of peace, and
feels her cooling, healing breath.
For century after century the brave
people of the Emerald Isle, have been
the slaves of the war god, who has
rewarded their services with suffer
ing. poverty and death. After this
long period peace has shown her
benign face, and there is genuine re-
joicing on account of it even in the
far corners of the earth.
To advocate peace, except in gen.
eral and indirect way, has not always
been popular or even safe. Beauti-
full statues have been raised to peace
even by the ancients, but the victor
ious warrior has always been the
popular hero, no matter whether he
was right or wrong. Statesmen who
have been responsible for successful
wars of conquest have always been
considered the greatest statesmen OF
all, even though they were liars,
hyrocrits and traitors. 1t took a
bold man in the old days to declaim
against war and preach the blessings
of peace. They usually suffered for
daring to disagree with the big ma
jority. The Quakers with their doc
trine of peace found out what a hard
road that was to travel; but they had
the courage to stick to it.
Nobody needs to be told that war is
hateful and peace desirable. But it
is well to impress the fact by refer
ence to our recent budget estimate
where. out of the total expenses Of
three billions and some hundred
millions shown, the three billions
we're war expenses-past, present and
future wars. And we know they
could have been avoided. We know
that nations could live in peace just
as we have lived in peace 100 years
with Canada without gun or fort
between US; just as neighbors have
lived in peace for generations with
out ever having to buy revolvers or
daggers.
Possibly war in the past was I'M
avoidable. The desirable parts of the
earth were distributed seemingly by
chance among primitive peoples of
varying merit. There were no tradi-
tions and no national codes Of ethics.
Nations made hard in mind as well
as body by their rude life and climate
proceeded to take the lands and CT
ties of those grown soft and pamper-
ed through comparatively easy liv-
ing. One of the first traditions Great
ed was that the best things of the
earth belonged to the superior peo-
pie. And the superior people were
those able to take what they wanted.
The earth belonged to the nation that
could conquer it, and one after an
other succeeded in doing that. Ma
lions had little to do with each other
except to fight and rob.
Our own ancestors got America for
us by beating back the hostile natives
at every step. We have had to COM
bat Indian fighters at every period |
of our progress. On the Atlantic
coast were John Smith and Miles
Standish; in the Middle West Dan
lei Boone, Davy Crockett and Andrew
Jackson; in the Far West Buffalo
Bill, Kit Carson and Gen. Custer.
All were heroes. They took the'land
from savages who were using 4 al
most solely for hunting grounds, and