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Show (By C. D. McNeeley) THE DEVIL IS SICK . . "The Devil was sick the Devil a monk would be; The Devil was well the Devil a monk was he, Almost four hundred year? ago Francis Rabelias confided that profound philosophic truth to the world, and it is as true today as on the day it was written. ; . ,, ' In all history it would be difficult to find a record of the Devil suffering from so severe an illness as afflicts him now. He is at death's door. He sees the black ilimitable void before him, and he writhes as his affrighted imagination depicts its unknown horrors. - He bellows for the priest. He will become a monk on his sacred word of honor he will if only he can be made well and whole again. ': ; . , - . , , ., But the priest knows the Devil. He knows the sinful pride and lust of power that festers in his heart. He knows all the evil that is there. And he has all the reason there is in heaven and on earth to fea? that if once he makes him well again the devil a monk will the devil be. Listen as closely as he may the priest can hear falling from the Devil's pallid lips no such word3 as "I have sinned ; I will make restitution; forgive me." ' - ' The devil is not penitent. He is not convinced of the evil of his ways. But he finds himself sore beset in a losing fight, and on the point of extermination. So he pleads: "Let us cry quits. We are doing each other great harm, my powers of evil and you hosts of light. I am fighting only in self-defense. Let us see if we cannot compromise our war. Let us talk it over quietly in some secret place where none may hear, and where the noisy rabble may not intrude." But the high priest of civilization knows what compromise means and can only mean. It means the Devil is to retain his kingdom and his principalities, including even some of those over which he has recently extended his dominion. He is to be given time and opportunity to recuperate; to grow well and wax lusty - again. He is to emerge in the end the same old Devil, only stronger strong-er than before, and so with added temptation to loose himself once more upon the earth he has so foully devastated. And so the high priest will be obliged to refuse to go into secret se-cret conference with an unrepentant foe seeking an armistice only that he may save his own life and power and later renew his aggressions. It is true the world wants peace. It is the dearest desire of the human heart in every bleeding, agonized land. But it is real peace that is wanted an enduring peace, because founded on justice. An armistice only, that leaves existant all the old injustices in-justices that festered into war, an armistice that adds new injustices in-justices to them, can never suffice. We cannot let all we have sacrificed and suffered go for nothing, and worse than nothing. We cannot accept inconclusive peace when a conclusive peace, carrying with it salvation for the world, though at the price of further sacrifice, is certainly in prospect. And the prospect becomes daily more clearly outlined. The props, one by one are tottering and breaking that have held the autocratic coalition of Middle Europe tigether and made it powerful. pow-erful. The bells that toll the doom of the House of Hapsburg , are sounding sounding within the Austro Hungarian empire as well as without it. And once that house of cards fall the Ilohen-zollerns Ilohen-zollerns will stand naked and isolated and friendless before the constantly mounting power of their enemies. With only Prussian-junkertum Prussian-junkertum to support them, they too, soon or late, must face the specter of revolution' at home while hopelessly striving to beat back a world in arms that batters at their doors. The peace balls that come from he Hohenzollerns and the Hapsburgs means only this that Democracy is invited to' come to the rescue of expiring Autocracy. It is an invitation that is instinctively scorned and rejected by the people of the free nations na-tions of the World their governments have an opportunity to speak. Exchange. |