Salt Lake Telegram | 1936-09-25 | Page 6 | Where is the Glamor?

r i Where Is the AN the propagandists sell the world on CAN the the glory glory of war again agam Can they convince convince con con- vince the flower of a nations nation's youth that it itis is a agran grand gran 1 and her heroic ic thing to die on the battlefield battlefield battle battle- field fi ld Hitler seems to be doing a pretty good job ob of it to judge from the reception his bellicose bellicose belli belli- cose case talk stirred at Mussolini put it ft over on Italian youth youth before his excursion into Ethi Ethiopia Ethiopia but but but could coule he do it again T The e war civil r in Spain s seems ems to indicate Vindicate that eve even rival politicians can go stark mad and resort to murderous conflict when dissatisfied with results re re- re ul s' s at the hF ballot boxes It seems possible that recen recent and and present events are taking all the out of warfare warfare war war- minds of the fare in iii the of the preponderance worlds world's peoples They do want peace Many Statesmen seem feverishly eager cager to maintain it What will those others who cast all that is Humane and reasonable aside ide to consider only the basic causes of of- wars be able to do if they decide that economic circumstance demands that they resort to war The he Italian conquest of Africa failed to stir widespread revulsion in Eur Europe p as is the he Spanish perhaps bloodletting bloodletting perhaps because Spain is l a near neighbor r What Europe and ourselves are getting in itt he the news from Spain is th the picture of mankind gone ravening mad We read of conquering troops herding prisoners into a bull ring and spraying the place with machine gun bullets Until until un un- til the prisoners were all dead of priests crucified crucified cruci cruel fied to church walls walls- of prisoners executed in cold old blood to prevent their release by y approaching approach approach- ing ng ng armies of cities going up in flame from the lust just of d destruction This sort O t of thing is i ot romantic according to any swords roses w standards which may have bave been bred into us by our reading of ro ro- mantle mantic war war novels There is in it none of the taking breath pageantry of the charge of the light brigade none of the color and thrill of Cambronne's defiance at Waterloo none of the fin fine dash and flair of a Jeb Stuart cavalry raid It is war reduced educed to its primitive essentials This Spanish war may be a a. more vengeful find and nd bitter bitter bit bit- ter affair than some wars but the essentials are re always the same Its gaudy trappings were always a sham good to fool the public but otherwise oth oth- erwis quite unreal For example examples those slim British cruisers that patrolled the seas in the last war had a romantic look Jook to them as they went about their lonely business on the tossing waters But how romantic ro ro- ro mantic niantic a tie do you suppose they looked to to German mothers mothers' who saw their children dying or grow grow- In ing ng up stunted and deformed for lack of I the theo foodstuffs o wh wInch which ch those cruisers were k keeping out of of the country 1 Or to Or-to to go over to the other side ido of the picture picture how how much romance did the German planes have bave for British mothers who saw their children blown to bits by aerial bombs To realize all this to understand that the unspeakable horror of the Spanish war is sim slut hoir horror r of all war is to fortify ourselves tragedy For when the danger of war It ia imminent we weare are apt to be drummed into line by our bur e emotions l If It we can get a a re real l Understanding understanding understanding un un- of wars war's reality we may be able to fo decide with our minds instead of of with our hearts t