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Show "TM"" ! !. I TBIT. !. , I II , mmm Mesmerism of War Doesn't It seem nB If tho wnr spirit has us all hypnotized? Even though wo ns a nation stand for penco porhapg moro stuuchly than nny othor nation, still wo think wo must bo propared for war. Wo bow to tho demands ot tho god of war, oven though we fondly bollovo wo nro in tho train of thu goddess of peaco. Wo spent In 1911 many millions of dollars in preparation for war . And y'et wo say wo bollovo ln pcaco. So docs It not seem as If wo aro mesmerized? Sinco 1899 wo havo spont about threo billions for war. Think what that would mean It put Into schools, Into bulldlnp good roads, Into stamping stamp-ing out provontablo diseases, Into reclaiming arid lands, Into working out a system for giving idle men employment. em-ployment. It this monoy had sono for thoso tilings slnco 1899 think how much farther ahead wo would be as a people. Yet all we havo to show tor it aro somo battleships many ot which aro possibly now out of dato, somo military posts, only eight nut of 49 of which ono of our secretaries secretar-ies of war has said aro of practical value, and somo naval maneuvers nnd target drills and military practice Every tlmo a shot Is fired from a 13-Inch gun, enough money Is spent for it, tnklng Into consideration uIfo tho damage to the gun, to glvo somo ono a collego education. A loud roar, a puff ot smoke, a shot flying toward a target, all done with tho Idea of destroying something or wounding or killing men, and tho cqulvnlent,of an education would start a man or woman on a career of usefulness Is gono. Doesn't it seem as If wo ore under somo spell that wo continue to do thcso things? For tho question that wo sottlo by tho cannon ball Is usually ono of right or wrong, of Justlco or Injustice to oursolves or others. And slnco wo bollovo In right nnd Justice ought wo not bo willing to nbldc by what Is right and Just, whether tho decision bo for or against us, rather than ro- sort to blows and tho taking ot what wo can got by strength whether it Is ours or not? Wo do bollovo this wo say and aro willing to abide by tho decisions of tribunals. Y'et wo spend millions of dollars somo yonrs ln contradiction of our words. It docs seem as If wo nro hypnotized hypnotiz-ed to do thcso things In spite of all wo say or think wo bollovo to tho contrary. j I i Tho old belief handed down through all tho nges seems to cling. Wo nro emerging Into tho light, Into tho dny of Justlco and brotherly lovo but tho wnr cloud still throws Its black shadows ovor us. It seems dlf flcult to get away from under its sinister sin-ister influonco. Somo will say that In such comply cations as havo lately arisen with Mexico, for Instance, it Is necessary to bo proparod for war. But Is bloodshed necessary to holp a weak nation got on Its feet? Aren't brotherly lovo and a helping hand moro necessary? And if this weaker weak-er nation know without tho shndow of a doubt that wo camo to it only in good will, to holp It to peaco and prosperity, to glvo It schools and prosperous towns and happy homes once moro, do you think It would turn Its guns upon us? Must It not bo tired of bloodshed? Would It not wolcomo friends who brought peaco and good government? It Is this universal belief In what armies and navies stand for, tho bus plclon that wo aro coming for selfish purposes, that makes tho weakor nation na-tion meot tho coming of tho stronger strong-er ono with guns. Komovo this suspicion sus-picion and tho cannon would bo si lent. A harried country unnblo to achlovo pcaco would welcome us as gladly as do tho destitute countries of Europe our food ships, If thoy know wo wero coming only with tho deslro to help. This bollef ln tho necessity of wnr Is tho spoil that tho spirit of war laid on us nil and from which wo aro Jot nil suffering. It has grown thru tho centuries until It 13 difficult to shako It off. Wo as a nation feel U less thnn others who havo lived In Its shadow from tlmo Immemorial. Hut It has us under Its domination dcsplto our beliefs to tho contrary, ns our expenditures for war prove. Barbara Boyd. |