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Show HAS MERCY FLED FROM THE EARTH? As one, month after month, reads tho war news, ho Is moro and moro reminded of Col, Itoosovelt's description descrip-tion of his months of hunting In equatorial Africa. There, slnco n timo to which tho memory of man runneth not hack, there has been n constant warfaro between tho myrnlds of nnlmnlfl great and small, animals, reptiles, birds of prey tho savagery of tho animal life that Is teeming thero on plain, In mornss nnd forest. All tho myriads of tho deer family, zebrn, tho different species of nnte-lopo nnte-lopo nnd the eland have fled beforo the rhinoceros, tho hippopotamus, the lqapord and the lion. Tho lion has been lord, only fighting shy of tho lhlno nnd tho hippo, Tho contest has been unconslng, tho comorant nnd tho raven havo followed in tho trail of tho perpetual killing. Tho scrpants havo kept up with and Joined In tho savagery', and It Isdlfflcult for men, contemplating tho porpetual Buffering and fear, to understand why such everlasting cruelties should havo been shining brightly, and tho songbirds, when not menaced by birds of prey, havo been singing, and tho landscapes havo been brilliant with light, with tropical giecn nnd a wealth of flowers Inde scribably beautiful. Tho Impression It all gives g ono of sadness, If tho observer has any sensibilities, nnd ho keops asking over and over, why all that suffering and nil that fear should havo been ordered. Tho low races of men nnd women existing thero nro not much advanced over tho beasts of tho Held. Whero a llttlo bit civilized, tho Colonel tolls that In ono placo In a fow weeks prior to his being be-ing thero, a man eating leopard had killed two or threo women, nnd flvo or six boys who hnd been guarding their llttlo flock of sheep, nnd It wob a frequent occurrence for a hungry Hon to steal Into their slight houses nt night nnd carry oft somo member of tho family. In thoso regions, ho himself slopt with camp (Ires , around him overy night and his gun by his sldo. If ono cannot compro-. compro-. hend why that should bo so, to turn , to tho European battlefield and seo how similar tho conduct of men has been to the Immemorial contest In I bo wilds of Africa for untold nges, it Is dlfllcult to fix tho placo whoro tho acts of men aro much Improvement over tho savageries of tho Hon, tho hippo, tho leopard, tho buffalo, tho cobra and python. Wo nro taught that tho world wos given to man that he might subdue it that ho might sub-duo sub-duo tho wild beast, convert tho wild-ornesg wild-ornesg into fruitful Holds, subduo him-solf him-solf until ho beenmo n crcnturo of order and of law, that ho might drain tho swamps, mako smooth tratlB ovor tho hills and Anally with tho ordor established , bring himself comforts mid luxuries, and nt Inst establish justice jus-tice and build temples to learning nnd awaken his soul until tho atrocities of this world should bo disposed of. Finally, in tho procession of tho years tho Saviour camo, and for nearly two thousands years his teachings havo been calling on tho children of men to do away with their savageries and to lcnm tho blessings of peaco and good will, but suddenly, In tho most enlightened centers of tho world, whero thero was tho most ostenta-tlous ostenta-tlous worship nf tho Prlnco of Peaco, tho nations all at once sprang to arms and now, for wellnlgh olghteon months they havo adopted only tho method of tho Hon nnd tho leopard, tho rhino, tho cobra and tho python of barbarous Africa. It is not a good outlook for humanity. It shaves ono's faith In tho ultlmnto humanity and salvation of mankind. For tho strong to prey upon tho weak has been tho rulo from tho beginning, and though tho Intelligence, of men has greatly increased, tho raothods ot nations seem to bo tho same a. In tho wilderness with tho wild beasts; tho strong proy upon tho weak. Tho struggle of tho financier In the great city, while different in method Is not different In prlnclplo from that of tho Hon In tho wilderness wilder-ness when ho springs upon tho proy. Europe Is ono vast houso of mourning, mourn-ing, nnd if tho powers thero do not swiftly como together nnd adjust their differences, tho effect Is llablo to bo to mako millions of men and women bollovo that there Is no God In heaven, no justlco on the earth. Goodwin's Weokly. |
