OCR Text |
Show IF WAR COMES Everyone able to think back to 40 years ago will recall a battle-cry that sprung up as a result of a tragedy whose anniversary an-niversary is now at hand. We refer to the battle-cry, "Remember "Re-member the Maine" with which the nation went to war. These older residents have doubtless by this time made a few comparisons of that historic occasion with events recently recorded in Chinese waters in which this country Was, as it was in Havana harbor 40 years ago, an innocent victim. It recalls that only a spark was needed to touch off the guns of war almost a half-century ago, and the battleship battle-ship Maine furnished that spark. Knowing the horror 01 war through experience, and not heresay, these older citizens citi-zens cannot help but wonder if history is now about to repeat re-peat itself, with the Orient instead of Cuba the scene of a flash which will set the whole world on fire. Every sane man dreads war. Every good American abhors ab-hors it. For that reason, and remembering as most people do the terrible price this nation paid as its price in the last one, the average American insists that if we must again be dragged into conflict that it be through far more violent ana far more destructive sparks than those which touched off the last two in which we were engaged. American life must, of course, be protected at all cost. But today, 40 years after, there is still a doubt if the Maine was actually destroyed by enemies of this republic, and today, over 20 years after the sinking of the Lusitania, there is disagreement over whether or not it was actually engaged in transporting arms to the allied nations. America enters the new year hoping and praying for peace. And if war outweights her prayers, then this time she wants no shadow of doubt to exist as to war's justification. |