THE NEW YORK JOURNAL OF PHARMACY 



which this Lniversity and many of its 

 members have worked so long, so faith- 

 fully, and apparentl)' with so much suc- 

 cess, only an illusion ? Are the .long and 

 devoted labors of scholars and of states- 

 men to enthrone Justice in the place of 

 Brute Force in the world, all without 

 eiTect? Are Lowell's lines true — 



" 'Right forever on the scaffold, 



Wrong forever on the throne?'" 

 The answer is No ; a thousand times. 

 No! 



"In the first place, the moral judg- 

 ment of the American people as to this 

 war and as to the several steps in the 

 declaration and conduct of it, is clear, 

 calm., and practically unanimous. There 

 is no beating of drums and blowing of 

 bugles, but rather a sad pain and grief 

 that our kin across the sea, owing what- 

 ever allegiance and speaking whatever 

 tongue, are engaged in public murder 

 and destruction on the most stupendous 

 scale recorded in history. This of itself 

 proves that the education of public opin- 

 ion has proceeded far, and, whatever 

 the war-traders, and militarists may say, 

 that the heart of the American people 

 is sound and its head well-informed. 

 The attitude of the American press is 

 worthy of the highest praise ; in some 

 notable instances the very high-water 

 mark of dignity and of power has been 

 reached. When the war-clouds have 

 lifted, I believe that the moral judgment 

 of the American people as to this war 

 will prove to be that of the sober-minded 

 and fair-minded men in every country 

 of Europe. 



"Next, it must not be forgotten that 

 this war was made by kings and by cab- 

 inets ; it was not decreed by peoples. I 

 can testify that the statement that kings 

 and cabinets were forced into the war 



by public sentiment, is absolutely un- 

 true, so far at least as several of the 

 belligerent nations are concerned. Cer- 

 tainly in not more than two cases were 

 the chosen representatives of the people 

 consulted at all. A tiny minority in each 

 of several countries may have desired 

 war, but the militarist spirit was sin- 

 gularly lacking among the masses of the 

 population. People generally have sim- 

 ply accepted with grim resignation and 

 reluctant enthusiasm the conflict which 

 in each case they are taught to believe 

 has been forced on them by another's 

 aggression. 



''The most significant statement that 

 I heard in Europe was made to me on 

 the third day of August last by a Ger- 

 man railway servant, a grizzled veteran 

 of the Franco-Prussion war. In reply 

 to my cjuestion as to whether he would 

 have to go to the front, the old man 

 said: 'No; I am too old. I am seventy- 

 two. But my four boys went yesterday, 

 God help them ; and I hate to have them 

 go.' 'For, Sir,' he added in a lowered 

 voice, 'this is not a people's war; it is a 

 kings' war, and when it is over there 

 may not be so many kings.' 



Another great gain is to be found in 

 the fact that no one is willing to be re- 

 sponsible for this war. Every combat- 

 ant alleges that he is on the defensive, 

 and summons his fellow countrymen 

 who are scientists and philosophers to 

 find some way to prove it. The old 

 claim that war was a part of the moral 

 order, a God-given instrument for the 

 spreading of enlightenment, and the only 

 real training-school for the manly vir- 

 tues, is just now in a state of eclipse. 

 Each one of the several belligerent na- 

 tions insists that it — and its government 

 — are devoted friends of peace, and that 



