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| from Primitive War
by
Harry Holbert Turney-High |
Here are some hard facts which we of the civilian public must face before anyone goes further. Every reader is a beneficiary of past wars, primitive or civilized, and each one of us is a victim...All the great military powers proclaim their longing for peace, which is somewhat reminiscent of the Iroquois League, the most efficient pre-Columbian fighting machine north of the Rio Grande. It called itself The Great League to Enforce Peace.
The military is the external force arm of civil government, and the purpose of the public armed forces is to make war. All such wars are defensive, according to the politicians and chiefs of state. The last one to speak otherwise was Frederick the Great of Prussia, who said, "My armies are on the march. My generals are victorious, and my professors are figuring out the causes of the war." Can we modern professors figure how we may have the benefits of stable, orderly government without its hitherto inevitable dysfunction of war? Dear readers and colleagues, you do not need me to tell you that the hour is late.
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