The Stratford Evening Post WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE EGMONT SETTLER. MONDAY, DECEMBER 29, 1913. PEACE WITH HONOR.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXVII, Issue 99, 29 December 1913, Page 4

The Stratford Evening Post WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE EGMONT SETTLER. MONDAY, DECEMBER 29, 1913. PEACE WITH HONOR.

The late strike in some respects is' likened to a war. by the Christchureh 'Tress," which considers that one of these is worthy of the attention of the pacifists, especially those who with j Mr Norman Angell, attach so much importance to the material causes 1 and results of war. They argue that] nothing material is to be gained by going to war, that in Fact victory is only a little less disastrous than defeat, and that therefore if people can ! be convinced of the economic effects ; of war, international disputes will be settled by arbitration. To this .Mr jAhgell's critics reply that he ignores the spiritual, sentimental and idealis-l tic causes of war; in short, Co'quoto ) a litting remark made bv Mr Harold i I * i Cox the other day, he argues as it i man lived by bread alone. Now (the "Press" continues) in this strike of ours, the employers were faced with ] the alternatives' of giving m to the ' J Federal ion of Labor, on what was, - materially, a small issue; or of fight- ( ing a costly warfare for a principle.] 1 They might have given way and jus- N

lifted themselves by pointing to the immense losses in which they, the workers, and the whole community, would have been involved by.a fight to a finish. They did not, however, though they gave wiiy in the negotiations to a length that showed they were sincerely desirous of peace with honor. II is important to notice that in entering on and maintaining tin 1 long and costly struggle they were hacked l>y the community, which clearly realised that there were more important things than out-of-pocket losses. What has happened hero may happen to any nation in the field oi international relations, A dispute with another nation may ame which national honor or national ideals ami interests will not permit arbitration to settle. In such a case, the nation attacked knows that war will be costly in lives and mono\ . but it pre-1 ferr- to incur this loss rather than give wav on such n point, just as a man I

would not think of his safety or his clothes if called on to defend his wife from a sudden assault. A community must defend itself against all foes, internal and external, and the measure of its capacity to do so is the measure of iis .tine strough. There is more than a little significance in the Pact that anti-militarists in this struggle wore on the side of mob rule. It is another prool that these • people have still to leant the very elements of sound citizenship.