Peace Talk and Preparations for War
By Editor
In our Outlook Department will be found some things worthy of careful reading over the brewing war troubles in Europe, notably between Germany and England. There are curious contradictions running through all of this talk at the present time. English authorities tell us that the true way to keep the peace is to build big navies. The Kaiser is quoted as saying through Prince Henry, who represented him at Kiel, June 5: “Our principal task in the future as in the past is to make the navy popular and to create German sea power for the assurance of peace.” And again: “In addition to a powerful army we need a navy in order to assure peace.” Admiral Von Koester expressed the same sentiment, and declared that they were not considering a navy against any particular adversary, but a means of self-defense; but Admiral Weber referred to the possibility of a great war to come and scoffed at the idea of entering into an agreement with Great Britain in regard to restricting the building of war-ships. Right in the face of all this peace talk of which we read an abundance, the world is preparing for war at a rate never before known and is looking for the Armageddon which lies on before. The lesson that students of prophecy and world conditions ought to see in it is this, that notwithstanding all the peace talks, nations are fulfilling the prophecy given nearly three thousand years ago: “Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up; beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning-hooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong.” See Joel 3:9-12. Great Britain assures us that she will spend her last pound sterling and use her last man rather than relinquish her position in the naval world. And her colonies are coming to her rescue. For instance, New Zealand offers a new “Dreadnought,” Australia another, which means a contribution of something like an average of a pound sterling to every man, woman and child in New Zealand. Australia and all the other colonies are swinging to the fore, assuring the mother country that the empire stands as a unit when imperial control of the sea is questioned. It must have been a tremendous spectacle, the great naval review, noted in our Outlook Department. The press representatives of the empire were carried past 144 war-ships of various sort, a distance of eighteen miles. The aggregate of the three flag-ships was over 48,000 tons. Another noted thing about these ships, they were of a new type. They were not discarded numbers by any means. What could be called the oldest were moderately late models. Practically all the 144 vessels it was said are the fruit of the last ten years’ work. The sixteen battle-ships of the United States which cruised around the world a short time ago were a great display, even English colonies had seen no greater, but after the great naval display at Portsmouth, the sixteen battle-ships of the United States will be considered a small squadron. The real outcome of this will probably be an imperial naval board which will encourage Canada and Australia to build a navy of their own, and yet all under one imperial united plan. But we may be sure of this that England’s pace will be kept up by other great powers, and the end will be indeed Armageddon. The nations are now finding that the bleeding of the people through the enormous financial burden imposed is second only to what would be caused by actual war.