THE PEACE CONFERENCE by T.

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Jun 28, 1899

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 25, No. 26.

THE PEACE CONFERENCE.

By T.

THE Peace Conference at The Hague is still carrying on its work behind closed doors. And while there are many who have high hopes in regard to the outcome of it, there are many more who feel very sure that it will not amount to much.

The czar is not credited with sincerity in calling the conference. It is thought by some that he is simply seeking to gain time in order that he may more fully perfect his plans to seize additional territory from China, and otherwise to strengthen his army and navy.

The pope is not at all satisfied with the way in which the conference has been conducted, and so he stands ready to use all his influence against its success. His powers in the line of intrigue will enable him to do much to accomplish the failure of the conference.

There are other like reasons offered as showing why the conference will not amount to much, and they are not without foundation. But leaving such reasons to one side, what is the general outlook for the Peace Conference at The Hague, or for any other peace conference that the men of this world might call?

There is a vast amount of capital invested in plants, a chief item of their work being to build all kinds of warships. There are numerous other plants that have immense sums invested in the manufacturing of cannon and every form of gun, together with ammunition for the same. It takes immense quantities of iron and other materials to build these instruments of death, and hence many other industries, such as iron smelters, coal miners, etc., etc., are interested to have each of the several governments investing heavily in the munitions of war.

Now these men who have so much money invested are among the most influential in the capital class, and it matters little what may be done or said at The Hague, these men of wealth will continue to do as they have been doing. That is, they will bring their mighty influence to bear to have still more and more battle-ships and guns built. It is their business to make these things, and they are not the class of men who will retire from their lucrative traffic just as soon as the Peace Conference speaks.

These wealthy men have large commercial interests in every part of the globe, and they expect to have their business protected by shot and shell. So long as men continue to bend all their energies to the amassing of millions of money, their minds will be filled with selfishness. And the only protection for a selfish, grasping policy is the army and navy.

It takes more than a mere profession of Christianity to take this selfishness from the heart. Hence only those who have really and truly accepted the Prince of Peace as their guide and keeper, will be saved from the destruction of this terrible war spirit that holds the world in these last days.

It has been true of every age that there were plenty of men who would rather see the whole world plunged into war than to have their vested interests destroyed. There has always been those who were so sordid that money seemed of more value than men. And with these there have been combined the men who were possessed with selfish and ungovernable ambition. And so the history of the world has been largely an account of its wars and conquests. There is every ground for believing that the time in which we live will prove to be no exception to the rule.

While the conference is wire-pulling at The Hague, the great battle of Armageddon is drawing on with haste. And Satan would like to keep every one of us from seeing it by amusing us with beholding the many-colored baubles that his cunning can invent.

Be not deceived. There is but one true conference of peace, and that is between the Father and the Son in the courts on high. The Prince of Peace is soon coming to announce the completed results.