THE WASTE OF WAR | AdventAI

Pacific Press Publishing Company · OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA · Jun 27, 1900

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

THE WASTE OF WAR.

GIVE me the gold that war has cost, Before this peace-expanding day— The wasted skill, the labor lost, The mental treasure thrown away— And I will buy each rod of soil In every yet discovered land, Where hunters roam, where peasants toil, Where many-peopled cities stand.

I'll clothe each shivering wretch on earth In needful, nay, in brave attire, Vesture befitting banquet mirth, Which kings might envy and admire.

In every vale on every plain, A school shall glad the gazer's sight, Where every poor man's child may gain Pure knowledge, free as air and light.

In every crowded town shall rise Halls academic, amply graced, Where ignorance may soon be wise, And coarseness learn both art and taste.

To every province shall belong Collegiate structures and not few, Filled with a truth-exploring throng, And teachers of the good and true.

A temple to attract and teach Shall lift its spire on every hill, Where pious men shall feel and preach Peace, mercy, tolerance, good-will; Music of bells on Sabbath days, Round the whole earth shall gladly rise, And one great Christian song of praise Stream sweetly upward to the skies. —Anon.