And his Peace Proclamation, like a tall white monument riz up for men and angels to admire.  How its pure luminous light lit up this dark earth and streamed clear up to heaven, the blessed influence it shed abroad wuz so beneficient and divine.  How much I and the hull world thought on’t.

And here it is all broke to smash, for of course, it wuz right in his way and he had to tromple on over it, he and the squadrons he called to war.

I don’t know exactly the right or wrong on’t, it is hard sometimes to keep track of ethics in a Jonesville quarrel, and when two big Empires git to cuttin’ up and actin’ and sassin’, and dastin’ each other to do thus and so, I can’t be expected to know all the ins and outs of their dispute.

But I do know this, that the beautiful Peace Monument is smashed all to pieces under the feet of the thousands and thousands of men sent out to murder and be murdered, and it is doubtful to me if the Zar can ever contoggle it up agin to be as strong as it wuz before.  You know he will nachully git his muscles and will and temper kinder stiff jinted leadin’ the armies and gittin’ so awful mad.

But, there they be, these two great nations, Japan and Russia, sendin’ out their peaceable and well-behaved sons by the thousands and hundreds of thousands to cut each other to-pieces, shoot, maim and murder each other, for that is what war is, it is on purpose to kill men, the greatest crime in the civil calendar.

As I told Josiah one night to Miss Huff’s, as I laid down a paper givin’ the details of a bloody battle which wuz headed “A Great Victory.”

Victory! the idee! hundreds of men borne bleeding from the field suffering tortures worse than death and every pang they felt twice suffered by them that loved ’em, watching and waiting at home in agonized suspense, hundreds more layin’ with their white, dead faces upturned to heaven as if in mute appeal and wonder that such a horror as war could be in a world where the words of the gentle Christ had been hearn.

Sez I, “I can’t understand it, Josiah, John Jones gits mad and kills one man, a small boneded man too, and weakly, couldn’t live long anyway, and John had been abused by him shameful and wuz dretful mad at him.  A horrified state law clutches John Jones and kills him.  Public Opinion sez good enough for John, it will keep other murderous-minded men at bay mebby.

“But I always loved justice, and if a king gits mad and kills or causes to be killed hundreds of thousands of men I can’t see why he if successful should be admired for it, have a monument riz up to show forth his nobility and school boys be taught to emulate his greatness.”

Josiah said, “That wuz different, a war between nations wuz planned ahead, it wuzn’t murder.”

“But,” sez I, “if John Jones had planned killin’ his man he would git hung the sooner.”

“Well,” sez Josiah, “great national quarrels has to be settled some way.  Nations wouldn’t go to war unless they wuz aggravated.”