Mennonites in the World War/XV

by Jonas Smucker Hartzler

The Teacher

Teaching implies that there is a teacher and one or more pupils; that the majority of those taught, whether they like the teacher or not, will try to work out the lessons while the teacher simply guides the minds of the pupils. The latter form their own conclusions. It need not imply that the lessons taught are pleasant, nor that the pupil will want to live in the elements embodied in the lessons. Some lessons are very practical and are intended for im mediate use; others simply teach how to avoid cer tain results, and keep from things which lead to sad experiences. The war was a hard and cnuel teacher, but it is to be hoped that some of its lessons have been well learned, even by the world, but especially by Christians.

War Has Taught Conservation

War has taught lessons on conservation along many lines. We can live on bread that is made from a combination of grains; it need not be pure, spring wheat. A person can get along with two pounds of sugar per month. We got along without using the automobile on Sunday. It is both convenient and economical to "Use the back of the letter for the carbon copy of the answer." Man can work hard and get along with very little meat. The list might be greatly lengthened. The purpose of all this was not that we might be able to add to our bank ac count (In some cases these economics cost more than the thing saved) but that some one else might have what we did not actually need. Save, conserve, economize, were words that went from ocean to ocean and from the Frigid Zone to the Gulf. No one meant that these bodies should not have all that was needed, but that everything should be used sparingly and to the best possible advantage and to be select ed with the good of the whole people in mind.

Some bowed to those teachings at once and got many benefits from these law r's and proclamations things which will be helpful in times of peace as well as in war. They sought cheaper foods, studied the comparative nutrient values, weighed these with the costs, and made purchases accordingly. Farm ers studied their crops in connection with the labor problem as never before. How to accomplish the most with the least outlay, and yet comply with the wishes of Government in increasing the production was a trying question, but farmers in general went at it with a determination to make the best of the situation. The classes which tried to meet the prob lem of sacrifice in this way were greatly benefited, and after the war they were in a position to adjust themselves in the reconstruction which must always follow in the path of the war. But the class which rebelled and refused to conserve except when driven to it, closed their eyes to the demands of Govern ment. The war is over. They were compelled to yield in many things, but they learned no lesson of profit because they gave no room for the spirit of sacrifice and co-operation.

Conserving for the Kingdom of God

The Church learned all of the above and more. She learned that she is better off by using greater economy even in some of the necessaries of life. She learned how to make more money and give more for the Lord's cause. Never before had she given so largely; she would not have considered it possi ble. More than all, she learned that it was possible to get along when a large per cent of her young men were taken away from her, and that for a cause which she could not endorse. The fact that she has been largely rural has helped her to conserve her man-power to the Church. Let her keep all these things in mind and conserve them for the kingdom of God; the young men and women, the accumulat ing wealth, the thought power that had been devoted to the war; let all of these be as freely used for the ingathering of the lost as they were to fill the army camps and disciplinary barracks, but let it be done willingly and not grudgingly. Conserve, not to add acre to acre or bond to bond, but soul to soul ; to add to freedom that which is freedom indeed.

Worldly Insecurity

Another lesson which the war should have taught every one is that of worldly insecurity. Peo ple were depending largely on the freedom and in dependence of the country, prosperity was enjoyed by humanity at large, peace societies were organized and were growing strong, and people thought that a great war was an impossibility; but the war has taught us the truth that so long as we are in this world we may expect difficulties between nations and that so long as people have false notions as to what constitutes national honor, so long wars will not be unknown.

The Influenza

As the war was across the sea the people who remained in this country considered themselves reasonably safe. Many prayers went up in behalf of those who crossed the briny deep, but little thought was given as to the dangers at home; but when the influenza came (the war was responsible for this also) and swept more people into their graves than the war did, some realized more and more that life was very insecure.

Mine, yet not Mine

Before the war it was a common thought that if one had money, that he was at liberty to use it as he pleased so long as he did not violate the laws of the land. Independence was prominent. "This is mine" was a common expression and usually meant that no one had any right to dictate in regard to the use that was made of it, and if someone was presumptuous enough to try to do so, no attention would be given to the demands. When liberty bond or Red Cross drives were on, regardless of one's conscien tious scruples against abetting war, others came and said, "You will donate so much to the Red Cross," or, "You will buy so many bonds." To refuse, in many cases, meant persecution. In some cases cat tle were driven away, homes ransacked, houses daubed with paint inside and out, bodies covered with tar and feathers or otherwise tortured, and all done in the name of "loyalty." But it was a kind of loyalty which received no sanction from the war department nor from any right-thinking people. At the same time it showed how insecure was all that was earthly. The sad part about it is that it took the horrors of war to teach such a meager lesson one that all should have realized and acted upon without a war, either small or great.

The Folly of Militarism

That armies and navies are absolutely no adequate preparation for defense had been shown many times but was probably never so manifest as in the late war. Germany had a mighty army, well trained in military tactics, had the best equipped munitions plants in the world, had all the latest inventions for causing destruction and death that could be found ; but at the end of four years of warfare she found herself defeated, humiliated, with dictated peace terms, under conditions that a refusal to accept would have meant more of the same kind of humilia tion and harder peace terms. She is a hated, bank rupt nation, and her children yet unborn will not live long- enough to see the nation fully recovered from the effects of the war.

That military training has proven a blessing to a comparatively small percentage of young men can not be denied, neither can it be denied that a much larger per cent have been injured very much morally and spiritually by the society of the army camp. Militarism has a few points in its favor, but it has charges enough against it, has proven a curse to humanity at large, has ruined lives enough for time and eternity to cast it into oblivion, never more to be resurrected.

True Preparedness

True preparedness is not in armies, does not lie in a large body of men well trained in military tac tics and fully equipped navies, but in trust and obedience to the living God. If the United States had been right with Him, Germany could never have touched us to our hurt. The same is true of the other countries engaged against her. Notice Israel ; the Lord fought her battles so long as she truly served Him. At such times there were no records of thousands of fatalities as there were in the late war. It was when she forsook Him that her con flicts came. It was then that her fatalities were high. True preparedness is in Jesus Christ, and in Him only.

God's Overruling for Good

Manufacturers of war materials and money kings were more interested in filling their pockets than in obeying the living God. Men thought more of the honor of their country than they did of following the lowly Nazarene and waiting to see the salvation which the Lord would bring. With this condition in this country and war in Europe, it is not at all surprising that the United States was drawn into the conflict also. If she must fight she certainly must conscript, for people had learned too well that there is a better way to settle disputes than with instruments of death and destruction. They would not go in sufficient numbers by simply voluntary enlistment. Conscription dare not be by class based on religion, hence the conscientious ob jector must go also. Our brethren went but they could not fight. They were made to suffer, but in the majority of cases their trials proved to be bless ings in disguise. They had time to study and they wanted to know what the Scriptures taught in reference to the question at hand, and when brought before the officers they were ready to give an answer for the hope that was within them. Officers in many cases tried to bring Scriptures to justify war, only to be surprised to see how quickly these young men, much younger and supposed to be ignorant, could take every argument away from them. W. G. Kellogg, chairman of the Board of Inquiry, speaking of the conscientious objectors said, "These men knew their Bible They knew it narrowly, un-

intelligently, but they knew it." The same author speaking of the Mennonite C. O., says, "His Bible, well-thumbed, is surely somewhere in his deep pockets, and he can turn readily to almost any chap ter that may be in question." While this was given with a tinge of ridicule, it must be admitted to be good testimony in this that it recognizes that Men nonite young men know their Bibles.

Two Lessons in these Incidents

First, while it is true that many of our brethren "knew their Bibles" on the points in question after they had been in camp for some time, it is also true that some of them would have fared better from the beginning if they had been more familiar with what the Bible taught before they went to camp. A good Bible knowledge is a valuable asset at all times. One of the most formidable obstacles in "getting the C. O. across" was a "Thus saith the Lord," on the tongue of the objector.

Second, while the Bible is the greatest defense that any one could have at such a time, it should be remembered that this same Bible teaches that, "all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer per secution." It costs something to live the Christ life. When the trials came, not all stood the test. Of the estimated three thousand nine hundred C. O. s, one hundred twenty-two were assigned to general mili tary service by the Board of Inquiry, three hundred ninety to noncombatant service, fifteen hundred eighty-eight were judged sincere and were recom mended for farm furlough or Friends reconstruction work. One table is given showing that of one thou sand sixty C. O/s examined in twelve different camps, five hundred fifty-four were Mennonites. It would be interesting to know how many of these came from each branch of the Church. While some branches have reported their number, others have not made very great efforts to gather this informa tion. The main branch, simply termed "Menno nites," has reported t\vo hundred fifty-two who on conscientious grounds, refused to accept service; the Old Order Amish report one hundred twenty- eight, and the Hutterites, forty-nine.

Need of More Christian Work

Those who are interested in the moral and spir itual uplift of humanity and at the same time have studied the effects of the war upon the thought-life as it is manifested in words and actions of mankind today have ample food for thought. Notwithstand ing that claims have been made that we are on the verge of a great revival in religion, it is an acknowl edged fact that profanity increased very rapidly in the camps and the soldier having returned to his home has not left his camp conversation behind him. There is a greater disregard for God and the deeper things of the Christian life than there was before the war. The Church has more to do at her own door than she had before the war, and if she fails to gather in more of this outside element and raise it to the standard of a life in Christ, she must herself expert spiritual and numerical loss. According to good authority one of the largest Protestant denom inations lost more than sixty-nine thousand members in 1919 in the United States. The war has taught many lessons and none more forcibly than the fact that it has a very damaging effect on the morals of mankind and that Paul stated a very significant fact in Galatians 6:7 "Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." The world is reaping, but if the Church does not put forth her earnest efforts to stem the tide her own existence will be in danger. She, too, will reap ! "If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them."

Prophesies and Prophesies

When the war assumed such large proportions there were a great many predictions as to the final results. Many thought that this was the consumma tion of all things; that the great battle of Armaged don would be fought in the western part of Pales tine, and when the British entered that country from Egypt, even a few Mennonites were taken up with that idea, and saw in Revelation 16:16, just before the pouring out of the seventh vial of the wrath of God, the last great battle between good and evil. Scriptures were quoted showing that the United States would get into the conflict, and in the end would be sadly defeated ; that she would become tributary to some other nation, not Germany. There were prophecies modern and prophesies ancient. The ancient ones were often twisted to fit the modern ones. The cause is easy to determine. Some one got an idea, then went to the Bible to get something to prove his point. People who follow this method of Bible study are not very apt to arrive at the truth. Study it, leaving out all preconceived ideas ; study to get the truth it intends to convey, not what you want it to convey. Most of the prophecies made in reference to the war, and especially those which were considered as based on some Scripture passage, failed to come to pass, not because the Scriptures were not true, but because some one wanted to make them say something which they did not say. Study and discuss those things which are necessary to sal vation and the spiritual welfare of mankind instead of speculating on Scripture passages. It is more profitable.

Value of Right Living

With conditions as enumerated, one can readily understand that normal thinking was hardly to be expected. Hence at such times, above all others, right living is highly essential. Regular food, not too great a variety, very plain, not excessive in amount but enough, seemed to agree with the young men in camp, and the majority of them were com paratively healthy. The "conserving" campaign in the homes proved a blessing rather than a curse. These are lessons which should be retained. But the influence of right living in a higher and nobler sense was then, and is now, of still greater value.

When thought in general was along lines of hatred, murder, and destruction; when the newspapers were full of everything that was bad about the enemy; and when deeds were represented as good or bad according to who did them rather than on the merits or demerits of the act, it was indeed needful that the Christ-life should shine out very clearly. Thus every act would not only point to a better life but would also be a rebuke to sin which seemed to reign unchecked. Right living is always needful, but never more so than when, as then, Satan seemed to be taking everything by storm. The darker the night, the brighter the light shines and the more it is appreciated by the lost and weary traveler. May the lessons on right living, as taught by the war, not .soon be forgotten.