tments written
daily; the most distressing pictures drawn by the imagination are
surpassed by the realities of this indescribable contest. Surely we
behold "the pestilence that walketh in darkness and the destruction
that wasteth at noonday."

Neutral nations cannot look on with indifference--the ties that bind
them together are too strong, the relationship too intimate. This is
especially true of the United States. We have a composite population,
every nation of Europe having contributed liberally to our
citizenship. These our countrymen, themselves born abroad or
immediately descended from foreign-born ancestors, cannot but take a
likely interest in the conduct as well as in the results of the war,
and a still larger circle shares the concern of those directly
connected. Not a soldier falls on either side but the sorrow expressed
in his home finds an echo at some fireside in the United States.

But, aside from sentimental considerations, neutral nations suffer
serious disturbances because of the war. Duelists, when dueling was in
fashion, were careful to select a place where they could settle their
personal differences without harm to unoffending bystanders, but
warring nations cannot, no matter how earnestly they try, avoid injury
to neutrals. As the nauseous odors of a slaughterhouse, carried on the
breeze, pollute the air in every direction, so the evil influences
emanating from these wide-extended battlefields taint the atmosphere
of the whole political world. War is an international nuisance. Nearly
every neutral nation finds new domestic problems thrust upon it and
old problems made more difficult.

No American citizen can note without deep concern the manner in which
war questions have intruded themselves into our politics--overshadowing
economic issues and stimulating agitation in favor of enlarged
appropriations for military and naval purposes. Business is deranged
and expensive readjustments made necessary, while commerce with
foreign nations is seriously interrupted. Fluctuations in price abroad
are reflected in the markets of the United States. A fall of one cent
in the price of cotton means tens of millions of dollars to our
producers and merchants. Added to this, freight rates and insurance
premiums have been increased to cover the greater risks incident to
war.

Scarcity of ships is one of the greatest commercial embarrassments
caused by the war. We have depended largely upon foreign ships to
carr