The spirit of war

General Percin, who is president of the A. G. G. R. (General Association of Repentant Generals), has just published an article to indicate to us the best strategic method and the tactical procedures suitable for combating the spirit of war.

IT is necessary to burn the books which magnify the massacres and exalt the atrocities. Streets bearing the names of great battles and great generals must be renamed. Children should not be given any cuirass, even a light one; for lead soldiers who sleep in their boxes (like an illustrious marshal) are more dangerous than one might think for the rest of the people.

The lesson given by General Percin was lost on M. Millerand.

Mr. Millerand “gifted the Bey of Tunis a saber “whose decoration in chiseled vermeil and jade blue shagreen is a real marvel”.

Mr. Millerand probably had no bad intentions when he offered S. A. Mohamed el Habib this vermeil and shagreen saber. He gave her that as he would have given her a coffee service or an artistic pipe.

Perhaps this saber (but this is no doubt attributing to M. Millerand very subtle and very profound thoughts) was a symbolic saber, like the sword that Perseus found after his victory over the monster. The sword found by Perseus bore, engraved on its blade, and in a language forgotten for two thousand years, the inscription: "Take me..." But it also bore, on the other side of the blade, and in a language which will only be spoken in ten thousand years, that other inscription: "Laisse-moi..." Mr. Léon Bérard probably knows this legend, unless it comes to my mind, not by reminiscence, but by effect of imagination.

The Bey of Tunis certainly understood His saber as another symbolic weapon, similar to that wielded by Mr. Joseph Prudhomme. This sword, which is the happiest day in the life of H.H. Mohamed El Habib, was given to him by Mr. Millerand, to defend France and, if necessary, to fight it.

Never put swords or matches in the hands of children.

Fortunately, a comforting sight for our General Percin was given on Sunday, at the Champ de Mars.

Twenty-five thousand gymnasts, culottes in white and belted in blue, came to maneuver on the Champ de Mars, under the direction of ecclesiastics friends of peace, after having attended. at a solemn mass at Notre-Dame.

The times are long gone when these young hopefuls, driven by the desire for improbable revenge, pranced behind the bugles of Mr. Déroulède, vehement precursor of the mysterious Barrès.

For the sake of peace, the twenty-five thousand gymnasts performed effective anti-militarist propaganda exercises. After walking on their heads, running on all fours, crawling on their stomachs and prelude to the training that makes the agile firefighter and the perfect burglar, our gymnasts offered us a painting that is an apotheosis: "Le Triomphe du Poilu".

A dozen young athletes, entwined by the arms and forehead to forehead, formed a living pedestal. On the pedestal, two other young people, squatting, stretched their backs, where two other gymnasts were standing. At the top of the human pyramid, one could see the Military, in uniform, executing the regulation salute.

A few steps away, another group, composed in the same way, carried Alsace, brandishing a flag. Lorraine, of course, had nothing to envy to Alsace. El la Victoire, perched on a third heap of culs-blancs, held out to the soldier a palm leaf of gilt paper.

Now, under the Military, under Alsace, under Lorraine, under Victory, motionless, puffing, suffering, trampled and patient, very proud because they supported, in their idea something strong and magnificent, stood the poor buggers, silent dupes, living image of eternal pears.

On their front pages, all our popular newspapers have published the reproduction of the "Triumph of the Poilu", figured by the youth of France.

But they omitted to dedicate the photograph to General Percin, president of the General Association of Repentant Generals.

G. DE LA FOUCHARDIERE