Were it not for the rich diamond mines at Kimberly and the gold mines of Johannesburg in South Africa, there never would have been such a historical event as the Boer War. It was not an insult to English pride which prompted John Bull to spend over a billion dollars to humble the hardy Dutch nation under Krueger; the possession of the rich mines was the real goal. But once the conflict was on, national pride forced the English nation to carry it to a victorious end, whatever the cost. The same cause, the retention of India under the British flag, brought about the Sepoy mutiny.

Going back further into the history of England, the loss of her American colonies is directly traceable to the greed of her capitalists. Out of their enlarged opportunities they wanted to get all they could, despite the danger of trespassing by their heavy exactions upon the peaceable nature of the colonists. The tea tax was the spark which set aflame the American revolution. The tax could not be construed as a patriotic measure. It was a scheme for material aggrandizement. George III, to enrich the exchequer of his nation and indirectly the personal fortunes of his subjects, attempted to do it by forcing the colonies in America to pay his country a greater tribute. By his efforts to lay hands on more money, England lost an important colony. What, then, was this war, when stripped of all its romanticism, but the result of speculation? It was a case of a nation's greed overstepping itself.

The same factors were evident in the late war between Japan and Russia. Patriotism and national pride had no share in bringing about this conflict. Rich Manchuria and the possession of Korea, which also meant the dominance over the commerce of China, were at the bottom of the conflict. Japan wanted this enormous business. Russia was equally covetous. It was therefore inevitable that the friction between the two nations, wholly the outcome of their commercial expansion, could be settled only by war and the prize fall to the victor after sacrificing many hundred thousands of lives and piling up a huge war debt for each as a heritage for many future generations. And so it was in the great European conflict which was precipitated in August, 1914. It was perhaps even more openly commercial than any of the wars mentioned.

What is true of nations is true of individuals also. They seek greater opportunities to make money. Between individuals their interests when they conflict are fought out in the arena of competition. The mastery falls to those who are the shrewder and more aggressive contenders. Yet beneath the outward semblance of competition is the greater force - speculation. We cannot get away from it. Wherever we turn we are brought face to face with it.