This guide accompanies the following article: Christian Fuchs, 'New Media, Web 2.0 and Surveillance', Sociology Compass 5/2 (2011): 134–147, [DOI]. 10.1111/j.1751‐9020.2010.00354.xIntroductionThe Internet has become part of our everyday lives. Many of us use it for work, hobbies, entertainment, politics, staying in touch with friends and family, learning to know new people and other cultures, for getting all kind of information, etc. In the past 10 years, we have seen the emergence of platforms like Facebook and Myspace (social networking sites), Wordpress and Blogger (blogging) Twitter (social networking, microblogging), YouTube (video sharing), Wikipedia (wiki‐based encyclopaedia), or the Pirate Bay (filesharing index site). The notions of 'web 2.0' and 'social media' have been used by some scholars to describe features of such sites such as community‐building and maintenance, continuous communication, user‐generated content production and diffusion, collaborative authoring, and distributed content classifications (the latter mechanism is also called folksonomy). Most web 2.0 platforms collect, store, and share a lot of personal user data and data about usage behaviour. Therefore, questions about privacy violations and online surveillance have arisen in public discussions, especially concerning Google (for example the discussions about Google targeted advertising, Google Street View, Google Buzz, etc.) and Facebook (for example the discussions concerning Facebook targeted advertising, Facebook beacon, the Facebook privacy policy, Facebook places, etc.). The field of web 2.0 surveillance studies critically asks questions about the data protection aspects and power dimensions of the contemporary Internet. It is crucial for students and scholars, who are interested in the contemporary media landscape, and who study in fields such as media/communication studies, cultural studies, political science, law, computer science, social informatics, information science, sociology, business studies, advertising, marketing and public relations, philosophy, ethics, science and technology studies etc., to also engage with web 2.0 surveillance studies.Recommended readings Fuchs, Christian. 2010. 'Labour in Informational Capitalism and on the Internet'. The Information Society 26(3): 179–96. doi: 10.1080/01972241003712215 Christian Fuchs discusses in this article the political economy of the contemporary Internet. He does so by giving first an introduction to Karl Marx's analysis of capitalism that is then applied for understanding aspects of the exploitation of the users of contemporary commercial Internet platforms like Facebook. Fuchs uses Dallas Smythe's notion of the audience commodity for critically discussing the business models of web 2.0. He coins the notion of Internet prosumer labour in this context. He concludes that on commercial web 2.0 platforms, user activity tends to become exploited and is unpaid labour. Surveillance is situated in the framework of this analysis. Andrejevic, Mark. 2002. 'The Work of Being Watched'. Critical Studies in Media Communication 19(2): 230–48. doi: 10.1080/07393180216561 Mark Andrejevic argues in this article that contemporary commercial forms of interactive media make use of surveillance for exploiting consumers. He introduces in this context the notion of 'the work of being watched'. This concept is based on Sut Jhally's concept of the work of watching. Andrejevic also introduces the notion of the digital enclosure and gives very good examples for online surveillance. Albrechtslund, Anders. 2008. 'Online Social Networking as Participatory Surveillance'. First Monday 13(3). [online]. Retrieved on 1 March 2011 from: http://www.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/2142/1949. In this article, Anders Albrechtslund introduces the notion of participatory surveillance. Other than Fuchs and Andrejevic, Albrechtslund has a rather positive concept of surveillance, he focuses on the description of potentially empowering aspects of social networking sites and other web 2.0 technologies. Albrechtslund stresses the social dimension of web 2.0, its ability for enabling communication, sharing, and community‐building. Mathiesen, Thomas. 2004. Silently Silenced. Essays on the Creation of Acquiescence in Modern Society. Winchester: Waterside Press. In this short 100 page book, Thomas Mathiesen discusses mechanisms and examples of how political opposition is silently silenced, that is ideologically forestalled. The work is a masterpiece of contemporary ideology critique. Mathiesen identifies mechanisms of how silent silencing works and gives many examples. In chapter 8, it is discussed how the corporate Internet works as system of silent silencing or what Mathiesen terms the synopticon. Mathiesen's work is influenced among others by Foucault and Frankfurt School ideology critique. Campbell, John E. and Matt, Carlson M. 2002. 'Panopticon.com: Online Surveillance and the Commodification of Privacy'. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media 46(4): 586–606. doi: 10.1207/s15506878jobem4604_6 In this paper, Campbell and Carlson discuss the usefulness of Michel Foucault's notion of the panopticon as technology of surveillance for explaining how Internet advertising and marketing work. They employ a political economy framework and argue that Internet advertising and marketing commodify users' private data and their privacy.Online materialsThe following online journals are very good sources for further papers about critical internet studies, information society studies, surveillance studies, and privacy studies:
tripleC: Journal for a Global Sustainable Information Society. http://www.triple‐c.at Surveillance and Society. http://www.surveillance‐and‐society.org First Monday. http://firstmonday.org/ Journal of Privacy and Confidentiality. http://repository.cmu.edu/jpc/
Sample syllabusTopics for Lectures and DiscussionWeek I: Foundations of surveillance studiesReadings:Foucault, Michel. 1977. 'Panopticims.' (Part 3). Pp. 195–228 in Discipline and Punish. New York: Vintage.Lyon, David. 1994. 'Surveillance in Modern Society' (Chapter 2). Pp. 22–39 in The Electronic Eye. Cambridge: Polity.Lyon, David. 2007. 'Explaining Surveillance' (I.3). Pp. 46–70 in Surveillance Studies. An Overview. Cambridge: Polity.Week II: Foucault's surveillance theory and the panopticon: criticism and defenceReadings:Lyon, David (ed.) 2006. 'Pre‐ and Post‐Panopticism: The Search for Surveillance Theories.' Pp. 3–20 in Theorizing Surveillance. Portland, OR: Willan.Haggerty Kevin. 2006. 'Tear Down the Walls: On Demolishing the Panopticon.' Pp. 23–45 in Theorizing Surveillance, edited by David Lyon. Portland, OR: Willan.Fuchs, Christian. 2010. How Can Surveillance Be Defined? Remarks on Theoretical Foundations of Surveillance Studies. Vienna: Unified Theory of Information Research Group. SNS3 Research Paper No.1. ISSN 2219‐603X. http://www.sns3.uti.at/wordpress/wp‐content/uploads/2010/10/The‐Internet‐Surveillance‐Research‐Paper‐Series‐1‐Christian‐Fuchs‐How‐Surveillance‐Can‐Be‐Defined.pdfWeek III: What is web 2.0?Readings:Fuchs, Christian. 2010. 'Social Software and Web 2.0: Their Sociological Foundations and Implications.' Pp. 764–89 in Handbook of Research on Web 2.0, 3.0, and X.0: Technologies, Business, and Social Applications. Volume II, edited by San Murugesan. Hershey, PA: IGI‐Global.Castells, Manuel. 2009. 'Communication in the Digital Age' (Chapter 2). Pp. 54–136 in Communication Power. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Alternative to reading Castells (2009):Castells, Manuel. 2010. 'Communication Power: Mass Communication, Mass Self‐Communication, and Power Relationships in the Network Society.' Pp. 3–17 in Media and Society, edited by James Curran. London: Bloomsbury.Scholz, Trebor. 2008. 'Market Ideology and the Myths of Web 2.0.'First Monday 13(3). [online]. Retrieved on 1 March 2011 from: http://firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/2138/1945.Week IV: Computing and surveillanceThe role of surveillance in the age of computingReadings:Marx, Gary T. 2002. 'What's New About the "New Surveillance"? Classifying for Change and Continuity.'Surveillance & Society 1(1): 9–29.Lyon, David. 1998. 'The World Wide Web of Surveillance. The Internet and Off‐World Power‐Flows.'Information, Communication & Society 1(1): 91–105.Clarke, Roger. 1988. 'Information Technology and Dataveillance.'Communications of the ACM 31(5): 498–512.Week V: The capitalist business and ideology of surveillanceReadings:Gandy, Oscar H. 1996. 'Coming to Terms with the Panoptic Sort.' Pp. 132–55 in Computers, Surveillance & Privacy, edited by David Lyon and Elia Zureik. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.Mathiesen, Thomas. 1997. 'The Viewer Society. Michel Foucault's "Panopticon" Revisited.'Theoretical Criminology 1(2): 215–34. doi: 10.1177/1362480697001002003Week VI: The Internet prosumer commodityReadings:Smythe, Dallas W. 1981. 'On the Audience Commodity and Its Work.' Pp. 230–56 in Media and Cultural Studies, edited by Meenakshi G. Durham and Douglas M. Kellner. Malden, MA: Blackwell.Fuchs, Christian. 2010. 'Labour in Informational Capitalism and on the Internet.'The Information Society 26(3): 179–96. doi: 10.1080/01972241003712215Week VII: The work of watching and the work of being watchedReadings:Jhally, Sut. 2006. 'Chapters: Watching as Working. The Valorization of Audience Consciousness. The Political Economy of Culture'. Pp. 25–61 in The Spectacle of Accumulation. New York: Peter Lang.Andrejevic, Mark. 2002. 'The Work of Being Watched.'Critical Studies in Media Communication 19(2): 230–48. doi: 10.1080/07393180216561Week VIII: Economic online surveillance and web 2.0Readings:Mathiesen, Thomas. 2004. 'Panopticon and Synopticon as Silencing Systems' (Chapter 8). Pp. 98–102 in Silently Silenced. Essays on the Creation of Acquiescence in Modern Society. Winchester: Waterside Press.Fuchs, Christian, Kees Boersma, Anders Albrechtslund, Marisol Sandoval (eds) 2011. The Internet and Surveillance. New York: Routledge.
Chapter by Christian Fuchs: 'Critique of the Political Economy of Web 2.0 Surveillance.' Chapter by Marisol Sandoval: 'A Critical Empirical Case Study of Consumer Surveillance on Web 2.0.' Chapter by Thomas Allmer: 'Critical Internet Surveillance Studies and Economic Surveillance.'
Campbell, John E. and Matt, Carlson M. 2002. 'Panopticon.com: Online Surveillance and the Commodification of Privacy.'Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media 46(4): 586–606. doi: 10.1207/s15506878jobem4604_6Focus questionsDiscussion in week 1:What different kinds of definitions of surveillance are there? Compile various definitions by making a literature search. Compare these definitions and discuss how surveillance should best be defined.Discussion in week 2:Discuss first in small groups of 3–5 and compare then the results of the group discussions in a general discussion.Consider the following list of information processing phenomena. Which one do you consider as surveillance, which one's not? Compare your results with the results of your colleagues. Discuss then if a Foucauldian understanding of surveillance fits your understanding of surveillance or not. Discuss pro and con arguments for 'demolishing' Foucault's notion of the panopticon. Discuss if using the notion of the panopticon makes political and theoretical sense in contemporary society or not.
teachers watching private activities of pupils via webcams at Harriton High School, Pennsylvania, the employment of the DART system (Deep‐ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis) in the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Caribbean Sea for detecting tsunamis, the scanning of the fingerprints of visitors entering the United States, consensual online video sex chat of adults, parents observing their sleeping sick baby with a camera or babyphone in order to see if it needs their help, the use of speed cameras for identifying speeders (involves state power), the seismographic early detection of earthquakes, electronic monitoring bracelets for prisoners in an open prison system, the scanning of Internet and phone data by secret services with the help of the Echelon system and the Carnivore software, the usage of a GPS‐based car navigation system for driving to an unknown destination, the usage of full body scanners at airports, biometrical passports containing digital fingerprints, the use of the DoubleClick advertising system by Internet corporations for collecting data about users' online browsing behaviour and providing them with targeted advertising, CCTV cameras in public means of transportation for the prevention of terrorism, the assessment of customer shopping behaviour with the help of loyalty cards, the data collection in marketing research, the usage of smog and air pollution warning systems, the publication of sexual paparazzi photos of celebrities in a tabloid, the assessment of personal images and videos of applicants on Facebook by employers prior to a job interview, drinking water quality measurement systems, the collection of data about potential or actual terrorists in the TIDE database (Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment) by the US National Counterterrorism Center, Passenger Name Record (PNR) data transfer from Europe to the United States in aviation, the permanent electrocardiogram of a cardiac infarction patient, the activities of radioactivity measuring stations for detecting nuclear power plant disasters, Telekomgate: spying on employees, trade unionists, journalists, and members of the board of directors by the German Telekom, measurement of meteorological data for weather forecasts the video filming of employees in Lidl supermarkets and assessment of the data by managers in Germany, the usage of a fire detector and alarm system and a fire sprinkling system in a public school, watching the watchers: corporate watch systems, filming of the police beating of Rodney King (LA 1992), YouTube video of the police killing of Neda Soltan (Iran 2009) systems for detecting and measuring temperature, humidity, and smoke in forest areas that are prone to wildfires.
Discussion in week 3:Work in groups of 3–5 people. Compile a list of Internet platforms that you use. Based on the literature that you have read about web 2.0, try to identify key qualities of the communication processes that are supported by the Internet platforms on your list. Discuss if it makes sense to employ notions like 'web 2.0' and 'social media'. Discuss how the communication qualities of the platforms you listed are connected to/enable surveillance. Compare the results in a plenary discussion.Discussion in week 4:Work first in groups of 3–5 people. Discuss the meaning of the notions of the panoptic sort and the synopticon. Make a list of examples, where surveillance plays a role in the economy. Make a list of examples, where surveillance, the media, and information technology function as means for advancing ideologies. Discuss to which examples the notions of the panoptic sort and/or the synopticon can be applied. Discuss first in the small group and then in general with all colleagues in the seminar how useful the notions of the panoptic sort and the synopticon are for understanding the contemporary Internet and media landscape.Discussion in week 5:Work first in groups of 3–5 people. Find examples for the connection of computers and surveillance. Based on your list of examples and the read literature, try to identify key qualities of computer‐based surveillance. Compare the three articles of Marx, Lyon, and Clarke: What are the key characteristics of computer‐based surveillance for each of the three authors? How do the three approaches differ? What do they have in common? If you compare computer‐based and non‐computer based forms of surveillance, what are commonalities and differences? Can we speak in the case of computer‐based surveillance of a new form of surveillance?Compare the group discussion results to the results of the discussions in the other groups.Discussion in week 6:Work first in groups of 3–5 people. Discuss the meaning of the notions of the audience commodity and the Internet prosumer commodity. Find examples for how the audience commodity works in the area of advertising in newspapers and TV. Find examples for the Internet prosumer commodity in relation to web 2.0 platforms that you use. Discuss the role of surveillance in Internet prosumer commodification. Discuss if you as Interner prosumers that use Facebook, Google, YouTube, etc. are exploited by the companies owning these platforms or not. If you think you are exploited, what can be politically done in order to overcome the exploitation of labour on the Internet? Compare the results of the group discussions and conduct a general discussion about the crucial questions.Discussion in week 7:Work first in groups of 3–5 people. Discuss the meaning of the notions of the work of watching and the work of being watched. Discuss the role of surveillance in the work of being watched. Find examples both for the work of watching and the work of being watched. Compare Dallas Smythe's concept of the audience commodity to Sut Jhally's concept of the work of watching. Compare Fuchs's concept of Internet prosumer commodification to Andrejevic's concept of the work of being watched online. What are differences and commonalities? Compare the results of the group discussions. Discuss with all colleagues what the political implications of economic online surveillance are: How dangerous is economic online surveillance and online labour exploitation? What can be done about it politically?Discussion in week 8:Work first in groups of 3–5 people. Based on the read literature, make a list of qualities of economic surveillance on web 2.0. Identify which web 2.0 platforms you read most frequently. Read the terms of use and privacy policies of these platforms. Make a list, how each of these platforms exactly uses your data and usage behaviour data, for economic purposes. List for each platform what kind of data about you it stores, collects from other Internet platforms, which data it is allowed to sell for advertising purposes, and which data about you or that you upload becomes property of the platform owner. How does the organization model of Wikipedia differ from the ones of Facebook and Google? Inform yourself about the alternative web 2.0 platform Diaspora. What are its organizational principles, how do they differ from Facebook? Compare the results of the group work.Conduct a general discussion about the following questions: What are the problems of surveillance on web 2.0? What are the advantages and disadvantages of platforms like Facebook, Google, YouTube, Twitter? How can advantages and disadvantages be overcome? Do you see possibilities for creating a non‐commercial Internet or non‐commercial Internet platforms? What are advantages and disadvantages of a non‐commercial, non‐profit, commons‐based Internet?Seminar/project ideaInternet Studies in general and Critical Internet Studies and Web 2.0 Surveillance Studies are very young fields of studies. There are a lot of unexplored topics relating to the political economy of web 2.0 that have thus far not been pursued. Writing master's theses and dissertations in this area is not only interesting and important, but is also a lot of fun because one engages in research about those media that we have come used to utilize in our everyday life and work. Students may also consider to present chapters from their dissertations or theses at international conferences, like the PhD student workshops and conferences of the ICTs and Society Network (http://www.icts‐and‐society.net) or the annual conference of the Association of Internet Researchers (http://www.air.org).Research results can also be presented to the public in the form of blog postings or small articles for popular journals or newspapers. For writing for these more popular formats, it is good to connect more theoretical ideas to concrete events and phenomena in the world of the Internet (see the example writings on the NetPoliticsBlog: http://fuchs.uti.at/blog). One can also pursue writing an op‐ed piece for a daily newspaper.Social movements and groups that discuss Internet politics and want to foster a common and free access to knowledge and the Internet can be interesting discussion and co‐operation partners for scholars, which can give a more practical dimension to research.Short BiographyChristian Fuchs holds the chair in media and communication studies at Uppsala University's Department of Informatics and Media. He is also board member of the Unified Theory of Information Research Group, Austria, and editor of tripleC (cognition, communication, co‐operation): Journal for a Global Sustainable Information Society. He studied computer science at the Vienna University of Technology in the years 1994–2000. He completed his PhD in 2002 at the Vienna University of Technology. In 2000–2006, he was lecturer for information society studies at the Institute of Design and Technology Assessment of the Vienna University of Technology. He was a research associate at the same department in the years 2002–2004. At the University of Salzburg, he was assistant professor in the years 2005–2007 and associate professor from 2008 to 2010 in the field of ICTs and society. His main research fields are: social theory, critical theory, critical political economy of media, information, technology; information society studies, ICTs and society. He is author of many academic publications, including the books Internet and Society: Social Theory in the Information Age (New York: Routledge, 2008) and Foundations of Critical Media and Information Studies (New York: Routledge, 2011). He is co‐editor of The Internet and Surveillance (edited by Christian Fuchs, Kees Boersma, Anders Albrechtslund and Marisol Sandoval). He co‐ordinates the research project Social Networking Sites in the Surveillance Society (2010–2013), which is funded by the Austrian Science Fund FWF and is management committee member of the EU COST Action Living in Surveillance Societies (2009–2013).
The College Mefcufy. VOL. IV. GETTYSBURG, PA., DECEMBER, 1896. No. 8. THE COLLEGE MEftClPRY, Published each month during the college year by the Students of Pennsylvania (Gettysburg) College. STAFF. Editor: ROBBIN B. WOLF, '97. Associate Editors : LEWIS C. MANGES, '97. ED. W. MEISEN H ELDER, SAMUEL J. MILLER '97. CHARLES T. LARK '98. JOHN W. OTT, '97. CHARLES H. TILP, '98. E. L. KOLLER, '98. Alumni Association Editor: REV. D. FRANK GARLAND, A. M., Baltimore, Md. Business Manager: HARRY R, SMITH, '97. Assistant Business Manager: JOHN E. MEISENHELDER, '97. ".". jOne volume (ten months). . . . $l.no iMiMS-\Siuglecoples, . . .15 Payable in advance All Students are requested to hand us matter for publication The Alumni and ex-members or the College will favor us by-sending Information concerning their whereabouts or any Items they may think would be Interesting for publication. All subscriptions and business matters should be addressed to the business manager. Matter intended for publication should be addressed to the Editor. Address, THE COLLEGE MEHCUKY, Gettysburg, Pa. CONTENTS. EDITORIAL, 114 DE ORATORE, - --. --- 117 AN ADVENTURE (Poetry), --- 118 AN APPEAL, "9 A LULL FROM THE HIVE (Poetry), --- 120 COLLEGE LOCALS, 120 ALUMNI NOTES, -- 122 ATHLETIC NOTES, 125 TOWN AND SEMINARY NOTES, 127 FRATERNITY NOTES, - --- '--128 SUBJECTS FOR "ROMAN LAW" THESES, 129 LITERARY SOCIETIES, --- . - - 129 EXCHANGES, --- 129 EDITORIAL. REVIEWS ! Examinations ! ! Vacation ! ! ! The stereot3rped program is about to be ren-dered. The term, on the whole, has been un-usually pleasant. Seldom has there been a fall session of so much charming weather. This has been conducive to good spirits with the professors as well as with the bo}rs. Sev-eral interruptions broke the monotony of col-lege work—the foot-ball games, the visit of the Columbian Club, Election day, Thanksgiving day, Institute week and several others. The work in the class-room has been very good, and this is somewhat surprising in the face of the great temptation to stay out-of-doors. The moral and spiritual work of the term is shown in the excellent results in the Y. M. C. A., alike in the meeetings, in the efforts among the non-members, and in the continu-ation of the week of prayer during the second week. Neither has athletic activity been neglected. The "gridiron," bowling alleys, gymnasium and tennis courts have been well patronized. After all comes vacation, especially desired by the Freshmen. The MERCURY extends to all its heartiest wishes for a Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year. ' + * * INTER-COLLEGIATE ORATORICAL CONTEST TO BE HELD AT GETTYSBURG.—The annual meeting of the delegates composing the Com-mittee of Arrangements of the State Inter-collegiate Oratorical Union was held at the Windsor Hotel, Philadelphia, on Saturday, Nov. 21st. Fourteen representatives were present from the seven following colleges : Lafayette, Lehigh, Muhlenberg, Franklin and Marshal, Ursinus, Swarthmore and Gettys- "S THE COLLEGE MERCURY. burg. Our delegates were G. F. Abel, '97, from Philo, and R. B. Woll, '97, from Phrena. President Yetter, late of Muhlenberg, called the meeting to order. The unfinished business was then taken up and completed. The re-quest of Susquehanna University for admission was refused on the grounds that the Union is large enough and the University very young. After hearing the delegates, it was decided to hold the contest at Gettysburg on March 27th, 1897. Hon. John Stuart, of Chambers-burg; Hon. J. B. McPherson, of Harrisburg, and Hon. Rob't E. Pattison, of Philadelphia, were chosen to act as judges of the contest. The officers elected are: Pres., R. N. Hood, of Lehigh ; Vice Pres., W. E. Stoeckel, of Muhlenberg; Treas., G. F. Abel, of Get-tysburg; Sec, \V. H. Kready, of Franklin and Marshal ; Executive Committee, Blair, of Swarthmore; Shenk, of Lafayette; Wolf, of Gettysburg, and the Pres. and Sec. ex officio. A rotation system was adopted so as to have the contest held once in every seven years at each college. The contest will be held at Gettysburg, 1897; Lafayette, 1898; Lehigh, 1899; Muhlenberg, 1900; Ursinus, 1901; Franklin and Marshal, 1902, and Swarthmore, 1903. A communication has just been received from Muhlenberg asking Gettysburg to ex-change with her. The following considera-tions make such an exchange desirable : the expense and trouble attending the contest and the fact that our oratorical talent does not promise us the prize. The expense will be from sixty to one hundred dollars, even if we can overcome the trouble; but when Gettys-burg has the contest, she should have a fair prospect of the prize. The only objection to the exchange is that Muhlenburg has already had the contest there, while Gettysburg has never had it. No action has yet been taken on the matter. * * * IT is to be hoped that the article in our last issue, on the Gettysburg Club at New Haven, by Wm. J. Gies, has been thoughtfully read and pondered by the different Alumni. This is at present the only Gettysburg Alumni Club in existence, outside of the general associa-tion. There should be other clubs of this kind at such centres as York, Philadelphia, Balti-more, Harrisburg, Altooua and other places. Such organizations are not only pleasant for the members, but are beneficent to the institu-tion. One of the chief objects of the clubs should be to furnish recruits for the college. No doubt the motive which prompted the New Haven men to form a Gettysburg Club was their interest in their Alma Mater. There are few better ways of showing your interest in the college, than by the formation of such clubs. The New Haven men have already had let-ter heads printed. At the top of the page in large characters are the words, The Yale Get-tysburg Club, while to the left in small type is a list of the officers for i896-'g7. Pres., Wm. J. Gies, '93; Vice Pres., C. F. Kloss, '94; Historian, H. L. M. Hoffman, '95; Sec, A. H. Brown, '96; Treas., D. F. Culler, '93, * * * OUR RELATIONS WITH DICKINSON.—There has been considerable talk, throughout the present term, in favor of contracting friendly relations with Dickinson. Our neighbor has intimated that we ought to come on bended knees and uncovered heads and apologize for all the defeats which she has suffered at the hands of the Gettysburg athletic teams. Get-tysburg has too much dignity to submit to such conditions, but being eager to renew the annual games with Dickinson and desirous of being on friendty terms with her neighbors, the Gettysburg boys held a mass meeting and selected one of the professors to meet with rep-resentatives from Dickinson. So much for Gettysburg. What has been the response of Dickinson ? She sent fifty of her boys to Harrisburg on the day of our game with Swarthmore, who did their utmost to have Gettysburg defeated. The Dickinsonian in their issue of Nov. 7th, recog-nizing the disgraceful character of such be-havior, offers the following by way of apology: THE COLLEGE MERCURY. 116 "There were some men whose behavior at Har-risburg, had they been college men, would have disgraced Dickinson. The}7 were town boys and not students of the college, yet Dick-inson will, in all probability, get a bad repu-tation on account of the incident.'' This sounds plausible. But the facts are in evidence against it. Several of the Gettysburg boys, being fraternity men, went up and spoke with the Dickinson men belonging to their respect-ive fraternities and thus found out that the students had been doing all the mean work for which their Weekly blames the town men. But in glancing over the Dickinsonian, a second article is noticed. This was probably written by one of the associate editors, who was ignorant of the scheme to get out of the trouble. This article says : "Dickinson rooted lustilv for Swarthmore and we do not consider this in any degree objectionable. We do, however, think that the ungentlemanly con-duct and disgraceful language of a few of the students is deserving of the harshest censure. Just such actions as these are the cause of so much talk about college rowdyism." Let the readers form their own conclusions, from the two quotations, as to the attitude of Dickinson towards Gettysburg. * * * WE take pleasure in calling the attention of the readers to the publication of the '98 Spec-trum. The work is being pushed vigorously by the class, and judging from the present prospects, it will be an unusually interesting one. The men on the Staff are the leading members of the class and are exerting all their powers to make it a success. The Alumni department of which Win. J. Gies, '93, has been elected editor, will be one of the import-ant new features. The artist's corps is also very good as was seen in their work on the '97 Spectrum. Many new cuts will supplant the old ones which have been reproduced in nearly all the preceding issues. These and several other features point to a good book, one which deserves support. It comes only once a year. It need not be paid for till May, '96. Send in your subscriptions now and thus give them encouragement in their task. All suggestions which may tend to improve the publication will be very thankfully received by the Staff. * * * EVERYONE desires to enter the coming new year with a clean record for the past year. To this end, kindly pay your subscription fee to the MERCURY. Our treasury is very low and we, .too, would like to enter the new year with everything squared up for the old. If you are in doubt as to the amount of your ar-rears, consult the Business Manager. ' * * * FEVERISH HASTE.—Americans are always in a hurry. Proverbs on the foolishness of haste seem to have no influence. We work with one eye on the clock. Trains move too slow for us. Steamers are regular snails. We can "do" Europe in a month and he is a poor sight-seeing traveler who cannot see Rome in three days. We "run" down to the city. We "run" out west. We "rush" to conventions and "rush" through them as well. Every-thing must have the electric movement, in seeking wealth, in seeking pleasure, in ac-quiring an education and even in prayer and praise. We have gotten beyond the "long" sermon and there is no place in the liturgy of devotion for practical men and women for the "long" prayer. We sympathize with John Foster who longed for the power of touching men and women with the spell of "be quiet." No thorough work can be done in a hurry. No great picture was ever painted by contract against time. The author who writes the book that lives must have leisure, quiet and the seclusion of his stud}7, away from the rush-ing tide of busy life. The old "A B C" method may be slow but it is sensible. He is wise who takes time for thorough preparation for his life-work, who is willing to work and to wait. Feverish haste to get into college, feverish haste to get through and into the business or profession of one's choice is all a mistake, a costly blunder. The old proverb can be wisely applied to one seeking an edu-cation, "Make haste slowly." G. THE COLLEGE MERCURY. WILLING WORKERS.—There is always work awaiting the willing worker. He who puts his whole heart into his work will be success- ! Inl in it. He will always be wanted in his business or his profession. He who goes grumbling to his task will soon find himself going backward in his work until finally he may be "out of a job" altogether. In every business and in every profession we are told there is always "room at the top." Here at the top is where you find the willing worker. What an army of unwilling workers then there must be in the world. There are far too many workmen who throw down their tools where they stand on the instant the bell announces '•quit work" and who will wait next day. patiently for the signal to begin again. Where you find one man who magnifies his office, by throwing his whole soul in his work, and bending every energy to success in it, you must find nine or perhaps ninety-nine who work mechanically. Even in the ministry there are men who are forever haunted with the fear of doing unrewarded work. I sup-pose it is true in every profession that the few willingly work for the work's sake, and the many struggle along merely as a matter of business necessity. This characteristic of will-ingness to work is to be seen in student-life, where habits of work are formed and fixed. Many boys, and girls, too, for that matter, are in college merely to "finish" their education, as if that were a thing possible of achievement, or to get a diploma, to be graduated. The result is they "finish" when they get their diploma. They are at the end of advancement then, and have reached the limit of progress. For the remainder of life, as up to that time work pushes theni, they belong to the great army of Unwilling workers. But he, who comes to col-lege not to "finish," but to fit himself for life work, not to get a diploma, but to get a basis lor future growth and development, will prove himself in all his college work to be a willing worker. When he leaves the college halls he will join the army of willing workers who adorn their profession or their business, and who are a power in the world. May the army of willing workers inc. ease ! G. DE ORATORE. [In anticipation of the coming oratorical contest and in order to arouse more spirit in the society work, we publish in this issue an article, entitled "De Oratore," by Morris W. Croll, '89, Professor in the University School, Cleveland, Ohio. The article was taken from the University School Record^ There has recently been a noticeable revival of public speaking as an art. While we were deploring the decay of oratory, we suddenly found that we had a number of public men be-fore us who, whatever their failings, are at least successful students of eloquence. The platform, with its pine table and its semi-circle of influential citizens, has again become a feature of political campaigns, and the square-jawed orator once more receives, with his hand thrust between the first and second buttons of his frock-coat, the wild greetings of his fellow-citizens. There has been, moreover, whether it is or is not due to the revival of oratory in politics, a similar revival in some of the largest col-leges. Everyone who has read the news-papers must have noticed that the debating clubs of Princeton, Harvard, Yale and "the Tech" have taken a prominent position among the student organizations of their respective institutions. In most large colleges there are now two rival societies, which command the respect and enthusiastic support of the student-body by the direct, simple and convincing ex-temporaneous speaking of their members. In short, it is evident that the old-fashioned de-bate has become popular. This is a consummation which many of us have devoutedly wished. The debating-club was the school in which Americans of the last generation learned statecraft. And they learned not only that, but two yet more desir-able things—the power, namely, of thinking at once rapidly and logically, and the power of putting .thought readily into consecutive language. The=e ends are as desirable, surely, for us as they were for our fathers. It is useless, however, to insist upon the THE COLLEGE MERCURY. 118 profitableness of debating. That is obvious. It is as a form of amusement, as a sport, that debating I think, is not appreciated. "The spice of life," says Stevenson, "is battle." Who would compare the enjoyment of seeing the best horse in the world run against an invisible record with that of seeing six raw-boned trotters striving toward the line at a country fair ? And who would not go further to hear a subject tossed about between affirma-tive and negative than to hear the same sub-ject expounded by its most learned advocate ? There may be some pleasures of which rivalry is not an element, but the sum and substance of all that which we call sport is eager compe-tition. And, with this definition in mind, I venture to say that there is greater striving, closer application of the powers of a man to a desired object, a narrower watch for advantage, and a quicker grasp of opportunity in a lively debate than in a foot-ball match. Consider, for one thing, how much depends upon the manner of marshalling facts. When you have ended you know whether or not each one has fitted into its place and helped to strengthen the whole. You know whether or not they are real, significant facts, and whether, if they are not significant, you have made them seem so. You know, too, if it is a good, fair-and-square extemporaneous debate, what you have forgotten and where you lost your grasp and failed to make your point; and you squirm with eagerness to try again. But it is all over with you. You have had your chance and either won or lost with it. You must await patiently the decision of the judges, who sit, like the fair ladies in the tournaments of old, ready to award the prize to the better combat-ants. Here is sport enough in all conscience, and nothing said of the hundred details of the game—of the skill in anticipating the oppo-nents' plan of attack, of the incidents that oc-cur, so unexpectedly, diverting the fight to this issue and to that, of the fine fencing with the swords of rebuttal and rejoinder which be-gins after the opening speech. Is it not clear that success in the art—or, let us say the sport—of debating requires rare qualities ? Finally, like all good sports, debating demands a fine balance of temper, equal parts of spirit and good humor; and he will be most success-ful and win most judges who is "eager to fight, yet not averse to quarrel." M. W. C. AN ADVENTURE. While the western sun was sinking On that feast-day of the Fall, Through the corridors we wandered Of old "recitation hall." On Professor Bikle's blackboard, As through his room we did pass, We had written our initials For to morrow's I^atin class. We had viewed the halls where students Oft orating, raise their voice, "Phrenakosmian" was quite nice, but "Philomatheau" was our choice. On the walls the shadows, deepening. Plainly marked the close of day. Warning us we'd miss our supper, Should we longer dare to stay. Dearer joys there are than supper, (Leastways on Thanksgiving Day) So we tarried in the "Sweat-box" •Singing, "When I'm far away,'' "Sometimes you may think of me dear." And the old familiar song Had, to me, peculiar meaning As we sang it, lingering long. Groping then adowu the stairway, We were one and all quite shocked, On arriving at the entrance, There to find the door fast locked. We might shout from out a window To some passing boy or man, But, for several obvious reasons, We objected to this plan. In our minds there was strange mixture Of amusement and dismay, When we found to leave this prison There was but one other way. We must stumble up that stairway To the gloomy upper floors, Down the fire escape and exit Through two swinging iron doors. In this pleasant manner, took we, Down through tower dark and tall, Unconventional departure From the recitation hall. I will ne'er forget that visit, Neither do I think will you, To that building of the college Of the "orange and the blue." M. G. IK) THE COLLEGE MERCURY, AN APPEAL TO THE ALUMNI AND FRIENDS OF THE COL-LEGE FOR SUPPORT OF THE "SPECTRUM." The Junior class would respectfully call the attention of the alumni and friends of the col-lege to the Annual soon to be issued by its representatives, the '98 "Spectrum" Board. The "Spectrum" idea has always been cordi-ally endorsed by the Faculty ; the students in college are enthusiastically co-operating in the consummation of the special plans designed for the forthcoming Annual ; the class of '98 is unanimously as well as heartily supporting the work now devolving upon its chosen rep-resentatives, and the Staff of editors and man-agers itself is using every endeavor to publish a "Spectrum" that will be a lasting credit to the college and the class. That the Staff will be able to accomplish this desideratum, with the co-operation of the student body and the alumni, it feels entirely confident. Numerous decided improvements over former Annuals have been devised and several entirely new features will be presented. Sta-tistics and historical data in regard to college events of the past year and with reference to the classes, fraternities, societies, athletics, as-sociations, etc., etc., will receive special at-trition. Original literary contributions, of a character suitable for the "Spectrum," will be given the prominence they deserve. ' In order to make the '98 "Spectrum" of particular interest to the Gettysburg graduates a large section of the book will be devoted en-tirely to the alumni. This department will comprise all of the statistics, etc., given in the '93 "Spectrum," revised to date, and, besides, will comprehend many new and additional lads and features of interest and value to all who are in any way interested in the affairs of Gettysburg College. The Staff, in the arrange-ment and compilation of this department, have been fortunate in securing the kind assistance of an able and enthusiastic Gettysburg Alum-nus. The Staff feels assured that this part of the volume will be generally considered of special importance and no labor will be spared to make it the most complete and valuable alumni record issued within recent years. Suggestions in regard to this department as well as to any other matter relating to the book will be very thankfully received. General communications should be addressed to the Editor, E. W. Meisenhelder. The Staff earnestly appeals to the alumni for financial support of the "Spectrum." Prac-tically every student at Gettysburg has favor-ably responded to our solicitation for subscrip-tions and we respectfully urge every alumnus to do likewise. Many graduates have already placed their names on our subscription lists, but we hope to receive many more before the next term opens. Subscriptions given to any of the students during vacation will be promptly transmitted to the Staff. Business communications should be addressed to the Manager, S. M. Lutz. We hope to make the '98 "Spectrum" the very best annual ever published at Gettysburg. To do so, however, it is quite obvious that we must have the united support of the alumni. The student-body is doing its full share to aid us in every way. May we not hope that the alumni will freely give us the material assist-ance we need in order to publish an Annual that will be received by every friend of the college with a feeling of real pride and pro-nounced gratification? We mean to leave nothing undone to perform completely the part expected of us. Will the alumni do theirs ? We make an earnest appeal for unanimous support. May this sentiment now, and al-ways, receive universal approval and adop-tion—" Every Gettysburgian for the 'Spec-trum' and the 'Spectrum' for Gettysburg." THE STAFF. Why don't we have a few class games of foot-ball. Last year these were among the most interesting we had. Surely there is good material in all the classes—especially, the Freshman. THE COLLEGE MERCURY. 120 A LULL FROM THE HIVE. Be earnest forever ! Be this our endeavor ! Be honest, be cheerful, be kind ! Making the spirit the test of our merit, To outward appearance blind. Our memory Will cherished be By teachers and class mates and friends If efforts are made towards these ends- Whenever you roam from the pales of your home In the bright sunny days of a spring, You see the bees gather from forest, from heather, Golden stores while they buzz and they sing. They nectar sip From lilies' lip Which gives to them food and good cheer When days become cold, lone, and drear. In the spring of our life, when earth's joyous and rife, And all things are happy and gay, When song birds are filling the air with their trilling, Your honey, O store, while you may ! When days of gloom And sadness come. The heart and the memory will hold Its treasures more precious than gold. W. H. B. C, '99. COLLEGE LOCALS. EbMUND W. MEiSE.NHEi.niiR and E t,. ROLLER, Editors. Dr. N. (to 190b Cadet who is verj' much in-teiested in something between himself and the board)—Mr. K., you had better take that to the window where you have better light. Mr. S., '99, recently went out after turkeys. After a walk of about four miles and a half, he arrived at the desired place. Cautiously walk-ing along a fence, he is surprised by the owner of the property who immediately begins to shoot. Walton now held up his hands and said, "I surrender." But when three men strive to tie him he makes a brave fight and finally succeeds in gaining his freedom. Now knocking two of the men down he makes a bold dash for the road. The men follow in hot pursuit and Walton falls over a plow. Never losing his presence of mind, he immedi-ately jumps up and runs into a brook. Hav-ing thrown the pursuers from his track by this piece of strategy he proceeds to a neighboring woods where he lies behind a log. till late at night. Finally he makes his way home where he is received with open arms by his worried com-panions. The MERCURY extends its sympathy to Mr. S. for injuries received. Dr. N. (to Mr. D., 1900, who is up at the board and holding a book under his coat), "You might injure your arm.by holding things so tightly under your coat." Mr. E., '99, tells us "many of our presi-dents had a very humble beginning, for in-stance, George Washington the rail-splitter." Prof. Van O., in Prep. Greek, to Mr. M.— "Have you Kelsey's edition?" Mr. M.—"No, sir." Prof. Van O.—"Who's have you?" Mr. M.—"Anabasis'." Mr. D., 1900, says that "James II, of Eng-land, w7as of a weak character because he chewed tobacco." Dr. B.—"Mr. M., what was the Koran ?" Mr. M., '97.—"An officer appointed by—" Class laughs and Mr. M. stops short in his explanation. Mr. R., '99, would like to know who Mr. Hastings is and what position Mr. Hastings is holding in Penn'a. Mr. K., '98, (translating German),—"My hat fell down confused." Prof. K. (to Mr. B., '98, who has been sleeping and has been rudely awakened to re-cite)—" Mr. B. you ought to feel refreshed after your little nap." Dr. B.—"If your eyes were shut how would you recognize Br." Mr. F., '98.—"By its color." Mr. B., '99, (in gymnasium and talking to Mr. L., 1900)—"M. L,. don't get on those mats with your feet." William Harrison Winfield R., of Prep., re-cently jewed a town storekeeper five cents on a broom. After a vain effort to jew him more he asked him, "Wouldn't you just wrap it up since I don't like to carry a broom along the streets ? " Mr. M., '99, (explaining the habitability of the moon)—"The moon revolves around the sun and has its own moon and is inhabited and the inhabitants revolve on their axes. Mr. G. 1900, wishes to borrow a horn, on which he wishes to increase his breathing ca-pacity ; Dr. S. having marked him minus. Every evening, about dark, G. will stick his head out of the window and look around to see if any one is near. If no one is near, he will blow a feeble blast on the horn and quickly withdraw, appreciating the joke hugely. We wish Mr. G. all success in his efforts. Mr. E., 1900, recites with great feeling and with good effect, "God bless the man who first invented sleep." I .'I THE COLLEGE MERCURY. Prof. K (to Mr. B., who is reading an es-say)—" The last sentence is not correct. Can you tell me why ? " Mr. B., 1900—"It is too much like a Soph-omore's writing." Prof. K.—"That's right. Quite a number of pretty words which mean nothing." Overheard at the W. M. R. R. depot from the lips of a young lady : "Well, Mr. A., I think you are the nicest man on earth." Ernie, '97, is strictly in it. Several bright Sophs intending to have some fun paid a visit to "Jess" K. the other night. Cayenne pepper was wafted about the room and burnt in the flame of the lamp. "Jesse" stood the test very well and . the "Sophs," after a short while, were compelled to leave. A more crestfallen crowd would, with difficulty, have been found. It was plainly a case of "the hunter hunted." Josey K., '99, who is a remarkable wit, said that "T., '99, received a ten for night work." Joe had reference to the Prep. fire. "Stocky" recently asked on what date New Year came last year. Mr. F., '98, has a new way of getting off from reciting Greek—he hides his book when the recitation period comes. Prof. Klinger is on to it, however. Prof. K. (in Greek, to Mr. B., '98, who has just flunked)—"Mr. B., I supposed you would have been better prepared to recite after your pleasant little nap." The back row in Lab. of the Classical Jun-iors have suddenly been deprived of the sober-ing effects of the presence of Mr. A. B. B. V. O., who departed for more peaceable climes about a week ago. "How can a fellow do sat-isfactory work, Mr. Stover, when there are a lot of bums banging around ? " The standard of the college is surely being raised, at least the standard of the Sophomore class, when a '99 man discourses fluently upon the Darwin theory—as was heard a few days ago. Truly we have "all sorts and conditions of men" around here, Darwinites, Silverites, Atheists and Preps. Mr. H., 1900, received quite a "moist" re-ception at the rear door of middle division lately. It always pays for a Freshman to "look aloft," especially when he has his Sunday clothes on, for the more moisture greens re-ceive the longer they will retain their verd-ancy. Mr. S., 1900, was lately giving his opinion about a certain "dramist." We suppose he meant "dramatist," but then he's only a Freshman and will learn. Prof. H., in teaching Anglo Saxon, has at last succeeded in impressing upon the mind of Mr. L-, of the Dummies, '98, that we get from the old English gumena our word grootn. "You may have occasion to use it some time." Mr. F., '98, (in Anglo Saxon)—"And he hastened about an ell.'' Prof. H.—"Mr. F., he wouldn't have has-tened very far in that case, would he?" A word about the College Musical Clubs. The very creditable manner in which they fur-nished the music for the recent Adams County Institute has again brought them before the people. The music this year, both of the Glee Club and of the Violin Quartet, has been very much better than any before given— simply the result of diligent and frequent prac-tice. The Glee Club has been rather unfort-unate in losing temporarily its second bass, Mr. Manges, whose larynx was injured in foot-ball practice, but his active and neces-sary work as manager has still continued. The clubs are in good condition now and the stu-dents in general will lose nothing by taking an interest in them—for they represent the col-lege musically, as the foot-ball and base-ball teams represent it in the capacity of athletics. The Juniors are writing plays for Prof. Himes. The whole college is awaiting the re-sult anxiously, for they will no doubt revolu-tionize the whole dramatic science. They range all the way from Adam and Eve to the Judgment Day. One of the sources of pleasure of the last month, was Dr. Everett's lecture on "Our Girls." A fair sized audience greeted him, which, however, should have been considera-bly larger, in view of the frequent announce-ments. The lecture was very entertaining, brim full of humor and anecdotes. We all , want to hear the Dr. again. Overheard in the Shakespeare recitation : T., '98—Say, Nick, what does "Gervinus" mean in the notes to the plays ? Nick, '98—"Why, that's the German for the author of the notes.'' S., 1900, seems to take quite an interest in the establishment of the Battlefield Photo-grapher. If he wants his pictures taken free, he is certainly going to lots of trouble. There i may be other reasons. THE COLLEGE MERCURY. This is about the time when the Sophomores ; are beginning to put on a little dignity. How- ' ever, they cannot overcome their little habit of giving their class yell every time they see a Freshman walk across the campus—just to show him how brave they are. Our society reading rooms are being mis-used by some of the fellows—especially by non-society men. They ought to realize that the rooms are for "reading," and that for this absolute quiet is needed. They were not fitted up for club rooms or places to play foot-ball. If everyone would individually realize this fact and respect the rights of his fellow student, it would certainly be better for all concerned. "Bobby" W., '98, has lately been quite at-tentive to the fair sex—one of them. This is quite surprising, viewed from our past knowl-edge of W., but then it must happen to them all, and Bobby has been captured. Congrat- | illations. During the recent convention of the Adams County Teachers' Institute some of the college fellows—especially those of the musical clubs— had the pleasure of associating with Prof. Park-er, of Binghampton, N. Y., and who conducted the music. He is a jovial good fellow, and took quite an interest in the boys, as did the boys in him. He sang several solos at the In-stitute. "Herbie" F., '98, recently in chapel one morning uttered quite a feminine shriek. It is said he "saw snakes" —one, anyway. The latest capture that the girls of Gettys-burg have made is "Albertus." Well, well, will wonders never cease ? We thought he was hardened. It is said, too, that the young ladies have been also inquiring earnestly after Fv '98. One of the fellows recently in German used the word "compar-able," accenting the second syllable. Dr. M.—"I would pronounce that 'com-par-able.' " "Since when ? Thats the first time I ever heard it pronounced that way." Dr. M.—"Well, you are not so old that you can't learn a few new things. There are many things happening continu-ally in and about college that would make very interesting items among the locals, but which never get there because they never reach the ears of the editors. It is the duty of the fellows, and to the interest of them all, that they hand such things in to the local de-partment, and thus increase its interest. Very few items are handed in and the editors have to do entirely personal work in getting such as do appear. We ask your assistance. The skillful investigation of scientific intel-lect, expanding in every direction, will ever bring to light new and wonderful discoveries. Following close on the disclosures made by the now famous Roentgen, which prove that cer-tain rays of light can be made to pass through even the obtuse head of a Sophomore, the an-nouncement now issues from the Chemical Lab. Dept., that the fruit of the genus Dios-pysos Virginiana of the natural order Ebena-ceae, commonly called "persimmons," may be obtained from the Platanus Occidentalis or syc-amore tree. This startling fact, like so many others in the scientific world, was chanced upon by the "Professor" quite accidentally, but that makes it none the less interesting. Samples of the delicious fruit recently secured, and a full explanation showing with what ease and rapidity it is digested, may be obtained upon application. Be sure that vou are not faked. ALUMNI-I. C. MANGES and CHARLES H. TILP, Editars. '41. St. Paul's Lutheran church, of Steel-ton, Pa., and the new church at High Spire, Pa., are to be formed into one charge. Rev. E. Miller, D. D., will be the pastor. '44. Rev. Peter Anstadt, D. D., of York, Pa., is considering the question of publishing a biography of the Rev. Doctor Ezra Keller, '35- '45. Rev. J. F. Probst has left Asbury Park, and will spend part of the winter at Ashville, N. C. His health has not improved to such an extent that he is able to resume the active work of the ministry. '46. Rev. Conrad Kuhl, D. D., prepared the history of the Central Illinois Synod for the 50 years of its existence, that was read by Dr. Rhodes, at the convention held at Hills-boro, 111., in October. '48. Many requests have come to Rev. P. Born, D. D., especially from former Theolog-ical students, to have his Inductive Bible Study ot the Old and New Testament issued in book form. Now that he has retired from active work as professor the call comes louder than l-?l THE COLLEGE MERCURY. ever. The work will compose a volume of about 300 pages. '50. Dr. M. H. Valentine's new book on "Ethics," will be out before Jan. 1st. The work will be used as a text-book in our col-lege. '52. Rev. Prof. John J. Scherer, of Marion, Va., has returned from a trip to Texas. '54. Rev. John Tomlinson, Dixonville, Pa., has compiled some valuable statistics, which appear in the Lutheran World of Nov. 26th. They are worthy to be read and pondered. '55. Rev. P. Bergstresser, D. D., of Rock-wood, Pa., spent vSunday, Nov. 22, in Alle-gheny City and filled the pulpit of his son, Rev. Fuller Bergstresser. '57. Rev. H. L. Baugher, D. D., has been elected Managing Editor of The Lutheran Wo//,/. The Doctor will give his undivided attention to this arduous and responsible work. This excellent paper is indeed fortunate in se-curing the services of so learned a man. '58. The Lutheran Observer of Nov. 20, con-tains a poem entitled, "Nearer Home," by Rev. B. H. Hunt, that was written and pub-lished in the Observer while the author was a student at college. The song is found in many song books. '59. After nineteen yearsof editorial service, Rev. J. H. Sieker has transferred the editor-ship of Zeuge die Wahrheit, to pastor Stack- In^/., of Paterson, N. J. '60. Rev. Prof. M. H. Richards, D. D., de-livered the first of a series of lectures at the Moravian College, Bethlehem, Pa. His sub-ject was, "An Excursion to Eden." The lec-ture was highly praised and the students and friends are looking forward with pleasure to the second lecture, soon to be delivered. '61. Rev. L. Grab has accepted the call of St. Mark's church, Omaha, Neb., and is at work in his new field. '62. Rev J. B. Keller, late pastor at Smiths-burg, Md., will spend the winter in Georgia. '62. The corner stone for the new Lutheran church at Vandergrift, Pa., was laid on Thurs-day November 12th. The sermon was preached by Rev. M. I,. Culler, president of the Pitts-burg Synod, and the cornerstone was laid by Rev. J. W. Poffinberger, '72 of Leechburg, Pa. '62 Prof. H. E. Jacobs, D. D., LL- D., president of Mt. Airy Theological Seminary, Philadelphia, filled the pulpit of College church, Sunday, Nov. 15. '63. Rev. J. L. Smith, D. D., of Pittsburg, Pa., on Sunday, November 29, organized the St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran church of Wilkinsburg, Pa. This is the first Lutheran congregation organized in that thriving town, and was brought about through the untiring efforts of Dr. Smith. '63. The November number of The Luth-eran contains an obituary and cut of the late Prof. Davis Garber, Ph. D. Muhlenberg Col-lege, where he labored for 26 years, has sus-tained a great loss in his death. '63. Rev. E. J. Wolf, D. D., recently at-tended a meeting of the Common Service Com-mittee at Alleutown, which is now preparing a Liturgy. '64. Friday evening, October 30th, the Rev. J. G. Griffith, pastor of the English Lutheran church, Lawrence, Kansas, by request, deliv-ered an address on the Reformation of the 16th century to about 400 Indians at Haskell Insti-tute. '64. The Zanesville, (O.,) Times Recorder of Nov. 30th, contains an account of the 20th anniversary service held in St. John's Evan-gelical Lutheran church of that city. It gives a review of the work done by the pastor, Rev. Frank Richard, D. D., during his long service in this church, and shows that the work has prospered in his hands, during the past fifth of of a century. The ladies of the church gave an elegant reception and reunion at the par-sonage, on Nov. 26, in honor of the occason. '65. Rev. Joseph Hillpot died on October 30th at Quakertown, Pa. He was a member of the Pennsylvania Ministerium. '69. Dr. J. A. Clutz and Rev. H. L. Yar-ger, '83, assisted at the dedication of the First church of St. Joseph, Mo., on November 15. '73. Rev. T. J. Yost, of Cumberland, Md., preached the sermon at the opening of the State Convention of the West Virginia C. E. Union held at Clarkesburg, W. Va. '73. Rev. J. A. Singmaster, D. D., Allen-town, preached the sermon at the dedication of St. Matthew's English Lutheran church, Brooklyn, on Nov. 12. He also presented the chancel windows given by Hon. and Mrs. Schieren. THK COLLEGE MERCURY. 124 '73. Rev. Chester H. Traver, late of Rhine-beck, New York, has taken charge of the Lutheran church at Churchtown, New York, and thus succeeds the late Doctor Marcus Empie. '77. Rev. J. A. West has taken charge of the Lutheran church at Londonville, O. He has been warmly received by the people of his I charge. '77. The congregation of Christ Lutheran | church, of Los Angeles, Cal., of which Rev. j M. H. Stine, Ph. D., is pastor, dedicated a new j pipe organ on Sunday, Nov. 15. Rev. Stine has been very successful as pastor of this church, j '78. The good Lutheran people of Palo, 111., are arranging to care for their pastor, Rev. Holmes Dysinger, right royally. The founda-tion is already laid for a fine $3000 parsonage, to be built of dressed stone in harmony with the church itself. '78. Rev. O. C. Roth, pastor of Grace Eng- ! lish Lutheran church, Broadway and Gough street, Baltimore, Md., commemorated his seventh year as pastor on November 2nd. He preached two sermons on the event. '79. The new Lutheran church in Benders-ville, Rev. U. A. Hankey, pastor, is to be dedicated on the second Sunday in December. Dr. E. J. Wolf and Rev. H. H. Weber will have charge of the services. '80. Rev. M. F. Troxell, D. D., of Spring-field, Ills., preached an eloquent sermon on the Reformation, in Grace Lutheran church of that city. '81. Rev. J. W. Byers, D. D., of Nevada, 0., and the people of his congregation royally entertained the Eastern Conference of Witten-berg Synod, during its 97th convention, which was held in Nevada, O. 82. Rev. Chas. R. Trowbridge will spend the winter in Easton, Pa., where he has taken up work in his new charge. '82. Frank E. Colom, Esq., is one of the best and most active lawyers at the Bedford Bar, and a worthy son of his Alma Mate). He was elected president of the Bedford County Sunday School Association, at its 15th annual convention, held at St. Clairsville, Pa. '83. Rev. W. W. Anstadt has accepted the call to Hollidaysburgh, Pa. He will take charge of his new field on the first Saturday in December. '83. Rev. L. M. Kuhns, of Omaha, Neb., laid the corner-stone for his new church a few weeks ago. Rev. H. W. Kuhns, D. D., '56, was present and participated in the services. '83. Rev. H. L. Yarger assisted Rev. W. F. Rentz, of Atchison, Kansas, in a series of special services, and proved himself a valuable assistant. '84. Rev. L. M. Zimmerman, Baltimore, Md., is preaching a series of sermons on "Pil-grim's Progress." One of the subjects was, "The Pitfalls to Young Men." '85. Rev. A. F. Richardson, of Grafton, Wt Va., was unanimously elected president, for his third term, of the West Virginia C. E. Union, which convened in Clarkesburg, W. Va., Nov. 18. '87. Rev. Herbert C. Alleman will be in-stalled pastor of College Church December 6, Rev. Alleman, D. D., of Lancaster, Pa., and Rev. J. C. Kohler, D. D., of Hanover, Pa., are the committee on installation. '90. On Nov. 8th, the cornerstone of Beth-any English Lutheran church, New York City, was laid by the pastor, Rev. J. Fred. W. Kitzmeyer. '90. Rev. Oscar H. Gruver has resigned as pastor of the First English Lutheran church, San Francisco, California. 91. Rev. Stanley Billheimer, Washington, D. C., was in Gettysburg Thanksgiving Day, visiting his parents, Dr. and Mrs. Billheimer, '91. Rev. S. Gring Heffelbower has been called to Mauheim, Pa. '92. Rev. George Beiswanger, pastor of Calvary Lutheran church, Baltimore, Md., en-tertained the members of the present and retir-ing church councils at the parsonage, Thurs-day night, October 22nd. '92. Rev. Edward O. Keen completed his studies in the Reformed Theological Seminary, Lancaster, Pa., in May last, and is now pastor of St. Paul's Reformed church of Waynesboro, Pa., having begun his work there Aug. 1, '92. Rev. D. P. Drawbaugh, McConnells-burg, Pa., has been doing faithful and thorough work in his field and his efforts have been crowned with excellent results. '93. Rev. Marion J. Kline preached the first of a series of four sermons on "The Life of Joseph" in Bethlehem Lutheran Tabernacle, Harrisburg, Pa., on Nov. 15th. The audience was large and the discourse was exceptionally fine. I •■■ THK COLLEGE MERCURY. •93. Rev. \V. S. Oberholtzer has changed his address from MifBjntown, Pa., to Harbin, Indiana. '93. Rev. F. II. Knubie, of New York city, has accepted a call to begin a new English Lutheran church on the west side of New York city. '93. The English Evangelical Lutheran church, Jersey City, Rev. E. E. Neudewitz, pastor, was the recipient of a very costly pul-pit Bible recently. It was given by a member of the same. '93! Rev. John C. Rowers was installed as pastor of St.'Mark's Lutheran church, Wash-ington, I). C, 011 Sunday, November 15th. The charge to the pastor was delivered by Rev. M. L. Beard, '75. of Middletown, Md., and that to the people by Rev. Geo. S. Bow-ers, of Hagetstown, Md. '93. Rev. G. W, haulers, Jr., of Argusville, N. Y., delivered a lecture on "Normal Train-ing in the Sunday School," before the Sharon Institute, at I.ecsville, N. Y., on November 17th. His address was instructive and well received. '93. On Sunday, Nov. 29th, Rev. Wm. C. 1U finer formally began work in his new field at Fayetteville, Pa. '93, The examining committee of the York Bar'met Nov. 20, to examine P. M. Bortner, who has been reading law with Niles ec Neff. Mr. Bortner passed a very creditable examina-tion, and on the motion of J. E. Vandersloot, Esq., a member of the committee, was admit-ted to practice at the York County Courts. '93. Rev. A. A. Kelley was installed pastor Of the Trindle Springs church, Sunday, Nov. 8. Since he has been pastor of this church the membership has been doubled. Rev. and Mrs. Kelley were visiting friends in Gettysburg, Thanksgiving Day. • '94. Herbert A. Allison is a member of the faculty of Susquehanna University. The Oc-tober "number of The Susquehanna contained a good cut of him. His department is the Greek language. '94. Prank E. Pickinger, principal of Cham-bersburg schools, was manager of the foot-ball team, composed of ex-college players, that played our team Nov. 21, on the new athletic held. '96. W. H. Mengcs was captain of the York V. M. C. A. foot-ball team tins fall. ATHLETICS. CHARLES T. LARK, Editor. Gettysburg, 6—Maryland University, o. Gettysburg, 58—Chambersburg ex-college plavers, o. Gettysburg, 64—Western Maryland Col-lege, o. Maryland University having 700 student from whom to select, as a matter of course, has a strong foot-ball team. This eleven, by its excellency on the gridiron, has won for itself the championship of Maryland. It is com-posed of a set of big fellows, almost all of whom have had years of experience in their respective positions. In spite of the fact that our grounds were wet and soggy, the game between Gettysburg and the above mentioned team, on Nov. 14th, was one of unusual inter-est. The players were about evenly matched as regards weight. The playing was so sharp and close that almost through the entire game it looked very much as though neither side would score. Deuson, the left half-back and Capt. of M. U., although the lightest man oh the team, played a most brilliant game. His three years experience on the University of North Carolina eleven, showed up to a good advantage and his work received merited ap-plause. Too much can not be said in praise of Capt. White and Lawyer for their magnificent play-ing. They always play a good game but in this particular one they excelled themselves. Their runs and tackles were the feature of the daw Had our team made more preparation for this game than it did, we would have won by a larger margin. M. U. kicked off and the ball was downed on our 30-yard line. By an elegant exhibition of team work," our fel-lows took the leather from this point to our opponents' 10-yard line, where it was lost on downs. Through the successful use of a quar-terback kick, and their quarter proved himself an adept at this, they captured the hall on their 30-yard line. The ball changed hands ofteu but we finally forced it to their 2-yard line where, on an account of an unfortunate I fumble, they obtained possession of it and again advanced it somewhat down the field, it being on their 20-yard line when the first half ended. The second half was marked by many fine plays. The ball was kept entirely within the territory of M. U., nevertheless it changed hands frequently. . During the last five min- THE COLLEGE MERCURY. [26 utes' play our men summoned all their strength for one mighty effort and after a series of de-termined, desperate rushes, the ball was taken across the line by Capt. White after a 25-yard run. The crowd yelled itself hoarse. Dale added two more points by kicking the goal— 6 to o. Time was called a few minutes after the ball was again put in play. Among the distinguished spectators present were Congressman-elect Benner and Judge Swope. This was one of the most exciting games of the year and we take great pride in placing it under our list of victories. The line-up follows : MARYLAND UNIVERSITY. POSITIONS. GETTYSBURG. Allen left end Moser Steele left tackle Byers Gauss left guard Koppenhaver Riley centre Stifel McCain right guard Hagerman Lewis right tackle Nicholas Dawson right end (Kite) Doty Riddington right half back Dale Barrow quarter back Lawyer Armstrong full back Sheely Touchdown—White. Goal—Dale. Refree—Kump. Umpire— Kuendig. Linesmen—Steward and Leisenring Time of halves—25 and 20 minutes. Our students had anticipated a closer con-test than that which took place on Nov. 21st, between Gettysburg and an eleven from Cham-bersburg, composed of ex-college players. Although somewhat heavier than the oppos-ing team we should by no means have had the walk-over we had. Fine individual playing but lack of team work tells the tale for Cham-bersburg. Our fellows made gains wherever and whenever they desired. "Willie" Burns, 1901, played the star game and seems to be as much at home on the foot-ball field as in the box. We scored 32 points in the first half and 26 iu the second, making the total 58-0. Dale, 1900, missed but one goal out of ten. ■ The following was the line- up : GETTYSBURG. POSITIONS, CHAMBERSBURG. Stifel centre Sherrod Koppenhaver left guard Plank Hagerman right guard Shaefer Ott left tackle Brown Nicholas right tackle Parrott Doty right end Wragg Young (Loudon) left end Pierson Lawyer quarter Orr Burns left half back Smith Dale right half-back G. Fletcher Sheely fullback F. Fletcher Touchdowns—Burns, 3; Dale, 3; Nicholas, 1; Stifel, 1; Sheely, 2. Goals—Dale, 9, Referee—White. Umpire—Kuendig. Lines-men— Leisenring and Lark. Timekeeper—Wheeler. As a matter of course interest on Thanks-giving Day centers around the turkey, but foot-ball comes in as a very close second. This is the first time for a number of years that our team has played at home on this holi-day, and, as the day was pleasant, an enthusi-astic crowd of 500 people turned out to see us line up against Western Maryland College. This was the best game of the year, at least in one respect —in point of attendance. Western Maryland started the game with a dash, and for the first ten minutes' play held our eleven very nicely. They then lost confi-dence and their playing during the remainder of the game looked to the foot-ballist like the first attempts of a lot of novices, while to the referee it looked like 64 to o. Lawyer, 1900, was, unfortunately, physically unable to be in the game, and his position, quarter-back, was ably filled by Capt. White, whose place at left-half was filled by Burns, 1901. Dale, igoo, did excellent work in kicking ten goals out of eleven. In short each player played his position well. Line up: WESTERN MARYLAND. POSITION. GETTYSBURG.' Stiaugh. Reckford left half-back Burns Johnson left end Fite Joice left tackle Nicholas Little left guard Ott Satlerwight '. center Stifel Warfield right guard Hagerman Baker right tackle Manges Edwards right end Doty Zepp right half back Dale Patton quarter back (Capt.) White Crockett full back Sheely Touchdowns —Dale, 7; Burns, 2; Manges, 1; Hagerman, I-Gials— Dale, 10. Time of halves—25 minutes. Referee— Kuendig Umpire—Murphy. Linesmen—Wolf and Whalen. The feelings of a Gettysburg man, in look-ing over our record in foot-ball for the season which is just now past, can be but those of gratification and pleasure. We have indeed been eminently successful, having won six games out of nine, and to-day stand higher iu the foot-ball world than we have ever stood before. In spite of the fact that we contested with some of the strongest elevens in the coun-try, we have to our credit an even hundred more points than have been scored against us, as is shown by the following: State College, 40—Gettysburg, University of Penn'a, - 32—Gettysburg, F. & M., - 24—Gettysburg, Baltimore City College, o—Gettysburg,' F. &. M., Swarthmore, University of Maryland, Chamb'sbg ex-Col. pl'ys, o- Western Maryland Col., o-o— Gettysburg, 4—Gettysburg, o—Gettysburg, -Gettysburg, -Gettysburg, o. o. o. 50. 10. 12. 6. 58. 64. Totals, 100 200 127 THE COLLEGE MERCURY. Certainly this happy result of a seasons work demonstrates most clearly the value of a coach. We were very fortunate in securing the services of Mr. Best and our success is largely due to his efforts. He did remarkably well iii developing such a team from so many inexperienced players. Koppenhaver, 1900, Stifel, 1900, and Hag-erman, 1901, at left guard, center and right guard respectively formed a center which held like a brick wall against all our opponents. Each member of this trio, averaging 195 pounds of solid muscle, at the beginning of the season was new at at the game, but their de-velopment has been remarkable. They broke through constantly and opened up well for the barks. Ott, '97, Manges, '97, and Nicholas, '98, are the men who efficiently filled the tackle positions. "Pop" Ott is one of our old relia- ' bles and always played an aggressive game. The reputation of Manges as a ground gainer is thoroughly established, while "Nick," be-sides taking ample care of his man and mak-ing gams when called on, kept things lively by his seemingly inexhaustible supply of jokes. Doty, '99, Fite, '98, Young, 1900, and Lou-don, 1901, at the end positions, upheld the orange and blue. Although this is their first year on the team, they played like veterans. Doty, after having been tackled, is fond of shaking the man from him and going on. He is a hard man to down. Eite, besides being a good tackier, is a snappy player and runs well. Young and London each played a steady game and made their presence felt. Lawyer, 1900, as this is his second year at the position, has become quite proficient as a quarter-back. He keeps his wits about him and gets into the interference well. Sheely, '97, made many fine tackles and struck the line hard, besides kicking very cleverly. burns, 1901, Dale, 1900, and White, '97, played at half. The first one mentioned kicks well and runs fast. Dale is adroit at kicking, is a swift runner, a fine tackier and an all around good player. Capt. White seems to be entirely at home in the game. It is quite unnecessary to enumer-ate liis achievements and abilities as a foot-ball player, as he is a heady player, was always in the game, and was a source of encouragement to his men. Perhaps the secret of his ground-gaining, is the fact that he sticks like a leech to his interference. We must not overlook the second team which, under the leadership of Kuendig, '98, turned out so faithfully. Their services were of great value to the first eleven, as they there-by were given sharp, hard practice. The scrub contains many players of promise, among whom are : '98, Kephardt, Tholan, Briner, Kuendig; '99, Herman, Brumbaugh, Trimble, Roehner; 1900, Good, Wisotzki, Brandt, Kohler. As we lose but a very few men, the prospects for next season's team are of the brightest. Our players may now retire from the grid-iron and take merited satisfaction in looking over a season well spent. TOWN AND SEWJINARY NOTES. S. J. MILLER, Editor. TOWN. It seems as if improvement has become the ' adopted watchword of the town. Telephone wires by the dozen have been stretched across the diamond, thus to communicate with all the important neighboring towns in the county. The Water Company has enlarged the water supply by replacing the old pipes with larger ones. Several new and costly buildidgs have been erected, among which is the new school building, known as the Meade High School, and which in all probability will be occupied at the beginning of the New Year. The association of the survivors of the Twenty-first Regiment of Pennsylvania' Cav-alry recently held its seventh annual reunion in this place. About seventy-five members were in attendance. At a business meeting the following officers were elected: President, Major Robert Bell, Adams county; Vice-Pres-ident, Captain E. McMillan, Lancaster; Secre-tary, J. Harvey Cobean. Gettysburg; Treas-urer, Captain Long, Gettysburg. The anniversary exercises of the Women's Bible Society were held on Sunday evening, Nov. 15th, in Christ Lutheran church. Rev. Dr. Huber presided. Prayer was offered by Rev. Dr. Richards, of Gettysburg, and ad-dresses were made by Rev. Dr. Jacobs, of Philadelphia, and Rev. Dr. Morrow, Secretary of the Pennsylvania Bible Society, after which a very creditable report of the society was read by Rev. A. R. Steck, pastor of the St. James Lutheran church, this place. THE COLLEGE MERCURY. 128 The semi-annual convention of the Adams County C. E. Union was held in the St. James Lutheran church, this place, on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 20th and 21st. The conven-tion opened on Friday at 2 P. M. The ad-dress of Welcome was delivered by Rev. A. R. Steck and the response was made by Presi-dent Longanecker. The sessions were very interesting and were largely attended through-out the whole convention. Rev. C. H. Rockey, of Shepherdstown, W. Va., preached in Christ Lutheran church on .Sunday, Nov. 22. The Christian Endeavor Society of St. James Lutheran church held their eighth anniversary exercises on Sunday, Nov. 22. In the morn-ing Rev. E. F. Jeffers, D. D., Principal of the York Collegiate Institute, preached the anni-versary sermon. At the evening service Rev. A. R. Steck presided. An excellent program was rendered. Rev. Rockey offered prayer and Rev. Dr. Jeffers delivered the address of the evening, his subject being, "Spiritual Power.'' The old tin roof on the Methodist church has been removed and a slate one put on. The St. James and Christ Lutheran congre-gations held a union Thanksgiving service in St. James Lutheran church on Thursday morn-ing, Nov. 26, at 10 o'clock. Services were also held in the Presbyterian and Reformed churches in the morning. SEMINARY. Rev. J. E. Byers preached at Williamsport, Md., on Sunday, November 1. Rev. J. H. Harmes filled the pulpit of St. John's Lutheran church, Hagerstown, Md., on Sunday, Nov. 8th. Rev.' Paul Koller preached at Hagerstown, Md., Shepherdstown, W. Va., on Nov. 15th and 22nd respectively. Rev. W. H. Feldman was sent as a delegate to attend the Inter-Seminary Missionary Al-liance at Chicago, on Nov. 12- 15th. While there he also had the pleasure of attending the Luther League Convention. The pulpit of the Second Lutheran church, Carlisle, Pa., was filled by Rev. Brady on Sunday, Nov. 22. Rev. M. S. Kump preached in Christ Luth-eran church on Sunday evening, Nov. 29. Prof. J. H. W. Stuckenberg will deliver the following lectures in Brua Chapel, beginning with Monday evening, Dec. 7th: Monday—"The Importance and the Method of of the Deeper Study of the Age." Tuesday—"Characteristics of the Age." Wednesday—"The Dominant Ideas." Thursday—"Social Trend." Friday—The New Social Era." Saturday—"Higher Education in Germany." This is a new course of lectures prepared es-pecially for Gettysburg, and we are indebted to the Seminary students for his coming. FRATERNITY NOTES. PHI KAPPA PSI. A. J. Smith, '83, a Professor of the Univer-sity of Texas, recently suffered the loss of his wife. We were pleased to meet Dr. Philips, Presi-dent of West Chester Normal School, who de-livered a lecture before the Teachers' Institute convened in this city last week. J. C. Bowers, '93, made a business trip here a few days since. W. F. Lutz, '94, is engaged in journalistic work at his home in Bedford. A. C. Carty, '96, attended the New York City rally on Dec. 4th. . PHI GAMMA DELTA. Bro. Jacobs, '62, preached in the College church recently. Bro. Knubel, '93, has started a mission in upper New York City. We wish him success in his undertaking. Bro. Roth, '95, of Bucknell, spent a few days in town recently. We were glad to have with us during the past month Bros. Brewer, '83, Garland, '85, Fickinger, '94. Bros. Fite, '98, and Albers, '99, spent a few days with Bro. Stahler, of Norristown, Pa. Bro. Kolb, 1900, spent Thanksgiving at Mechauicsburg. SIGMA CHI. Bruce Trimmer, Kappa, '98, of Bucknell, made us a visit several weeks ago. Leisenring spent Thanksgiving with his parents at Chambersburg. I2CJ THK COLLEGE MERCURY. Win. Hersh, '92, was elected District At-torney of Adams Co., by the largest majority ever given a candidate. Rosensteel was called to his home in Altoona several weeks ago on account of the death of his grandfather. Edwards, Alpha Psi, Vanderbilt University, played end on the Western Maryland College foot-ball team in the game here on Thanks-giving. Munro and Fredericks were at their homes in Lock Haven over Thanksgiving. Frank Hersh, '92, who was home for several weeks, has returned to his work in Braddock, Pa. Keith, '99, paid a flying visit to the Chapter at Dickinson several days ago. Fredericks stopped at Bucknell on his way home on Thanksgiving, and visited the Chap-ter there. Lawyer spent Thanksgiving at his home in Westminster. PHI DELTA THETA. J. A. Singmaster, '98, was initiated Novem-ber 23d. Kain, '97; Meisenhelder, '97, and Beerits, '99, attended the 24th Biennial Convention of the fraternity held in Philadelphia Nov. 25th to 30th. M. F. Holloway, '84, and A. S. Cook, '95, were also in attendance. Chas. Reinewald, '88, spent a few days in town recently. J. C. Moore, Jr., Pa Zeta, paid the Chapter a visit the beginning of the month. ALPHA TAU OMEGO. Saturday night, Nov. 21, the Chapter held a banquet in the meeting hall, which was pro-nounced by those present to have been a very enjoyable affair. Edward Gaines, a member of the U. of Md. foot-ball team, spent Sunday, Nov. 15, with the Chapter. William O. Nicklas, '93, has been admitted to the Chambersburg bar. William H. Menges, '96, visited the Chapter during Institute. Dr. Franklin Menges, '86, was with us In-stitute week. James P. Michler, '97, is at present a stu-dent at Washington and Lee. SUBJECTS FOR "ROMAN LAW" THESES. ABEL—Spread of the Roman Law Through Barharic Invasions. ARMSTRONG—Marriage and Divorce Among the Romans. HIKLE—Influence of the Laws and Organization of the Roman Empire on the Laws and Organization of the Early Church. CLUTE—The Extent and Limitations of the Patria Potestas. COBLE, Sr.—Slavery Among the Romans. DUCK—The Indebtedness of Modern States to Roman Juris-prudence. FRIDAY—The Roman Law of Succession. HUTTON—Roman Citizenship-Different Kinds, How Acquired and How Lost. Miss KEITH—The Nature and Authority of the Jus Respon-dendi. MILLER—The Functions of the Roman Praetor. Miss SIEBER—The Roman Method of Legal Procedure in a Province as Illustrated by the Trial of Christ in Pal-estine. SMITH—The Roman Judiciary System. WHEELER—The Change from Republic to Empire in Rome, a Change to nu Autocracy. WOLF—Influence of Christianity on Roman Legislation. LITERARY SOCIETIES. JOHN W. OTT, Editor. PHILO. Messrs. Baker and Markel were initiated during the past month. On Friday night, Dec. nth, Philo will render her last special program of the term. The program promises to eclipse all others. PHRENA. Messrs. Gilbert and Hitchner. both of 1900, were elected members last Friday evening. On account of the various interruptions 011 the several past Friday evenings, Phrena will not render.her next special program till next term. EXCHANGES. The MERCURY is at present receiving a very large number of exchanges. We mention some of them as follows: The Lafayette, Ursinus College Bulletin, Bucknell Mirror, F. and M. Weekly, College Folio, Phoenix, Wittenburg, Midland, Mer-cersburg Monthly, Roanoke Collegian, Dela-ware College Review, Dickinsoniau, Monthly and Weekly, Occident, Mielensian, Lutheran Ensign, National Educator, Muhlenberg, Ora-cle, Lutheran Observer, Perkiomen Seminary Bulletin, Free Lance, Susquehanna, Western Maryland College, Augustana Journal, George-town College Journal, The Reflector, The Mountaineer, The Crescent, Orange and White. ADVERTISEMENTS. Yale annually buys $7,000 worth of books for her library. Harvard expends $15,000 for the same purpose. Columbia expends$43,000 in the same way. A National University, under government control, is to be established in China. The faculty will consist of foreigners. The first president will be a former tutor of Li Hung Chang. "Age comes to every man, hut fate Is kind to women fair ; For when she reaches twenty-eight, She stops right then and there." FPU. H. WIlNNlCrl at onfeetionmj I OYSTERS Manufacturer, Wholesale and Retail Dealer in peam. ] SEASON. NEWS DEPOT & SUBSCRIPTION AGENGY. IVIaln street, - - Gettysburg, F=a. SOLE MANUFACTURER OF DR. TYLERS COUGH DROPS TIMNTCODORT DEALER IN BEEF, PORK, LAMB, VEAL, SAUSAGE, York Street, Gettysburg. a-Speclal Ratesto Clubs."a R. A WONDERS^ Corner Cigar tParlors. ,.A FULL LINE OF. CIGARS, TOBACCOS, PIPES, &C, Scott's Cor. Opp. Eagle Hotel, Gettysburg, Pa. T« F. HBNSTXG utn\.tR \u BREAD, ROILS, PRETZELS & CRACKERS YORK STREET, GETTYSBURG. 8@TReasonable Rates to Clubs. L. Dm lf|ILLLl\j GETTYSBURG, Qrocer, (^onfeotioneT and fruiterer. Ice Cream and Oysters in season. /,. Foot Ball Supplies. 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Chambersburg, Hagerstown an I Martinsburg to Winchester, Va., a direct and available route from the North, East and West to Gettysburg, Pa., via. Harrisburg and Carlisle. Through tickets via, I his route on sale at all P. R. R. offices, and baggage checked through to destination. Also, a popular route to the South via. Carlisle. AsK for your tickets via. Cumberland Valley Railroad and Carlisle, Pa. J. F. BOYD, Superintendent. H. A. RIDDLE, Gen. Passenger Agent. ADVERTISEMENTS L M, BUEHLER, SUCOKSSOU TO A. D. BUEHLEK & CO., -HllBoofig st£giS —.A_isr:D— (gO TO ->M0TEL GETTYSBURG* -XBA'RBER SIIOPX-Centre Square. ^^B. M. SEFTON. 2/ou will find a full line of SPure 'Drugs dc J'ine Stationery ^People'a *Druff Store. {Prescriptions a Speci'ctity. Elliott & HOUSGP. H. B.—Stiff Hits mads to Fit the Head is two minutes. (Z>, B. KlTMpLEfJ, HATS, CAPS, —^ ^rr BOOTS* SHOES. CS^3=S=»tisfaiotion GSuara nteed.ii3 No. 6 S. Baltimore Street, GETTYSBURG. 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Russia's military assertion and direct interventions in its near-abroad have become one of the defining features of the 21st century. After years of being on the back foot in the aftermath of the Soviet Union's breakup, Moscow has been making a seemingly ever-expanding series of dramatic moves to reestablish some form of its lost security posture. It is worth asking whether behavior like this on the part of powers suspicious of the United States and its allies is an outlier or likely to increasingly become the norm, and why this might be so.Sumantra Maitra's recently published book 'The Sources of Russian Aggression: Is Russia a Realist Power?' (Rowman & Littlefield, 2024) seeks to make sense of the motivations for this increasing turn to interventionism by Russia towards its neighbors. Preferring to focus on Stephen Walt's Balance of Threat theory, Maitra shows how Moscow came over time to the conclusions that currently fuel its policies today and how that decision making process was a logical outcome to the radical uncertainty of international politics, regardless of how one feels about the wisdom of specific Russian actions.According to Balance of Threat theory, the overriding security concern of states is less about the global balance of power (though this is a factor) than it is the situational relationship between countries and the specific threat, often in the form of attempts to change the status quo, posed by one to the other. Proximity, the state of relations, and historical grievance therefore combine to dictate what the primary counterbalancing position of a state will be. Russia, for example, sees the continuous expansion of the NATO alliance ever closer to its borders as an existential danger since the proximity of potentially hostile forces shows no sign of limiting its advances. On the flip side, but still in accordance with Balance of Threat theory, European states generally find the closer location of the Russian state far more threatening than the more distant but more powerful United States.Most Western audiences are probably used to Balance of Threat theory being deployed in a U.S.-based or North Atlantic-based context, but the interesting part of Maitra's work here is to show just how well its theories work for the largely land-based security concerns of the Russian state. As he writes, "Security considerations take precedence over ideology and ideological alliances survive longer when interests align." While China could, one day, threaten Russia, the constant alterations to the balance of power that is NATO's growth is seen as the more immediate danger. This danger, then, produces a desire to view Russia's vulnerable land borders and near abroad in zero-sum terms, particularly on its western and southwestern flanks. Maitra uses this understanding — that Balance of Threat is a mostly defensive posture (at least as seen by domestic Russian elites) — to emphasize an important and unique element of Moscow's calculations: the danger posed by "color revolutions." A sudden break with the past and the start of a new or revolutionary regime can always raise suspicions of its old allies due to its conscious break with established order. It is this insecurity, and the danger that a new regime may be able to appeal for support from abroad, that stokes fears of encirclement in Moscow. Thus, the threat of foreign influence over smaller nations bordering Russia is viewed as a direct attack on the Russian ability to maintain a secure frontier. Russia's first militarized strike abroad after relations broke down with the Western powers came in South Ossetia and Abkhazia in 2008. Georgia's turn towards Western nations in the aftermath of the Rose Revolution saw the rise of the Saakashvili government and its push to overhaul much of Georgian politics at home and abroad. The Kremlin-backed government of Autonomous Republic of Adjara was replaced, and Moscow feared that Tbilisi intended to do the same to the other two autonomous regions in Georgia. Its influence already on the wane in Georgia proper, the Kremlin concluded it was better to salvage two regions rather than potentially lose it all. More important, however, was the calculus that creating an active conflict zone would scare NATO away from Georgia and deter other countries in the Russian orbit from making similar changes to their foreign policy. Though the war was a victory for Moscow, it exposed many problems in the Russian ability to project power far afield.Despite the fact that much of Maitra's text was written before the outbreak of full scale war in Ukraine in 2022, the nature of that country's position in Russian strategy is a major theme of the book, and the strategic assumptions about Russian denial strategy in their near-abroad made by the author hold up. Going back to the Orange Revolution in 2005 and on through the Maidan and Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014, Russian activities in the country have taken on the aspect of "strategic denial." This follows as a sequel to the events in Georgia. The overriding fear among the Russian elite was that shrinking influence in Ukraine would mean the entire country could become a NATO proxy where nothing, not even perhaps the primary anchorage of the Black Sea fleet, could be salvaged. And with this fear came a certainty in Moscow that every domestic upheaval in the country was a plot designed to bring about the loss of any sphere of influence whatsoever. Better, the Russians came to think, to retain part of a country than to see a loss of influence over the whole.Maitra leaves his readers with a warning: rhetoric about the specific nature of the Putin government is unhelpful since the issues of Russia's desire to retain predominance in its near abroad are geographic. This means they are effectively timeless and not limited to one regime. A Russian state under a more open or democratic government is still a Russian state with a desire to retain strategic autonomy in its own neighborhood as a way of maintaining its position against the other great powers. These issues are not going anywhere anytime soon, so it is worth understanding the actual motivations behind the Russian foreign policy establishment as opposed to framing the conflict as something that can be dealt with in short order with moralistic rhetoric about the clash of the "authoritarian" and "democratic" worlds. The failure to account for the well-established fact that great powers seek spheres of influence shows a disconnect with many in the North Atlantic alliance with the actual motivations of statecraft as it is practiced in much of the world.What delving into this one specific example while using an international relations perspective – that of balance of threat theory – makes clear is that intentions do not matter when large security alliances expand. What ends up expanding is the uncertainty they bring ever closer to a rival power's center of gravity. Should the alliance network emphasize a values conformity among its members, the chances that a government would radically reorient its traditional, regionally rooted diplomatic orientations in a way other powers located nearby might interpret as hostile increases. Indeed, this process of action-reaction has other applications beyond Russia, The logic of NATO, both as a security and as an almost missionary-like alliance seems to be repeating in other parts of the world where the United States seeks to shore up its security arrangements. By invoking the idea of permanent commitments around shared values, the avenues of diplomacy are reduced rather than increased, and the risk of offensive action by rival powers escalates.
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The latest addition to PBS's American Masters series — "The Incomparable William F. Buckley, Jr." — makes for engrossing viewing, which isn't surprising since Buckley himself was compulsively watchable (and readable).The story of Buckley's life and career has been well and often told, not least by the protagonist himself. A much anticipated biography two decades in the making by Sam Tanenhaus is expected early next year. A globe-trotting journalist, editor, author, television personality, friend of Ronald and Nancy Reagan (among many others), and founder of the conservative magazine National Review, Buckley was, in the estimation of the late Dartmouth professor and longtime National Review senior editor Jeffrey Hart, "the most important journalist since Walter Lippmann." "In fact," continued Hart, "Buckley's career was more impressive."Maybe so — after all, what started in 1955 as a niche magazine with 16,000 subscribers, transformed over the ensuing decades into a big business, which came to be known colloquially as Conservative Inc., replete with multi-million dollar think tanks, obscenely well compensated radio and TV personalities, and presidential candidates seeking its imprimatur. There is of course no question that Lippmann and Buckley's respective audiences were immense. But the comparison to Lippmann has its limits. Of the two, Lippmann had an embarrassingly better track record on U.S. foreign policy, for example, particularly when it came to the Vietnam War and the Cold War.National Review's coverage of the Cold War was colored, and not for the better, by a roster of ex-Communists and intellectuals with ties and sympathies that extended beyond the Iron Curtain, to what became known as the Captive Nations. The philosopher Hannah Arendt observed that the postwar brand of anti-Communism "was originally the brainchild of former Communists who needed a new ideology by which to explain and reliably foretell the course of history."One of the things the documentary does well is demonstrate why the Vietnam War was the principal reason the now-infamous televised "debate" between Buckley and the novelist and critic Gore Vidal turned so ugly so quickly. After all, as the documentary notes, "Buckley was absolutely convinced that Vietnam was a crucial battle in the Cold War against Communism."And within Conservative Inc., no myth has been as unassailable as the idea that the Cold War was not only "won" by the United States but that it was "won" by Buckley's hearty band of conservatives. The columnist (and former Washington editor of NR) George Will summed up the prevailing view this way:"…Without Bill Buckley, no National Review. Without National Review, no Goldwater nomination. Without the Goldwater nomination, no conservative takeover of the Republican Party. Without that, no Reagan. Without Reagan, no victory in the Cold War. Therefore, Bill Buckley won the Cold War."But Will's reasoning suffers, as Buckley himself might have put it, from the post hoc, ergo propter hoc fallacy.The triumphant reaction by NR to the end of the Cold War was noted with distaste by the great Hungarian-American historian John Lukacs in a letter to the man generally recognized as the "father" of containment, George F. Kennan, in September 1991,"Buckley gloats in the last number of his magazine: 'We won!" "We won!' He repeats that all over again, etc. etc."The idea that "We won, we won," was no doubt sincerely believed by Buckley and his followers, but it is, alas, an idea that is both ahistorical and dangerous — as we have come to see in the more than three decades since the end of the Cold War.***Once the Cold War ended, Buckley and his movement might have done well to reconsider the utility of continuing their alliance with the neoconservatives — after all, the rationale for so doing pretty much evaporated with the Soviet menace. By 1992, it was clear that a conservative alternative to the Cold War policy of global hegemony was emerging thanks to the insurgent candidacy of Patrick Buchanan. From the vantage point of 2024, it seems clear that for many conservatives, Buchanan's was the path not taken — tragically so. Instead of tending to our own garden after 1989, Washington, with the enthusiastic support of Conservative Inc., embarked on a frenetic campaign of ruinous overseas misadventures from which we have yet to disengage. For the conservative movement, the first post-Cold War decade saw fusionists continue their stranglehold on domestic policy, while the neocons grabbed the initiative on foreign policy. All the while, Buchanan became a prophet without honor in his own country.The American Conservative magazine co-founder Scott McConnell noted in a talk given in 2014 that as the Cold War was reaching its denouement, Buckley decided, thanks to the influence of the neocon power couple Norman Podhoretz and Midge Decter, "To allow neoconservatives to regulate the terms of Mideast discussion in his own magazine, National Review." The consequences for the magazine and the movement were profound. Thereafter, noted McConnell, "…The neoconservatives essentially won the right to supervise Israel-related discussions in National Review…Thereafter, any young Conservative knew the rules - you'd best be sufficiently pro-Israel to satisfy Midge and Norman if you wanted to advance."PBS ignores this history, making it seem as though the most interesting thing about Buckley in his final decade was his admission, made on the Charlie Rose Show, that he wanted to die. Whatever the (questionable) novelty of such sentiments by someone who had a) just lost his wife of 57 years and b) an advanced case of emphysema, Buckley's politics toward the end of his life became far more interesting than one might come to understand if they relied solely on PBS.Writing shortly after his death in 2008, Buckley biographer John Judis observed that, "Buckley chided conservatives or neoconservatives who refused to recognize that circumstances had changed — who invoked the old bogeymen or invented new ones." After visiting Cuba in 1998, Buckley even praised that great hero of foreign policy restrainers, John Quincy Adams, who, according to Buckley, "[r]eminded us that though we are friends of liberty everywhere, we are custodians only of our own."Indeed, thanks to the Iraq War and the mendacity of his old allies, the neocons who promoted it so ardently, the scales appeared to have fallen from Buckley's eyes. As Jeffrey Hart wrote in the American Conservative, "Buckley had expressed doubts about the Iraq War from the beginning ... During the last two years of his life, Bill Buckley understood the facts about Iraq and their implications." An exchange with with George Will on ABC in 2005 offered a sense of Buckley's thinking post-Iraq:Will: Today, we have a very different kind of foreign policy. It's called Wilsonian. And the premise of the Bush doctrine is that America must spread democracy, because our national security depends upon it. And America can spread democracy. It knows how. It can engage in national building. This is conservative or not?Buckley: It's not at all conservative. It's anything but conservative. It's not conservative at all, inasmuch as conservatism doesn't invite unnecessary challenges. It insists on coming to terms with the world as it is…The story of Buckley's tenacious engagement with the war and his break with the neocons is a fascinating one, though one that PBS either missed or left on the cutting room floor.As Tanenhaus recounted in The New Republic in 2007:"Buckley has faulted Bush for trying to go it alone in Iraq and chided neoconservatives who"simply overrate the reach of U.S. power and influence."….When I asked him recently if Iraq is the Republicans' Vietnam, he said, 'Absolutely.'"It is arguable that on matters of war and peace Buckley ended up holding positions closer to those held by his nemesis Gore Vidal than the Republican standard bearers in 2008 and 2012. Which is to say that by the end of his life, with regard to U.S. foreign policy, Buckley was getting it right.
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During a speech in Beirut on Friday, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said that Iran will surely retaliate for last week's attack, presumably by Israel, on its consulate in Damascus that led to the death of seven members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, including senior Al-Quds commander Mohammad Reza Zahedi. In a televised address marking "Quds Day," Nasrallah described the attack as a "turning point," warning that any scenario was possible in its aftermath."Everyone must prepare themselves, arrange their matters and be careful when the Iranian side responds to the targeting of the Iranian consulate and to the Zionist enemy's possible response to the Iranian response," he said. Nasrallah's statements are significant in that they indicate a readiness for the first time since the Gaza war broke out after Hamas' October 7 attack to intervene massively should a wider war erupt between Iran and Israel, a message which appeared directed at the United States as much as Israel itself."Sayyed Nasrallah's statements were also intended for the Americans," according to Ali Murad, a columnist with the Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar, in remarks to RS. "The message is that Washington must rein in its Israeli ally after Iran's response, otherwise Hezbollah will take action without constraints should Israel attack Iran." That Hezbollah will intervene should a broader conflagration between Israel and Iran erupt appears to be a given. The Lebanese movement is by far Iran's closest ideological ally. Given that it relies on Tehran for its funding and weapons, Hezbollah also sees ties with the Islamic Republic through a strategic and even existential lens.More importantly, Hezbollah is Iran's most powerful military ally, hence its intervention — should a wider war be waged on Iran — will likely have a major impact. According to a recent report published by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the movement can easily be described as world's most heavily armed non-state actor, with some estimates pointing to up to 200,000 missiles and rockets in its arsenal.The Lebanese Israeli frontNasrallah also appeared to respond to recent Israeli threats of escalation against Lebanon, warning for the first time since the outbreak of the latest round of fighting along the Israeli-Lebanon border that Hezbollah has used only a fraction of its capabilities."We have not used the main weapons nor the main forces and we have not called in the reserves," he noted.These remarks followed the announcement by Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant of the start of a new phase in the military operations against Hezbollah. During a tour of the Israeli northern front, Gallant outlined a pivot towards a more offensive tempo, promising to strike Hezbollah "wherever the organization operates, in Beirut, Damascus and in more distant places." The Israeli minister's statements came as Israel has upped the ante in its operations against the Lebanese movement. Israel announced this week the assassination of a Hezbollah commander whom it said was a member of the movement's elite Radwan forces. An air raid also targeted what Israel said were Hezbollah air defense positions in the Eastern city of Baalbek. The attack came after the group shot down an Israeli drone.According to experts, Nasrallah's apparent response to Israeli escalation on the Lebanese front aims to maintain a relative level of deterrence. "Hezbollah continuously and gradually reveals its military capabilities and its high level of readiness to strengthen deterrence against the Israeli military," Lebanese researcher Hussam Matar, told RS. Matar is close to the Shiite movement and author of the book "The Soft Power War Between the US and Hezbollah." He added, "Hence the reference to capabilities not yet used are a message which aims to shape the perceptions of the enemy regarding the costs of escalation."While Israel's latest military operations clearly mark an escalation, they remain below the threshold that would essentially force Hezbollah's hand. They largely continue to be characterized by targeted strikes against foot soldiers and field commanders from the movement.Such military action remains a far cry from the Dahiya Doctrine according to which Israel would launch a large scale offensive designed to destroy civilian infrastructure, a tactic employed during its 2006 war against Hezbollah strongholds in southern Beirut and again in its latest war against Hamas and Islamic Jihad in Gaza. As long as Israel continues to operate below this threshold, any escalation on its part is likely to be met with the kind of calculated retaliation that has characterized Hezbollah's strategy in the current conflict."The pattern of attacks and counterattacks over the past six months clearly demonstrates that Hezbollah is not seeking a broader war with Israel," explained Beirut based analyst with the Atlantic Council Nicholas Blanford in an interview with RS. "At present it is mainly Israel that is setting the escalatory cycle."However, a "Dahiya Doctrine" scenario against Lebanon cannot be entirely ruled out, particularly given the Israeli government's recent escalatory operations, notably the attack on the Iranian consulate. But its implementation faces serious challenges given that Hezbollah will almost certainly respond in kind. The firepower unleashed by the Lebanese movement's missile arsenal could overwhelm Israel's air defense capabilities, as impressive as they are, and cause severe and unprecedented damage to Israel's homefront. Israeli officials have recently warned of such consequences amid the latest escalation. According to Yoram Laredo, the head of Israel's National Management Emergency Authority, a full-scale conflict with Hezbollah would cause great damage to the Israeli economy, in addition to nation-wide power outages. Given the relationship between Hezbollah and its allied militias in Syria and Iraq, a full-blown conflict between the Lebanese movement and Israel would also likely spread to these countries, both of which are home to U.S. bases, thus increasing the risks of Washington being dragged into such a conflict."With the possible spread of any Hezbollah-Israel confrontation into Syria and Iraq, the U.S. might find itself more deeply involved at that time," senior adviser at Gulf State Analytics Theodore Karasik told RS. Washington, he added, will be "challenged about which steps to take next."Hezbollah's allies in Iraq and Syria form part of a broader network of ideological Shiite allies which also includes the Houthis in Yemen. Given this ideological affinity, the actions these players have taken in support of Hamas and other factions fighting Israel in Gaza will likely pale in comparison to what they may do should the Israeli military resort to a Gaza-like war plan against Lebanon. "In case a full-scale war was to erupt between Hezbollah and Israel, Yemen and its leadership will stand with the party (Hezbollah) militarily, politically and economically," said a Houthi source who requested not to be named in a statement to RS. "The military intervention will be without limits and according to what the party requests, and may include missile and drone attacks, along with the sending of foot soldiers."Such statements mean that Israel will likely not only face additional firepower to the already formidable arsenal in Hezbollah's possession but may also face more manpower. This latter factor would represent an especially acute concern for Israel should it carry out a land operation in Lebanon, given the shortage of troops within its own ranks.Against this backdrop it's possible that the Israeli military would be unable to withstand such a war without the United States becoming an active participant. This is supported by U.S. intelligence assessments warning that the Israeli military will be overstretched should a full-fledged war with Hezbollah erupt, making it unlikely that Israel will succeed in such a conflict.Should the U.S. intervene directly to support Israel under such scenario, American military bases and personnel would likely become targets in places like Iraq and Syria.
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"America was ready for renewal. The world was there to remake. There were at least two more years to get it done."So concludes Alex Ward's recent book "The Internationalists: The Fight to Restore American Foreign Policy after Trump," a detailed account of President Joe Biden's first two years in office. Ward's deeply reported narrative ends in late April of 2023, with national security adviser Jake Sullivan delivering a speech at the Brookings Institution that symbolically brought the neoliberal era to an end.The story that Ward — national security reporter at Politico — tells is a compelling one. Biden's foreign policy team — led by consummate DC insiders who dubbed themselves "the A-team" — understood their mandate as working to bring Washington out of the abyss of the Trump years. Watching Donald Trump win the White House had led to a soul-searching moment for Democrats in the foreign policy establishment, pushing those who eventually became Biden's braintrust to embrace a new paradigm. "Sullivan had changed during the Trump years after working to define a progressive foreign policy, one that would appeal to denizens of the heartland as well as the well-heeled and well-intentioned urban elites," writes Ward. "The Democratic candidate, having watched his opponent in the Oval Office and the campaign trail, had also come to the conclusion that the usual message on foreign policy needed a first-page rewrite." The party would work to overturn what they perceived as the ills of Trumpism by re-embracing international allies and partners, and restoring American global leadership of the global "rules-based order." But, Ward writes, "force would be used only when the foundations of the world that the United State had helped build since 1945 were at risk. Otherwise, the guns would be holstered." The theme that Sullivan and others settled on to define Biden's foreign policy was "a foreign policy for the middle class." At times, Ward treats this approach with a critical eye, pointing to a number of inconsistencies in administration policy. But the ultimate narrative arc in the book is more clean: After a rocky start, with the nadir being the courageous but poorly managed conclusion to the United States' two-decade war in Afghanistan, the Biden administration recovered its mojo with its response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.Despite some bumps in the road, Biden and his team had begun to rebuild U.S. foreign policy, with a renewed focus on working with allies, upholding democratic norms, and protecting the so-called rules-based international order.That story has changed dramatically since the book's conclusion, which brings the reader up to April 2023, nearly a year ago. A lot has happened since then, and not so much in favor of Ward's narrative arc. If it were a classic VH-1 Face the Music episode, this is the exact point where the clouds roll in on our A-Team and everything goes careening off track, perhaps forever.And so, the response to the war in Ukraine is presented by Ward as a success. The methodical and comprehensive preparations in the months leading up to the invasion serve as a foil to the haphazard approach that marked the withdrawal from Afghanistan. According to Ward, the Biden team prepared for many possible contingencies, even though the political leadership in Ukraine was doubtful of U.S. intelligence that suggested an invasion was likely.The final chapter of "The Internationalists," before the epilogue that lays out Sullivan's speech at Brookings, features Biden's triumphant visit to Kyiv. During his address in the Ukrainian capital, says Ward, the president "wanted to prove that Bidenism worked — and the world just needed more of it." For Biden, Russia's invasion had served as a global test of democracy, and democracy had prevailed. Over the last year, however, the war has reached a "stalemate" — others say a war of attrition, with Moscow winning it. Despite these changing realities, the Biden administration has proven unwilling and unable to shift its strategy or messaging away from an understanding of the war as a fight for democracy that can only be won through military means. The message is losing favor in Washington, particularly among congressional Republicans, and politics in Washington have moved slowly against continued aid for Ukraine.Meanwhile, in its reaction to the Hamas incursion into Israel on October 7, the Biden administration has squandered any global legitimacy and consistency it had built in its first two-plus years in power, and undermined its message on the war in Ukraine. In just over five months, the White House has laid bare the hypocrisy and inconsistency of its stated commitment to human rights and the international order and left Washington isolated on the world stage. Things were different in May 2021 when war broke out in Gaza. Just like today, Biden chose to fully back Israel's war publicly while reportedly pressuring the Israeli prime minister behind closed doors. Biden chose to negotiate "methodically and quietly" with Benjamin Netanyahu and opted against playing a significant public role. The White House, according to Ward, welcomed the pressure from their left flank that played a role in the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, reached after 11 days of conflict. It was, according to the author, indicative of Biden's broader foreign policy vision: "Core issues that challenge the world order or America's leadership get his full effort. Everything else, the United States will help if it can."The response to that war is treated by the administration as a success, as it helped keep the conflict relatively short and contained. The opposite has resulted from that strategy today. Biden continues to publicly back Israel's war, both rhetorically and materially. Despite a breathless string of reports that Washington has privately expressed its "frustration" or "concern" with Tel Aviv, Israel's war continues seemingly without restriction as the Palestinian death toll surpasses 30,000. The White House has been largely dismissive of progressives calling for a sustainable ceasefire, and the risk of a regional conflagration persists.The Biden administration's response to what is happening in Gaza has also blatantly betrayed any ostensible commitment to human rights and international law, which had been so important to the White House when it came to Ukraine. "The reason the administration was set to dive headfirst into intense preparations was to defend the rules-based international order," Ward writes about Biden's mindset after receiving intelligence that Russia might go into Ukraine in late 2021. "If Putin succeeded in wiping Ukraine off the map, the world America helped build would crumble on this administration's watch." The White House has consistently made the case that the stakes of Russia's invasion of Ukraine are the future of democracy itself. The Biden administration has lambasted Moscow's violations of international law. In April 2022, Biden even accused Vladimir Putin of committing genocide in Ukraine. Yet when the International Court of Justice ruled earlier this year that it was "plausible" that Israel was carrying out a genocide in Gaza, the White House called the accusation "unfounded." Administration officials have consistently refused to condemn alleged Israeli war crimes, including the bombing of hospitals and the forced displacement and starvation of the civilian population. Instead of pushing for a ceasefire, the U.S. has continued to support Israel's war. Biden himself often ties the wars in Ukraine and Gaza into one larger, global project, including the ongoing effort to pass a spending package that combines $60 billion in aid for Kyiv with $17 billion for Tel Aviv.In addition to Joe Biden's campaign slogan of "a foreign policy for the middle class," Ward tries to tack on a few more principles that could define the president's approach. "He had developed a doctrine of sorts over two years in office," Ward writes. "Stand true with allies. Defend democracy. Avoid escalatory conflict. Preserve the rules-based order." On almost every count, he has failed to live up to those lofty goals.
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In his seminal 1957 book "The Copernican Revolution," Thomas Kuhn writes that Copernicus' "astronomical innovation" was characterized by a "plurality" that "transcends the competence of the individual scholar." Studying the Copernican Revolution, he said, provides an "ideal opportunity to discover how and with what effect the concepts of many different fields are woven into a single fabric of thought."There is a similar plurality of thought present in "How Sanctions Work: Iran and the Impact of Economic Warfare" (Stanford University Press) by Narges Bajoghli, Vali Nasr, Djavad Salehi-Isfahani, and Ali Vaez. Like astronomy, the study of sanctions transcends the competence of the individual scholar. The four authors bring diverse expertise to the task of understanding the workings of sanctions. Bajoghli is a sociologist, Nasr is a political scientist, Salehi-Isfahani is an economist, and Vaez trained as a nuclear physicist before turning towards security issues.Studies on the efficacy of sanctions policies tend to focus on policy design — are they unilateral or multilateral measures, are they are primary or secondary sanctions, and what sectors, entities, or individuals do they target? In these studies, the country imposing sanctions is placed at the center of the system, exerting forces on the sanctioned countries in its orbit. The Copernican aspect of "How Sanctions Work" is its insistence that a true understanding of sanctions efficacy arises not from an analysis of the policies, but rather from an analysis of the society and economy on which they are imposed.Setting out their aim for the book, the authors declare that "policymakers and pundits" inquiring "do sanctions work?" are asking the wrong question. That question fixates on the power of the sanctioning country and has an obvious answer. "When a country with the size and economic power of the United States imposes harsh sanctions on a country, of course they 'work': sanctions create massive disruptions in the everyday lives of citizens, impact the political culture of the targeted state, and induce shocks in the economy."The better question, the authors contend, is "do sanctions work the way they 'should'?" This inquiry puts "behavioral changes in targeted states" at the center of the model. It also allows for a more sensitive examination of how sanctions may harm ordinary people, an insight no doubt furnished by the authors' personal connections to Iran.Until recently, Western policymakers have maintained a dogmatic belief in the efficacy of sanctions despite the fact that they had clearly failed to achieve their intended policy outcomes in most countries on which they had been applied, most notably Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Syria, North Korea, Venezuela, and Russia. But, like St. Augustine, who counseled against trying to understand the workings of the heavens, policymakers committed to sanctions policy felt it was "not necessary to probe into the nature of things."In 2018, the Trump administration unilaterally imposed "maximum pressure" sanctions on Iran, raising new concerns about the abuse of sanctions. But even as many former sanctions practitioners warned about the overuse of economic coercion, it was clear that sanctions would remain a mainstay of U.S. foreign policy. As Dan Drezner has observed, "two decades of war, recession, polarization, and now pandemic have dented American power. Frustrated U.S. presidents are left with fewer arrows in their quiver, and they are quick to reach for the easy, available tools of sanctions."In 2021, spurred by the Trump administration's brazen use of sanctions, which had frustrated allies and provoked adversaries, the Biden administration undertook an interagency review of its sanctions policy with the aim of ensuring that "economic and financial sanctions remain an effective tool of U.S. national security and foreign policy now and in the future." The review set out steps to "modernize sanctions," including by ensuring that sanctions policy is informed by "rigorous economic analysis, technical expertise, and intelligence to ensure that they are the right tool in our national security arsenal to pursue the identified objective." In May 2023, the Treasury Department Office of Foreign Asset Control hired a chief sanctions economist for the first time. Belatedly, policymakers in Washington are beginning to probe into the nature of their sanctions policies.A similar effort to better understand sanctions is also underway in sanctioned countries themselves. Despite the tremendous impact of sanctions on economic and social circumstances in Iran, it is only in the last few years that sanctions have been studied on their own terms. Prominent think tanks in Iran now have dedicated sanctions experts whose task is to understand how U.S. sanctions work and assess the costs borne by Iran's economy.For the analysts in Washington and Tehran newly evaluating sanctions and their effects, How Sanctions Work is a valuable resource. By centering the targeted country in the discussion of sanctions efficacy, Bajoghli, Nasr, Salehi-Isfahani, and Vaez demonstrate what a case study on sanctions should look like. To answer the question of how sanctions should work, it is necessary to describe how they are perceived in the target country.The book's first chapter does not begin with a discussion of what sanctions are, how they are designed, or their economic effects. Instead, we read about Fariba, a retired teacher, who recounts the precarious position she faces in Iran's sanctioned economy. Fariba once "led a solidly middle-class life in Tehran" but now constantly worries about how to get her diminished income to "stretch as far as possible."When in the third chapter we finally turn to the impact of sanctions on Iran's economy, we can interpret the assembled statistics with greater sensitivity. For example, when we read that "between 2011 and 2019, some 9 million people lost their middle-class status and joined the ranks of the lower-middle class and perhaps even the poor," we think back to Fariba and her struggle to make ends meet. This is the formal innovation that makes "How Sanctions Work" an important contribution. The authors are not presenting a great deal of new information, but rather presenting existing research in a new way. The book emerges from a series of research papers commissioned by the authors and published by Johns Hopkins SAIS (I was the author of one of those papers). The book also draws on eighty "long-form oral history interviews," including with Iranian researchers studying sanctions impacts. The authors weave together the findings of these papers and interviews with insights from the growing body of sanctions research, creating a first-of-its-kind cosmology of sanctions—a description of their forces, the bodies acted upon, and the orbits and trajectories altered.Again, a parallel can be drawn between "How Sanctions Work" and Copernicus' "On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres," which Kuhn describes as a "relatively staid, sober, and unrevolutionary work." For Kuhn, the book's significance lies "less in what it says itself than in what it caused others to say. In other words, Copernicus had written a "revolution-making rather than revolutionary text." Kuhn's later scholarship established how the application of new "paradigms" advances scientific knowledge. Without the right paradigm, those who wish to innovate, whether scientists or policymakers, will not even know the right questions to ask."How Sanctions Work" concludes by calling for a paradigm shift in our appraisals of sanctions policy. "With the United States sanctioning larger economies such as Russia, and threatening more punishing sanctions on a country like China, it behooves us all— as scholars, policymakers, and concerned citizens — to critically examine economic sanctions. Put another way, it is time to understand how sanctions really work."
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The Houthi attacks on vessels in the Red Sea and their missile and drone launches toward Israel have gone a long way to restoring a sense of national pride among many Yemenis. This, combined with growing support from other political groups within Yemen, and in the region, mean attacks will not likely end soon — despite sustained U.S. airstrikes against them.Since January 13, the U.S. and the UK have carried out eight rounds of strikes on targets in Houthi-controlled northwest Yemen. This followed multiple warnings by Washington for the Houthis to end their attacks on ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. There are now indications that the Biden administration is preparing to carry out airstrikes for an indefinite period whilst expanding the target list.Sustained airstrikes will slowly degrade some of the Houthis' military capacity, especially their ability to launch anti-ship missiles. However, they will do little to stop the groups's use of one-way attack drones (OADs) and marine mines to target ships. The OADs and the facilities used to manufacture and assemble them are spread across northwest Yemen. Most of these facilities are either underground or located in dense urban areas. Even with a continued air campaign against them, the Houthis are in a position to keep menacing international shipping with OADs and mines for months if not years.Most significantly, Western airstrikes risk strengthening the Houthis' grip on power. Many of the Houthis' former enemies are openly and covertly expressing their support for the group now. The Houthi attacks on what they describe as Israeli and U.S.-vessels resonates with many Yemenis, and indeed, many people around the world who are decrying the Israeli actions in Gaza. Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of Yemenis routinely gather on Fridays in the capital of Sana'a to protest the Israeli invasion of Gaza and, more recently, U.S. and UK airstrikes. From the perspective of many Yemenis, the Houthis possess the moral high-ground, and the power of that narrative, regardless of its veracity, should not be underestimated. The Houthis' determination to lift the siege of Gaza of course is replete with irony given that they persist in blockading the Yemeni city of Taiz.However, the Houthis' domestic enemies are not making the mistake of underestimating the power of the Houthi narrative. There are indications that oppositional figures, from members of Islah to tribes and sections of tribes in contested areas, are aligning with them. Multiple Yemeni analysts and former government officials speaking to this author indicated that some factions within Islah are now providing material support to the Houthis in the form of weapons transfers. Arms smuggling is big business in Yemen. Almost all armed groups regardless of their political alignment are involved in facilitating the movement of arms and materiel into, around, and out of Yemen. It is noteworthy that the majority of the Houthis' imported weapons, as well as parts and components for their missile and drone programs, transit territory under the nominal control of Yemen's internationally recognized government (IRG). Endemic corruption and incompetence among the Houthis' primary domestic foes have, more than any other factor, contributed to their rise to power and to their continuing grip on power. The IRG's inability to grapple with corruption, including the arms trade, and provide predictable levels of security consistently undermines its authority.By comparison, Houthi-controlled areas are generally more secure and enjoy greater levels of predictability. However, this comes at a cost. The Houthis' various security services are harsh, they routinely arrest and torture opponents, and they often act with impunity. The Houthis also routinely seize businesses and property and are also engaged in illicit trade of all kinds. However, in comparison with many of their foes, corruption within Houthi-controlled areas generally serves the Houthi organization as a whole rather than particular individuals.While U.S.-led airstrikes may be justifiable, they do nothing to address the fundamental and growing power and reputational imbalances between the Houthis and their domestic rivals. Instead, airstrikes risk exacerbating these imbalances by compelling more militias to align themselves with the Houthis who are increasingly viewed as victors over not only Saudi Arabia, but also over much of the West.The Houthis' major rivals in Yemen are struggling with how to align themselves against what are viewed as Israeli atrocities in Gaza and now U.S./ UK airstrikes, while maintaining their opposition to the Houthis. The IRG, the Southern Transitional Council (STC), and Tariq Saleh's National Resistance Forces (NRF) are all finding it difficult to create narratives can simultaneously condemn Israeli actions in Gaza and the Houthis' attacks on shipping.U.S.-led airstrikes on targets in Houthi-controlled Yemen have greatly complicated matters for all of the Houthis' domestic rivals. The acceptance of U.S. military aid—nothing remains secret in Yemen for long—much less the covert or overt presence of U.S. soldiers or contractors in areas controlled by the STC, IRG, and or the NRF could lead to them being painted as Washington collaborators and, by extension, linked to Israel. The only long-term answer to mitigating the threat posed by the Houthis are measured, monitored, and carefully designed programs that slowly build the capacity of viable IRG-linked forces to check the Houthis with both better governance and effective well-led fighting forces. But such programs are exceedingly difficult to execute in the current environment.Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates both provided hundreds of millions of dollars in funding, arms, and training for the various armed groups aligned with the IRG. In some cases, especially in the Hadramawt and in parts of Yemen's southern Red Sea coast with the NRF, effective fighting forces were developed. However, by and large, there is little to show for Saudi and Emirati efforts. This is why both countries, but especially Saudi Arabia, have curtailed funding and support for their various proxies. In fact, Saudi Arabia has moved away from any kinetic involvement in Yemen. This is partly the result of Saudi Arabia's inability to get the IRG and aligned militias to fundamentally reform. It is also partly due to the Houthis' ability to target Saudi Arabia with drones and missiles. Instead of pouring more money into the black hole that is a war in Yemen, Riyadh is returning to its tried-and-tested policy of appeasement, tribal engagement, and the cultivation of long-term assets in Yemen. The Saudis have already effectively made their peace with the Houthis. It is notable that the Houthis are no longer launching cross-border attacks on Saudi Arabia and Saudi Arabia is not allowing its airspace to be used for any attacks on Houthi targets. Saudi Arabia's intervention in Yemen achieved none of the stated aims, and the Saudis, indeed the world, are now grappling with the blowback. Military engagement alone will not defeat the Houthis. Their ancestors fought off the Ottoman Turks multiple times, the Egyptians, the government of Ali Abdullah Saleh, and the Saudis. They possess an innate understanding of what T.E. Lawrence came to understand: Maximum disorder is its equilibrium.Mitigating the threat posed by the Houthis will take years of careful engagement with communities and groups that oppose them, while also forcing the IRG and aligned forces to develop cohesive chains of command, counter corruption, and to meaningfully build governmental capacity. If the IRG and the other opposition groups do not reform and develop the capacity to consistently govern, no amount of support from external backers will prevent them from being defeated by the Houthis and their growing list of new allies in the years ahead.
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One reason the nearly-now-concluded 2024 First Extraordinary Session of the Louisiana Legislature failed was Republican Gov. Jeff Landry and the GOP-supermajority in each legislative chamber scored an own goal in congressional reapportionment that, instead of ending litigation, only will increase it with them in a weaker position.
The main reason for the session Landry stated as congressional reapportionment, in response to a Middle District of Louisiana court case where, at present, the presiding judge said that unless the state acted to change its current distribution of one-out-of-six majority-minority districts, in a state where the population is about a third identifying as black, a trial on the merits of the existing map would occur and likely end with the judge voiding it and imposing her own plan. That configuration likely would have followed closely the preferred plan of the special interest plaintiffs which would have created districts more in violation of traditional principles of reapportionment than any from the past 30 years which almost certainly would see GOP Rep. Julia Letlow ousted in favor of a black Democrat.
Landry and his two main water carriers for his plan SB 8, its author Republican state Sen. Glen Womack and House and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Beau Beaullieu, surrendered to this viewpoint of judicial inevitability. Braying over and over that it would be better to pick their own poison, SB 8 capitulated to the two M/M scheme but instead reconfigured districts to put Republican Rep. Garret Graves at risk, who is on the outs with Landry by working behind the scenes to put up an opponent against him in last year's election and with other members of the state's GOP congressional delegation because he worked against the eventual process that brought on a Louisiana Speaker of the House.
They and the GOP majorities that passed SB 8 didn't need to do any of this: with at least two contestable avenues that could have had higher courts overturn the extant ruling – that the basis of that decision was ripe for reversal because of the Kavanaugh concurrence, which the state actually is employing to defend itself in a similar suit concerning the state's legislative districts, and because of circuit court disagreements, one of which came from the Fifth Circuit's handling of the case about the use of a private right of action. Indeed, there wasn't even an imperative under law, despite the assertions of Landry, Womack, and Beaullieu as well as legislative Democrats and the plaintiffs, to create two M/M districts, as not only does Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act instruct that it does not require the proportion of M/M seats to match roughly the racial distribution of the population, but also as no court in the country has ruled that a plan that didn't create roughly equal proportions had to do that, with the operative language from a panel of Alabama-based circuit and district judges used to date as the judicial guidepost for cases like Louisiana's reading "any remedial plan will need to include two districts in which Black[sic] voters either comprise a voting-age majority or something quite close to it" (emphasis added).
But they did it. This leaves the ball in the court of the plaintiffs, who can decide to accept the plan and dismiss the case, or if they don't then the court likely steams ahead by bringing into effect by fiat their desired plan anyway and neuters the entire effort by the majority of Republicans.
However, if the plaintiffs do accept, then the 2024 boundaries become that plan, and the GOP gives away a seat to Democrats, even if contested by a private party, for the same reason the current boundaries otherwise would have stayed in place if left unchanged: the judiciary is reluctant to alter electoral boundaries through litigation too close to an election. Basically, by this action Landry et al. gave away a congressional seat for Democrats in 2024, as opposed to if they had they passed a plan with a single M/M district and another opportunity district – one that has a plurality-minority population distribution which is the "something quite close to it" – or with two opportunity districts, as HB 14 by Republican state Rep. Mike Echols offered. In that instance, Republicans could have had a shot at winning one or both districts.
Of course, the plaintiffs would have turned that one down. But that then would have led to the state challenging the subsequent imposed map, and on the basis of the Kavanaugh concurrence and no private right of action where the former stands a decent chance of prevailing, that would have overturned the plaintiffs' victory. And this likely would have happened in 2025, keeping the additional Republican district. Yet Landry and most of the members of the GOP legislative party stubbornly asserted that the district court's ruling was sacrosanct, set in stone, and had to be followed.
And, not only did the GOP throw away this possibility of an eventual ruling on the merits preserving the current map, the SB 8 map created itself likely is unconstitutional. That was drilled home in testimony to members of H&GA by Paul Hurd, the lawyer who actually was involved in early 1990s legal actions that ended up twice invalidating Louisiana plans where race unconstitutionally played too large of a role in mapping. He estimated that the new M/M district was about 90 percent similar to the one struck down, and similarly infirm.
Expect if the plaintiffs accept the new map for a challenge to it to come on the same basis – don't be surprised if allies of Graves are involved – and succeed, although it likely would mean a 2024 cycle under SB 8. If by then another challenge from somewhere else springs successfully the Kavanaugh concurrence, that would invite the GOP Legislature to remap again back to a single M/M – although this possibility itself is a little uncertain because of the evolving jurisprudence around the concept of "retrogression," or drawing fewer M/M districts than existed before and whether that is constitutionally permissible.
Keep in mind, however, that the state has handcuffed itself in restoring a single M/M map because of the result of the session, and in fact put itself in the absurd position of a GOP governor, attorney general, and Legislature defending a map putting their party at a disadvantage. Meanwhile, the plaintiffs have a decision to make: take a two M/M map even if not their preferred and much like one previously declared unconstitutional for at least one cycle but hope it survives, or turn it down to suffer a one M/M map in 2024 but roll the dice that the Kavanaugh concurrence doesn't flip the previous decision and they get their preferred two M/M map in 2026.
In summary, absent a desire to ensure Graves rather than Letlow was put at risk even as either being put at risk was far from certain under the current plan or HB 14, there was no good reason for the GOP governor and legislative majorities to give away a congressional district to Democrats as early as 2024. Forcing a court's two M/M plan imposition in fact would have increased the chances that map would be overturned eventually, compared to forging ahead with a constitutionally-questionable volunteered two M/M plan that may get rejected anyway.
Unless the plot all along was to offer up an infirmed plan ripe for ruin as a way to buy time to the jurisprudential landscape to shift, but that gives away 2024 and is riskier than outright resistance. If so, it was a reckless brinksmanship with a result at present that should discourage conservatives' hopes for propagation of their agenda in Louisiana that they thought was a slam dunk to come into fruition over the next four years.
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The Houthis are creating a global shipping crisis as they draw support and tribute from other Muslim countries and peoples for standing up for Palestinians in Gaza. But how far will it go before the West punches back in defense of "world trade" and regional security?On December 18, the Department of Defense announced the formation of Operation Prosperity Guardian. The ten-nation force aims to ensure maritime security in the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandeb, which is a shipping chokepoint between the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. Since October 7, the Houthis have launched more than a hundred armed drone and missile attacks — including several aimed at US warships on Saturday — claiming that they are targeting any and all vessels with links to Israel.These threats have caused global shipping companies to divert away from the Red Sea. Many are now sailing around the Cape of Good Hope, which can add over a week to sailing times and as much as 20% to shipping costs. The diversions are also impacting Egypt's fragile economy. Tolls from the Suez Canal are a significant source of hard currency for the Egyptian government. Additionally, the Israeli port of Eilat has seen its revenues decline by 80%. While the global costs of the Houthis' attacks on shipping are steadily increasing, the attacks are paying hefty political and even strategic dividends for the Houthis, who appear to be winning on the public relations front both in and outside Yemen. In Yemen, support for the Houthis, even among some enemies, has increased. In many other Muslim nations, the Houthis are viewed as being "the only Muslim group standing against Israeli aggression." The high profile attacks, including the hijacking of the Galaxy Leader, have stoked national pride among many Yemenis. The Houthis' sophisticated strategic communications operations draw all of these attacks to the attention of domestic and international audiences. According to Yemeni sources who spoke to this author, this has supercharged recruitment for the Houthis and has also led to an influx of donations to the war effort from Yemeni businesses and individual citizens. The attacks are also a demonstration of the Houthis' geographical reach and of their emergence as a regional power.The only negative consequence of the anti-Israel campaign, at least so far, has been a reduction of the number of ships docking in the Houthi-controlled ports of Hodeidah and Salif. Yemen imports well over 90% of its food and a majority of the imports arrive via Hodeidah. Duties and taxes arising from the port are an important source of revenue for the Houthis. Reduced dockings at Hodeidah and rising maritime insurance costs will begin to bite, too.However, it is the Yemeni people who will pay the heaviest price. The Houthis enjoy multiple revenue streams which include everything from a range of efficiently collected taxes, the seizure of businesses and properties, to interests in illicit activities that range from human and arms trafficking to the manufacture and distribution of various drugs.The Houthis are hardwired for resilience and adaptability. Nearly two decades of war have honed the Houthis' war fighting capabilities. After the effective fall of the Yemeni government in September 2014, the Houthis further enhanced these capabilities by grafting their organization into what remained of the Yemeni military and intelligence services. Since 2014, the Houthis have systematically taken over almost every aspect of civil governance, security, education, and the economy in northwest Yemen.While the Houthis were and remain one of the finest guerrilla fighting forces in the region, if not the world, their success on and off the battlefield in Yemen has been aided by the ineptitude and disunity of their enemies. Yemen's Internationally Recognized Government (IRG) and the cobbled together Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) have consistently failed to unify the dozens of militias that operate in those areas outside Houthi control. Additionally, the IRG has failed to reign in endemic corruption. A considerable portion of the Houthis' arms and materiel comes from what Saudi Arabia and the UAE provide to their proxies in Yemen. Many of these Saudi and Emirati supported militias sell weaponry into Yemen's thriving arms market where the Houthis or their agents buy the weapons. This is not to argue that there isn't corruption within the Houthi organization. There is. However, the corruption is managed and largely limited to senior members of the organization. The Houthis exercise tight command and control over their arsenals, weapons assembly facilities, government ministries, and a burgeoning economic empire in Yemen. Northwest Yemen has never had a more efficient or brutal government than the current Houthi-led regime.Since October 7, the U.S. and its allies have focused on defensive measures aimed at intercepting the Houthis missiles and drones. The costs of these measures are steadily increasing. The U.S. and its allies cannot easily continue to expend large numbers of scarce multimillion-dollar missiles to take out drones that can cost as little as a thousand dollars. The Houthis have factories, many of which are located in hard-to-target dense urban areas, which can manufacture — supplies permitting—dozens to hundreds of low-end drones per week. More sophisticated drones are produced at a slower pace, but the Houthis can still assemble several hundred of these over the course of a few months. While the Houthis have and continue to receive assistance and materiel from Iran, almost all the Houthis' drones and missiles are assembled in Yemen. The Houthis are also increasingly focused on modifying and adapting Iranian designs for missiles and drones to suite their own particular requirements.To date, the Houthis have only used a fraction of the armed drones and missiles that they currently possess. Nor have the Houthis made use of their more sophisticated longer-range drones and missiles. The Houthis also possess large numbers of naval mines, including hard to detect influence mines.The U.S.-led collation of ships that is now assembled in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, combined with the on-shore assets in neighboring countries, possesses enough firepower to degrade the Houthis' military capabilities, at least over the short term. However, such a campaign will need to be sustained for what could be months and will come at a tremendous cost for all involved. The Houthis are masters of asymmetric warfare—as clearly evidenced by their Red Sea campaign—and will respond to U.S.-led strikes by attacking energy infrastructure in Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The Houthis will also deploy more sophisticated missiles and armed drones. While U.S. and coalition warships will likely be able to defend themselves against these weapons, commercial shipping, especially tankers, will be increasingly vulnerable. The Houthis have already effectively closed the Bab al-Mandeb to many global shipping companies. Higher-intensity conflict in and around the Bab al-Mandeb could mean that Red Sea shipping traffic is diminished—or even stopped altogether—for months. The Houthis have largely achieved their objectives: impose costs on Israel and its allies, demonstrate their regional reach, and bolster domestic support. The U.S. and its allies have no good options when it comes to dealing with the Houthis. Apart from acting to constrain Israel's unrelenting offensive in Gaza, the only way of avoiding entering an escalatory loop is for the U.S. to continue to support Saudi and Omani led efforts aimed at reining in the Houthi's threats and attacks. Yet, at the same time, the Houthis only respect force. The current U.S. response is viewed as toothless by the Houthis, and many other nations and non-state groups will view the response or lack thereof in the same way. The conflict in the Red Sea is a harbinger of what the future holds as the diffusion of low-cost but increasingly capable weapons systems continues. The U.S. and its allies are inevitably going to face more and more situations in which there are no good options as the asymmetry between high and low-cost weapons systems increases.
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United States policy toward Israel's war in Gaza was neatly summarized by Secretary of State Antony Blinken on November 30: "Israel has one of the most sophisticated militaries in the world. It is capable of neutralizing the threat posed by Hamas while minimizing harm to innocent civilians. And it has an obligation to do so." This posture — destroy Hamas but do so in observance of the laws of war — is not that of the administration alone. It has been widely embraced by official Washington. A key defense of what would emerge as the hallmark of the Biden administration's Gaza outlook came from Jo-Ann Mort and Michael Walzer in the New Republic on October 18. "A just war requires the defeat of Hamas," they wrote. "It is a maxim of just war theory that the rules of war cannot make it impossible to fight a just war. There has to be a way to fight."In their view, the best way was "to fight with restraint, to reject indiscriminate bombing and shelling, to respect enemy civilians (many, many Gazans are opposed to Hamas), and take necessary risks to reduce their risks, and finally to maintain a clear goal: defeat for Hamas. Nothing more."Walzer is the author of Just and Unjust Wars, a hugely influential treatise on morality in war that has gone through successive editions since its publication in 1977. Walzer's meditation on the just war was especially impressive for taking on a wide range of historical examples, but it was written under the shadow of the war in Vietnam. Walzer condemned that war not only as an unjustified intervention but also as one that was "carried on in so brutal a manner that even had it initially been defensible, it would have to be condemned, not in this or that aspect but generally." In his treatise, Walzer closely considered both jus ad bellum (the right of going to war) and jus in bello (the law governing its conduct). As Walzer noted, "considerations of jus ad bellum and jus in bello are logically independent, and the judgments we make in terms of one and the other are not necessarily the same." But in the case of Vietnam, he argued, they came together. "The war cannot be won, and it should not be won. It cannot be won, because the only available strategy involves a war against civilians; and it should not be won, because the degree of civilian support that rules out alternative strategies also makes the guerillas the legitimate rulers of the country." Do not these strictures apply to Israel's war in Gaza? Hamas hides behind civilians, or is rather closely intermingled with them, as the Viet Cong once were. It has enjoyed an equal or greater amount of support from the local population. Its acts of assassination and terrorism fall far short, numerically, of those committed by the VC. Walzer was rightly shocked by the civilian toll in Vietnam, which saw a civilian-combatant fatality ratio of approximately two to one. In Gaza, the proportion of civilian-to-combatant deaths is at least five to one and probably much greater. Israeli leaders have made clear that their war is on the whole population. Their criteria for when to bomb, aided by AI, has blown past previous restraints. Another case taken up by Walzer in Just and Unjust Wars was America's atomic destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. The decision was justified at the time as the only way to avert the far larger casualties likely to ensue were the United States to have attempted an invasion of Japan. Walzer rejected this argument. "It does not have the form: if we don't do x (bomb cities), they will do y (win the war, establish tyrannical rule, slaughter their opponents)." Instead, the U.S. government in effect argued that "if we don't do x, we will do y." The real problem, Walzer argued, was the policy of unconditional surrender — that is, it had to do with U.S. war aims. Walzer approved the policy of unconditional surrender when applied to Germany — Hitler's regime represented a "supreme emergency" — but not when applied to Japan. "Japan's rulers were engaged in a more ordinary sort of military expansion, and all that was morally required was that they be defeated, not that they be conquered and totally overthrown," he wrote. Walzer's treatment of Vietnam and Hiroshima suggests that there are imperative reasons to stop short of total victory as a war aim, if the result of pursuing it is a moral enormity. If you have to commit wickedness on a titanic scale in order to achieve total victory, you should accept limited war and seek the containment of the enemy, not his obliteration. This is especially so, one might add, if the enemy one aims to annihilate elicits widespread sympathies elsewhere, making probable some kind of over-the-top retribution in the future. There are 2.2 million Gazans. There are 1.8 billion Muslims. Germany and Japan were friendless in 1945. It is obvious that Israel's war in Gaza bears no relationship to the war that Mort and Walzer recommended on October 18. Israel has not fought with restraint, has not rejected indiscriminate bombing and shelling, has not respected enemy civilians. Operation Swords of Iron has been instead the most elaborate and twisted application yet of the Dahiya Doctrine, Israel's longstanding war plan that makes a virtue out of wildly disproportionate retributions. That Israel intended to do this was apparent from the outset — 6,000 bombs were dropped in the war's first six days — but went strangely unnoticed by Mort and Walzer when their piece appeared. The authors stressed the need to get humanitarian aid into Gaza but didn't mention the Israeli blockade on all things requisite to life, a radical policy totally opposed to laws of war and imposed by Israel on the war's first day. In a subsequent interview on October 30, Walzer conceded that there was no justification for Israel's blockades of Gaza's electricity, water, and food supply, but also questioned the idea that a humanitarian pause would be justified before Hamas was defeated. "Acts that shock the moral conscience of mankind" was one of Walzer's most resonant phrases in Just and Unjust Wars. He meant by that "old-fashioned phrase" not the solipsistic prevarications of political leaders, but "the moral convictions of ordinary men and women, acquired in the course of their everyday activities." Clearly, Israel's war in Gaza has entailed a profound shock to these sensibilities. It is this revulsion, not sympathy for Hamas, that explains world-wide public opposition to what Israel is doing. From the beginning of the crisis, the Biden administration's approach to the war ran closely in parallel with the course recommended by Mort and Walzer. Eliminate Hamas. Do so while sparing civilians as much as possible. Then be sweet to the Palestinians and give them an independent state. Israel was happy to take the first part of this formula and to contemptuously reject the rest. Meanwhile, alongside these homilies to humane war, the United States has undertaken a vast effort to resupply Israel's stock of bombs. Confronting the escalating death toll, U.S. policymakers are dazed and confused. They're still on autopilot in support of Israel's war aim, while ineffectually shrieking in horror at the cost to Gaza's civilians. The truth is that there is no way to destroy Hamas without destroying Gaza. Contrary to Secretary Blinken's words (and Walzer's advice), Israel does not know how to destroy Hamas while minimizing harm to innocent civilians. Monumental harm to civilians follows from Israel's war aim of destroying Hamas, which the Biden administration and Walzer continue to endorse. That war aim stands in urgent need of reconsideration.Dear RS readers: It has been an extraordinary year and our editing team has been working overtime to make sure that we are covering the current conflicts with quality, fresh analysis that doesn't cleave to the mainstream orthodoxy or take official Washington and the commentariat at face value. Our staff reporters, experts, and outside writers offer top-notch, independent work, daily. Please consider making a tax-exempt, year-end contribution to Responsible Statecraft so that we can continue this quality coverage — which you will find nowhere else — into 2024. Happy Holidays!
