WCP5983

Letter (WCP5983.6876)

[1]1

Waterloo House

Lennox S[tree]t.

Weymouth

Feb[ruar]y 6. 1909

D[octo]r. A. R. Wallace,

Dear Sir,

I have just read, with great admiration, your noble letter in the "Daily News"2 on "Flying Machines in War,"3 & on the inspiration of the moment I cannot refrain from according you my very hearty thanks for such a splendid contribution to the cause of humanising (as far as that is possible) an institution, which, to the shame of Christendom, threatens [2] to make a hell of earth, & the name of the "Prince of Peace"4 a byword & a sham on the religion of England.

Somehow, may God stop this mad & wicked rivalry in the fiendish race for easy murder, & may many voices, though less powerful than your own, be raised in protestation against this mad scourge.

I will not apologise for this intrusion from a stranger, but beg to subscribe myself, with much esteem,

Yours faithfully | Edward J. Gosling [signature]

1
The page is numbered WP7/106/4 in pencil in the top LH corner. The word "Ans[were]d" is written in ink across the top LH corner.
2
Daily newspaper founded in 1846 by Charles Dickens. Leading reformist writers wrote for the paper during its heyday in the late 19th Century.
3
Wallace, A. R. (1909) Flying Machines in War. Dr. A. R. Wallace Calls to Action. (Letter to the Editor) The Daily News (London) no. 19626: 6 Feb. 1909. ARW protests against the assumption, gaining traction in the press, "that the first and most important use of aeroplanes and other flying machines or dirigible balloons will be to drop explosives or use other implements of destruction, in case of war or as the first act of war".
4
Jesus Christ, from the Bible: "For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace". Isaiah 9:6.

Editorial information

Status: Draft transcription [Letter (WCP5983.6876)]

For more information about the transcriptions and metadata, see https://wallaceletters.myspecies.info/content/epsilon

Revision history

Transcribed by O'Dell, Sandra [2018-08-15]

Please cite as “WCP5983,” in Beccaloni, G. W. (ed.), Ɛpsilon: The Alfred Russel Wallace Collection accessed on 29 April 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/wallace/letters/WCP5983