The War Museum
The Price of "Triumph" Dateline: 129 BC
For the Roman victor the spoils and the "Triumph". No country in the world honours its successful generals like Rome. The "Triumph" is the pinnacle of every officer's ambition. To achieve it, his army must have killed at least 5,000 men in battle.
On the morning of the celebration, The General will parade his troops and
present them with their share of the spoils. Then he will march at the head
of his army with magistrates, senators, musicians, slaves and eminent captives
along a time-honoured route through the Forum to the Temple of Jupiter where
sacrifices take place.
Like the statute of Jupiter, his face will be painted red, he will be dressed
in lavish gold and purple robes, and paintings of his achievements will
be carried aloft together with booty he has brought back to Rome.
The victor is "for the day" - although he is accompanied by
a slave who whispers to him continually: "Remember thou art mortal".
A bell and a whip are also tied to the chariot as reminders that Rome can
still punish him.
At the height of the celebration, the loser - a defeated enemyGeneral is
put to death in a prison cell below the Capitol.
Anti-Nuclear Protest
Dateline: 7th April 1958
The Easter weekend has seen an extraordinary protest against Britain's
nuclear bomb programme.
Supporters of the recently established CND (Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament)
walked from London all the way to Aldermaston, the Berkshire site of Britain's
Atomic Weapons Research establishment where nuclear warheads are made.
About 3,000 men, women, and children are estimated to have taken part in the
ban the bomb march, and a further 9,000 turned up for the rally outside the
main gate of the high security defence plant.
Red Cloud's Statement
Dateline: 1870,
You do not know who appears before you today to speak. I am a representative
of the original American race, the first people of this continent.
We are good and not bad.... We have given you nearly all our lands, and if
we had any more land to give we would be very glad to give it. We have nothing
more.
We are driven into a very little land, and we want you now, as our dear friends, to help us with the government of the United States. I only want to do that, which is peaceful and the Great Fathers know it, and also the Great Father who made us both.
I came to Washington to see the Great Father in order to have peace and
in order to have peace continue. This is all we want, and that is the reason
why we are here now...Look at me. I am poor and naked, but I am The Chief
of the Nation.
We do not want riches, we do not ask for riches, but we want our children
properly trained and brought up. We look to you for your sympathy. Our riches
will... do us no good; we cannot take away into the other world anything
we have - we want to have love and peace....
We would like to know why commissioners are sent out there to do nothing but rob us and get the riches of this world away from us?
