Grantland Rice? Herman Melville? Herbert Hoover? Reverend E. W. Elstron? Apocryphal?
Dear Quote Investigator: A mournful anti-war poem contains this line:
All wars are planned by older men in council rooms apart.
The poem has been attributed to Grantland Rice who was a popular sports journalist. I have seen a version of the verse that used the word “old” instead “older”. Do you know which version is correct? Would you please help me to find a citation?
Quote Investigator: Grantland Rice published a long-running syndicated column called “The Sportlight”. In 1921 he shared his poem titled “The Two Sides of War” with his readers. The following was the first verse. Emphasis added to excerpts by QI:[1] 1921 March 26, New York Tribune, Column: The Sportlight, Poem: The Two Sides of War Quote by Grantland Rice, Quote Page 11, Column 2, New York, New York. (Chronicling America Library of Congress) link
All wars are planned by older men
In council rooms apart,
Who plan for greater armament
And map the battle chart.
Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.
Continue reading All Wars Are Planned by Older Men in Council Rooms Apart