Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1872-12-06

W hNN"f o'y W. ~ iHS1 w 0NA
nation to loftier and wider patri-
otism. Different nationalities- arc
mingling; and may their union ap-
proach the harmony Of that celestial
society, composed Of every nation,
kindred, people and tongue, ac-
knowledging as their fathers, Abra-
ham, Isaac and Jacob, and as the
grand bond of union, our Lord Jesus
Christ. Let the Germans "Fathcr-
land" acknowledge as kindred to it.
self, his adopted country. Let the
sons Of Erin employ their rich
brogue i'll the loud huzza, for the
broader expansc Of their loved
America. Let him of the facile and
easy expression, which belongs to
the sons Of France, sing .ioa
fP1merica. Let the Scandinavian
find, in our sunny North, his home
again. Let the son Of Africa, the
son of SHE bond aeomon,'' rejoice
now in the adoption Of the Stree. p
Let the original possessor of our
soil, transfer his love of the hunting
ground to the land, that may yield
the products of civilization. Let
the oriental, as he comes, with his
strange attire and customs, to our
shores, repeat the words of the
daughter of Moab: "Thy people
shall be my people and thy God my
God"
We must all be one, not in the
union Of States alone, but in the
union Of nationalities in that richer
combination, which preserves the
best traits Of each, and eliminates
the worst. God hath made us all
of one blood; let us be one in spirit,
and unite in the sentiment,0f the
grandest patriotism that ever swell
cd the human bosom.
Another sentiment, still more ex-
pansive than the last, should give
character to our national develop
mcnt. l refer to philanthrophy, or
tie lore Of our race.
Rival nations there arc and will
be, rival interests among nations
will exist, weaker powers, also, will
claim a nationality, and interests Ii
able to suffer from oppression or
Indifference will have Il being. But
if we know our place and respect
the position of other human powers,
we shall maintain more surely our
own standing.
Irejoice that the genius of chris
tianity leads us to cherish the sen
timcnt that seeks the good Of all
men. Our noble missionary bands,
who carry the gospel to "thc utter
most parts Of the carth," give that
knowledge and training which, l
believe, has created in those nations
who have excluded themselves from
foreign intercourse, a taste for the
most enlightened institutions, and
has at least led them to crave an
acquaintance with modern civiliza-
ton. | rejoice, too, that our own
government and that of the mother
country, in the third dispute be-
tween them, have appealed not to
the sword, but to arbitration, for its
settlement.
May this precedent lead to similar
action everywhere, and the nations,
as the prophet has torctold, "lcarn
war no more. Among the occa-.
sions for gratitude to-day, is this
consummation
The future OF mankind will not,
believe, be identified with some ru-
ling power that shall Cypress all
others, whose armies shall march to
the worlds conquest, but it will be
connected with the conquest of ideas.
To-day, the greatest power among
nations is intellectual rather than
material, moral rather than physi-
cal. Even the contests of the bat
tlc-tield are won by training and
thought, rather than by force
May love, the truly ruling principle,
conquer all, until every nation shall
rejoice in the common glory of the
advancing manhood of the race.
One thought more. You, per-
haps, have been anticipating, We
should cultivate, not the love of
home or country or man alone, but
that from which all these proceed,
or by which they arc made more
intcnsc-tAe lore Of God. 'IIappy
is that people whose God is the
Lord" That nation is not educated
whicllis not led to the honest and
hearty recognition Of God as the
chief ruler Of its events. 1t was
said of ancient Zion: "God is in
the midst of her, she shall not be
moved" God is the one ruling
power, and there can be no pure re-
cognition of Him but that which
springs from love of His name. |
rejoice that the feast we celebrate
to-day has become national that
we are summoned to our present
devotions by the united authority of
the President of the country and
the Governor Of the State. Down
" IuC llIcSC tlutc IHay We SSlSUIdlC
this harvest feast, and bring also its
fruits as an offering to God. We
speak of education. His education
is not complete who is not develop
ed God-ward-in whom we do not
behold the divine image in the pro-
cess of restoration. Do not the
trees of the forest, and even the
flowers of the field, lift mp their
branches and open in blushing
beauty upward and outward? DO
they not expand toward the sun in
the heavens, and in the atmosphere
warmed and purified by its rays?
Should not man, then, and should
not nations obey similar impulse
aud devclope in that growth which
reaches toward their divine author?
Christian brethren, we are re-
sponsible for this result. 1t is for
us to "litt up the standard for the
people," 1t is for us to preach the
gospel to every creature, and to
teach all nations how to live to God.
There is no department Of state, no
educational institution whose origin
is in the Government itself, that
contemplates such a work as this.
We, by our churches and denomin-